The AP reported awhile ago that the pilots of NW have voted to strike. Their spokeperson said they will NOT strike if NW does NOT cut their payrates and does NOT change the work rules.

The judge handling the court case will announce tomorrow his court decision as to whether NW can rescind their contracts with the pilots union and the flight attendants union. The flight attendants vote will not be know until March 6th.

The article said the soonest the strike could happen is tomorrow (March 1,2006).

NW received state funds to help them stay aloat after 9/11. It is frustrating to see businesses run themselves into the ground.

And no surprise, condsidering how many people here travel, there is a poster on the Europe Board that is not having a good evening as they hold tickets with NW to fly to Paris tomorrow. I feel so bad for them. Rather a mess isn't it?

Shoot, Northwest received state funds to keep flying as far back as the early '90s. And tax incentives. And a stranglehold on MSP. Etc.

Hrummph. This makes me cranky.

And my trip to Europe later this month is at stake.

That makes me even crankier.

Hrummph.

Amen AuntAnnie and Worktowander.

If the government is bailing them out, why can't they dictate that NWA switch to more profitable business models such as Southwest or the European discount carriers? Instead, NWA continues to squeeze every last penny out of its customers and now its employees.

I have no idea what Detroit will do if NWA goes under. We have a zillion ff miles with them that we are planning on using for Europe next year, and they were just built a brand new terminal at the airport. Thank goodness we have Spirit!!!

Flying is so annoying. We hold NW tickets for March 10. What the heck.

My prayers with everybody who has NW reservations. Can't imagine worrying sick if I would make it to my destination.

Is NW the company which sends coupons in blue envelopes we get occasionally at home?

Does anyone know the actual dollar amounts the pilots and cabin personnel are fighting over? I know that they've all been forced to take significant pay cuts in the past years. I'm not sure how anyone really adjusts to making less money for doing the same job.

But I was wondering NWA pay vs. other airlines. For example, are NWA pilots being asked to give up their $300,000 salary to take $200,000 while Southwest pilots make $100,000? Or is NWA really screwing them and making them trade their $100,000 salary for $50,000 while Southwest pilots make $300,000?

Anyone have a clue?

It's almost impossible to generalize. Pilots' starting pay depends on the equipment they fly-- I've heard of people flying the little Saab turboprops making as little as $24K yearly. Until pilots have high numbers of years with a given airline (and achieve Captain status), their pay tends to be surprisingly low. Same thing with flight attendants.

I don't have a problem with airline pilots being paid well, as long as they're competent.

I think pilots should be well paid. They have a lot of lives in their hands on a daily basis.

I was just wondering about NWA pay vs. everyone else. Maybe my example numbers were too high!

24K is surprising low. I know they aren't allowed to put in too many hours, but that is still awfully low.

The paper today is reporting that NWA lost 2.6 Billion dollars last year! Seven million dollars a day! How? Their planes are full, they charge a lot, and they offer no amenities. I don't get it!

A little off topic perhaps,
but have wondered about this.
Was anyone around when Pan Am went
out of business? It's often in older
movies.
Also, is the Pan Am comuter in the
Northeast from the same company?
TIA.

wanderluster - Some key dates for Pan Am's demise:

- 1985: sold its lucrative Pacific routes to United

- Dec 21, 1988: Flight 103

- Jan 1991: Ch 11

- March 1991: sold its London Heathrow routes to United

- Later in 1991: Sold rest of European routes (including FRA hub) and NE Shuttle to DL

- Dec 4, 1991: shut its doors

About the NWA pilot salaries, it's like rjw said - impossible to generalize.

But here's a fact reported often in our local media that startles if you apply it to your own income:

The NWA pilots workgroup has given up 39 percent of its salaries since 9/11/01.

And NWA was struggling before 9/11, so the labor cost cuts go back well into the '90s.

I've been observing the company for years as a passenger and I have to agree: Full planes, fairly bare-bones service, near-monopolies at its headquarters and many hub airports. So what's the problem?

I'm thinking management problems. Serious ones.

I'll just say this much,..If the U.S. Government gave as much money to the FAA and the airline industry as it does the Pentagon and the Armed Forces....there wouldnt be any commercial airlines in financial turmoil.

If the US Government would GET OUT of the airline industry and let the so-called "free economoy" and supply and demand take over then we wouldn't have as much trouble, either. True, there would be some liquidations and some local economies would take a hit...

About the salaries of NW pilots. Local source (www.startribune.com) used to claim, that pilots earn now from 60K to 160K annually.
According to the same sources, pilots have already accepted 39% of paycut. Therefore, their inital pay before 9/11 was from 98K to 260K annually. It looks like, their check will shrink down substantially after deal between management and union.