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- Jan 20, 2003
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6/28/2007 2:23 PM EDT
Northwest (NWA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and its pilots are talking about a potential solution to the crew shortages that have led to hundreds of flight cancellations, the two sides told TheStreet.com Thursday.
The company and the pilots have been meeting this week to resolve the issues, says Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). He declined to offer details. Northwest spokesman Darren Shannon says, "We can confirm that we are informally meeting with ALPA on the staffing."
Northwest has cancelled more than 500 flights from Monday through Wednesday afternoon, after canceling 453 Friday through Sunday, according to FlightStats.com.
Blaufuss says pilots want a solution to the cancellation problem. "We are the ultimate investors in this airline," he says. "Our futures are tied to the future of Northwest and we want it to succeed. We don't want the sacrifices we made to save this company from liquidation squandered by poor planning and poor management."
Pilots contend the cancellations reflect short staffing. Under a contract negotiated during the airline's bankruptcy, pilots' maximum flight time is 90 hours a month, up from 80 previously. That standard left slack in the system for pilots to volunteer for extra flying before reaching the federal maximum of 100 hours a month, they say.
In a prepared statement, Northwest say the cancellations are due to factors including air traffic control delays, severe summer weather and higher than normal levels of pilot absenteeism.
A solution to the understaffing problem may be difficult, says Drew Massie, chairman of the union's membership committee. About 400 pilots are on the recall list, where additional hires must come from. The airline has been recalling pilots since October 2006, and training about two dozen a month. It can take five weeks to retrain pilots, and training capacity is limited because many instructors are currently flying. Essentially, Massie says, "They didn't recall enough pilots soon enough."
Northwest (NWA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and its pilots are talking about a potential solution to the crew shortages that have led to hundreds of flight cancellations, the two sides told TheStreet.com Thursday.
The company and the pilots have been meeting this week to resolve the issues, says Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). He declined to offer details. Northwest spokesman Darren Shannon says, "We can confirm that we are informally meeting with ALPA on the staffing."
Northwest has cancelled more than 500 flights from Monday through Wednesday afternoon, after canceling 453 Friday through Sunday, according to FlightStats.com.
Blaufuss says pilots want a solution to the cancellation problem. "We are the ultimate investors in this airline," he says. "Our futures are tied to the future of Northwest and we want it to succeed. We don't want the sacrifices we made to save this company from liquidation squandered by poor planning and poor management."
Pilots contend the cancellations reflect short staffing. Under a contract negotiated during the airline's bankruptcy, pilots' maximum flight time is 90 hours a month, up from 80 previously. That standard left slack in the system for pilots to volunteer for extra flying before reaching the federal maximum of 100 hours a month, they say.
In a prepared statement, Northwest say the cancellations are due to factors including air traffic control delays, severe summer weather and higher than normal levels of pilot absenteeism.
A solution to the understaffing problem may be difficult, says Drew Massie, chairman of the union's membership committee. About 400 pilots are on the recall list, where additional hires must come from. The airline has been recalling pilots since October 2006, and training about two dozen a month. It can take five weeks to retrain pilots, and training capacity is limited because many instructors are currently flying. Essentially, Massie says, "They didn't recall enough pilots soon enough."
