Transportation Industry

Company Watch - Northwest Airlines

AirGuide Business, Jan 14, 2008

Jan 14, 2008

Regulators continue to evaluate Midwest-Northwest deal. Federal regulators continue to evaluate how the sale of Midwest Airlines to Northwest Airlines and a private equity partner will affect travelers. Jan 7, 2008

Northwest Airlines WorldVacations is providing added value on bookings made by March 9 for the luxury, five-star LeBlanc Spa Resort in Cancun. Bonus amenities include roundtrip limousine airport transfers and complimentary use of the spa's hydrotherapy area. Part of NWA WorldVacations' luxury Lifestyle Collection, LeBlanc Spa Resort is an adults-only, all-suite property. The bonus deal is good on travel through July 26. Visit www.worldagentdirect.com Jan 10, 2008

Northwest will open new baggage-sorting facility. Northwest Airlines plans to open a new baggage-sorting facility in October at the Detroit airport's McNamara Terminal. The airline plans to spend millions of dollars on improvements this year. Jan 10, 2008

Pinnacle Airlines announced the purchase of its Class A Preferred Share from Northwest Airlines for $20 million. "This is the last step in the process of becoming independent that began with our IPO in 2003, and well positions us to take advantage of future opportunities," President and CEO Phil Trenary said. "We remain firmly committed to Northwest Airlines, our largest customer." Jan 8, 2008

Pinnacle Airlines said that because of union intransigence, Pinnacle lost the chance to fly larger regional jets for Northwest, while another potential customer decided to drop the airline from consideration for new business. Pinnacle Airlines said it believed Pinnacle pilots would have accepted the company's proposal if it had been presented to all pilots. Erickson disagreed, saying the offers were not acceptable to the ALPA negotiating committee and they were not obligated to present them to the rank and file. Jan 9, 2008

Pinnacle filed suit in US District Court against the Air Line Pilots Assn. charging the union that represents the carrier's pilots with "bad faith bargaining" in contract talks that date back to 2005. Pinnacle operates as a Northwest Airlink and Delta Connection carrier. Pinnacle pilots have been in negotiations with management since their current contract became amendable in May 2005. The company said ALPA'S failure to reach an agreement with Pinnacle resulted in the loss of 17 of its 50-seat jets and a chance to fly 76-seat jets for Northwest Airlines. An ALPA spokesperson said that the suit was "unprecedented," adding, "The lawyer who will handle the case can't remember when we were sued for failing to bargain in good faith." Jan 9, 2008

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