Northwest bankruptcy exit OKd

After 20 months of a wrenching reorganization, Northwest Airlines got approval on Friday to emerge from bankruptcy protection into an industry besieged by higher fuel costs and crowded with competitors.

Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp. announced it would exit bankruptcy on May 31, after Judge Allan Gropper approved its reorganization plan Friday. Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline, also plans to announce any post-bankruptcy marketing plans when it emerges.

Chief Executive Douglas Steenland said the company had reached all its bankruptcy goals, which included cutting annual operating costs by $2.4 billion, reducing debt and lease expenses by $4.2 billion a year and shrinking the overall size of its business.

By its latest count, the company employs 30,787 full-time workers, down from 33,755 in September 2005 when it filed for bankruptcy. Its remaining flight attendants, pilots and other workers took pay cuts to help the company achieve its goals, and Steenland thanked them in a statement for their sacrifices.

Nearly 97 percent of creditors eligible to vote on the reorganization plan approved it.

Once the company emerges from court protection, its shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NWA.

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