Airline's Scheduling Setback Descends Into Mudslinging Crisis

Acrimony between Northwest Airlines pilots and management may be to blame for hundreds of canceled flights in recent days, but analysts say the airline needs to resolve the situation quickly to avoid further damage to its reputation, the AP reports. Northwest, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 31, is citing a higher-than-normal rate of absentee calls as one of the key factors for recent flight delays.

The airline disclosed Tuesday that it canceled 10.7 percent of it flights from Friday to Monday. Northwest had previously chalked up its pilot-crew shortage to air traffic control restrictions and severe weather earlier this month that caused increased pilot duty time and left planes and pilots out of position for flights. Northwest's statement Tuesday acknowledged that a "higher than normal level of pilot absenteeism" contributed to the cancellations.

The website FlightStats.com, which tracks aviation data, said Northwest had canceled 829 flights between Friday and Tuesday. It said the airline had canceled more than 100 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the AP.

The airline emerged from bankruptcy last month with renewed pledges to improve customer service. Wade Blaufuss, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association union, said Wednesday any uptick in pilots calling in sick was not part of an organized sick-out. He said Northwest slashed pilots' wages by 40 percent while increasing their flying times to as much as 90 hours per month. The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits pilots from flying more than 100 hours per month.

That has pilots stressed out, he said. "It's not a safe situation to have tired, fatigued flight crews," Blaufuss said. "It looks great on paper to have costs cut to the bone, but there are all these things like morale and fatigue that don't show up on a balance sheet."

The airline has said it will use measures like profit-sharing to try to improve employee morale, but the pay of chief executive Doug Steenland, who was due to get $26.6 million in equity, continues to be a sore spot for some employees.

Mike Miller, an aviation analyst with The Velocity Group consulting firm, said competition in the industry, especially for lucrative business and international flights, means Northwest cannot afford to wait to resolve the situation. "Northwest is not a startup airline," he told the AP. "They need to be handling this before it gets to be part of their reputation. If they were a startup, people may give them enough leeway. But this is pretty basic stuff, staffing enough people to run an airline."