MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Negotiations between Northwest Airlines and its mechanics union continued with little optimism Friday as a midnight strike deadline approached.
''We're still talking. I don't know if we'll reach an agreement, but we're still talking,'' said O.V. Delle-Femine, national director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.
A Northwest spokeswoman wouldn't disclose details of Friday's talks.
Negotiators for the airline and AMFA were meeting in Washington, D.C., as a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday loomed.
The negotiations started the day on a down note. On Thursday, union leaders reviewed the airline's latest proposal and said they doubted the two sides would come together in time to avert a strike.
Meanwhile, Northwest customers on Friday were abuzz with talk of the possible strike.
Mary Lou Fiala was determined to take her two sons on vacation regardless of worries that a strike could leave her without a return flight from Montana to Minneapolis.
''It makes me hesitant, but it's not going to stop me,'' said Fiala, 48, of Stillwater, Minn. ''We need to take a vacation, and we're going to take a vacation.''
Fiala said she wasn't yet looking for tickets on another airline, but other travelers Friday were already planning for the worst, despite NWA's assurances that replacement mechanics will keep the airline flying if there's a strike.
''With any luck, they'll be able to find another (return) flight on another carrier,'' said Doug Campbell, 42, of Minneapolis, who was traveling to his father's 80th birthday celebration in Tucson, Ariz.
Campbell and Fiala both said they would rent cars and drive back if need be.
''It's a long drive from Tucson,'' Campbell said. ''Hopefully, it won't come to that.''
Northwest Airlines Corp.'s latest offer made Thursday represented the airline's ''consistent, extreme position and leaves us with little hope of reaching a deal before (Friday) evening's strike deadline,'' Steve MacFarlane, assistant national director of AFMA, said late Thursday.
In a note to investors, Bear Stearns analyst David Strine wrote Thursday that he believes there's a 55 percent chance Northwest mechanics will strike. Strine also said he believes the airline's strike plan will work.
The airline has said it has arranged for 300 to 350 managers to supervise another 1,100 or so temporary, fully licensed mechanics to take over in case of a strike.
In a strike, Northwest said vendors outside of its Detroit and Minneapolis hubs would permanently take over so-called ''line maintenance,'' which is work that can be done at a gate or overnight.
Strine said Northwest could survive next year if a few things work out in its favor: The airline will either make a deal with mechanics or replace them. Flight attendants would probably make a deal then, too, he wrote. And if Congress grants pension law changes and Northwest can refinance some of its debt, it could halt its cash burn, Strine wrote.
But if Northwest doesn't get pension relief or fails to refinance its debt, he predicted its financial situation would ''deteriorate substantially'' in 2007.
Northwest is seeking $1.1 billion worth of annual labor savings. It wants $176 million from mechanics.
Mechanics made a proposal Wednesday that they said was worth that much. But Northwest rejected it, saying it was really only worth $100 million. Their disputes over previous offers have hinged on whether savings from earlier layoffs were counted.
Also Thursday, the union local that represents 2,700 Northwest ground workers in Detroit said it would not honor the mechanics' picket lines if there's a strike.
Relations between the two unions have been poor. The Machinists used to represent nearly all Northwest ground workers. But in 1998, the mechanics, custodians and cleaners voted to break away and join AMFA.
Shares of Northwest fell 1 cent to $5.47 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had surged 10 percent on Thursday after investor Philip B. Korsant disclosed he had bought a 6 percent stake in the company. The stock had gained 38 percent since Monday.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
