NWA strike: Customers are stuck absorbing strike's impact

[TomClash]

Customers are stuck absorbing strike's impact
Joy Powell, Star Tribune
August 24, 2005

Inconvenienced travelers complained about delays, flight attendants raised concerns about air safety, and Northwest Airlines on Tuesday blamed a high rate of delays and cancellations on a slowdown by mechanics before they walked off the job last Friday night.

Northwest attributed the disruptions to the mechanics union staging a work "slowdown" in the days leading up to the strike deadline last Friday night. The airline said it was left with an unusually high number of aircraft out of service and many minor equipment "write-ups" that threw a wrench in its flight schedules.

"For example, on Friday, August 19, Northwest was only able to complete 91 percent of its flight schedule," the Eagan-based airline said in a statement Tuesday. On Monday, that number had risen to 96.9, and the company said it was making progress in reducing "slowdown-related issues."

The airline also said it expects to complete 96 percent of its flights during the first week of the strike. That means that up to 400 flights could be canceled, or about triple the number during the same period a year ago.


http://startribune.com/stories/1778/5575749.html

[bemildred]

1. This whole deal with jets flying people around needs to be scaled back. nt

[reprobate]

3. It will be. Count on it. The era of cheap ailine seats is about over.

With oil climbing like an F-16, you can be the cost of seats will climb with it. It won't be long before airlines start demanding reregulation as the only way they can stay in business.

Airline travel will once again be limited mostly to business travel, like it was before deregulation. Of course that will have a big slowing effect on the economy. Just another thing to thank Mad George for.

[pitohui]

7. you funny

pax load is highest of all time

i just got a huge mailer this morning offering me a huge menu of sale-priced flights

plenty of deals out there

& a lot more coming after labor day

[reprobate]

9. You talk of the present. I speak of the future. Not tomorrow. But soon.

A sense of the perspective of time is necessary to live successfully in the real world.

[merwin]

2. In this case, I wouldn't mind my flight being canceled.

Northwest Airlines is an asshole company that deserves some profit losses for trying to pull this shit.

[pitohui]

6. our flight was cxl, we were easily re-accommodated

love em or hate em, the truth is nwa did a great job immediately re-booking us on a flight that actually departed a tad early & arrived if anything a few moments ahead of time

i'm impressed

you can go to the airport & find aggrieved pax every day of the week but i think nwa is doing a good job of getting ppl where they need to be

[Bluebear]

10. With scab labor. nt

[1932]

4. I noticed that the Brit. Airways strike news coverage always showed cust-

omers.

The angle wasn't that low wages inconveniences workers, but that strikes inconvenience passengers.

They showed a lot of passengers crying!

To paraphrase Tom Hanks's character in that women's baseball league movie: there's no crying in air travel! There is NO crying in AIR TRAVEL!

But, hey, if it helps you convince the public that the strikers are bad people ruining lives...

[wli]

5. sounds like the usual union-busting tactics n/t

[1932]

8. Dream Headline: Workers left absorbing misery caused by greed of CEOs

who protect their million dollar a year pensions.

[NYC]

11. Perfect headline.