NWA improves its reliability

Northwest Airlines angered passengers last summer when it canceled 100 or more flights on some days in late June and late July. The carrier was getting bad publicity and its pilots' union was blaming management for the operational problems.

This summer, Northwest's operations are much different. Apart from dealing with weather and air traffic delays beyond its control, the airline is running smoothly -- on some days completing 100 percent of its scheduled flights.

"We pushed the envelope a little too high last summer," said Tim Rainey, Northwest's senior vice president of flight operations. But he described the carrier's operational performance this year as "one of the best summers" he's seen in his 31 years with the airline.

Reliability is the bedrock of what airlines sell to consumers, so it was crucial for Northwest to get its operations back on track.

But there wasn't a silver-bullet solution. Rather, it took multiple pilot contract changes and a new scheduling approach to get the carrier back on course.

The turnaround began Aug. 1, when Northwest and the pilots' union reached a deal on new work rules, reduced flight hours and overtime pay.

Last summer, pilots had been working longer hours under a contract negotiated in bankruptcy; fatigue problems arose. Northwest canceled flights when it didn't have enough pilots available to fly its full schedule late in the summer months, when pilots were reaching their monthly maximum of flying hours.

The contract changes achieved last summer allowed pilots the flexibility of bidding for flight hours closer to 80 a month, instead of the 88 to 90 hours that the company had been requiring.

Pilots also got a provision that gave them 150 percent of their pay rate for flying more than 80 hours a month. "It put some incentive back in for those who wanted to fly more," Rainey said.

This summer, Northwest's passengers are benefiting from those changes. In June, Northwest completed 98.7 percent of its scheduled flights, up from 94.7 percent a year earlier. By the third week of this month, the airline had successfully operated 99.6 percent of its flights.

"Customers are willing to give Northwest a second chance," said Bill Hochmuth, senior research analyst for Thrivent Investment Management, Minneapolis.

"Memories are fairly short," he said, so instead of worrying about whether operational problems could resurface, many passengers are simply thinking about booking the best fares they can get.

They saw that Northwest took action in August "so they could right the ship to take them into the fall and winter periods," he said.

Andy Roberts, executive vice president of operations, said the airline's mechanics and maintenance management also are contributing to reliable operations.

About 370 jets are in the mainline fleet, and at any given time about 10 or 11 are out of service for repairs. Recently, Roberts said, about half that many planes were out of the flying rotation for repairs. On one July day, only three were idled for repairs.

"It has de-stressed the system considerably," Roberts said.

"It makes everybody's job that much easier."

Rainey said that Northwest also has made changes in how it schedules pilots for East Coast flying, so the carrier is better equipped to absorb delays and cancellations when weather problems surface at busy airports.

While management and the pilot group have worked together to improve flight operations, Roberts said that ground crews have continued to turn in a strong performance on baggage handling.

Among the big six network airlines, Northwest had the smallest percentage of mishandled bags in 2006 and 2007. It also held that distinction in May, the most recent month for which statistics were released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Northwest is performing well despite the fact that union employees are working under concessionary contracts negotiated in bankruptcy. The pending merger with Delta Air Lines also is a potential distraction.

Roberts said that it's essential for all employees to have their "head in the game" to collectively produce good operational results. He said Northwest employees have focused on running an on-time airline, regardless of what is happening that's beyond their control.

"Our employees are cognizant of how big of a challenge it is to run an airline with the [high] price of fuel," he said.

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709