Excluding the cost of restructuring and other one-time items, Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline, said it earned $179 million versus a loss of $288 million last year.
Northwest president and CEO Doug Steenland noted that earlier this month Congress passed a bill long sought by the airline which will give it more time to pay off a debt to its defined pension plans. The airline also imposed a wage-cutting contract on its flight attendants, the last union without such a deal.
"Notwithstanding these accomplishments, we still have work ahead of us to ensure that the airline is positioned for long-term success," he said.
"With the August 1 implementation of permanent labor cost reductions with all of our contract employees, we have realized $1.4 billion of the $2.6 billion in annual business improvements that we have targeted to achieve through the restructuring process," Steenland said.
The flight attendants have announced plans for limited, random strikes starting Aug. 15 if Northwest doesn't back down from the terms it imposed.
Northwest has filed a motion with bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in New York asking him to prohibit the flight attendants from striking. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday.
WCCO-TV Minneapolis- St. Paul
I'm glad to see that Doug Steenland believes that cutting a person's salary and way of earning a living for their family is an accomplishment.
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