EAGAN, Minn., Aug. 7 — Northwest Airlines, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection, posted a wider second-quarter loss on Monday as its revamping costs mounted. But its executives pointed to promising developments in their plans to cut labor and pension costs.þþAfter paying dividends on preferred stock, losses totaled $285 million, or $3.27 a share, for the three months that ended June 30, compared with $234 million, or $2.69 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Excluding the cost of revamping and other one-time items, Northwest said it earned $179 million, in contrast to a loss of $288 million last year.þþRevenue edged higher, to $3.29 billion, from $3.2 billion in the same period a year ago. Operating expenses fell 12 percent, to $3 billion.þþThe airline industry has been suffering from the effects of higher fuel costs. Northwest said its fuel averaged $2.10 a gallon, excluding taxes, up 28 percent from a year ago. The company offset higher fuel prices by cutting capacity, reducing the number of gallons consumed by 12 percent.þþDouglas M. Steenland, Northwest’s chief executive, noted that Congress last week passed a bill that would give the airline 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 unionized workers without such a deal.þþOn Aug. 1, the airline imposed concessions on its flight attendants after they rejected a negotiated tentative agreement.þþThe flight attendants have announced plans for limited, random strikes starting Aug. 15 if Northwest does not back down from the terms it imposed.þþNorthwest has filed a motion with Judge Allan L. Gropper of Federal Bankruptcy Court in New York asking him to prohibit the flight attendants from striking. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday.þþ
Source: NY Times
