Northwest Airlines Slashing More Flights

Northwest Airlines said Tuesday that it planned to eliminate more planes from its fleet, including Boeing, Airbus and McDonnell Douglas jets, by the end of December, its second cut in capacity this year.

The airline attributed the reductions, the latest by a major airline, to the record price of jet fuel, which has nearly doubled in the last year.

Northwest will ground 14 Boeing 757 and Airbus jets during the final three months of 2008. It also said that only 61 of its aging DC-9 jets would remain in its fleet by the end of December. It had 94 DC-9s at the beginning of 2008, and 103 a year ago.

Over all, Northwest is reducing its domestic and international flying by up to 9.5 percent, the airline said in the regulatory filing. In its previous round of cuts, announced in April, Northwest said it would reduce flying capacity by about 7 percent this year.

Northwest's chief executive, Douglas M. Steenland, said the airline did not plan to eliminate any cities from its schedule.

"We expect to accomplish this with fewer frequencies," Mr. Steenland said in an interview, referring to the number of flights the airline operates to a particular city each day.

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Comments

[noneIn2008]

This is what we need to cut consumption. Cut more flights. Increase the prices.

[einherjar]

Yeah, I'm sure the thousands that are losing thier jobs as a result of all these cut backs at the airlines share your sentiment.

Hopefully you don't fly much because another part of the cost cutting measures at the airlines, one you see very little press about, is the lowering of standards for hiring new pilots.

They used to require 1500 hrs minimum to even consider you for hire. I have heard they have gone as low as 300 on some regional carriers so they can get pilots on the cheap and willing to fly for 20K a year.

All in the name of cutting costs...to maintain/protect the bottom line, nothing more.