Northwest Airlines Corp

Northwest Speeds Jet Deliveries: The airline said a new agreement calls for speeded-up acquisition of 15 Boeing jetliners. Northwest Airlines Corp. will take delivery of 15 Boeing 757s this year and next that had been scheduled for delivery in 1997-98. Delivery of 25 Boeing 757s that had been scheduled for 1998 through 2000 will be delayed until after 2000. The agreement allows Northwest to defer as much as $2.4 billion in capital expenditures.

Delta Air Lines Inc. is considering a proposal from Northwest Airlines Corp. to push ahead on a merger even without a labor agreement between their pilot unions, people familiar with the matter said Friday. The new approach may include a smaller pay package for pilots, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks were private. The carriers must reassess how their tie-up would work as soaring jet-fuel costs and lower demand have wiped out projected profits, the people said.

Northwest Airlines Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. airline, said it will link some flights in California with AMR Corp.'s American Eagle commuter carrier to make up for lost service in the state. Starting March 18, Northwest will sell tickets for American Eagle flights from Los Angeles to seven smaller cities: Bakersfield, Fresno, Monterey, Palm Springs, San Diego, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Northwest's previous commuter partner, Trans States Airlines Inc.

Pilots for Delta and Northwest were still negotiating the terms of a labor contract late Wednesday, delaying plans to sign a deal that would create the world's largest airline. Directors for Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, and No. 5 Northwest Airlines Corp. had been expected to vote Wednesday on a combination if a pilot deal had been reached. But a spokesman for Northwest's chapter of the Air Line Pilots Assn.

Northwest Airlines Corp. started a sale on leisure travel even as it and other major U.S. carriers stuck with a 3% business-fare increase begun last week, as the airlines try to boost both average prices and ticket demand. In cutting leisure fares as much as 35%, Northwest was followed by UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. U.S. carriers also are looking to counteract jet-fuel prices that are nearly twice as high as those of a year ago.

Northwest Airlines Corp. said labor actions and continued weakness in the Asian economies could cause second-quarter earnings to be significantly below year-ago levels. The St. Paul, Minn.-based company also noted it had some flights delayed or canceled during the quarter as mechanics seeking a contract engaged in a slowdown. Severe weather damaged and grounded more than two dozen aircraft for several days during the quarter. In the 1997 second quarter, the airline reported earnings of $136.

* Northwest Airlines Corp. and its pilots union reached tentative agreement on a contract that would cut pay and benefits, saving the company $265 million a year. * * Northrop Grumman Corp. said it planned to bid on a $7-billion U.S. contract to supply AIDS drugs to patients in developing countries.

* Northwest Airlines Corp. lost a U.S. Supreme Court bid to stop a class-action lawsuit by a flight attendant who says the airline created an unhealthy work environment by permitting smoking on flights between U.S. and Asian cities. The justices let stand an opinion by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals permitting the lawsuit to proceed.

Northwest Airlines Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said its third-quarter loss widened to $469 million as fuel costs jumped. The net loss was $5.45 a share, compared with $38 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier, the Eagan, Minn.-based company said. Sales rose 11% to $3.38 billion. Fuel expenses, which contributed to the airline's bankruptcy filing, climbed 48%.

Northwest and JetBlue lost less money in the fourth quarter than expected, even in the face of high fuel prices, and JetBlue shares jumped more than 20% on the possibility of a passenger-sharing deal with Lufthansa. It would have been a break-even quarter for Northwest Airlines Corp. if not for a loss on its stake in Pinnacle Airlines. Discounter JetBlue Airways Corp.

The wave of airline Bankruptcy Court filings that followed 9/11 ends today when Northwest Airlines Corp. wraps up its reorganization. Northwest will exit Chapter 11 a little smaller, a lot more efficient and with some of the lowest costs among the major carriers. It has slashed debt by $4.2 billion, cut $400 million a year in the cost of its fleet and trimmed unprofitable routes. It also cut labor costs by $1.

Northwest Airlines Corp. and its flight attendants union, which have broken off contract talks, are set to meet today with the judge who urged them to negotiate when he blocked a strike last week. The meeting with U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York will gauge whether more talks are possible, said David Borer, general counsel of the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA. The Eagan, Minn.-based airline "remains available to resume discussions," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said.

The Justice Department and more than 20 airlines asked a judge Wednesday to block a flight attendants' strike at Northwest Airlines Corp., saying a work stoppage would disrupt transportation and hurt the economy. The companies and the government filed court papers backing Northwest's appeal of Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper's refusal to stop a strike. A walkout could cause the company's liquidation and the loss of 34,000 jobs, Northwest has said.

Northwest Airlines Corp. is apologizing to workers offended by company suggestions on how to save money that included buying jewelry at pawnshops, getting auto parts at junkyards and taking shorter showers. The list, titled "101 Ways to Save Money," was part of a booklet for employees being laid off as Northwest reorganizes under bankruptcy protection. The Eagan, Minn.

Northwest Airlines Corp. posted a $1.1-billion first-quarter loss, largely on costs associated with its bankruptcy reorganization. The loss of $12.65 a share widened from a loss of $537 million, or $6.19, a year earlier, the Eagan, Minn.-based airline said. The results included $975 million of restructuring costs. Sales rose 3.3% to $2.89 billion.

* Northwest Airlines Corp. pilots will take a 24% pay cut and forgo raises for at least two years under a tentative contract reached with the carrier last week. * Federated Department Stores Inc. said it was firing 2,299 employees at former May Department Store Co. operations in five U.S. cities. The cuts include 367 at Robinsons-May stores in Los Angeles.

A New York bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved interim agreements between Northwest Airlines Corp. and its pilot and flight attendant unions that included pay cuts of as much as 24%. A hearing to permanently terminate collective bargaining agreements the airline made with its pilot, flight attendant and machinist unions before it filed for bankruptcy protection in September has been postponed until January. Eagan, Minn.