Oh, Those Poor Northwest Pilots....

In July, as in June, at the end of the month, hundreds of flights were canceled because, according to Northwest's pilots, there were not enough pilots to fly the planned routes for the airlines. This, apparently, resulting from recent layoffs and furloughs of said pilots. So, nearing the end of the two recent months, in a non-strike strike move, the remaining pilots called in "sick" and were unable to fly the remaining flights (for which thousands of tickets had been sold, undoubtedly).

Yes, there's a labor contract at play here. Of course, nothing says 'market manipulation' like a union deal. The irony is, the Pilots ratified the contract last year that they're - ahem - calling in sick about, conveniently, at the end of the month for, this year.

Northwest ended a 20-month bankruptcy in May, and used its Chapter 11 reorganization to cut labor costs by $1.4 billion annually. In May 2006, the nearly 5,000 pilots ratified a contract that saved the airline $358 million a year and averted a possible strike. That contract cut the pilots' pay by 23.9 percent, but raised from 80 to 90 the maximum number of hours per month that pilots could be required to fly. (The FAA allows them to fly up to 100 hours a month, any flying that exceeds the maximum is "voluntary", yet is paid at a 150% rate).

So, when pilots are hitting their 90-hour mark, they're calling in sick.

Boo - Friggin - Hoo. 90 Hours? In 3 weeks??? Some people work that in a week and are glad that they've been able to get work done in a week under the triple-digit mark. In a Week! These pilots are relatedly working part-time - the equivalent of 30 hours a week. How can they afford to do that?

Looks like I need to take flying lessons. No wonder they're called NorthWORST. They've earned it!