Cutting off your nose to spite your face

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association has threatened a strike at Northwest Airlines if the airline fails to deliver a suitable contract. Northwest has demanded some concessions from the union in order to keep itself out of bankruptcy. As of the time that I write this, the union and the airline are still in negotiations, but there is a possibility that the mechanics will walk off the job. If they do so, it is likely that Northwest will find itself in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which could lead to the loss of Northwest's dominant position in the midwest. But worse, Northwest could find itself in the same position as Eastern Airlines, where a union managed to cause a carrier to go out of business, taking everyone's jobs with it.

Northwest is bleeding cash at the rate of about $4 million per day, which is pretty obvious to its frequent passengers, such as your truly. Northwest has been trying to add new revenue streams and cut costs left and right. In coach class, Northwest wants to charge you outrageous amounts for that little snack mix bag. You now get to sit and listen to the flight attendant make a sales pitch for Sky Mall at the beginning of the flight. And everything points to a carrier desperately trying to hold on. So it is natural that they would want to get some concessions from its unions to stay afloat.

A strike could have some interesting potential. It could allow the discount carriers, such as Independence Air and Southwest Airlines to increase their presence in Detroit without getting flattened by Northwest. It might even make Northwest realize that gouging your best customers (ie. business travelers) is not a pricing model that businesses appreciate. If one of the discount carriers started regular service between Detroit and Reagan National, I would be happy to switch to them despite my "elite" status with Northwest.

On the other hand, a strike by the mechanics could cause significant problems for all of the other Northwest employees. There are lots of people who work very hard for Northwest, and who work under very challenging conditions. (Try being a flight attendant dealing with obnoxious first class passengers). It would be sad if they lost their jobs because the mechanics union hasn't figured out that the glory days of large airlines are over. The discount airlines are the way of the future, and the big carriers must adapt or perish.