Release #06.NWA9
March 3, 2006

Northwest Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement with Management

NEW YORK, NY -- Northwest pilots, as represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), reached a tentative agreement (TA) with management today on a new collective bargaining agreement, bringing Northwest Airlines one step closer to emerging from bankruptcy.

The following is a response from Capt. Mark McClain, chairman of the Northwest Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, to the announcement of the tentative agreement:

“After months of intense negotiations, ALPA has reached a tentative agreement with management. Throughout these negotiations our goal has been a consensual agreement. Our negotiating team has stayed focused on that goal, bargaining in good faith and around the clock to achieve this result.

"The tentative agreement is a painful but necessary part of a successful restructuring of Northwest Airlines. If all of us can distance ourselves from these recent labor struggles and focus on ensuring the future success of Northwest we can begin looking forward to our emergence from bankruptcy as a proud and profitable airline."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed as they must first be reviewed and approved by the Northwest pilot union leaders. If approved, the TA will be subject to a ratification vote by the membership.

The TA marks NWA pilots’ most recent effort to help their airline reverse its declining financial condition. In December 2004, Northwest pilots agreed to concessions totaling $265 million a year and, less than a year later, provided an additional $215 million in cost savings for their cash-strapped airline.

Founded in 1931, ALPA represents 62,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 5,000 active NWA pilots and 700 furloughed NWA pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the NWA ALPA website at http://www.nwaalpa.org.

# # #

SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association
CONTACT: Will Holman, (612) 840-7749