Northwest Cancels Flights Over Labor Day Weekend

More air travel disruptions are expected for passengers over Labor Day weekend as strike-idled Northwest Airlines on Wednesday canceled all of its flights through Monday. Meanwhile, fears loomed that Canada’s largest air carrier, also grounded by a pilots walkout, would be forced to do the same over summer’s final holiday.

Although Labor Day weekend is not as heavily traveled as other holidays, industry observers still predict problems.

“It’s going to be tight,” said Michael Linenberg, airline analyst for Merrill Lynch Global Securities in New York.

Roughly 4,500 Northwest passengers are booked on flights out of Los Angeles International Airport over the long weekend, and Joe Conlon, Northwest’s local spokesman, said rescheduling difficulties may force many to delay their departure by a day or two.

“There will be some inconveniences for sure, because there is not enough capacity out there this weekend,” Conlon said. “I strongly recommend they contact reservations [agents] and stay away from the airport if possible.”

About 12% of 300,000 Northwest passengers affected by the strike since Friday have not been able to find alternate reservations, airline spokeswoman Marta Laughlin said. Most have asked for refunds. Even so, the firm said that of those passengers who have been rebooked, one in three cannot be placed on another flight the same day.

Meanwhile Wednesday, both sides agreed to meet for “exploratory” talks Saturday at the request of federal mediators. The two sides have not returned to the bargaining table since about 6,200 Northwest pilots walked off the job Friday night after failing to reach a new labor pact. However, the National Mediation Board was careful not to describe the talks as negotiations.

Minneapolis-based Northwest also announced that the strike had forced temporary layoffs of more than half of its nonstriking work force--or 27,500 employees including 1,125 in Los Angeles.

Flight attendants made up most of the LAX layoffs, with 695, but scores of baggage handlers, mechanics and customer service agents also received “temporary no-work” notices, which immediately suspend pay but provide health benefits for at least 30 more days.

More employees, including the remaining Los Angeles crew, could be idled if the strike persists. “You run out of things to do when your airline is not flying,” Laughlin said.

President Clinton has made it clear he won’t intervene to end the strike and, through his Transportation secretary, has urged the two sides to resolve their differences soon. But industry analysts said the strike’s growing impact on the economy, especially in the Midwest, where Northwest is the dominant carrier, could force the president to act.

Meanwhile, Air Canada canceled all flights through Friday, including those to 42 U.S. destinations, after its 21,000-member pilots union went on strike Tuesday night after contract negotiations broke off. It is the leading carrier on flights between the U.S. and Canada, with 45% of the market.

The Montreal-based airline has offered refunds, vouchers for future travel and waiver of change fees on all tickets through Sunday and will extend that daily if the strike persists. The airline has eight daily flights out of LAX, including four to Toronto, two to Vancouver and one each to Calgary and Montreal. It also flies out of San Francisco and San Jose. All together, the airline offers 600 flights daily.

Times correspondent Andrew Van Velzen in Toronto and Times wire services contributed to this report.