Northwest, Attendants Agree to Resume Talks

AIRLINES

Northwest Airlines Corp. and its flight attendants will resume talks Wednesday for a new contract after union members rejected an earlier deal, the two sides said.

Northwest and the Professional Flight Attendants Assn. have set a June 30 deadline to reach a deal, and Northwest has agreed temporarily to halt legal moves to impose new terms on the flight attendants.

Northwest, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, is asking the flight attendants for $195 million a year in savings as part of its overall target to reduce labor costs by $1.4 billion annually.

* US Airways Group Inc.’s credit outlook was raised to “stable” from “negative” by Standard & Poor’s because of the airline’s improved financial performance since merging with America West Holdings Corp.