Northwest Air Pilots Ratify Labor Contract

Pilots for Northwest Airlines Corp. ratified a labor contract that saves the carrier, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, $358 million a year and averts a possible pilots strike.

The Air Line Pilots Assn. said 63% of the pilots approved the 5 1/2 -year contract; 4,554 of 4,801 eligible pilots voted. Ratification removes the pilots from a request by Northwest in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to void the current labor deals of union groups that have not granted concessions the airline says it needs to survive.