Northwest to transfer Honolulu-based pilots
By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Northwest Airlines will move about 120 pilot jobs out of Honolulu this fall, the airline said yesterday, cutting its base here by about one-third.
The 320 Northwest pilots based in Honolulu operate the company's 747 and DC-10 aircraft on routes in Asia and elsewhere.
A company official said Northwest is trimming the base, one of several that serve Asian routes, because of the retirement of three DC-10 aircraft and continued sluggishness in the Asian and U.S. economies.
"The reason we're shifting the DC-10 pilots is that because of the slumping Mainland and Asian economies, we've had to suspend some routes," said Northwest spokesman Dennis Mollura. "With the current makeup of the schedule and recent suspensions, it no longer is efficient to operate this out of Honolulu."
Only DC-10 pilots will be affected. They have until June 5 to notify the company whether they prefer to move to another base, apply to fly the 747, or exercise some other option, Mollura said.
When the transition is complete, which is scheduled for Oct. 1, Mollura said about 200 Northwest pilots will remain in Honolulu.
Pilot representatives could not be reached for comment.
Northwest announced earlier this month that it would suspend its Seattle-Osaka; Osaka-Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Osaka-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; routes effective September.
Retiring the DC-10s, which were due for expensive maintenance checks, will help the company meet a goal of saving $200 million this year, Mollura said.
The airline, which has about 11 percent of total seats to Hawai'i, will not change the number of flights to the Islands or the aircraft it uses on those routes, Mollura said.
Three years ago, reductions in United Airlines' Hawai'i-Japan schedule pushed it to shift about 300 Honolulu-based flight attendant jobs to United bases on the Mainland.
Michele Kayal can be reached at 525-8024 or mkayal@honoluluadvertiser.com.
