But Soon, Mechanics' Strike May Be The Least Of Its Worries

Northwest Airlines was still flying Monday morning, the third day of a massive mechanics' union strike. But with rising fuel prices and the need for ongoing concessions from the other unions, Northwest's toughest days may still be ahead.

"A bankruptcy filing will be a given if they don't get a concession from other unions," Ray Neidl, airline analyst with Calyon Securities, told CNN. "It's going to be one on one talks with each. It's a good sign these unions aren't supporting the mechanics, but it's by no means certain they'll get what they need."

As ANN reported on Saturday, the AMFA walked out as promised when it couldn't reach a contract agreement with the nation's fourth-biggest airline.  But NWA had been preparing for months. As soon as union mechanics walked off the job, hundreds of replacement mechanics took over. With only a slight reduction in its flight schedule, NWA appeared ready to weather the strike over the long haul. No new talks with unionized mechanics have been scheduled.

A check of several airports served by NWA on Monday showed no significant delays and no flight cancellations -- an indication that the airline's strategy of using non-union mechanics to replace the strikers was working. So far, there was no indication that union flight attendants or flight crew members had joined in the job action.

AMFA union leaders said Sunday they thought Northwest would eventually feel the pain. "As time progresses, it'll get worse and they'll have more equipment on the ground," predicted Steve MacFarlane, the union's assistant national director, in comments shortly before the start of the strike. He was quoted by CNN.

"Then problems will start because the replacement workers they hired aren't as skilled as us," he said. "They won't be able to keep up with the work," said one striking mechanic who asked Reuters not to use his name. "It used to be when I came to work Sunday morning, there would be one plane parked outside one of the maintenance hangars. This morning there were nine planes there."

FMI: www.nwa.com, www.amfanatl.org