Northwest regional affiliate Pinnacle is suspending flights from Kalamazoo to Minneapolis until May 2nd to give the airline time to hire and train additional pilots. Apparently 20 of their pilots took jobs with larger, mainline carriers and they are trying to find replacements.
Meanwhile, Northwest has also been cleared to begin operations at Compass, its new subsidiary for regional flying. Flights will begin May 2nd with one 50-seat jet for two daily roundtrips between Minneapolis and Washington-Dulles, near Compass headquarters in Chantilly, VA.
Compass will launch additional flights when Northwest takes delivery of the first of 36 Embraer 175 aircraft. They expect to have 10 of the 76-seat aircraft by years end and the full delivery by the end of next year. The airline can fly up to 76-seat aircraft as part of the Northwest pilot’s contract.
And speaking of contracts, the Association of Flight Attendants has requested a review of the decision blocking a strike by workers, even though the airline used bankruptcy court permission to void their contract and impose concessions.