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 (AP) - Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines asked
a bankruptcy judge on Monday to reconsider pay cuts in light of the
carrier's improving fortunes.

      After flight attendants refused to ratify an agreement, U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper allowed Northwest to cut flight
attendant pay and change their work rules to save $195 million a
year beginning July 31. 

Gropper had found that Northwest needed the
concessions from flight attendants and other workers if it was to
make money.

      With those cuts in place, Northwest indeed made money during
2006, sort of. It reported a $301 million pretax profit if
bankruptcy expenses are excluded. Including bankruptcy expenses it
lost $2.84 billion for the year.

      In a bankruptcy court motion filed Monday, flight attendants
argued that Northwest's business plan, drafted in late 2005, proved
overly pessimistic. It said Northwest was on track to achieve a 6.5
percent pretax profit margin in 2007, instead of 2010 as its
earlier plan expected. 

Falling oil prices and higher ticket prices
have helped Northwest and other airlines over the past year.

      Flight attendants also argued that worker concessions were based
on the idea that creditors would lose money, too. But with
bankruptcy claims trading for 86 cents on the dollar, creditor pain
will be minimal, the flight attendants argued.

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Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines asked
a bankruptcy judge on Monday to reconsider pay cuts in light of the
carrier's improving fortunes.


Northwest flight attendants want out of pay cuts

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