Northwest Airlines Corp. gets judge’s approval to exit bankruptcy May 31
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NEW YORK: Northwest Airlines received approval on Friday to emerge from bankruptcy, freeing it to move out of court protection from its creditors and into an industry besieged by higher fuel costs and crowded with competitors. Eagan, Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines Corp., the fifth-largest U.S. airline, announced it would exit bankruptcy on May 31, after Judge Allan Gropper approved its reorganization plan. After 20 months of a wrenching reorganization, Chief Executive Douglas Steenland said the company had reached all its bankruptcy goals, which included cutting annual operating costs by $2.4 billion (€1.78 billion), reducing debt and lease expenses by $4.2 billion (€3.12 billion) a year and shrinking the overall size of its business. By its latest count, the company employs 30,787 full-time workers, down from 33,755 in the quarter when it filed for bankruptcy. Its remaining flight attendants, pilots and other workers took pay cuts to help the company achieve its goals. “I want to thank our employees for their hard work and sacrifices that helped Northwest attain its goal of repositioning the airline for long-term success,” Steenland said in a statement. |