Northwest Tries New Direction

The final step in the post-Sept. 11 restructuring of the U.S. airline industry will occur at the end of this month, when Northwest(NWACQ Quote) emerges from bankruptcy and starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Northwest will become the fourth and last of the six legacy airlines to complete a bankruptcy reorganization that includes a new stock issue. In bankruptcy, it shed $2.2 billion in yearly operating costs, including $1.4 billion in labor costs, with $200 million in additional reductions expected by 2008.

The carrier also reduced debt and lease costs by $4.2 billion annually and cut capacity by about 10%. ...