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Northwest fights fed order
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September 10, 1998: 3:39 p.m. ET
Airline files motion to stay DOT injunction; strike talks continue
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Northwest Airlines Corp. said Thursday that it has asked a federal appeals court to stay a government injunction that would force Northwest to provide support services so its regional airline affiliates can resume service during the current pilot strike.
On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court against Northwest and Mesaba Holdings Inc. -- the larger of Northwest's two Northwest Airlink commuter jet partners -- and asked for an injunction to make the airline reinstate flights to 13 small communities that have been completely without air service since Aug. 31.
Specifically, the government wants Northwest to provide the necessary support to its Mesaba Airlines and Express Airlines I affiliates so they can resume operations.
Northwest said in a statement that the Department of Transportation did not provide it with adequate notice that an order affecting the airline was under consideration.
Northwest also maintained that the government's interpretation of the statute it relied upon for seeking an injunction was invalid.
"In the order that it entered without hearing from Northwest, the Department assumed that Northwest was still sharing its carrier designator code with its commuter affiliates trading as Northwest Airlink," Northwest said in its filing. "That assumption is false and is critical because the statute under which DOT claims authority… applies only if the code 'is being used' by a carrier other than Northwest under an 'agreement' between carriers."
Strike talks continue
Meanwhile, representatives for Northwest and its pilots union made continued negotiations with a federal mediator Thursday in an attempt to end the 12-day strike that has grounded the airline.
A Northwest spokeswoman said while talks are continuing, reports published earlier Thursday indicating the two sides are close to an agreement "make things look more imminent than they really are."
Northwest said the strike is costing the company $26 million a day. Analysts had previously estimated the impact in the $10 million to $15 million range.
Northwest's 6,200 pilots walked off the job Aug. 29. The two sides are at odds over pay raises and benefits. The pilots say they gave up industry-leading concessions in 1993 to help the airline avert a bankruptcy. Now that the carrier's balance sheet is back on track, they say it's time for them to be rewarded with industry-leading pay raises.
Northwest says it is still not financially stable enough to pay its pilots more than its competitors pay.
The No. 4 airline said 30,000 of its 50,000 employees have been put on temporary leave since the strike began.
The airline has canceled its domestic flights through Sunday and inbound flights from Europe and Asia have been canceled through Monday. Northwest has said it could take eight to 10 days to resume all services.
Northwest (NWAC) shares slipped 3/4 to 25-3/4 in late-afternoon trading. 
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