=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/01/28/f= inancial0126EST0009.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, January 28, 2003 (AP) Northwest to furlough 60 more pilots, Continental Express begins recalls The Associated Press (01-28) 22:26 PST (AP) -- Northwest Airlines told its pilots union that it plans to furlough 60 additional pilots this spring, while Continental Express said it would recall four dozen pilots in April who were let go last year. The cuts Northwest announced Tuesday bring the total number of pilots on furlough to 693. The Eagan, Minn.-based carrier said 35 pilots will be furloughed in April and 25 pilots in May, according to a message posted late Tuesday on the Air Line Pilots Association hot line. Last week, Northwest, the nation's fourth-largest carrier, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $488 million. Continental Express, a regional carrier for Houston-based Continental Airlines, will recall 48 furloughed pilots in April and will bring others back monthly through next year, company spokesman Jeff Awalt said Tuesday. Continental Express is operated by ExpressJet Airlines, which was spun o= ff in April from Continental, the nation's fifth-largest carrier. The move is expected to trigger the recall of some Continental Airlines pilots who were furloughed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The pilots initially would fly for Continental Express. As the economy improves, the pilots could move back into slots at Continental, Awalt said. John Prater, chairman of the master executive council of the Continental pilots union, said that virtually every pilot for Continental or Continental Express who was furloughed could be in a Continental Express cockpit as soon as the spring of 2004. "It appears that the company's plans are that there will be enough flying to put everybody back to work within the next 12 to 15 months," John Prater, chairman of Continental's pilots union, said in a story in Wednesday's Houston Chronicle. A total of 479 pilots could be recalled, the union said. ExpressJet will take delivery of about 100 new regional jets through 200= 5, prompting the recall, Prater said. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP