I think people are not fully understanding what is happening here. Skycaps at the hubs are indeed NW employees. They're eliminating CSA positions and creating Skycap positions. All NW employees, especially CSAs that are probably being affected can bid into those positions. That means you'll still ge thte same knowlegable staff, doing exactly what they were doing before. The only thing is that their job title has changed and they've taken a HUGE paycut. The CSAs that have high enough seniority and aren't being affected by the layoffs will still be there at the counter and at the gates doing exactly what they've been doing. This seems to be tied into the total redesign of the ticket lobbies in MEM, DTW and MSP.

What NW is doing is getting concessions from their agents, without negotiating them. I believe the Skycap position is also within the same union and without section 6 negotiations occuring and the unions unwillingness to open early or open concessionary talks, this is the route NW has chosen to take.

I think it's rather ruthless and definitely a bit on the evil side... But I don't forsee any real changes other than perhaps more personalized e-ticket machine experience. They're not totally doing away with agents, so let's not jump to conclusions. IF you want an agent, you can still visit one at hte coutners.

Perhaps Vegas agent can shed some light, but my above comments are how interpret these moves.


AZJ