The Wall Street Journal reports “Northwest Moves To Reduce Flights, Hire More Pilots“:

The airline began preemptively canceling large numbers — 100 or more a day — of its 1,400 daily mainline flights, or those with big jets, excluding commuter units and affiliates, late last month. From June 22 though Thursday, the carrier said it canceled 12% of its mainline flights. A normal rate would be 1% to 2% for all causes. Passengers fumed, even those who were contacted in advance and rebooked.

This is, in part, due to a pilot union work slowdown, according to the airline and some independent observers. The pilots flatly deny it. Whatever, it’s a pain to travelers.

A few years ago, pilots at United pulled a labor slowdown. They left a permanent bad feeling — furious customers, in particular, not to mention people in other unions who weren’t party to the labor action.

As noted, this is going to be a long, hot summer for those of us stuck flying U.S.-based airlines. The system is undergoing a slow-motion collapse, and nobody who can do anything about it seems to be doing much to deal with it.

In any event, fly Northwest if you have lots of spare time on your hands.