Pilots reach pay-cut deal with Northwest Airlines

MINNEAPOLIS — Pilots reached a tentative pay-cut deal with Northwest Airlines Corp. today, a major step toward ending a showdown that put the bankrupt airline's future in doubt.

The Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association announced the agreement but didn't release details.

The deal would still have to be approved by the union's leadership and members. The union said its leaders would meet Friday night to consider the agreement.

Pilots were the last Northwest union without a deal.

Northwest had been seeking to reject its contract with pilots if they didn't agree to pay cuts and changes in work rules. Intense negotiations took place in New York all week. The stakes rose on Wednesday, when a judge could have ruled on Northwest's request but chose to wait to give negotiators more time.

The bankruptcy law would have allowed Northwest to impose its terms even without the judge's ruling, but pilots threatened to strike if that happened. Northwest has said a strike could have killed it.