Saying Thank You

On May 31st we will be having a special day to thank our employees! Food will be served to all NWA employees throughout the system. Here in DTW, we will be setting up several locations where management will be serving and thanking you for your commitment and support during a very difficult time in our history. There is no question, without your support we would not be able to make this airline a great company with a strong future. We will be sending out more information soon, but the plan is being set up for 3 locations in the terminal, one in cargo and one at the hangar facility. Chicken, ribs and a veggie meal will be served with the traditional picnic style salads. I look forward to serving you and saying "thank you".

Speaking about saying thanks, I would like to thank all of you who have participated in the Habitat for Humanity build. I was over at the house this week and those who worked there before me have done a great job building the structure. Several of your fellow employees and I hung the doors and windows. It was a lot of work and I have great respect for construction workers. We have two days left to participate with the Habitat House, this Saturday and next Wednesday. It is a great experience!

Well, we have a very busy weekend ahead of us with full flights. The Employee Support Center is working on staffing up to ensure the staffing levels are successful. Good luck and have a great and safe Memorial Day weekend.

P.S. Watch your mailbox for a letter from Doug Steenland that everyone is receiving this week. It will contain information about "A New Day at NWA Appreciation Travel Program."

Thank you,
Mark Gurney
Vice President
DTW WorldGateway

Luggage Movement

Hi everyone,

I am sure by now you have heard that in mid June our ESE's in DTW and MSP will be taking over all luggage movement. This will include all transfer and local delivery of luggage. In DTW, we will be adding aprox 115 ESE postions, which includes additional full time Lead positions.

There is a lot of work that still needs to be completed on finalizing the process and details. Mike Giuntini, Director of Luggage, will be heading up a working team of Leads and ESEs to build the process and shift bids. Your IAM leaders will also be working with Mike and team to ensure we have the best process to allow us to be productive.

Much more information will follow, but congratulations to the IAM group and I look forward to this being a very successful transition.

Thank you,
Mark

Spring Brings Operational Improvement

Spring is in the air and we are finally starting to see improvement in our core operating numbers. April's arrivals were 47% within 0 and our on time departure rate was 51.8%. Station on time was 75% which was the best year to date. So far this month, our departures on time is 60%, which is the best by far year to date. So goes on time, so goes luggage and the first 3 months were not our best due to weather and a low arrival rate. Looks like April will close out around 8.8 which is the best luggage month we have seen in awhile.

When an airline hub runs on time, customers get the benefit of having the needed time to make their connections with their luggage. We are starting to see the misconnection rates drop, which is real good for our customers and those of you who work luggage reroute and our customer service recovery area. Our hub is very dependant on connecting customers, so being reliable is a must for our success. On time - with luggage and good customer service will continue to make our DTW WorldGateway the hub of choice.

Thanks for working hard and keeping the faith through a difficult winter, you did a great job dealing with some tough operating days.

On a side note, I have been getting several emails and comments about our Employee Support Center. Andy Zarras, Joe Conlon and Hussein Berry are meeting with your Shop Committees on the issues. We have a list, based on your feedback, and will work the list until all issues are resolved. We truly want a team and a process that is user friendly and I know everyone is committed to this goal.

Thank you,
Mark