Northwest update

Another article in the Strib, this time blaming the situation on absent pilots.

Northwest Airlines continued to struggle with flight cancellations Tuesday, and the carrier for the first time cited a higher-than-normal rate of pilot sick calls as one of the key factors for the disruptions.

Northwest was very careful not to lay blame here, but later in the same article:

Northwest pilots, who said Monday that they had warned management of the potential for a system breakdown, continued Tuesday to say that the airline's executives are to blame.

"If there are more people calling in sick, it's because of a situation that Northwest management created," said Wade Blaufuss, a Northwest pilot and a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

Translation? Quite a bit of mistrust between management and employees. Which never makes for a pretty picture. I hope they get this figured out quickly because it's ordinary travelers that take the brunt of it.
Again: Show up early! That way you get priority over people who try to skate in right on time.