Northwest officials agreed to take a "good, hard look" at proposals by North Dakota cities that encouraged the airline not to cut services as it is planning, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Friday.
Dorgan and city officials from around the state met with Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland and other airline officials in Minneapolis on Friday to discuss the importance of quality airline service and adequate seating capacity for North Dakota airports.
He said he hopes the meeting will be a catalyst that convinces the company to make some minor changes to meet the needs of the Grand Forks and Bismarck airports.
Under the schedule that will begin in October, Grand Forks will have 129 fewer seats available than there were in October 2004.
At Friday's presentation, Grand Forks officials talked about significant difficulties with the proposed schedule, which would bring smaller aircraft and fewer seats to the city, Dorgan said. Bismarck officials offered a similar proposal.
Northwest officials said the rising cost of jet fuel, which currently is climbing higher than the price of oil, is one reason for the scheduling changes, Dorgan said.
Dorgan said he was "encouraged" by the meeting, during which five key members of Northwest's staff were taking notes.
"We don't have a solution for Bismarck and Grand Forks, but we have the attention of the president of the company," Dorgan said.
While Northwest staff did not give timeline for action, they said they would begin looking at the information immediately, Dorgan said.
Fargo officials discussed the growth in Fargo and the importance of commercial service to the city. Northwest officials originally had planned to cut service there, but made adjustments to that schedule last week.
Minot officials offered a similar presentation, Dorgan said. There are no proposed schedule changes or reductions in seats there.
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, a representative from Sen. Kent Conrad's office and Gov. John Hoeven also attended the meeting.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
