For years, Northwest Airlines employees have been able to fly for free or at steep discounts when they can nab unsold seats. Starting July 1, they'll have to pay an annual fee of $50 per person to participate in the carrier's "pass-travel" program.
Under the program, current and retired employees and eligible family members can fly at no charge or at low cost, as long as a plane has empty seats as of departure time and there are no paying customers, including those on standby, looking to take them.
The annual pass-travel fee will be capped at $200 per family.
Northwest said that the annual fees will partially offset some of the cost of providing nonrevenue travel. At the end of last year, Northwest had about 38,000 employees. If it gets, say, $150 from each of them for the pass-travel program, that would bring in $5.7 million a year.
The airline says that service charges paid by Northwest's employees and parents traveling nonrevenue haven't been adjusted much over the past 20 years.
Meanwhile, government fees and charges have risen substantially.
