It's conceivable they could replace some (Northwest) flying and not violate the contract.

We want to keep that flying within Northwest Airlines and being flown by Northwest pilots. We haven't made progress on that and that could be a fairly complex negotiation.

People are flying, but 33 percent of them are flying from somewhere else. We need to work with Northwest to be more competitive in this market and retain passengers out of this airport.

There are estimates that there are as many as 25 million Americans who have a fear of flying. When we, as an airport, can put an individual in the air, we connect them with the entire world.

We believe there is still some question regarding the need for that particular level of savings and there are many questions about how Northwest values some of the concessions they are demanding from pilots.

Our goal is a consensual agreement, but we're not willing to give management things it wants but does not really need. If management demands remain excessive we may be forced into a situation where we have no choice (but strike). There are limits to what employees will do.