
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 4, 1990                   TAG: 9007040130
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NORTHWEST SAID TO BE SIZING EASTERN BUYOUT

Northwest Airlines is pursuing a possible buyout of Eastern Airlines and is scheduled to hold talks with Eastern union representatives, a union official said Tuesday.

Representatives from the International Association of Machinists met Monday in Washington to discuss the logistics of merging the two work forces, said James Conley, a union spokesman.

But Conley, as well as others familiar with the talks, emphasized that a deal was not imminent.

A purchase of Eastern would fortify Northwest's route system by giving that carrier a strong presence in the Southeast, where it has been weakest. But at the same time Northwest would get an airline that filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago, is losing $1 million a day and is saddled with an aging fleet of planes and turbulent labor relations.

Industry analysts questioned whether Northwest, which only recently digested its acquisition of Republic Airlines, could afford to take on Eastern's labor problems.

Conley said the machinists would return to work if Northwest took over Eastern.

Spokesmen for Northwest and for Eastern declined to comment on the reports. - The New York Times

by CNB