Hello from my natural habitat: In my computer chair in my office in my home. I realized too late that I should have posted something this morning when we were in Pittsburgh for the sheer novelty of having posts up here from three different states in one day.
I also didn't think that typing the phrase "All Northwest flights seem to be running on schedule today…" on my weblog would be bad luck. About three minutes after I posted the previous message, our flight home was delayed an hour…which then turned into two hours.
Several of you have explained in layman's terms what's happening with Northwest Airlines and why they're suddenly on schedule again (for the most part) after a week or two of cancelling flights the way that big bottle of Raid cancels cockroaches. The pilots work under a contract that stipulates a maximum number of hours per month that they can fly. Northwest has cut back and does not have enough pilots, especially when they're exerting a little negotiating pressure by all calling in sick at judicious moments. Ergo, near the end of the month, there aren't enough pilots available and flights must be cancelled. The problem went away when a new month started so the early part of July has been relatively happy. The end of the month may not be as pleasant.
I have stuff to do and stuff to unpack. Good to be home.