Copied and pasted from the "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel":

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=604434



Editorial: First-class tickets

The unfortunate adventures of an airline that wrung millions from its employees but managed to take care of the guys at the top.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted: May 13, 2007

Doug Steenland led his airline into bankruptcy and is now presiding over its emergence from Chapter 11.

For this heavy lifting, the chief executive of Northwest Airlines will receive $26.6 million worth of shares in the reorganized company. He'll get $20.8 million in restricted shares and stock options valued at $5.8 million. The grants vest over four years, and the amount Steenland actually receives will depend on the eventual price of the company's stock.

The company says its "management incentive equity plan" is absolutely necessary to retain its top talent.

What did the employees get?

It's not so much what they got but what they gave up - $1.4 billion in labor costs through wage and benefit cuts and work rule changes. Flight attendants recently agreed to cut their pay by between $15,000 to $18,000 per flight attendant.

Now all of this may have been necessary for an airline on the rocks. But given that, wouldn't it have made sense for Steenland and Northwest to be, shall we say, just a bit more judicious?

Apparently, the airline's compensation committee has no worries about morale. Its plan also calls for the company's four executive vice presidents to receive between

$10 million and $13.5 million a piece.

Said Northwest: "Retention of its top 400 leaders is critical to Northwest's ability to achieve its business plan over the next five years and compete with other large corporations for top-tier talent."

That's some talent.