Company wiill also eliminate2,500 jobs

Following up on an earlier announcement that it will reduce system capacity by 8.5 to 9.5 percent this fall, Northwest Airlines said it will also eliminate 2,500 management and front-line jobs as a result of the flight cutbacks. The airline also unveiled plans to impose two new passenger fees and to increase another. First, Northwest said it will follow the lead of American, United and US Airways in charging passengers $15 for their first checked bag. The new fee takes effect for tickets sold on or after July 10, for travel starting August 28. Northwest already charges $25 for a passenger’s second checked bag, and $100 for a third. “Frequent flyer elites are exempt from the policy, along with full-fare coach passengers,” a spokesman said. Second, Northwest will begin assessing fees for booking WorldPerks award travel, effective for tickets issued on or after September 15. A domestic award ticket will incur a $25 fee; the charge will be $50 for a transatlantic ticket and $100 for transpacific. “This is a temporary service fee to partially offset our fuel costs,” said CEO Doug Steenland. “As fuel comes down, we will revisit this decision.” (Delta recently introduced award travel fees of $25 for domestic tickets and $50 for international.) Finally, Northwest said it is boosting its fee for changing a nonrefundable domestic ticket from $100 to $150, in line with competitors’ policies. That change took effect July 9. Fees for changing international tickets will go up by $50 to $150, based on class of service and other restrictions. Northwest said the three fee changes should produce an annual revenue boost of $250 million to $300 million.