By Jesse Russell

On the wings of rampant absenteeism at Northwest Airlines, pilots have approved a new contract that calls for overtime and a $1000 bonus for perfect attendance through September 3. If pilots fly more than 80 hours a month they will receive overtime pay of 50 percent. A concessionary contract approved when Northwest was under bankruptcy protection called for a monthly limit of 90 flight hours a month instead of the previous 80 hours per month. Throughout June and July the airline suffered an unusual number of missed shifts by pilots. The Airline Pilots Association attributed the increase in missed shifts to fatigue resulting from the change in flight hours. The airline plans to hire as many as 350 pilots in coming months to help relieve the burden.