Northwest Airlines is hitting crunch time in their pilot and flight attendant contract negotiations. On Friday the bankruptcy judge will have the discretion to void the contract between these labor groups. Progress has been made on many fronts with the pilots so it will be an interesting period.

Chief Executive Doug Steenland told the Star Tribune for a story published Thursday that the deal “addresses the pilots’ concerns over jobs, outsourcing and making sure that the replacement aircraft for the DC-9 gets flown (by Northwest pilots), and that represents significant progress.”The “lions share” of job-protection issues have been resolved, including saving pilot jobs in the event of a merger, the sale of part of Northwest’s business or code-sharing arrangements with other airlines, he said.

Northwest and the Air Line Pilots Association have been negotiating since early January and the pilots are taking a strike authorization vote that concludes Tuesday.If the pilots and flight attendants fail to reach agreements with Northwest by Friday, a bankruptcy judge could void their existing labor contracts and allow the airline to impose new pay rates and work rules. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper also could give the parties a second extension to conclude their talks. via the AP Wire.