Northwest Airlines back in the red

Northwest Airlines back in the red    Northwest Airlines Corp., parent of Northwest Airlines and its cargo division NW Cargo, on Wednesday reported it moved back into the red in the third quarter, with a net loss of $46 million, when compared to a net profit of $42 million in the same quarter of 2003.
   Both passenger and cargo revenues were up in the latest quarter, but the airline was hit by a 17-percent jump in total operating expenses.
   Cargo revenues rose 7.7 percent in the quarter to $211 million, from $196 million a year ago. Cargo ton-miles were level, at 579 million, compared with 577 million in the third quarter of 2003.
   Cargo revenue per ton-mile, or yield, was up 7.1 percent to 36.45 cents in the latest quarter, from 34.04 cents in the same quarter of last year.