The union for Northwest Airlines flight attendants believes it may be close to a deal on a new contract with the bankrupt carrier.

Meanwhile, unions for the carrier's pilots and ground workers are preparing to strike should they not seal deals with Northwest.

The flight attendants union is offering Northwest the $195 million in annual savings the airline wants, union spokeswoman Karen Schultz said.

"We expected we would have an agreement immediately,'' she said. "We did not get it. But we hope it will be forthcoming. … We have given them the dollars they wanted."

Eagan-based Northwest would not confirm Schultz's account. The airline only said it's continuing to talk with the flight attendants and pilots in the hope of reaching negotiated settlements. If it doesn't, Northwest hopes the judge overseeing its bankruptcy reorganization will allow it to overturn existing contracts.

Schultz would not provide specifics about pay cuts and jobs losses under the union's proposal to Northwest. But she said pay cuts would be north of the 17.5 percent the airline has been seeking.

"They will be higher than what the company has put out there, the pay cuts,'' she said. "It will be painful."