Northwest Airlines

Benedict GomboczNorthwest Airlines

BackgroundMajor United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines Inc. via a merger.The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the biggest airline in the world.Northwest continued operating under its own name until the incorporation of the airlines was finished on January 31, 2010.

Delta and Northwest tails

HistoryWas headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, its main hub.Became a dominant airline in the trans-Pacific market after World War II with a hub in Tokyo, Japan (originally Haneda Airport, later Narita International Airport).Also established major hubs at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Memphis International Airport in 1986 after it bought Republic Airlines.Began a strategic alliance with KLM and a jointly-coordinated European hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1993.Detroit and Minneapolis operations were kept as Delta hubs, even though the Memphis operation has been lessened from over 300 to less than 100 flights per day; the non-stop service to Amsterdam has ceased.

KLM-Northwest alliance

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 in hybrid KLM/Northwest livery

History (continued)Was the worlds sixth biggest airline with respect to domestic and international schedule passenger miles flown before it merged with Delta, and the sixth largest U.S. airline with respect to domestic passenger miles flown. Apart from operating one of the biggest domestic route networks in the United States, Northwest carried more passengers across the Pacific Ocean (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier; also carried more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline.

Other Northwest cargo carriers

Regional flightsNWAs regional flights were operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, and Compass Airlines.NWA was a minority owner of Midwest Airlines; had a 40% stake in that company. Its company slogan was Now Youre Flying Smart.Its frequent flyer program was WorldPerks.

Mesaba Airlines (operated under Northwest Jet Airlink)

List of Northwest hubs Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (1926-2010)Haneda Airport (1947-1978)Narita International Airport (1978-2010)Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (1986-2010)Memphis International Airport (1986-2010)Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (1993-2010)Anchorage International Airport (1991-2009)

Northwest A330, Tokyo Narita International Airport

Northwest McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Northwest A320, Newark Liberty International Airport

Northwest McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, Boston Logan International Airport

Northwest 757, Dsseldorf Airport

Codeshare AgreementsAs of March 2009, Northwest Airlines had codeshare agreements with:Air FranceAlaska AirlinesAlitaliaAmerican Eagle (only California Routes)China AirlinesChina Southern AirlinesContinental Airlines (suspended after Continental left SkyTeam in favor of Star Alliance)Czech AirlinesDelta Air LinesGulfstream International AirlinesHawaiian Airlines (only Inter-Island Routes)Horizon AirJapan AirlinesKenya AirwaysKLMKLM CityhopperKorean AirMalv Hungarian Airlines (only Amsterdam-Budapest)Midwest AirlinesPinnacle Airlines

WorldClub locationsThe following airports had Northwest Airlines WorldClub locations:BostonChicago OHareDetroit (4)HonoluluLondon (Heathrow) SkyTeam LoungeLos AngelesManilaMilwaukeeMinneapolis-St. PaulNewarkNew York (LaGuardia)Portland, ORSan FranciscoSeattle/TacomaTokyo (Narita) (2)Washington (Dulles)Washington (Reagan)

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Then and Now

The red tails legacy will never be forgotten

YouTube linksTributes:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvgXi9CqJy0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wglzwGlCtAk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvkGHuniXJYNorthwest Airlines at Newark Airport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCoxumbgDHU