Northwest Airlines
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| Founded | 1926 (as Northwest Airways) | ||||||
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| Hubs | Detroit Metro Airport Minn.-St. Paul Int'l Airport Memphis International Airport Narita International Airport Amsterdam Schiphol Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Indianapolis Int'l Airport Honolulu Int'l Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | WorldPerks | ||||||
| Alliance | SkyTeam | ||||||
| Fleet size | 420 | ||||||
| Destinations | 250 | ||||||
| Parent company | Northwest Airlines Corp. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Eagan, Minnesota | ||||||
| Key people | Douglas Steenland (CEO), Neal Cohen (CFO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.nwa.com | ||||||
Northwest Airlines is an airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota in the United States of America. It is the fifth-largest U.S. airline.[1] Northwest has three major hubs in the United States: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and Memphis International Airport. Northwest also operates flights from a hub in Asia at Narita International Airport near Tokyo and also operates transatlantic and Asian flights in cooperation with partner KLM from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
Northwest is the world's fifth largest airline[1] in terms of RPK (revenue-passenger-kilometers). In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U.S., Northwest carries more passengers across the Pacific (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier, and carries more air cargo than any other passenger airline. The airline, along with its parent company and subsidiaries, is currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Northwest Airlines' regional flights are operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines. Its frequent flyer program is called WorldPerks. Northwest Airlines' tagline is "Now you're flying smart."
History
Beginnings
Northwest Airlines was founded in 1926 by Col. Lewis Brittin, under the name Northwest Airways. Like other early airlines, Northwest's focus was not in hauling passengers, but in flying mail for the U.S. Post Office Department.[2] The fledgling airline established a mail route between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Chicago, Illinois, using open cockpit biplanes such as the Curtiss Oriole.
Northwest began flying passengers in 1927. In 1928, the airline started its first international route with service to Winnipeg, Canada. The airline's operations were expanded to smaller cities in the region by the end of the decade. In 1931 Northwest sponsored Charles and Anne Lindbergh on a pioneering flight to Japan, scouting what would become known as the Northwest Airlines Great Circle route, and proving that flying through Alaska could save as much as 2,000 miles on a New York-Tokyo route. In 1933, Northwest was designated to fly the Northern Transcontinental Route from New York City to Seattle, Washington; it adopted the name Northwest Airlines the following year as a result of the Air Mail Scandal. Northwest stock began to be publicly traded in 1941.
During World War II, Northwest joined the war effort by flying military equipment and personnel from the continental United States to Alaska. During this time, Northwest began painting their aircraft tails red, as a visual aid in the often harsh weather conditions. This experience with the severe northern climate led the government to designate Northwest as the United States' main North Pacific carrier following the war.
In the spring of 1947 Northwest began staffing its Tokyo base with company personnel, flying them across the "Northern Route" in twin-engine DC-3 aircraft. On 15 July 1947, Northwest became the first airline to fly a commercial passenger flight from the U.S. to Japan, using The Manila, a Douglas DC-4 aircraft, by way of Anchorage. From Tokyo, the flight continued to Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila. Taipei replaced Shanghai after the end of Chinese civil war of 1949. With its new routes, the airline rebranded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines, although the legal name of the company remained Northwest Airlines.
Global expansion
On 1 August 1949, Northwest took delivery of its first double-deck Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, which allowed the airline to establish higher service standards and reduce flight time. They were used to fly the Tokyo route nonstop from Seattle, and – with one stop in Anchorage – from Chicago. In 1951, Northwest helped establish Japan Airlines by leasing its aircraft and crew to the new company. In 1952, under the U.S.-Japan bilateral aviation treaty, Northwest and Pan American were the two U.S. flag carriers awarded rights to fly not only from the U.S. to Japan, but to pick up and carry passengers beyond Japan. Northwest remains the largest non-Japanese carrier at Tokyo's Narita Airport, with flights to 15 cities in Asia including Seoul, Busan, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Singapore.
Northwest meteorologists pioneered the first clear-air turbulence forecasting system in 1957, important since the airline flew many northern routes over turbulence-prone mountain areas. Northwest remains a leader in turbulence prediction, providing TPAWS (turbulence prediction and warning services) to other airlines. [3]
On 1 June1959, Northwest took delivery of its first turboprop jet aircraft, the Lockheed L-188 Electra. On 8 July1960, Northwest put the Douglas DC-8 into service, offering the shortest flight times on routes to Asia. In August 1960, Northwest retired the last Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. The airline took delivery of the Boeing 720B in 1961, and in 1963, with the new Boeing 707, and the retirement of the last propeller aircraft, Northwest became the first U.S. airline with an all-turbofan jet fleet, hence the slogan "Northwest Orient: The Fan-Jet Airline". Northwest began operating the Boeing 727-151 in 1964.
Northwest took delivery of its first Boeing 747-151 aircraft in 1970. The airline began retiring the older Boeing 707s, and using the newer 707s on high-density domestic routes, where the 727 lacked sufficient capacity.
Merger with Republic and the 1990s
After airline deregulation, Northwest began nonstop flights to other Asian cities, returned to China in 1984 after a 34 year hiatus, and gradually strengthened its presence in the southern United States. It also began flying to Britain, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. On 1 October 1986, Northwest purchased its competitor, Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Republic Airlines and adopted its three-hub network centered around Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Memphis. Northwest dropped the word Orient from its brand name after the merger. Northwest also received a new slogan; "Look To Us", which was joked at by Northwest pilots as "look to us; then take the bus" due to NWA's poor service reputation at the time, which also resulted in the still-popular joke "Northworst Airlines".
In 1989, Northwest introduced a new identity designed by Landor Associates superseding the 1970 logo and livery. A new livery, nicknamed the "bowling shoe" by employees, was adopted at the same time. New burgundy and beige uniforms designed by Claude Montana, but manufactured by Walt Disney Imagineering, were also introduced. Northwest's CEO Al Checchi was a board member at Disney, so WDI's manufacturing was a natural fit, but the uniforms wore out quickly. The joke among flight attendants was "Why can Disney make a good Mickey Mouse costume, but they can't make a good uniform for us?".
Three years later, when Northwest launched the "Some People Just Know How to Fly" ad campaign, new blue uniforms for flight attendants and customer service agents designed by French designer Thierry Mugler were introduced. The uniforms were criticized by flight attendants as being expensive (as they were made in France in the same plant that made Mugler's ready-to-wear collection) and flimsy, and were phased out in 1996 in favor of the current uniform.
1989 also saw major changes in ownership at the airline. Northwest was purchased in a 1989 leveraged buyout by an investment group headed by Al Checchi and Gary Wilson, KLM, and many others. To pay off the debt incurred in their takeover, the new management sold many of the airline's aircraft to leasing companies, and sold property around the world, including land in central Tokyo. The expense of the buyout was so great that in 1993, following several years of losses due to industry overcapacity and a traffic downturn following the Gulf War, Northwest threatened bankruptcy unless its employee groups agreed to three years of wage cuts. After signing the concessionary agreements, Northwest made its first profit since 1989.
Also in 1993, Northwest began its strategic alliance with KLM, which was the largest airline partnership ever conceived at the time. This partnership eventually became the Wings Alliance. However, the alliance never grew beyond the two airlines, and is now obsolete from a passenger's perspective, because both airlines are part of the larger SkyTeam Alliance. (From a legal perspective, the Northwest/KLM alliance remains important: it has antitrust immunity, whereas the broader SkyTeam alliance merely has code sharing privileges.) Northwest gradually pulled out of its minor European destinations and once more focused its attention on the domestic and Asian markets. On 1 May 1996 Northwest began the first nonstop service from the U.S. to China, on the Detroit - Beijing route. Nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service followed in April 2000. Later, these nonstop services were suspended in 2002. Northwest currently serves these routes via Tokyo. The airline is now seeking government approval to restore nonstop Detroit - Shanghai service in March 2007. [4]
Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Northwest enjoyed profits and focused on improving technology to increase convenience while reducing costs. The airline has offered airport self-service check-in kiosks since 1997, and has more than any other airline. Northwest was also the first large U.S. airline to offer passengers Internet check-in, with service from December 2000. During the early 2000s, Northwest Airlines acquired a reputation of refusing to adopt industry-wide fare increases that had been accepted by other United States airlines. This changed in March 2005, when Northwest adopted fare hikes in response to rising oil prices.
September 11, 2001 aftermath and beyond
Due to the effects of competition from low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and increased labor costs due to a new contract with employees represented by the AMFA labor union, Northwest began to make cutbacks in early 2001. Two small rounds of employee layoffs and other cutbacks were implemented in the months prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Subsequent to the attacks, Northwest was forced to make major changes to its business structure through major employee layoffs and other cost cutting measures. The retirement of costly and aging aircraft such as the Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 were accelerated as new aircraft went into service. In addition, the airline pursued options to reduce costs across the board, including removing pillows, peanuts, pretzels, in-flight entertainment on domestic flights, and newspapers and magazines. Also, over 50 McDonnell Douglas DC-9, Boeing 757, Boeing 747, and Airbus A320 family aircraft have been withdrawn from use in an attempt to lower overall capacity and save money.
Following many years of a pioneering and close partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Northwest, along with partners KLM and Continental Airlines, joined the SkyTeam Alliance, a partnership of ten airlines from around the world, on 15 September 2004. This was partially a result of Air France acquiring KLM, forming the Air France-KLM group. The airline continued to hemorrhage money, however. In the spring of 2005, a media spectacle occurred when the news leaked that top executives in the company had been selling much of their stock. Subsequently, shareholders filed lawsuits against four top officials for insider trading, including Chairman Gary Wilson, CEO Doug Steenland, former director Al Checchi and former CFO Bernie Han.
Despite far-reaching money saving initiatives, Northwest was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 79-year history. The filing took place in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on 14 September 2005. With Northwest's filing, four of the six largest U.S. carriers were operating under bankruptcy protection. Northwest joined Delta Air Lines (which filed just minutes before), United Airlines, and US Airways in bankruptcy. US Airways and United Airlines have since emerged from bankruptcy protection. Northwest common stock shares dropped more than 50% for the second time in three days following the news, largely because stock is generally cancelled as part of the bankruptcy process. In the following weeks, Northwest Airlink carriers Mesaba Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines both announced that Northwest had missed payments to them for their Airlink flying. Northwest also announced plans to shrink its Airlink fleet by over 45 aircraft. Mesaba Aviation filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on October 132005. However, Northwest recently announced that it would begin to increase capacity again.
Northwest has announced that they will hopefully emerge from bankruptcy in the first half of 2007.[5]
Labor Relations
A recurring issue in Northwest's history is its troubled labor relations. In 1998, Northwest walked away from the bargaining table, locked out its pilots (represented by ALPA) and shut down the airline for more than two weeks. The airline sustained heavy losses as a result, and ended 1998 in the red, after being profitable since 1993.
On August 202005, after months of negotiations, an impasse declared by the NMB and a 30-day cooling off period, the over 4,750 Northwest aircraft mechanics, janitors, and aircraft cleaners represented by AMFA went on strike against the company. After numerous negotiation sessions, no agreement was reached, and the company began hiring permanent replacement workers. In mid-October, after permanently hiring about 500 non-union workers, Northwest made a final offer to the union. The offer would have saved about 500 union jobs and offered four weeks of severance pay to terminated employees. This offer was significantly worse than the original declined by the union, which would have saved over 2,000 jobs and offered 16 weeks of severance pay. On 21 October2005, AMFA announced that it would not allow its members to vote on the offer, citing that parts of the contract would violate the union's commitment to its members. Finally, in late December 2005, Northwest made what it termed its "final offer" to the union. The agreement would have terminated all striking workers and given them rights to unemployment compensation. The union voted down the offer. On October 9, 2006, AMFA leadership and Northwest reached a strike settlement agreement. Under the settlement, all AMFA workers still on strike as of that date will be converted to lay-off status with 5 weeks of severance pay (10 weeks if they resign from Northwest). However, these employees will have a right of recall to their old jobs. The settlement faces the approval of the AMFA membership.
Most recently, hours before the start of a possibly devastating strike, Northwest and its flight attendant and pilot unions appeared to secure new contract agreements. However, while the pilots approved the new contract, the flight attendants voted the offer down. They then proceeded to oust their union, the PFAA, and replace it with the AFA. Another tentative agreement was negotiated with the new union, and on 31 July 2006 it was announced that the union members had again negated the deal. The union has now pledged CHAOS strikes, which are isolated and target selected hubs, flights, or aircraft. CHAOS was first set to begin on August 15, but was later moved to August 25 because of a purported terrorist plot to attack aircraft flying from Great Britain to the United States. However, the August 25 start of CHAOS was blocked by a court ruling hours before the strike was to begin. The ruling was the result of an appeal from Northwest Airlines regarding a previous decision by a judge allowing the flight attendants to stike while Northwest is under bankruptcy protection.
Destinations
Fleet
Northwest is in the midst of a major long-haul fleet renewal program. As part of this program, Northwest introduced a simplified new paint scheme and logo in 2003. The airline is currently replacing its DC-10 and Boeing 747-200 aircraft with the Airbus A330 and the new Boeing 787. The first A330-300, used on European flights, arrived on August 6, 2003. On June 28, 2006, Northwest announced that its DC-10 aircraft will undergo an accelerated retirement program schedule. Northwest's last DC-10 flight will arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul the morning of January 7, 2007 after completing a flight from Honolulu International Airport[2].
All Northwest Airlines aircraft are operated in a two-class configuration. On domestic flights, Northwest offers standard First Class and Economy Class cabins. On international flights to Europe Asia, and India, Northwest offers coach class supplemented by WorldBusiness Class. In 2003, Northwest introduced a new WorldBusiness Class product incorporating new inflight menus, an enhanced inflight entertainment system and was the first US airline to incorporate lie-flat beds in a premium cabin environment. Northwest Airlines offers no inflight entertainment of any kind on domestic flights. Standard seat pitch for domestic economy is 30-31 inches which is the distance between a row of seats - the measurement from the same position on two seats, one behind the other. No other US legacy carrier has seat pitch less than 30 inches.
In the future, Northwest is looking for manufactuers to discuss for the replacement of their 100 seats DC-9 aircrafts. The possible order they could order are Airbus 320 family. Northwest could also look forward to see if possible to order the 747-8 in the future, and if they order it, they could be a launch customer during the next generation.
| Type | Total | Passengers (First*/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
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| Airbus A319-100 | 66 (5 Orders) |
United States, Canada, Mexico Routes | Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 73 (2 Orders) |
United States, Canada, Mexico Routes | Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 11 | Transatlantic, Transpacific, Intra-Asia and India Routes | Medium-Long Haul International Routes Equipped With New World Business Class Audio/Video on Demand In Every Seat | |
| Airbus A330-300 | 12 (17 Orders) |
Transatlantic, Intra-Asia and India Routes | Medium-Long Haul International Routes Equipped With New World Business Class Audio/Video on Demand In Every Seat New Service From Amsterdam to Bangalore Delayed Due to High Fuel Costs | |
| Boeing 747-200 | 3 | 430 (30/400) |
Mainly Intra-Asia Routes Within The South Pacific Region | Long Haul International Routes Gradually Being Phased Out of Passenger Service |
| Boeing 747-400 | 16 | Transpacific and Intra-Asia Routes | Long Haul International Routes Launch Customer Equipped With New World Business Class Service from New York-JFK to Tokyo suspended due to high fuel costs 3 of these are replacing DC-10-30 that serve between Hawaii and Japan. | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 46 | 184 (22/162)-US 182 (20/162)-Int'l |
North American, US West Coast to Hawaii and Intra-Asia Routes | Trans-Atlantic Routes To Begin In 2007 New Interiors and World Business Class[3] |
| Boeing 757-300 | 16 | North American and West Coast to Hawaii Routes | Medium-Long Haul Domestic Routes | |
| Douglas DC-9-30 | 52 | United States and Canada Routes | Proposed To Be Phased Out Northwest Is In Negotiations With Manufacturers | |
| Douglas DC-9-40 | 6 | United States and Canada Routes | Proposed To Be Phased Out Northwest Is In Negotiations With Manufacturers | |
| Douglas DC-9-50 | 19 | United States and Canada Routes | Proposed To Be Phased Out Northwest Is In Negotiations With Manufacturers | |
| Douglas DC-10-30 | 7 | Hawaii Routes only from Minneapolis | Will Be Fully Removed from Service in January 2007. Replacement Aircraft: Airbus A330 | |
| Boeing 787 | (18 Orders) (50 Options) |
Transatlantic, Transpacific, Intra-Asia | Entry To Service: 2008 | |
| Bombardier CRJ 900 | (36 Orders) (96 Options) |
Northwest Airlink Service | Northwest Airlink Operator Not Yet Selected Entry To Service: Mid-2007[4] | |
| Embraer 175 | (36 Orders) (36 Options) |
Northwest Airlink Service | To Be Operated By Compass Airlines Entry To Service: Mid-2007[5] |
*First Class is offered on most domestic flights. World Business Class is offered on Transatlantic/Transpacific Flights.
NWA Cargo Fleet
As of 2006, NWA Cargo is the largest cargo carrier among U.S. combination passenger and cargo airlines. NWA Cargo’s fleet of 12 dedicated Boeing 747 freighter aircraft fly from key cities throughout the United States and Asia and connect the carrier’s cargo hub in Anchorage, Alaska (Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport), facilitating the quick transfer of cargo between large cities on both sides of the Pacific. NWA Cargo also transports freight aboard the passenger fleet of Northwest Airlines to more than 250 cities worldwide.
Compass Airlines
Compass Airlines is a new subsidiary to Northwest Airlines to be launched during the 4th quarter of 2006 flying a single Bombardier CRJ-200 between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Washington Dulles. During the concept phase, the subsidiary was known as "NewCo".
Compass was formed due to a contract dispute between Northwest and its pilot's union. Due to the scope clause in the pilot contracts, the number of mid-sized jets operated by the airline was limited. In order to avert this problem, Northwest bought the operating certificate of defunct Independence Air on March 10, 2006, for $2 Million, in order to establish a new feeder airline. Compass will operate Embraer E175s and Bombardier CRJ-900s.[6] These aircraft are not a direct replacement for the aging DC-9s and lower the cost per available seat mile. The max number of seats that Compass can operate is 76 seats due to the Northwest pilots contract that is to protect the jobs of many mainline pilots.
While the order and delivery of these aircraft are pending, a single CRJ-200 with as many as up to four by the end of the year will remain in service to preserve the airline's operating certificate.
On September 28, 2006, Compass Airlines officially received approval from the United States Department of Transportation to begin operations, though approval from the Federal Aviation Administration is pending.
Fleet
| Type | Total | Passengers (First/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier CRJ 900 | (36 Orders) (96 Options) |
Northwest Airlink Service | Northwest Airlink Operator Not Yet Selected Entry To Service: Mid-2007 | |
| Embraer 175 | (36 Orders) (36 Options) |
Northwest Airlink Service | To Be Operated By Compass Airlines Entry To Service: Mid-2007 |
Affinity programs
WorldPerks is Northwest Airlines' frequent flyer program, which is celebrating 20 years [founded in 1986], offering regular travelers the ability to obtain free tickets, First Class upgrades on flights, discounted membership for its airport lounges (WorldClubs), or other types of rewards. Customers accumulate miles from actual flight segments they fly or through Northwest's partners, such as car rental companies, hotels, credit cards, and other vendors.
In addition to its Northwest Airlink and SkyTeam Alliance partnerships, Northwest offers frequent flyer partnerships the following:
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WorldClubs®
WorldClubs is Northwest's member lounge. Members have reciprocal access to a number of other clubs, including fellow SkyTeam carriers such as Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Air France. Northwest also has partnerships with various other airline lounges on an airport-by-airport basis. Unlike some other airline lounges, WorldClubs offer complimentary alcoholic beverages in domestic locations. Northwest recently announced that it will roll out free Wi-Fi internet access world-wide. Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines are the only two airlines in the United States that offer lifetime memberships in their airport lounge programs, something that currently costs non-elite members $4,690.
Locations
The following locations are Northwest Airlines WorldClub locations:
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Northwest Airlines WorldClub members are allowed to use partner clubs, which offer more clubs in more locations. For partner club information, visit nwa.com: [6].
Codeshare Agreements
Northwest Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of September 2006:
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Incidents and accidents
- On January 10, 1938, Flight 2, a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra crashed in the Bridger Mountains, 12 miles northeast of Bozeman, Montana. All 8 passengers and 2 crew members aboard the plane were killed. This was the airline's first fatal crash. Three other Lockheed Model 14 aircraft belonging to Northwest crashed over the next thirteen months.
- On 12 March 1948, Flight 4422, a Douglas DC-4 military charter en route from Shanghai back to the U.S.[7] crashed into Mount Sanford, Alaska.
- The disappearance of Flight 2501 [8], a DC-4 flying from New York City to Minneapolis-St. Paul on 23 June 1950, over Lake Michigan, has never been solved.
- On 2 April 1956, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 crashed on takeoff from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a flight to Portland, Oregon, Chicago and New York City. The pilots ditched the Boeing Stratocruiser into Puget Sound; four passengers and one flight attendant died after escaping the wreckage, likely from hypothermia or drowning.
- On 24 November 1971,Northwest Airlines Flight 305 en route from Portland International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, was hijacked by D. B. Cooper. After receiving a $200,000 ransom payment and four parachutes in Seattle, he ordered the crew to fly to Mexico, and jumped from the aft airstairs of the Boeing 727-051 while it was in flight. Cooper's fate remains unknown.
- On 16 August 1987, Flight 255 [9] crashed on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. All aboard the MD-82 were killed except for one young girl.
- On 3 December 1990, Northwest flight 1482, a DC-9-10 and Northwest flight 299, a Boeing 727-200 [10] collided at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport near the intersection of runways 09/27 and 03C/21C in dense fog. The B-727 had initiated its takeoff roll, and the DC-9 had just taxied onto the active runway at the time of the incident. None of the 146 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the 727 were injured, but the DC-9 sustained heavy damage. Four crewmembers and eight of the 39 passengers aboard the DC-9 were killed.
- Three Northwest aircraft were targeted in the failed Operation Bojinka terrorist plot of 1995. Also related to terrorism, just before the 11 September 2001 attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui (who was later labeled as a possible "20th hijacker" by the news media) was arrested after attempting to use a flight simulator owned by Northwest Aerospace Training Corporation (NATCO), which is affiliated with Northwest.
- In 1990, three crew members were intoxicated when they flew their Boeing 727 airliner from Fargo, North Dakota to MSP airport in the Twin Cities. Another incident occurred in January 2001 when a pilot flew a Douglas DC-9 from San Antonio, Texas to MSP. Upon landing, he had a 0.056% blood alcohol content level, above the Federal Aviation Administration limit. He was soon fired. British Airways, America West, Delta, and many other airlines have had to deal with this issue.
- On 13 June2001 Flight 28 from Manila to Tokyo made an emergency landing in Tokyo when one set of its landing gear descended but did not lock into place. None of the 410 people aboard was injured. The emergency landing caused Tokyo's Narita Airport to close its only runway for nearly an hour and a half. It was the second time in as many days that a Northwest plane had to make an emergency landing at this airport. The previous day, Northwest pilots had to return to the airport after indicator lights suggested their plane had an engine problem.
- In 2004, pilots mistakenly landed at Ellsworth AFB instead of the nearby Rapid City airport. Passengers aboard were asked to close their window shades by the US Air Force.
- On 19 June2005 a Northwest McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 en route from Mumbai (Bombay) to Amsterdam diverted to Mehrabad Airport in Tehran Iran. A warning light (later proven to be a false alarm) indicated there was a possible fire in the cargo hold. Several hours were spent negotiating the purchase of fuel, due to the lack of precedent; this was the first US airliner to land in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
- On 19 August 2005 a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-251 lost its nose gear and skidded on the runway at Guam International Airport. There were no fatalities.
- On 29 August 2005 a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-223, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 5, clipped and collided with a Horizon Air De Havilland Canada Dash 8 at Portland International Airport before departing for Tokyo, Japan. There were no fatalities.
- On 18 June 2006 a Boeing 747-400 en route Taipei-Osaka (Flight NW070) was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai International Airport after reporting problems with one of its engines.
- On 23 August 2006 Northwest Airlines Flight 42 from Amsterdam to Mumbai turned back to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport escorted by two Dutch F-16 fighter jets after 12 passengers were purported to be engaged in suspicious behavior.[11] Those passengers were detained in the Netherlands and were released the next day after Dutch officials determined the incident was not terrorism related.[7]
- Several baggage hanglers were injured while removing cargo from Northwest Airlines Flight 957 after a hydrogen peroxide leak. Other bags were then transferred onto Flight 7, where they caused a small fire mid-flight.
- On 03 September 2006 a Northwest Airlines DC-10 bound for London, England made an emergency landing in Duluth, Minnesota due to smoke in the cabin. After 10-hours of waiting, the plane finally returned to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and the flight cancelled for that day. The flight took off the following day.
- On 09 November 2006, flight 756, a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 originating from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport bound for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, was forced to immediately turn around and make an emergency landing back at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for smoke in the cabin. Passengers on the flight asked for the oxygen masks due to trouble breathing, while flight attendents told them to "Breathe through their clothing", passenger David Mech told WCCO-TV. The flight took off 2 1/2 hours later aboard a different aircraft. The cause of the smoke, according to Northwest Airlines spokeperson Kristen Heinmets, was due to a "Minor engine problem".
Sources
- Ruble, Kenneth D.; (1986). Flight to the Top: How a Hometown Airline Made History--and Keeps on Making It: The Absorbing Sixty-year Story of Northwest Airlines. New York: Viking Press.
- "Pilots Who Flew Drunk are Sentenced to Prison". (October 27, 1990). St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. 7A. Retrieved March 21, 2005 from LexisNexis.
- Moylan, Martin J. "NWA to trim mechanics jobs". (March 17, 2005). Detroit Free Press.
- Northwest Airlines history timeline on www.nwa.com
- U.S. Postal Service history; airmail service starts
- "Order 2006-2-1", Joint Application of Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane-S.p.A., Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Inc., KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Inc. and Societe Air France for Approval of and Antitrust Immunity for Alliance Agreements, United States Department of Transportation, February 6, 2006.
Announcements
Northwest has announced that they will have a non stop flight between Hartford and Amsterdam,The Netherlands
References
- ^ "Continental now USA's 4th-biggest airline, passing Northwest", USA Today notes Continental overtaking Northwest according to a Bloomberg News study
- ^ Northwest Airlines also has an additional 10 Airbus A330-300's on order scheduled for delivery between now and the end of 2007. Northwest Airlines DC-10 Retirement Program Official Press Release (June 28, 2006)
- ^ Northwest Airlines European Expansion Official Press Release (October 11, 2006)
- ^ Northwest Airlines Orders Bombardier CRJ 900 Aircraft Official Press Release (October 5, 2006)
- ^ Northwest Airlines Orders Embraer 175 Aircraft Official Press Release (October 5, 2006)
- ^ Northwest Announces Orders for Seventy Two Aircraft.Official Press Release (October 5, 2005)
- ^ Nicola LeskeUPDATE 5-Dutch to free passengers arrested on flight to India, Reuters, August 24 2006
External links
- Northwest Airlines
- NWA Restructuring Information
- NWA Pension Information
- NWA Route Maps
- NWA Fleet Age
- NWA Fleet Detail
- Guide to earning miles on Northwest Airlines
- Article on Northwest's 2003 rebranding as NWA, initials it shares with a well-known gangsta rap group
- ASN worldwide aircraft incident database
- Case study on Northwest Airlines Asian localization
- Trev's Northwest Page: A website for Northwest Airlines news, history, and photos.
- Northwest Airlines seating charts and seat reviews
- Northwest Airlines Passenger Opinions
- Northwest WorldPerks Bonus Miles Promotions
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