Contents
Northwest Airlines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IATA
NW ICAO
NWA Callsign
NORTHWEST
Founded 1926 (as Northwest Airways)
Ceased operations January 31, 2010 (merged with Delta Air Lines)
Hubs
Frequent flyer program WorldPerks
Member lounge WorldClubs
Alliance SkyTeam
Fleet size 304 (+25 orders, 50 options)
(At time of closing)
Destinations 254
Company slogan Now You're Flying Smart.
Headquarters Eagan, Minnesota, United States
Key people Ed Bastian (President/CEO)
Website www.nwa.com
Northwest Airlines, Inc. (often abbreviated NWA), was a major United States[1] airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Northwest had three major hubs in the United States: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and Memphis International Airport. Northwest also operated flights from its Asian hub at Narita International Airport (Tokyo). Transatlantic flights were operated from its European hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in cooperation with its partner airline KLM. In October 2009, the airline's operations center was relocated to Delta's headquarters in Atlanta.[2]
As of 2006, Northwest was the world's sixth largest airline in terms of domestic and international scheduled passenger miles flown and the U.S.'s sixth largest airline in terms of domestic passenger miles flown.[3] In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U.S., Northwest carried more passengers across the Pacific Ocean (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier, and carried more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline.[4] It was the only U.S. combination carrier (passenger and cargo service) operating dedicated Boeing 747 freighters. The airline, along with its then-parent company, Northwest Airlines Corporation and subsidiaries, operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which, in the United States, allows continued operation during the reorganization effort, not cessation of flights as in the case in some countries. Northwest emerged from bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2007.
Northwest Airlines' regional flights were operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, and Compass Airlines. Northwest Airlines was a minority owner of Midwest Airlines, holding a 40% stake in the company.[5] Its frequent flyer program was called WorldPerks, which was merged into Delta's frequent flyer program, SkyMiles on October 1, 2009 following the merger. Northwest Airlines' tagline was "Now you're flying smart."
On April 14, 2008, Northwest announced it would become known as Delta Air Lines after its merger with Delta Air Lines closed on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world.[6] Northwest continued to operate as an independent carrier (as a Delta Air Lines subsidiary) for several months until the operating certificates and other factors were combined.
In February 2009, the airline began consolidating gates and ticket counters at airports served simultaneously by both Delta and Northwest. The rebranding included the changing of Northwest signs to Delta signs. The integration continued into early 2010.[7] The airline's hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis were rebranded on March 31, 2009.[8][9][10] The Tokyo hub was rebranded on August 24, 2009.[11]
On December 31, 2009 Delta received a single operating certificate for the merged airline from the Federal Aviation Administration, and thus the airlines began operating under the same certificate.[12] However, Delta continued to use Northwest's IATA and ICAO codes of NW and NWA respectively until their reservation systems were merged on January 31, 2010.
The integration of both carriers was completed on January 31, 2010 and Northwest Airlines's website nwa.com was merged into delta.com.[13] However, some Northwest planes still carry their Northwest livery.
History
Beginnings
Northwest Airlines was founded on September 1, 1926, by Colonel Lewis Brittin, under the name Northwest Airways, a reference to the historical name for the Midwestern United States that derived from the Northwest Territory. Like other early airlines, Northwest's focus was not in hauling passengers, but in flying mail for the U.S. Post Office Department.[14] The fledgling airline established a mail route between Minneapolis and Chicago, using open cockpit biplanes such as the Curtiss Oriole and the 1929-built Waco JYM.
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 via Alaska could save as much as 2,000 miles (3,000 km) on a New York City-Tokyo route. In 1933, Northwest was designated to fly the Northern Transcontinental Route from New York City to Seattle, Washington. It adopted the name of Northwest Airlines the following year as a result of the Air Mail scandal. The carrier's 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 its aircraft tails red as a visual aid in the often harsh weather conditions. The airline's experience with the severe northern climate led the government to designate Northwest as the United States' main North Pacific carrier following World War II.
In the spring of 1947, Northwest began staffing its Tokyo base with company personnel, flying them on the Great Circle route. On July 15, 1947, Northwest became the first airline to operate a commercial passenger flight from the U.S.A. to Japan,[15] using a Douglas DC-4 aircraft named The Manila. The flight originated at Minneapolis-Saint Paul Wold-Chamberlain Field (the predecessor to today's Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and made its way to Tokyo (Japan) by way of Edmonton (Canada), Anchorage (Alaska), and Shemya in the Aleutian Islands. From Tokyo, the flight continued to Shanghai (China) and to Manila (Philippines). Service to Seoul (South Korea) from MSP commenced on October 20, 1947, and Naha, Okinawa was included as a stop on the Manila route on November 16, 1947. Service to Shanghai had to be suspended in May 1949 because of China's ongoing civil war. Northwest launched service (from MSP) to Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China) on June 3, 1950. With its new intercontinental routes in place, the airline re-branded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines, although the legal name of the company remained Northwest Airlines.
Global expansion: Northwest Orient era
On August 1, 1949, Northwest took delivery of its first double-deck Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, which allowed the airline to offer a higher standard of service and reduce flight times. The Stratocruiser was introduced on the U.S.-Tokyo route from September 27, 1952, while DC-6B aircraft began serving Tokyo and Manila from the U.S.A. from April 1, 1954.
In 1951, Northwest became involved with the formation of Japan Air Lines (JAL) by leasing aircraft and crew to the new company. In 1952, under the U.S.-Japan bilateral aviation treaty, Northwest and Pan American World Airways were the two U.S. flag carriers awarded rights to fly not only from U.S. gateway cities to Tokyo (Japan), but also to carry fifth freedoms of the air traffic (also knows as "fifth freedom" rights)beyond Japan.
Northwest was the largest non-Japanese carrier at Tokyo Narita Airport, with flights to several cities in Far East Asia as well as in South East Asia, including Seoul and Busan (South Korea), Manila (Philippines), Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai (China), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and a separate route pattern that links Japan with Saipan and Guam in the Western Pacific region.[citation needed]
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.[16]
