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Northwest Airlines, Inc. (often abbreviated NWA ), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc., is a major United States airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the United States. 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 flights in cooperation with partner KLM from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Additionally, it maintains focus city operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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. In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U.S., Northwest carries more passengers across the Pacific Ocean (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier, and carries more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline. It is 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 are operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, and Compass Airlines. Northwest Airlines is currently a minority owner of Midwest Airlines, holding a 40% stake in the company. Its frequent flyer program is called WorldPerks. Northwest Airlines' tagline is "Now you're flying smart."
On April 14, 2008, Northwest announced it would be merging with Delta Air Lines. The merger closed on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world. However, Northwest will continue to operate as an independent carrier (as a Delta Air Lines subsidiary) for several months until the operating certificates and other factors are combined.
In February 2009, the airline began consolidating gates and tickets counters at airports where both Delta and Northwest Airlines operate. The rebranding will include the changing of "Northwest" signs to "Delta" signs. The integration is expected to continue throughout this year and into early 2010. The airline's hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis were rebranded as of March 31, 2009.
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. 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 through Alaska could save as much as 2,000 miles (3,000 km) 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 on the Great Circle route in twin-engine Douglas DC-3 aircraft. On July 15, 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. The flight originated at Wold-Chamberlain Field (the predecessor of today's Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport), and made its way to Tokyo by way of Edmonton, Anchorage, and Shemya in the Aleutian Islands. From Tokyo, the flight continued to Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila. Taipei replaced Shanghai after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. With its new routes, the airline re-branded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines , although the legal name of the company remained Northwest Airlines.
Global expansion
On August 1, 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 several cities in Asia including Seoul, Busan, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Saipan and Guam.
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.
On June 1, 1959, Northwest took delivery of its first turboprop jet aircraft, the Lockheed L-188 Electra. On July 8, 1960, 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 747s on high-density domestic routes, where the 727 lacked sufficient capacity.
In 1975 Northwest was headquartered on the grounds of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
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 the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. On October 1, 1986, in response to United Airlines purchase of the Pacific routes of Pan American Airlines, and in order to provide the domestic feed it required to compete effectively, Northwest merged with Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Republic Airlines. NWA then 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.
In 1989, Northwest introduced a new identity designed by Landor Associates superseding the 1970 logo and livery, which had been used since 1986, minus the word "Orient." A new livery, nicknamed the "bowling shoe" by employees, featuring colors of red, white, gray, and blue, was adopted at the same time.
1989 also saw major changes in ownership at the airline. Northwest was purchased in a 1989 leveraged buyout by
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