Northwest Airlines, Inc. (often abbreviated NWA), was a major United States[1] airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Northwest has merged into Delta Air Lines. 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.
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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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 merge with Delta Air Lines on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world.[5] 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.[6] The airline's hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis were rebranded on March 31, 2009.[7][8][9] The Tokyo hub was rebranded on August 24, 2009.[10] In October 2009, the airline's operations center was relocated to Delta's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
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.[11] 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.[12] As a result the old NWA URL now redirects to Delta and the old online booking pages are no longer accessible. On January 4, 2011, 12 months after Northwest had ceased operations, the last planes (5 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-40s) in Northwest livery were retired.

Northwest Airlines Corporation is the holding company for Northwest Airlines, Inc., described as "America's oldest carrier with continuous name identification" and the world's fourth oldest airline. It has flown across the Pacific for 50 years, more than anyone else. Northwest serves as the United States' northern regional air carrier, and flies 1,700 flights each day to 400 cities in 80 countries. More than 97 percent of the revenue of Northwest Airlines Corporation comes from Northwest Airlines, Inc.
For now, you can still fly Northwest -- at least until the logos on the planes change to "Delta." Northwest Airlines, which was acquired by Delta Air Lines for $2.8 billion in 2008, transports passengers and cargo to about 240 cities in North America, the Asia/Pacific region, and Europe. Its US network includes locations served by regional carriers flying as Northwest Airlink. Northwest's fleet includes about 310 jets; regional partners operate another 260 aircraft. The acquisition by Delta created the largest airline in the world by traffic. Including Northwest's operations, Delta maintains a fleet of about 800 aircraft and serves more than 365 destinations worldwide.
Northwest, which had suffered from not having a computerized reservations system, purchased a large share of TWA's PARS system, which the two companies jointly operate. The company has also made arrangements with four smaller independent airlines to generate more "feeder" traffic to Northwest.
In 1986 Northwest purchased its regional competitor Republic Airlines. The $884 million sale barely won federal approval since the two airlines operated many of the same routes. At first the Civil Aeronautics Board was concerned that Northwest would operate monopolies in too many markets. Republic had established hubs in Detroit and Memphis, in addition to Minneapolis. However, Republic's north-south route structure provided the ideal "feeder" for Northwest's longer-haul east-west structure, despite a certain amount of overlap. As a result of this merger, John F. Horn was named president of Northwest and NWA, Inc. Rothmeier, still chief executive officer, assumed the position of chairman, vacant since Lapensky's retirement in May 1985.
Prior to the merger, Republic flew to over 100 cities in 34 states, Canada, and the Caribbean. Northwest's network covered 74 cities in 27 states and 16 countries in Western Europe, the Far East, and the Caribbean. Until the purchase of Republic Airlines, Northwest had always been "underleveraged," or virtually free of debt. Northwest's management used to be proud of this fact, but came to recognize that, for tax and other purposes, it was good to carry "some debt."
In 1989 financiers Alfred Checchi and Gary Wilson bought control of Northwest in a $3.65 billion leveraged buyout deal, after which the airline became a private company. One year later, former Beatrice CEO Frederick Rentschler was named Northwest's new CEO. One of the first tasks facing the new management was rectifying the service record of the airline, whose poor service and on-time performance record in recent years led dissatisfied business travelers to give it the unfortunate nickname "Northworst." Flush with optimism over the company's future, Checchi and Wilson embarked on a program of acquiring the assets of other airlines and committed $450 million through the year 1995 to improving service. They purchased Eastern Airlines' Washington, D.C. hub, bought Asian routes from Hawaiian Airlines, and made their desire to deal further well-known--at various times, they began negotiations to buy all or major portions of Continental, Midway, and Qantas.
However, Northwest was soon struck by business and image setbacks. Two 1990 incidents--the conviction of several Northwest pilots for flying under the influence of alcohol and a runway collision of two Northwest jets, killing eight, which was later blamed on crew error--tarnished the airline's public reputation further. The airline's hopes to expand through acquisitions proved hampered by its $4.2 billion debt, the product of the leveraged buyout coupled with debt extant from the purchase of Republic, which left the airline with a negative net worth. Moreover, Northwest was hit by the general financial troubles that affected the industry in the late 1980s, including rising fuel costs, declining traffic caused by a weakening economy, and pricing wars. In 1990 and 1991, when these problems were exacerbated by recession and war in the Middle East, Northwest lost $618 million. As leading airline United began aggressive expansion into the Pacific market, Northwest's inability to match United's purchases left it vulnerable in its traditionally strongest area.
Management attempted a number of plans to raise operating funds, including pursuing incentive funds from the state of Minnesota, in which the airline is based; in 1991, the company received $835 million in aid from the state for opening two maintenance bases there. In order to stave off bankruptcy, the company also embarked on an aggressive cost-cutting campaign, cutting service by a third at its Washington, D.C. hub and seeking concessions from its six unions, although many of its workers already received wages below the industry average.
Northwest appeared to have escaped the catastrophic effects of recession and deregulation that felled such competitors as Eastern and Pan Am, but its massive debt left it at a disadvantage at a time when other airlines were employing a strategy of buying routes and expanding globally. However, Checchi and Wilson's creative debt-cutting measures and their expenditures to improve the airline's service record bore some fruit: in 1991 the airline finished first in on-time performance, a category in which it had been dubbed the worst.
In 1992 Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines applied to the United States Transportation Department to merge the operations of the two companies and function as one. Since the United States had recently signed a treaty with the Netherlands allowing companies a good deal of leeway, the Transportation Department approved the combination, allowing Northwest and KLM to coordinate prices, available seats, sales forces, and data, while sharing revenues. An added bonus was the injection of KLM's equity stake in the company. The alliance nearly doubled the pair's share of transatlantic traffic, to 12 percent.
Fortunately for Northwest, the industry pulled out of its slump by 1994. A public stock offering early in the year reflected investors' optimism. Northwest posted revenues of $8.33 billion for the year and income of $830 million. These figures rose to $9.09 billion and $902 million in 1995.
New Horizons for the New Century
Although the Northwest/KLM alliance proved fruitful for investors on both sides of the Atlantic--Wilson and Checchi's 20 percent stake grew from $40 million to nearly $1 billion and KLM's $400 million investment reached a value of $1.6 billion--a bitter power struggle unfolded behind the scenes. KLM's overtures for more control of Northwest prompted Wilson and Checchi to insert "poison pill" provisions into Northwest's charter preventing KLM from acquiring more than its 19 percent share of the company. This in turn prompted a lawsuit from KLM, which also lobbied to loosen the regulations preventing foreign companies from owning controlling interests in U.S. airlines. In addition, KLM President Pieter Bouw's separate discussions with the pilots' union--the two parties together controlled half of Northwest--infuriated Wilson, according to Fortune.
Even this relationship could be mended, however. Bouw resigned as KLM president in May 1997. By August, KLM had dropped its poison pill lawsuit and agreed to sell back its Northwest shares gradually through the year 2000. The working bonds seemed as strong as ever: the pair announced their considerable cargo operations would cooperate more closely, and the expanded KLM alliance gave Northwest a passage to India (via Amsterdam) beginning in June 1997.
At the same time, Northwest's Pacific operations were threatened by political forces abroad. Northwest had already suffered from an excess of capacity in Japan, and the Japanese government sought to curtail the carrier's rights to fly passengers beyond Japan to other Asian destinations. Nevertheless, Northwest's $10.23 billion in revenues brought in a net income of $596.5 million. At approximately $2 billion, its debt had been reduced to half the 1993 level.
A strike by Northwest pilots, eager to claim their share of the company's bounty and opposed to various management strategies, finally grounded the airline in late August 1998. Northwest laid off 31,000 employees during the crisis and did not resume full operations until September 21. The shutdown resulted in a $224 million loss for the third quarter of 1998 on revenues of $1.93 billion (the carrier had earned $290 million in the third quarter of the previous year).
Although its confrontations with KLM and its labor problems seemed to have been resolved, Northwest would have to successfully navigate the U.S. government's interests as well as those of the Japanese. Northwest's announced intentions to purchase control of Continental Airlines, the fifth largest U.S. carrier, prompted scrutiny from the Justice Department, as did its "predatory" price competition against budget carriers such as Pro Air and Reno Air.
Principal Subsidiaries: Northwest Airlines, Inc.; Northwest Aerospace Training Corporation (NATCO); NWA Leasing, Inc.; NWA Aircraft Finance, Inc.; Northwest Capital Funding Corporation; Montana Express; Northwest Aircraft, Inc.; MLT Inc.; Northwest PARS Holdings, Inc.

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.[13] The fledgling airline established a mail route between Minneapolis and Chicago, using open-cockpit biplanes such as the Curtiss Oriole and the Waco JYM. From 1928 the enclosed cabin six-passenger Hamilton H-45 and H-47 designs were used.


1920s roundel logo


1929 Northwest Airways Waco JYM used on the Minneapolis-Chicago mail route


Rebuilt 1929 Hamilton H-47 six-passenger aircraft wearing Northwest Airways markings in 2010
Northwest Airlines began carrying passengers in 1927. In 1928, Northwest started its first international route with service to Winnipeg. The airline's operations had expanded to many smaller cities in that region by the end of the 1920s. In 1931, Northwest sponsored Charles and Anne Lindbergh on a pioneering test 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 to Tokyo flight. In 1933, Northwest airlines was selected to fly the "Northern Transcontinental Route" from New York City to Seattle, Washington. It adopted the name of Northwest Airlines during the following year as a result of the Air Mail scandal. Northwest Airlines common stock began to be publicly traded in 1941.


A Northwest Airlines Inc DC-3
During World War II, Northwest Airlines joined the war against the Japanese Empire by flying soldiers and military necessities from the Northwestern United States to Alaska. During that time, Northwest began painting its airliners' tails bright red as a visual aid in the often harsh weather conditions. The airline's experience with the sub-arctic climate led the Federal Government to designate Northwest as the main airline over the North Pacific following the war.
During the spring of 1947, Northwest began stationing employees at Haneda Airport in Tokyo by flying them there from the United States via Alaska on its Great Circle route. On July 15, 1947, Northwest became the first airline to begin direct commercial airline service between the United States and Japan,[14] using a Douglas DC-4 airliner named The Manila. (All of the pre-war airline service to the Orient had been via Hawaii and the Philippines.) That first flight to Japan originated at Minneapolis-Saint Paul's Wold-Chamberlain Field – which later grew to become the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Its route to Tokyo was via Edmonton, Anchorage (Elmendorf) and Shemya in the westmost Aleutian Islands. After arriving at Tokyo, this flight continued to Shanghai Lunghwa Airport, and then to Manila Nichols Field.[15] An additional service between Tokyo and Seoul (Gimpo Airport) began on October 20, 1947, and Naha Airport in Okinawa was included as a stop on the Tokyo to Manila route on November 16, 1947.
Northwest Airline's service to Shanghai was suspended in May 1949 because of the civil war in China, with the Republic of China nearly ready to collapse, and its government evacuated to the island of Formosa. Northwest Airlines added Songshan Airport in Taipei, the new capital city of the Republic of China, as a stop on the Tokyo-Okinawa-Manila route on June 3, 1950, with ongoing interchange service to Hong Kong operated by Hong Kong Airways.
With its new system of transpacific flights established, Northwest began to advertise itself as the Northwest Orient Airlines, although its registered corporate name remained "Northwest Airlines".

Financial Highlights
Fiscal Year End: December
Revenue (2008): 13572.00 M

Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1926 as Northwest Airways
Employees: 49,000
Sales: $10.23 billion (1997)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: NWAC
SICs: 4512 Air Transportation, Scheduled

Key People
• President and CEO: Edward H. (Ed) Bastian
• EVP and COO: Michael J. (Mike) Becker
• VP and CFO: Terry Mackenthun


Address:
5101 Northwest Drive
St. Paul, Minnesota 55111-3034
U.S.A.
 
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