Northwest Airlines facts for kids

Northwest Airlines headquarters

A Northwest DC-10.

Northwest Airlines, Inc. (often abbreviated NWA) is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc., and was a major United States airline. It was headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the United States. 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 a small hub in Asia at Narita International Airport near Tokyo and also operated transatlantic flights in cooperation with their partner KLM from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. It also had focus city operations at Indianapolis International Airport and 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 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 stopping 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. Its frequent flyer program was WorldPerks. Northwest Airlines' tagline was "Now you're flying smart."

On April 14, 2008, Northwest announced it would be merging with Delta Air Lines, subject to regulatory review. The merger was officially completed on January 31, 2010.

Images for kids

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  1920s roundel logo

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  Northwest Airlines passenger ticket from 1951

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

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  Rebuilt 1929 Hamilton H-47 wearing Northwest Airways markings in 2010

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  Northwest Douglas DC-3

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  Boeing 707-351B at San Francisco in 1970

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  Boeing 727-200 at Miami Airport in February 1971

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  Boeing 747 at London Gatwick Airport in 1983, in pre-merger Northwest Orient livery

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  Boeing 747-100 at Osaka Itami Airport ca. 1990, in post-merger Northwest livery

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  Northwest was one of the last passenger airlines to fly the DC-10 when its last one was retired on January 8, 2007

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  Northwest was also the last major US passenger airline to fly the original series Boeing 747 (pre-400 models)

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  This Northwest DC-10, Registration N237NW, was painted in a hybrid Northwest-KLM livery to advertise the alliance between the two airlines

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  757-351 in the "Bowling Shoe" livery, used from 1989 until 2003.

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  Northwest Cargo Boeing 747

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  A Northwest Airlines 757-351

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  A Northwest Airbus A330-323X landing at London Gatwick Airport

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  A Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 landing at Vancouver International Airport

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  Northwest WorldClub Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal 2