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.
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."
Northwest has concentrated on flights to and from its hubs. In 1991, it began service to Australia, which had been abandoned by Continental a few years earlier after United and Qantas began non-stop flights to the continental U.S. using the newly introduced, long range 747-400, which Continental did not operate. Northwest routed its Sydney-New York flight through Osaka, which raised Japanese protest because less than 30% of passengers on the Australia-Japan segment were originating in the U.S.
Northwest currently operates these routes from Detroit with a connection at its Tokyo-Narita hub. However, on July 16, 2007, Northwest re-applied with the US Department of Transportation for nonstop service between Detroit and both Beijing and Shanghai. On September 25, 2007, the US Department of Transportation tentatively awarded authority to Northwest for a new Detroit to Shanghai (Pudong) route effective beginning March 25, 2009. The route will be flown using the Boeing 747-400 until the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft becomes available. In 2008, Northwest was one of several U.S. airlines to receive permission from the British government to fly into Heathrow Airport in London after previously having to use Gatwick Airport. Northwest began service to Heathrow from its hubs in Minneapolis and Detroit, as well as starting Seattle-London service. However, after being acquired by Delta in 2008, the Seattle route was scheduled to end in January 2009 so the Heathrow landing slot and aircraft used could be redeployed to a more profitable route.
Northwest Airlines also serves more Canadian cities than any other US carrier including Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener/Waterloo, London (ON), Montreal Trudeau, Ottawa, Quebec City, Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. Seasonal service is also offered to smaller Canadian cities.
Northwest Airlines will begin service from the following cities to their listed destinations beginning on the listed date. Some routes listed below may already be operated by Northwest Airlines, or their regional affiliates, Compass, Mesaba, or Pinnacle Airlines, from other destinations.
