Northwest Brings Customer Comforts of Airbus A330 Aircraft to Twin Cities-Honolulu Route

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 8, 2007–Northwest Airlines
announced that it will introduce its customers to the comforts and
amenities of its modern Airbus A330 aircraft on the airline’s daily
nonstop service between its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub and Honolulu,
beginning today.

    The deployment of the most modern aircraft in Northwest’s fleet on
the popular flight also marks the retirement of the DC10 aircraft from
scheduled passenger service at Northwest after 34 years of
transporting millions of customers within the United States, across
oceans and throughout the world.

    “Northwest’s A330 aircraft will provide travelers between the Twin
Cities and Honolulu with a welcome ‘Aloha’ on the longest domestic
route we fly,” said Tom Bach, vice president of network planning and
revenue management. “Our customers will enjoy a level of seat comfort
and in-flight entertainment normally found only on international
flights, providing a travel experience to Hawaii unmatched by any
other U.S. airline.”

    This morning’s DC10 arrival at Minneapolis/St. Paul International
Airport of flight 98 from Honolulu, which landed with 273 passengers
and a crew of 11 at 5:39 a.m. Central time and taxied into gate F10,
marked the retirement of the DC10 from scheduled service at Northwest.
The flight departed Honolulu yesterday at 6:12 p.m. Hawaiian time.

    Aircraft number 1237/N237NW, which was built in 1980 and joined
the Northwest fleet in 1997, was the last of the two remaining DC10s
in the airline’s operating fleet to fly passengers in scheduled
service. The aircraft operated as flight 99 to Honolulu on Jan. 7 and
flight 98 on the return to the Twin Cities. It and the other remaining
DC10 have been sold.

    Modern Airbus A330 Replacing DC10

    Northwest retired its last DC10 from international service on
October 29, 2006, when it began operating its entire trans-Atlantic
schedule with A330s. With an average fleet age of just two years,
Northwest’s A330s are one of the youngest trans-Atlantic fleets in the
airline industry. The airline has an additional eight aircraft on
order, scheduled for delivery between now and the end of the year.

    Northwest began taking delivery of new Airbus A330 aircraft in
Aug. 2003 and currently has 24 aircraft in trans-Atlantic,
trans-Pacific, intra-Asia and beginning today, mainland U.S.-Hawaii
service. Its A330 fleet includes 13 298-seat A330-300s, and 11
longer-range, 243-seat A330-200s.

    A330 Provides Travelers with Better Seats, In-Flight Entertainment
System

    Northwest’s A330s are equipped with the airline’s World Business
Class lie-flat seats, new seats in coach class, and a personal
audio/video in-flight entertainment (IFE) system in both cabins that
Northwest was the first North American airline to offer.

    The fully interactive IFE system offers travelers a choice of 40
movies, four short-subject video programs, 56 different audio
selections, six games and in-flight information, all available “on
demand,” giving customers the freedom and flexibility to start, pause
or stop their selection at any time. The gateway to all of these
features is a convenient retractable controller, making it easy to
access from any sitting position, as opposed to stationary controllers
fixed on armrests.

    In World Business Class, Northwest customers are able to view any
of these features on a 10.4 inch/26.4 centimeter video screen, 50
percent larger in size than the screens found in business class seats
on most other U.S. airlines, and a number of international airlines.
Northwest customers traveling in coach class are able to view any of
these features on a personal video screen located in the back of the
seat in front of them.

    World Business Class travelers enjoy an array of features
including a seat that reclines 176 degrees (more recline than any
other U.S. airline), a leather-wrapped privacy canopy, 60 inches of
space between seats, 110-volt personal laptop computer power, cycling
lumbar support, a six-way adjustable headrest that slides along a
track so it can be adjusted to a traveler’s height, and four seat-back
storage pockets.

    Northwest’s A330s also feature a completely new coach class seat,
offered in a two-seat, aisle, four-seat, aisle, two-seat configuration
throughout much of the aircraft. As a result, no seat is more than one
seat away from an aisle. The coach seat, which offers more personal
space than any other seat in the airline’s fleet, features a “winged”
headrest, with bendable sides, allowing the customer to rest their
head or sleep toward the side of the seat.

    A330 More Efficient, Quieter Aircraft than DC10

    The A330 provides Northwest with fuel savings, lower maintenance
costs, and is a much quieter aircraft than the DC10-30 it replaces. As
an example, on the Minneapolis/St. Paul – Honolulu route, the A330-300
will carry 25 more passengers, yet consume 5,700 fewer gallons
(21,575) of fuel each way, than the DC10, saving Northwest 35% in fuel
costs alone.

    DC10 History at Northwest Airlines

    Northwest began operating the DC10 in 1972, when the first
aircraft arrived from an order placed in 1968 for 22 new airplanes.
The airline was one of a small number of carriers to fly the DC10-40
version, providing it with a competitive advantage in range,
operational costs and engine commonality with the Pratt and
Whitney-powered Boeing 747s in its fleet. The first route for the
236-passenger aircraft was flight 72 from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee
to Tampa, Fla.

    In 1989, Northwest began acquiring the 273-seat DC10-30, primarily
for trans-Atlantic service. Northwest’s DC10 fleet peaked in size at
45 aircraft in 2001, consisting of 21 DC10-40s and 24 DC10-30s. It
retired the last of its DC10-40s in late 2002.

    During their 34 years of service, Northwest’s DC10s carried more
than 125 million passengers, completed more than 765,000 flights and
traveled more than 1.3 billion miles.

    Northwest Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines with
hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam,
and approximately 1,400 daily departures. Northwest is a member of
SkyTeam, an airline alliance that offers customers one of the world’s
most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners
serve more than 900 cities in excess of 160 countries on six
continents.