Northwest Historical Timeline
2000
January 26: Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flyer program was the highest rated U.S. based program reviewed by InsideFlyer magazine and received the "Industry Impact Award" at the 12th Annual Freddie Awards.
January 28: Northwest receives Air Transport World's
"Airline Technology Management System" award for Turbulence Plot
System.
Feb. 2: Based on statistics compiled by the U.S. Department
of Transportation, Northwest was the most on-time U.S.
airline among the seven largest network carriers for the period
1990-1999. April 2 Northwest Airlines and Alitalia launch new service
between Detroit and Rome and Detroit and Milan.
April 6 Northwest begins twice weekly Detroit-Shanghai
roundtrip service with B747-400 aircraft, thus expanding the
NWA/ Air China alliance.
June 1: Northwest launches its new, fourth bank of flights
at Memphis-Shelby County Airport - a 25 percent expansion of
service.
June 15: Northwest is the first airline to provide customers
with a new luggage service recovery packet that will be
provided when a lost bag is returned to the customer. July 5
Northwest
Airlines Cargo acquires two Boeing 747-200
series wide-body aircraft, bringing the number of main-deck
747-200 freighters to 12.
July 12: Northwest Airlines is first airline to deliver flight and WorldPerks account information on the Sprint PCS Wireless Web.
August 9: Work crews building the new $1.2 billion Detroit terminal at Wayne County's Detroit Metro Airport place the final 80 foot long, 9.5 ton steel beam.
September 11: Northwest and KLM announce the launch of an improved international business class service. The new BusinessElite seats will feature 60 inches or greater of personal space and 150 degrees of recline.
September 12: The airline announces its first major shift in domestic and international brand advertising in five years.
October 25: Work crews building the new $1.2 billion Detroit terminal install the Tram cars for the Terminal's Express Tram system - the elevated train system that will provide fast transportation inside the terminal's mile-long main EastConcourse.
October 28: Daily Detroit-Milan, Italy service suspended.
November 16: Continental and Northwest execute definitive agreements regarding the sale to Continental of its common stock held by Northwest, and an extension of their alliance agreement through 2025.
November 21: Northwest and Malaysia announce that they have been granted antitrust immunity by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The approval represents the first immunized alliance between a U.S. and Asian carrier.
December 1: Northwest is the first major network carrier to offer an Internet check-in program through its web site, nwa.com. The service is available for all customers flying domestically.
2001
January 4: Northwest completes its year-long program of equipping its fleet of more than 400 aircraft with LIFEPAK® 500 automated external defibrillators (AED) and BiologTM 3000 electrocardiograph (ECG) monitors.
January 16: Northwest announces it will acquire 24 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 20 Boeing B757-300 aircraft, two B747-400s and six A319s. Deliveries of the A330s will begin in 2003 and continue through 2006 deliveries of the B757s will begin in 2002 and continue through 2004 the A319s and B747s will be delivered in 2002.
January 22: Cargo division is incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary, Northwest Airlines Cargo Inc., doing business as "NWA Cargo."
February 13: The airline unveils its new 9,200-square-foot WorldClubs facility at Memphis-Shelby County International Airport, signifying the completion of more than $52 million in renovations completed at the airport in 2000.
February 19: Northwest's Board of Directors elects Richard H. Anderson to the position of chief executive officer, and Douglas M. Steenland to the position of president
