1990
- January 4: Flight 5, a 727-200 departing Miami bound for the Twin Cities, loses its #3 engine over South Florida due to ingestion of frozen lavatory fluid that had leaked from an improperly-mounted external seal. The crew safely executes an emergency landing at Tampa.
- January 30 Flight attendant Connie Walker retires at age 70 after 42 years with the airline. At the time of her retirement Ms. Walker is the oldest flight attendant ever to work for Northwest.
- January 31: Northwest announces a $422 million program to upgrade service and build customer preference.
- May 30 Honeywell and Northwest sign an aircraft satellite navigation development agreement with the Soviet government.
- June 19 Frederick B. Rentschler named president and chief executive officer. Fred Malek becomes vice chairman.
- November 9: John Dasburg, executive vice president-finance and administration, is named president and chief executive officer, succeeding Fred Rentschler, who resigned for personal and family reasons after five months in office.
- December 3: Two Northwest jets collide at Detroit Metropolitan Airport under dense ground fog: Flight 299, a 727-200 departing for Memphis, and Flight 1482, a DC-9-10 departing for Pittsburgh. 1482 missed a taxiway turnoff and mistakenly entered an active runway where 299 was already accelerating for takeoff. The DC-9’s right side was hit by the 727’s wing along the full length of its fuselage and its starboard engine was severed. The 727’s wing was also damaged. Seven passengers and one cabin crew member were killed.
- December 10: Northwest signs an agreement with Hawaiian Airlines establishing a wide range of cooperative programs, including the transfer to Northwest of Hawaiian’s route authority to Australia and a 25 percent ownership in Hawaiian Airlines.
- During 1990, Northwest for the first time has the best on-time performance among the seven largest U.S. airlines, based on U.S. Department of Transportation consumer reports for the domestic operations of ten reporting U.S. airlines.
1991
- January 31: Gary L. Wilson is elected co-chairman.
- April 2: Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launch their first joint service, twice-weekly flights between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Amsterdam.
- April 3: Northwest is first U.S. airline to fly over the western Soviet Union since World War II.
- April 19: Northwest announces charter service to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that will make Northwest the first U.S. airline to fly into Vietnam since the Vietnam war.
1992
- During the year, Northwest launches an overhaul of its domestic and international route system of focus on profitable flying and on its strategic assets. Most non-hub domestic routes (including “mini-hub” schedules at Washington and Milwaukee) are abandoned to shift resources into hub flying. The Seoul hub is dismantled and Australia flying is terminated to allow greater focus on Japan. Non-strategic trans-Atlantic routes are suspended to allow more trans-Atlantic flying from hubs, particularly Detroit and Amsterdam.
- April 10: Northwest launches Northwest AirCares, an innovative giving program that teams with a new charity each quarter for fundraising and promotions.
- June 12: Northwest Airlines becomes world’s largest Airbus A320 fleet operator when it receives its 32nd (of an eventual 50) A320.
- October 8: Northwest Airlines becomes the first U.S. airline to operate sanctioned, scheduled flights through Russian Far East airspace.
- December: The first open-skies agreement is signed between the United States and The Netherlands, allowing for unrestricted operations and fares between the countries.
- Service expands to Nagoya and Fukuoka, Japan; Richmond, Va., Oakland, Calif., and Albuquerque, N.M.
1993
- January 2: A Saab 340 operated by Express I suffers ice accretion on its wings and lands hard at the Hibbing/Chisholm, MN airport. All crew and passengers evacuate without loss of life, but the aircraft is totaled.
- January 11: The U.S. Department of Transportation approves the Northwest/KLM commercial cooperation and integration agreement under a grant of antitrust immunity. KLM and Northwest now are free to join together in creating a unified global airline system, the first of its kind anywhere.
- January 20: Northwest and KLM announce first major steps toward integrating operations, including creation of a “Seal of Partnership.”
- March 12: Mesaba begins Airlink service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Thunder Bay, Ontario
- March 16: Northwest and KLM begin to expand code-share service to over 30 NW destinations in North America, and over 30 KL destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
- April 13: Northwest and KLM coordinate their WorldPerks and Flying Blue frequent flyer programs, creating the most expansive free travel program in the airline industry.
- July 1-2: Mesaba begins Airlink service to St. Cloud, Minnesota and Champaign/Urbana, Illinois.
- August 16: Mesaba begins Airlink service to Escanaba, Michigan.
- September 22: Northwest and KLM combine and expand their vacation-package programs, beginning with WorldVacations packages to Europe.
- September 28: Carl Pohlad invests $10 million in Mesaba’s parent company, becoming its largest shareholder. Pohlad is a noted Twin Cities banker, investor, and owner of the Minnesota Twins. Pohlad had previously been the former chairman of Continental Airlines’ board of directors.
- October 1: Mesaba begins Airlink service to Evansville, Indiana, and Knoxville, Tennessee from the Detroit hub.
- December 1: Northwest Airlink Flight 5719, operated by Express Airlines II with a Jetstream 31 turboprop out of Minneapolis, crashes on approach to Hibbing-Chisholm, Minnesota. All 16 passengers and both pilots are killed.
- December 7: Wings Holdings, parent corporation of Northwest Airlines, is renamed Northwest Airlines Corporation.
- December 7: Northwest and KLM begin joint operation of all U.S.-Europe flights.
1994
- February 15: Northwest and KLM introduce World Business Class, a roomier and enhanced international business class service offered at a regular business class price. They are the first airlines from two different countries to offer a joint international service product.
- March 1: Flight 18, a Boeing 747 arriving Tokyo-Narita from Hong Kong, loses its #1 engine upon landing. A retaining pin from the engine nacelle strut had been removed during its previous maintenance check and was not reinstalled. All 245 passengers and crew safely evacuate.
- June 30: Northwest selects Chisholm as the site for its new northern Minnesota reservations and service center. The airline also is developing an Airbus heavy maintenance base at Duluth International Airport.
- August 29: Northwest and Asiana sign a joint marketing and code-share agreement for service between the United States and Korea.
- November 15: Northwest Airlines boards its one-millionth Japanese passenger of 1994, earliest date ever for this milestone.
1995
- January 6: Northwest inaugurates Seattle-Osaka nonstop service.
- April 20: Northwest inaugurates Detroit-London (Gatwick) service.
- May: Northwest launches new service to Vancouver, Saskatoon, Regina, Montreal, Halifax and Calgary, after the U.S. and Canadian governments sign the “Open Skies” agreement.
- May: In their summer schedule, Northwest and KLM offer twice-daily nonstop service between the Amsterdam hub and both the Detroit and Twin Cities hubs.
- June 27: KLM begins nonstop Memphis-Amsterdam MD-11 service. KLM would also utilize the Boeing 767-300 on the route.
- August 21: Northwest and Alaska Airlines announce a comprehensive marketing and code-sharing agreement. As a result, Northwest and Alaska passengers will enjoy the benefits of a coordinated route system that covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Asia and Europe.
- November 13: Northwest launches weekly nonstop service from Tokyo to Minneapolis/St. Paul.
1996
- February 7: Northwest claims six consecutive first-place finish for on-time performance among the seven largest airlines.
- March 28: Northwest introduces World Web home page on the Internet at http://www.nwa.com.
- April 26: Northwest and Air China create a marketing alliance, the first of its kind between the U.S. and China.
- May 1: Northwest launches first U.S. nonstop service to Beijing.
- June 21: Northwest ranks number one in customer satisfaction in J.D.Power/Frequent Flyer Survey for short distance flights.
- September 27: Northwest and Sotheby’s conduct the first airline auction live and open to the public using WorldPerks miles as currency. More than 8.3 million miles are bid on more than 30 unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience packages. Habitat for Humanity is the major beneficiary.
- December 10: Northwest teams with Microsoft and Worldspan to develop online ticket reservation/purchasing service.
1997
- January 21: Northwest announces year-end earnings of $536.1 million, the largest annual net income in Company history.
- January 30: Walter F. Mondale, former Vice President of the United States and Ambassador to Japan, is elected to the Board of Directors.
- February 24 Northwest begins non-stop service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Toronto.
- March 10: Northwest Airlines launches online booking through its website, www.nwa.com.
- March 12: Northwest launches WorldPlane Tour ’97, a Boeing 747-400 adorned with children’s artwork from 18 cities in the United States and Asia. Commemorating Northwest’s 50th anniversary of service to Asia, the tour expresses the 50th anniversary theme, “Bridging the Pacific”.
- March 18: Ben Hirst, senior vice president-corporate affairs, is named to the FAA Review Panel.
- March 24: Northwest and Express Airlines I reach an agreement for Northwest to purchase Express, which operates as a Northwest Airlink partner.
- April 7: Northwest inaugurates nonstop service between the Twin Cities and Osaka, Japan.
- April 21: Northwest and Garuda Indonesia sign commercial cooperation agreement to offer enhanced travel benefits between the United States and Indonesia, the first such alliance between a U.S. and Indonesian airline.
- May 1: Northwest and KLM inaugurate nonstop service between Newark and Amsterdam.
- May: Northwest provides many airlift flights for flood victims in the Red River Valley. Thousands of volunteers and tons of cargo are flown in to area.
- July 1: George Kourpias, former International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is named to the Board of Directors.
- July 15: Northwest celebrates its 50th anniversary of service from the United States to Asia, becoming the first airline in history to mark this milestone. A year-long exhibit of the feat opens at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
- July 21: Northwest announces its intent to purchase 24 more British Aerospace Avro RJ85 regional jet aircraft.
- August 29: Northwest and Alaska Airlines announce expansion of their existing code-sharing agreement to include Alaska’s flights to the Russian Far East.
- September 24: Northwest/KLM announce change to commission structure, capping domestic and international commissions at eight percent.
- September 24: Northwest concludes agreement with Airbus for 50 A319 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 1999 at a rate of 10 per year.
- September 29: Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines sign a ten year “Global Joint Venture” agreement. The two airlines agree to expand their current areas of cooperation for scheduling, inventory management, passenger processing, computer reservations systems and frequent flier databases. They will also streamline sales and marketing, purchasing, ground handling and catering. Each airline will also gain a seat on the other’s Board of Directors.
- October 1: Northwest/KLM inaugurate joint service from Amsterdam to Delhi and Mumbai, India.
- October 1: Northwest launches nonstop service from Detroit to New York’s JFK International Airport.
- October 2: Northwest inaugurates nonstop Minneapolis/St. Paul-Hong Kong service.
- October 9: Northwest and Mesaba sign a ten year agreement for Mesaba to operate as Northwest Airlink at Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
- October 9: Northwest and Jet Airways of India announce a cooperative marketing agreement to provide enhanced benefits for passengers on Northwest/KLM flights to India.
- October 27: Northwest ranks second in Fortune survey of the World’s Most Admired Companies.
- October 30: Northwest refines global alliance strategy, ends Asiana code-share agreement.
- October 31: Northwest creates marketing affiliation with Aloha Airlines of Hawaii.
- November 20: Northwest names three new members to Board of Directors: author/historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harvard professor Dennis F. Hightower, and KLM president and CEO Leo van Wijk.
- November 24: Northwest and Braathens SAFE, Norway’s largest regional carrier, announce a cooperative marketing partnership to provide enhanced travel benefits to and from Scandinavia.
1998
- January 7: Northwest AirCares charitable support program teams with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
- January 20: Northwest reports record 1997 profits of $597 million, the largest annual net income in the Company’s history.
- January 26: Northwest reaches global alliance agreement with Continental Airlines; purchases Air Partners stock.
- February 1: Northwest Cargo launches 747 freighter service to Manila.
- February 2: Northwest and KLM named “Airline of the Year” by Air Transport World magazine; Mesaba Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, named “Regional Airline of the Year.”
- Northwest suspends Detroit-Seoul nonstop service.
- February 14: Northwest Airlines receives NAACP Corporate Award.
- April 1: Northwest/KLM inaugurate nonstop service between Seattle and Amsterdam.
- April 5: Northwest Northwest inaugurates nonstop service between Osaka and Taipei.
- April 17: Northwest’s WorldPerks members can now book and redeem frequent flyer miles online.
- May 1: Northwest and KLM inaugurate nonstop service between Philadelphia and Amsterdam.
- Northwest completes KLM stock repurchase.
- May 11: Northwest and its U.S. airline partners sign commercial alliance agreement with Air China.
- June 1: Northwest inaugurates twice weekly nonstop Las Vegas-Tokyo service, increases Los Angeles- Tokyo service to 10 weekly flights. Frequency from Las Vegas later increases to thrice-weekly.
- Northwest suspends Chicago-Tokyo nonstop service.
- Northwest inaugurates nonstop jet service between Detroit and Manchester, NH, and between Detroit and Birmingham, AL.
- June 2: Northwest inaugurates nonstop service between Detroit and Nagoya, Japan.
- June 18: Northwest inaugurates weekly nonstop service between Anchorage and Tokyo.
- July 1: Northwest inaugurates nonstop jet service between Detroit and Lexington, Ky.
- August 1: Northwest/KLM become smoke-free worldwide.
- August 6: Northwest opens expanded Azuma WorldClub lounge at Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
- August 19: Northwest becomes the first U.S. airline to operate a new route through Russian airspace on its Detroit-Beijing flight. The new route is called Polar 2.
- August 28: Northwest Airlines ceases flying due to a strike by its 6,100 pilots who are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association labor union.
- September 16: Northwest jets return to the sky following the resolution of contract negotiations with its 6,100 pilots. The airline operates a complete schedule on Sept. 21.
- October 1: Northwest inaugurates nonstop Gulfport/Biloxi-Memphis service.
- Mesaba Airlines, a Northwest Airlink affiliate, inaugurates nonstop Avro RJ85 service between Duluth and Detroit.
- October 27: Northwest and Air China begin reciprocal code-share service between China and the United States.
- A Northwest 747 all-cargo freighter arrives in Beijing carrying nearly 200,000 pounds of relief supplies for Yangtze River flood victims. Northwest partnered with AmeriCares to collect and transport the supplies.
- November 19: Northwest unveils “Alliance Plane” at Minneapolis/St. Paul. The DC-10 is painted in the joint liveries of Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and celebrates the successful partnership between the two carriers.
- November 20: Northwest announces plans to double Tokyo-Anchorage service during the 1999 summer travel period. Northwest will operate two weekly round-trip flights with DC-10 aircraft.
- December 3: Northwest restructures Detroit-Nagoya schedule and inaugurates beyond service to Manila, Philippines.
- December 14: Richard Anderson, executive vice president-technical operations, flight operations and airport affairs assumes additional responsibility of chief operating officer. John Dasburg extends contract to remain president and chief executive officer.
- December 22: Northwest extends commercial cooperation agreements with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
1999
- January 7: Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines begin domestic code-share flights.
- January 16: Northwest inaugurates service to Kaohsiung, Taiwan – its 14th destination in the Asia/Pacific region.
- February 25: Northwest inaugurates service to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – its 15th destination in the Asia/Pacific region. (Northwest previously served Kuala Lumpur from 1985-1987.)
- February 18: Northwest to acquire 54 CRJ Series 200LR aircraft. Northwest also secures options for up to 70 further 50-seat CRJ aircraft under terms of the contract.
- June 8: Northwest Airlines and Japan Air System announce alliance agreement.
- September 15: Northwest Airlines announces “Customers First” service plan.
- September 23: Northwest Airlines and Malaysia Airlines sign commercial cooperation agreement.
- September 27: Northwest Airlines and Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority officials agree on a $400 million renovation and expansion plan for Memphis International Airport. The projects are scheduled to be completed in 2004.
- September 28: Northwest announces plan to equip fleet with defibrillators by end of 2000.
- November 2: Northwest Airlines Cargo acquires its tenth Boeing 747-200 freighter.
- December 3: The Department of Transportation grants anti-trust immunity to the tripartite alliance of Northwest, KLM and Alitalia.
Timeline Navigation
Click on the links below or use the top navigation to read through the Northwest Family history, decade by decade:
