As Northwest operated the largest fleet of A320s in North America, Airbus’ sales department kept the carrier well-informed about progress on the airframe’s larger and smaller derivatives. NWA’s robust 757-200 investment meant they were not interested in the A321, but in the mid-1990s the smaller A319 was becoming an interesting potential replacement for older DC9-30 and DC9-50 equipment, especially on longer-range routes.
Deliveries of the A319 started in April 1996, but it took until September 1997 for Northwest to sign an agreement with Airbus. And it was a big order, for 50 airframes: 10 per year from 1999 onward. By the time deliveries began, NWA had increased that order to 68, throttling back only a bit after 9/11. At the time of the merger with Delta, Northwest had 57 frames in operation.
7 of these A319s were VIP-configured for NBA sports charter work. The regularly-outfitted aircraft had 16 First Class and 108 Coach seats.
The range of the A319 made it ideal for winter runs to Central America and the Caribbean, and its capacity was a good fit for short hops from the hub airports to medium-sized cities across the Heartland. As a result, you could expect to see the type at nearly every airport across the North American system. It was even used for a time out of Tokyo-Narita to pioneer service to “smaller” destinations like Busan, South Korea and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The A319’s flexibility and interchangeability with A320 and even A321 equipment has kept it a mainstay of the Delta fleet well into the 2020s – demonstrating the smart value of Northwest’s investment.
If you use these photos, please credit the Northwest Airlines History Center – please also contact us to let us know how you’re using them and if we can be of further help!
N325NB arriving Miami, July 2, 2003. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N334NB taxiing at Mexico City, July 24, 2003. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N324NB at LGA, Feb. 1, 2004. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N308NB arriving Las Vegas, Mar. 1, 2005. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N317NB taxis past the observation deck at MSP, July 2005. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N304NB sports a newly-painted radome at MSP, July 2005. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N367NB taxis past the observation deck at MSP, July 2005. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N328NB arriving Miami, Sept. 1, 2005. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/In October 2005, MSP airport held an open house to celebrate the completion of Runway 17-35. N303NB was towed over for static display. From the D. Scott Norris collection.In October 2005, MSP airport held an open house to celebrate the completion of Runway 17-35. N303NB was towed over for static display. From the D. Scott Norris collection.In October 2005, MSP airport held an open house to celebrate the completion of Runway 17-35. N303NB was towed over for static display. From the D. Scott Norris collection.In October 2005, MSP airport held an open house to celebrate the completion of Runway 17-35. N303NB was towed over for static display. From the D. Scott Norris collection.In October 2005, MSP airport held an open house to celebrate the completion of Runway 17-35. N303NB was towed over for static display. From the D. Scott Norris collection.Wing condensation with a side of bacon 🙂 on this snowy, foggy March 2006 Minneapolis morning. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N341NB inbound to LAX, Apr. 17, 2007. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N328NB approaching LAX, Apr. 21, 2007. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N321NB at the gate in Minneapolis, midday on June 12, 2007. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N332NB approaches its gate at Newark, Feb. 7, 2008. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/Newark arrival for N369NB, Feb. 7, 2008. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/Detroit ramp scene with N324NB in the foreground, Feb. 7, 2008. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/N369NB passing by the shipping container docks at Newark, Feb. 7, 2008. Image by Aero Icarus, CC 2.0 license. Full images at https://www.flickr.com/people/aero_icarus/Crisp sunshine on January 10, 2009 sees N335NB taxi for departure from MSP. From the D. Scott Norris collection.Crisp sunshine on January 10, 2009 sees N325NB taxi to its gate at MSP. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N364NB sitting at Memphis on March 3, 2009. The pace of repainting into Delta colors was quite evident that day. From the D. Scott Norris collection.N345NB taxis to its gate at MSP, Sept. 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.N365NB deploys its thrust reversers on touchdown at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nov. 12, 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.
