Northwest’s groundbreaking 1986 order for Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft created a strong bond with the European manufacturer. While NWA did turn to Boeing for its flagship 747-400 and multi-role 757 series, Airbus in the late 1980s aimed at the capacity and range target between those two aircraft types.
Northwest’s 1970s-vintage DC10-40 trijets were serving domestic and Atlantic missions and were ripe for replacement, as were early 747-100s. Airbus secured an order in April 1987 for 20 of their four-engine widebody A340 to start delivery in 1993 with an option for 10 of the two-engine A330. In fact, Northwest was to be the North American launch customer for the A330. In February 1989 the A330 order was firmed with deliveries scheduled for 1994.
Commonality between A340 and A330 was a key selling point; the aircraft were essentially the same but for the number of engines – pilots would be automatically rated on both types (with an easy training upgrade for their senior A320 pilots), and spares inventories would be dramatically reduced.
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February 1989 model presented by Airbus to Northwest to mark the ten-frame A330 order placed then. Note how the winglets’ design changed from concept to reality! On display at the NWAHC Museum.February 1989 model presented by Airbus to Northwest to mark the ten-frame A330 order placed then. Note how the winglets’ design changed from concept to reality! On display at the NWAHC Museum.February 1989 model presented by Airbus to Northwest to mark the ten-frame A330 order placed then. Note how the winglets’ design changed from concept to reality! On display at the NWAHC Museum.February 1989 model presented by Airbus to Northwest to mark the ten-frame A330 order placed then. Note how the winglets’ design changed from concept to reality! On display at the NWAHC Museum.February 1989 model presented by Airbus to Northwest to mark the ten-frame A330 order placed then. Note how the winglets’ design changed from concept to reality! On display at the NWAHC Museum.1992 advertisement by ABS in Aviation Week magazine featuring the Airbus display models of the A330 and A340 Northwest had placed on order (before that order was cancelled, of course).
A change of engine specifications not to Northwest’s liking, the economic fallout of the Gulf War, and a resulting cash-flow crisis would lead to the cancellation of both the A330 and A340 orders. NWA instead picked up used DC10-30s to supplement and then replace the -40s. However, Airbus continued to upgrade the A330 in the 1990s and kept the lines of communication open with NWA. The diligence was rewarded in January 2001 with an order for 24 frames of the higher capacity A330-300, for deliveries to start in 2003 and continue through 2006.
The order would be tweaked to reduce the count of A330-300s to 21, but Airbus was not complaining as Northwest would order 11 of the smaller A330-200. Generally, the -200 was deployed on Pacific routes while the -300 covered the Atlantic, but -200s would sometimes be seen at the Amsterdam hub as well.
The A330 remained in service with Delta well after the merger where its flexibility and economy was prized, earning reorders of a higher-weight A330-300 version as well as a next-generation A330-900. The A330 type will be in service with Delta well into the 2030s.
Publicity air-to-air shot of N802NW. NWAHC collection.-200 series N858NW caught at San Francisco in April 2005, in between turns to Tokyo-Narita. Photographer unattributed; slide from Scott Norris’ collection.-300 N806NW getting at tow to the hangar at MSP, Oct. 14, 2006, with the well-known Superamerica gas station in the background. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N809NW between flights at a busy MSP, March 2007. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N802NW at the gate at MSP, March 2, 2007. D. Scott Norris collection.N802NW at the gate at MSP, March 2, 2007. (Extra detail) D. Scott Norris collection.Dramatic composition for this publicity shot from Airbus. Date undetermined.This June 28, 2007 shot at Tokyo-Narita shows -200 N851NW being readied for loading. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N812NW taxis for departure from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Jan. 10, 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N812NW waiting to enter the runway, Jan. 10, 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N812NW accelerates down Runway 30L at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Jan. 10, 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-200 N857NW taxiing to gate at Tokyo-Narita, July 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.N813NW at Minneapolis is towed to the gate, July 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N804NW on approach. Photo (C) Jonathan Taylor, used with permission.-300 N815NW gets a tow to the hangar at MSP, Aug. 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-200 N858NW on its landing roll at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Aug. 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-200 N858NW makes an appearance at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Aug. 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.-300 N808NW at the MSP G concourse as repaints become more commonly seen in November 2009. D. Scott Norris collection.
