Northwest to expand Minneapolis/St. Paul-Tokyo flights to double-daily service

All Flights Will Connect at Northwest’s Tokyo Hub to Ten Asian Cities

Northwest Airlines announced today that it will expand nonstop Minneapolis/St. Paul-Tokyo service from 10 weekly flights to twice-daily service beginning April 1, 2001. All flights will operate with Boeing 747 aircraft and offer convenient connections at Northwest’s Tokyo hub to 10 major points in the Asia/Pacific region.

“The increase from 10 to 14 weekly nonstop flights between the Twin Cities and Tokyo is a major commitment of international service for Minnesota,” said Philip Haan, executive vice president-international, sales and information services. “Few U.S. cities will have this much nonstop capacity to the largest city in Asia and also have convenient access to other major Asian markets through Northwest’s Tokyo hub. Corporate and leisure travelers will benefit.”

Northwest will offer convenient connections from points throughout the midwest, eastern and southeast sections of the United States to the Tokyo flights at its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub. On the Tokyo end, Northwest offers connections to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, China; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; Seoul, Korea; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Guam and Saipan. Northwest also provides convenient connections at Osaka, Japan to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kaohsiung, Taiwan and Manila.

Northwest will feature its enhanced World Business Class service on all Twin Cities-Tokyo flights. The redesigned aircraft will provide more than 50 percent additional leg room, improved seat recline, upgraded food service, a new digital audio system and many other improvements.

Northwest also operates nonstop service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Osaka, Japan; London, England; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. “The international arrivals facility at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport is among the best in the country and complements Northwest’s strong international schedule,” Haan said.

Northwest is the world’s fourth largest airline offering 2,600 daily departures with hubs in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam. With its travel partners, Northwest serves more than 750 cities in nearly 120 countries on six continents. Northwest and partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines received Air Transport World magazine’s prestigious Airline of the Year Award in 1997. Based on statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Northwest is the most on-time airline of the decade among the seven largest network network carriers and is the 2000 recipient of Air Transport World’s Airline Technology Management Award. Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flyer program is the highest rated U.S.-based program reviewed by InsideFlyer magazine, the leading authority on airline free travel programs, and in 1999 was named the most preferred frequent flyer program by the readers of Time magazine in Asia. WorldPerks received the special Industry Impact Award during InsideFlyer’s 12th Annual Freddie Awards. In 1999, Northwest’s nwa.com was chosen as best airline web site by zdNews.com and business 2.0 and was named one of the top 50 sites by Internet World magazine.