NWAC Northwest Airlines (MM)

Fay Beauchine to Retire; Steven Sear Named Northwest Airlines Vice President-Sales EAGAN, Minn., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ:NWAC) today announced that Fay P. Beauchine, vice president-sales and customer care, advised the airline that she will retire next month. Steven M. Sear, managing director of reservations services, will succeed Beauchine and is being promoted to vice president-sales. Sear will be responsible for Northwest and KLM sales programs for North American corporations, travel agencies, the federal government, national associations, tour operators, cruise lines, consolidators and other distributors. He also is responsible for the airline's sales support call centers. "Fay Beauchine is a superb leader who achieved impressive results in sales, customer relations and reservations operations during her career at Northwest. Her contributions in deepening customer and alliance relationships, especially in today's competitive environment, have been instrumental to the success of the airline's marketing efforts," said Tim Griffin, executive vice president-marketing and distribution. "We thank Fay for her 27 years of selfless service to our airline and wish her well as she builds a new business directed at helping global organizations develop sales and customer service strategies." "Steve Sear brings impressive domestic and international sales experience to his new management position at Northwest. These skills will be invaluable as the airline evolves its products to serve best the needs of its valued customers while continuing to implement programs that help Northwest grow market share." "Steve inherits a first-rate, customer-focused sales team that always strives to make the travel experience on Northwest an efficient experience," Griffin added. As managing director of reservations services, Sear has been responsible for overseeing network operations, planning and technology development for Northwest's five domestic call centers. Since joining the carrier in 1992, he has held a number of key managerial positions including director-sales planning and analysis, director-international and alliance sales, and as the Japan-based director-revenue and distribution planning. Prior to joining Northwest, he was a consultant for Chicago-based Buccino & Associates, Inc. Sear received a master of business administration degree from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree, cum laude, from DePauw University. Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and approximately 1,600 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, an airline alliance that offers customers one of the world's most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 900 cities in excess of 160 countries on six continents. DATASOURCE: Northwest Airlines CONTACT: Northwest Media Relations, +1-612-726-2331 Web site: http://www.nwa.com/

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