NWAC Northwest Airlines (MM)

Northwest Airlines Announces New Nonstop Service Between Detroit and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa. Three daily flights begin April 4 DETROIT, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ:NWAC) today announced new nonstop service between its hub at Detroit and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa. Three daily flights will be offered beginning April 4, 2005. "Northwest Airlines is pleased to welcome Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to its growing global network," said Tom Bach, vice president of market planning and Airlink. "This new service will offer local travelers and visitors to the region a convenient link to the world. Passengers traveling through our renowned WorldGateway hub at Detroit will find hassle-free connections to cities throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia." "We have looked forward to the initiation of this service by Northwest Airlines and the benefits it will bring to northeastern Pennsylvania," said Robert C. Cordaro, chairman of the Bi-County Airport Board. "Bringing Northwest service to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport has been our No. 1 priority," added airport director Barry Centini. "Nonstop Detroit service is the most requested service from our business community." "On behalf of the people of northeastern Pennsylvania, I welcome Northwest Airlines to our region and look forward to the increased economic activity this new service will bring to our region," said U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D- Pa.). Two of the daily flights will be operated by Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), which seats up to 50 passengers. The third flight will be operated with Northwest Airlink partner Mesaba Airlines' Saab 340 turboprop, seating up to 34 passengers. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be the eighth destination in Pennsylvania served by Northwest and its Airlink partners, complementing existing service to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Allentown, Harrisburg, Erie and State College. Service to Latrobe also begins April 4. Including Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Northwest has announced or has begun service to 13 new destinations from Detroit this year, bringing to 158 the number of destinations served from Northwest's efficient and passenger- friendly WorldGateway hub. The flights will be open for sale Dec. 18 at http://www.nwa.com/ , through travel agencies or Northwest Airlines Reservations at 1-800-225-2525. New Detroit-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton service effective April 4, 2005 Flight number: Departs: Arrives: Aircraft: NW 3240 10:00 a.m. 11:53 a.m. Saab 340 NW 2930 1:55 p.m. 3:15 p.m. CRJ NW 3231 9:00 p.m. 10:20 p.m. CRJ New Wilkes-Barre/Scranton-Detroit service effective April 4, 2005 Flight number: Departs: Arrives: Aircraft: NW 2919* 6:15 a.m. 8:00 a.m. CRJ NW 3167 12:20 p.m. 2:20 p.m. Saab 340 NW 2928 4:16 p.m. 5:36 p.m. CRJ * Service begins April 5, 2005 Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo, and Amsterdam, and approximately 1,500 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance partnership with Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Korean Air. SkyTeam offers customers one of the world's most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 900 cities in more than 160 countries on six continents. In 2003, consumers from throughout the world recognized Northwest's efforts to make travel easier. Northwest's WorldPerks program was named the most popular North American frequent flyer program by readers of TIME Asia in the 2003 TIME Readers' Travel Choice Awards. A 2003 J.D. Power and Associate study of airports ranked Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit, home to Northwest's two largest hubs, in second and fourth place among large domestic airports in overall customer satisfaction. DATASOURCE: Northwest Airlines CONTACT: Northwest Media Relations, +1-612-726-2331 Web site: http://www.nwa.com/

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