Northwest Airlines today
announced new nonstop jet service between its hub at Minneapolis/St. Paul
and Lexington, Ky. One daily flight will be offered beginning June 9. “Northwest Airlines is pleased to continue to grow its service in
Lexington,” said Tom Bach, vice president of market planning and Airlink.
“Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of the most requested destinations among
travelers in the Bluegrass region, and customers traveling through our hub
at Minneapolis/St. Paul will enjoy convenient connections to cities
throughout the Midwest, West, Hawaii, Alaska and western Canada.”

The additional flight will complement existing Northwest service between
Lexington and Northwest’s hubs at Detroit and Memphis, Tenn., making Blue
Grass Airport the 61st Northwest U.S. destination with nonstop flights to
all three Northwest domestic hubs, with connections to hundreds of
destinations worldwide through Northwest and its SkyTeam partners.
Northwest is the leading carrier of international passengers in Lexington.

“Blue Grass Airport welcomes Northwest Airlines’ decision to add a new
nonstop jet flight from Lexington to a third hub,” said Michael Gobb, the
airport’s executive director. “To lure this new service to the Blue Grass
region, over 300 Central Kentucky companies and individuals submitted
letters of support to Northwest Airlines detailing the need for access to
Minneapolis and beyond. Northwest has been a generous partner in our
efforts to connect central Kentucky to the world, and we look forward to
expanding that partnership through new daily jet service to Minneapolis.”

“Today’s announcement of nonstop service to Minneapolis/St. Paul is an
important benchmark in the continued growth and diversity of our economy,”
added U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.). “Lexington is a great place to do
business and Northwest Airlines is an important partner in the continued
growth of this region. As a new member of the House Subcommittee on
Aviation, I look forward to making sure Blue Grass Airport provides top
quality air service for years to come.”

The new flights will be operated by Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle
Airlines Corp. using the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), which seats up to 50
passengers.

Lexington brings to 170 the number of destinations served from Northwest’s
hub at Minneapolis/St. Paul.

In addition to Lexington, Northwest and its Airlink partners serve four
destinations in Kentucky, including Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport, Louisville and Paducah.
——-