Gary L. Wilson,
chairman of the board of Northwest Airlines Corporation has announced that the company will establish a new
12-member board of directors upon the upcoming completion of its
reorganization.Wilson, who has served as chairman since 1997 and
co-chairman since 1991, will be succeeded as chairman by Roy Bostock,
a board member since 2005. The current Board will continue to serve
until the reorganization is completed, which is expected in June.

  The new Board will include continuing and new directors who bring
a broad mix of skills to Northwest Airlines. Northwest will continue
its corporate governance practice initiated by Wilson of requiring
separation of the chairman and chief executive officer positions, and
the Board is considering instituting the 12-year term limit for
directors recommended by both the Official Committee of Unsecured
Creditors and the Northwest Restructuring Committee.

  Wilson said, “I am leaving the Board because I believe in term
limits and because my other business interests do not allow me
sufficient time to continue leading the Board. Roy Bostock is a great
leader who will invest the time and energy required to lead the Board
and to help the management team create shareholder value. I have been
associated with Northwest Airlines since 1989 and am extremely proud
of the extraordinary accomplishments of this very resilient
organization. Our industry never fully recovered from the economic
impact of 9/11 and the Iraq War, as reduced travel and high fuel
prices led to massive losses that could only be resolved in
bankruptcy.”

  Wilson continued, “I applaud our Board and management on achieving
an extremely successful reorganization and creating a profitable
company going forward that will produce meaningful profit-sharing for
all employees. I wish all my colleagues good fortune on maintaining
Northwest’s return to profitability and enhancing its focus on great
service to our customers.”

  Bostock said, “Northwest Airlines is emerging from the
reorganization process well positioned for long-term profitability and
growth. We will have an excellent market position, strong balance
sheet, improved cost structure, industry-leading corporate governance
and a distinguished Board with deep airline experience and a broad
range of other relevant skills. I am honored to succeed Gary Wilson as
chairman and, on behalf of the entire Board, I salute him for his 16
years of tireless and effective Board leadership.”

  Dana J. Lockhart, chairman of the Official Committee of Unsecured
Creditors and chief financial officer of Airbus North America, said,
“We have worked very productively with Northwest and are pleased with
the composition of the new Board, which blends the broad experience of
the continuing directors with the fresh perspectives and wide-ranging
expertise of the new directors. We are also pleased that Northwest
will be in the vanguard of best practices for boards of directors that
Gary Wilson has advocated. The new Board is well-equipped to represent
the interests of all of Northwest’s constituencies while guiding the
company as it emerges from a very successful reorganization where the
unsecured creditors will realize very substantial financial recoveries
including, for most creditors, the opportunity to receive equity in a
well-positioned airline.”

  Doug Steenland, president and chief executive officer of Northwest
Airlines, said, “I look forward to working with our new board as they
help guide our management team during this new and exciting chapter in
Northwest Airlines’ long history. We have achieved our three key goals
for the reorganization - developing a more efficient business model,
reducing our cost structure, and strengthening our balance sheet. We
are grateful to our creditors, who have played a constructive role in
the process, our management team and the 31,000 committed employees
who never lost their focus on running the business and serving our
customers. I want to recognize the enormous contributions of our board
of directors and particularly, Gary Wilson’s leadership. We will miss
his wisdom, strategic guidance and passion for Northwest.”
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