Northwest
Airlines has celebrated the official grand opening of its
new Regional Sioux City Reservations Call Center in downtown Sioux
City, Iowa.The 32,000 square foot center will employ more than 300
reservations sales agents and management employees.

  “We are extremely proud to officially open our Regional Sioux City
Reservations Center, which will handle up to four million incoming
reservations calls annually,” said Doug Steenland, president and CEO.
“Today’s celebration reaffirms our commitment to answering domestic
customer calls with U.S. based reservations sales agents represented
by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
(IAM).”

  In April 2007, Northwest announced plans to construct the
reservations center in the former JCPenney’s department store building
in downtown Sioux City. Construction began July 2, 2007 and Northwest
moved into the facility 91 days later on October 1, 2007.

  Northwest worked with the City of Sioux City, the Sioux City
Department of Economic Development and the Iowa Business Growth
Corporation to develop the new reservations center.

  “Today is an exciting day for Northwest Airlines and another
successful project for Sioux City,” said Mayor Craig Berenstein. “We
are proud to have worked with Northwest on this project and believe it
is a great fit for our community and our continuous efforts for
economic growth.”

  Northwest also operates domestic reservations centers in
Baltimore, Md., Chisholm, Minn., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle and
Tampa, Fla.

  “Although recent changes in customer purchasing habits have
resulted in increased use of the Internet and other self-service tools
for travel reservations, there still is a significant need for
reservations centers,” said Perry Cantarutti, vice president,
reservations sales and services. “We are excited to locate our new
reservations center in Sioux City and look forward to strengthening
our ties with this great city.”
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