ST. PAUL, MINN. å- (December 23, 2002) å- Northwest Airlines today announced that its holiday travelers will have more check-in options, access to more convenient self-service check-in functionality, and use of all of these services at more airports than whatå‘s offered by any other airline.

“In November alone, more than one million Northwest customers, many of them holiday travelers, busted through airport lines by taking advantage of nwa.com Check-In and our E-Service Centers,” said Dirk McMahon, senior vice president of customer service. “As a result of an aggressive deployment of new E-Service Centers, in some cases as fast as 15 airports per week, we now have two time-saving self-service check-in options for customers in 139 airports throughout the United States and Canada, more than any other airline, including our largest competitors.”

NEW SECURITY CHANGES REQUIRING A BOARDING PASS EASIER FOR NORTHWEST CUSTOMERS:
Over the past month, the U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has begun streamlining the security screening process at several U.S. airports, and continues to phase in these changes at additional airports. In airports where the changes have been implemented, all customers are required to have a boarding pass to get through the security checkpoint.

In the first few weeks of the new requirements being implemented at Northwest’s WorldGateway at Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul hubs, the carrier saw an increase in the usage of nwa.com Check-In and its many E-Service Centers located throughout the lobbies, pedestrian walkways, and parking structures.

“As a result of our multi-faceted self-service check-in program, the new security checkpoint requirements did not impact our customers,” McMahon continued. “In the cities where these changes have been implemented, nwa.com Check-In and our E-Service Centers have given Northwest customers a clear time and convenience advantage over the customers of other airlines.”

NORTHWEST OFFERS MOST FUNCTIONALITY:

Northwest offers more electronic check-in functionality than any other airline. In October, Northwest was the first airline to announce the availability of self-service check-in for flights from the U.S. and Canada to all of its destinations in Asia, the Caribbean, and nearly all of them in Europe. In the first five weeks since its launch, almost 24,000 international flyers obtained their boarding pass through nwa.com Check-In or an E-Service Center.

Northwest was also the first airline to make Internet check-in available up to 30 hours prior to departure through its nwa.com Check-In product, giving customers greater flexibility in when they perform the check-in process. When returning within 30 hours, nwa.com Check-In invites customers to check-in for their return flight as well, allowing them to check-in for their entire roundtrip at one time.

Through using either its E-Service Centers or nwa.com Check-In, the Internet check-in service available through the carrier’s Web site, customers traveling on e-tickets can:

- Check-in for flights from the U.S. and Canada to nearly any destination Northwest serves worldwide - Select or change their seat assignments - Change flights, including payment of change fees - View changes to their itinerary if their flight has been delayed or cancelled and confirm their choice of alternative flight service - Purchase “E-First” upgrades to First Class at special low rates when traveling on select fares and space is available - Print e-ticket receipts - Add their WorldPerks frequent flier number to their flight reservation.

“Northwest customers are embracing these technologies in record numbers,” said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce. “Between January and November of this year, usage of our self-service check-in options doubled. On November 26, more than 14,500 customers obtained their boarding pass through nwa.com Check-In alone, an all-time record.”
On five days in November, and three days in December, more than 10,000 Northwest customers took greater control of their travel experience by using nwa.com Check-In.

NORTHWEST OFFERS BONUS FREQUENT FLIER MILES FOR TRYING SELF-SERVICE CHECK-IN:

Through April 30, 2003, first time users of Northwest’s self-service check-in options, who are also members of Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flier program, will receive a one-time bonus of 1,000 miles for checking in at either an E-Service Center or through nwa.com Check-In. First time users of self-service check-in can earn up to 2,000 miles total for trying both nwa.com Check-In and an E-Service Center check-in. Visit www.nwa.com/features/ecomm2k.html for complete terms and conditions. No advance registration is required. Membership in WorldPerks is required. Fast and easy online WorldPerks enrollment is available at www.nwa.com/freqfly/direct/enrol. Northwest`s E-Service Center kiosks and associated software are produced by Kinetics, Inc., the leading developer of self-service solutions to the U.S. airline industry, as well other key Northwest e-commerce initiatives, such as nwa.com Check-In. For more information, visit www.kineticsusa.com. 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. With its travel partners, Northwest serves nearly 750 cities in almost 120 countries on six continents. In 2002, consumers from throughout the world recognized Northwest’s efforts to make travel easier. A 2002 J.D. Power and Associates study ranked airports at Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul, home to Northwest’s two largest hubs, tied for second place among large domestic airports in overall customer satisfaction. Business travelers who subscribe to OAG print and electronic flight guides rated nwa.com as the best airline Web site. Readers of TTG Asia and TTG China named Northwest “Best North American airline.” For more information pertaining to Northwest, media inquiries can be directed to Northwest Media Relations at (612) 726-2331 or to Northwest’s Web site at www.nwa.com.

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