ST. PAUL, MINN.—(March 5, 2003)—Northwest Airlines and its Northwest Airlink affiliate, Mesaba Aviation, announced today service between its Detroit hub and Bristol/Johnson City/Kingsport, Tenn., beginning May 1, 2003.
The twice-daily Tri-Cities service will be operated with the airline’s 34-seat Saab 340 turbo-prop aircraft.
Flights from the Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Tennessee/Virginia to Detroit are scheduled to allow for convenient connections to hundreds of non-stop domestic and international destinations served by Northwest worldwide. The new Detroit flights will complement the existing Memphis service.
“We are extremely pleased that Northwest Airlink will be adding nonstop service to Detroit from Tri-Cities Regional Airport in May,” said Melissa Thomas, Tri-Cities Regional Airport director of marketing and air service development. “Detroit is a frequent destination for Tri-Cities passengers and the domestic and international connections, particularly to Asia, will provide outstanding travel options for the community.”
“I am pleased that Northwest is adding this service to and from Detroit,” added U.S. Rep. William L. Jenkins (R-Tenn.). “Having access to the Detroit hub will provide our region’s personal and business travelers with an array of new options for both domestic and international travel. I commend Northwest Airlines for offering this new service for the Tri-Cities Regional Airport.”
“We at Northwest are pleased to offer nonstop service between Detroit and the Tri-cities area, and are certain that both business and pleasure travelers will find the service useful for all of their travel needs,” said Jim Cron, vice president market planning and Airlink.
The daily flights are open for sale through www.nwa.com, Northwest Airlines Reservations at 1-800-225-2525 or through travel agencies.

Northwest Airlines is the world`s fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam and more than 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. Powers 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.

——-