Northwest Airlines
later today will launch its first flight between the West Coast of the
United States and its Tokyo hub using its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft
with the departure of flight 5 from Portland, Ore. “The start of A330 service on Northwest’s Portland-Tokyo route marks the
beginning of a new level of in-flight comfort and entertainment for
travelers between the West Coast of the United States and Tokyo,” said
Laura Liu, vice president of international marketing and revenue
management, at a news media event held at Portland International Airport
aboard one of the carrier’s new aircraft. “These product enhancements will
provide travelers between Portland, San Francisco or Seattle and Tokyo
with amenities that exceed what’s offered by any other U.S. airline.”

Northwest’s long-range 243-passenger A330-200s are equipped with 32 of its
new World Business Class lie-flat seats, 211 new seats in coach class, and
feature a new entertainment system in both cabins that Northwest is the
first North American airline to offer. The aircraft also features Airbus’
enhanced interior design and according to Airbus, the quietest long-haul
cabin in the air.

Northwest, the first and only U.S.-based airline to operate the A330-200,
dedicated the first two aircraft delivered to the Portland-Tokyo route,
Portland’s only nonstop link to the Asia/Pacific region. As five more
aircraft are delivered this fall, the airline will introduce A330-200
service between San Francisco and Tokyo on October 1 and between Seattle
and Tokyo on November 1.

Northwest A330-200 service between Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea began on
August 1. The A330 is designed to provide a high level of comfort to
passengers no matter what class of service they choose. Interior contours
allow for a more spacious cabin with additional headroom and ample
carry-on space.

STATE OF THE ART IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

Northwest’s fully interactive in-flight entertainment system offers a wide
variety of music, movies, short subject programs, games, shopping and in-
flight information, all “on demand,” giving customers the freedom and
flexibility to start, pause or stop at any time. The gateway to all of
these features is a convenient retractable controller, making it easy to
access from any sitting position, as opposed to stationary controllers
fixed on armrests.

In World Business Class, Northwest customers are able to view any of these
features on a 10.4 inch/26.4 centimeter video screen, 50 percent larger in
size than the screens found in business class seats on other U.S.
airlines, and many international airlines. Northwest customers traveling
in coach class are able to view any of these features on a personal video
screen in the back of the seat in front of them. The screen pivots,
allowing customers to adjust it and continue viewing if the seat in front
of them is reclined.

NEW WORLD BUSINESS CLASS SEAT

World Business Class travelers enjoy an array of features available to
them on Northwest’s new seat including:

—Recline. Northwest’s seat reclines 176 degrees, essentially converting
to a lie-flat position, making sleep during flight far easier than in a
merely partially reclined seat. At 176 degrees, Northwest’s seat reclines
more than its U.S. competitors.—Length and width. At six feet, seven
inches, Northwest’s new lie-flat World Business Class seat is longer than
any other business class seat in the U.S. The seat is 20.25 inches wide.
—Privacy. Northwest’s seat offers customers a leather-wrapped privacy
canopy to provide a more private area of space.—60 inches of space
between seats, a seat “pitch” providing customers with a generous amount
of legroom and space.—110-volt personal computer power in every seat,
eliminating the need for customers to carry on cumbersome converters or
multiple batteries.—Three pre-set locations on the seat control unit,
including take- off/landing and flat and cradle, in addition to an
infinite number of adjustments travelers can make on their own.—Cycling
lumbar support, mitigating the effects of sitting for longer periods of
time.—A dimmable personal snake reading light, providing softer light
for reading that can be positioned closer to a book, magazine, or
newspaper than overhead lighting.—A six-way adjustable headrest,
eliminating the need for customers to “construct” a headrest by arranging
pillows. The headrest slides along a track that can be adjusted to
travelers’ individual height.—A swivel cocktail table, furnishing
travelers with a place to rest a drink without using the larger tray
table.—Four seat-back storage pockets, providing Northwest World
Business Class customers with four different sized pockets to store items
ranging in size from eyeglasses to reading materials.—Adaptability for
the comfort of taller passengers, through an extendable seat cushion that
can be adjusted to provide additional support for knees and lower thighs.
NEW COACH CLASS SEAT

Northwest’s A330 also features a completely new coach class seat, offered
in a two-seat, aisle, four-seat, aisle, two-seat configuration throughout
much of the aircraft. As a result, no seat is more than one seat away from
an aisle.

The new coach seat features a “winged” headrest, with bendable sides,
allowing the customer to rest their head or sleep toward the side of the
seat, without having to manually create a headrest with pillows.

The middle section of the coach class cabin, including rows 10 through 23,
offers passengers a 110-volt personal computer power outlet, eliminating
the need for cumbersome power converters.

ABOUT THE AIRBUS A330-200

Northwest’s A330-200 has a maximum full passenger range of 5,768 nautical
miles/6,638 statute miles and maximum take-off weight of 513,700 pounds,
well matched for Northwest’s trans-Pacific operations and
intra-Asia/Pacific schedule from its Tokyo hub.

The A330-200 is 192 feet, 11.5 inches/58.5 meters in length, 57 feet, 1
inch/17.4 meters high and its fuselage has a diameter of 18 feet, six
inches/5.6 meters. The A330-200’s wingspan stretches 197 feet, 10
inches/60.3 meters, including winglets at the end of each wing with a
30-degree sweep.

The A330-200 also offers NWA Cargo customers airfreight capacity for up to
79,000 pounds/35,837 kilograms of cargo capacity.

The A330 provides Northwest with up to 30 percent in fuel savings, and is
a much quieter aircraft, than the DC10-30 it replaces.

Northwest’s new A330-200 service is available for sale via the Internet at
http://www.nwa.com/ , by calling Northwest Airlines International
Reservations at 1-800-447-4747 or through travel agencies.

In addition to the daily service to Tokyo it began on June 10, Northwest
currently offers four daily flights between Portland and its hub at
Minneapolis/St. Paul, and one daily (seasonal) flight to its WorldGateway
hub at Detroit. On Dec. 15, Northwest continues its growth at Portland by
inaugurating daily service to Honolulu.
——-