The Airchive-Northwest Timetables

		August 1, 1939 Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		July 3, 1947 Northwest changed its name to Northwest Orient Airlines in 1947 when it inaugurated flights to Asia. Initially NW utilized Douglas DC-4s, before changing to Boeing B-377 Stratocruises from Seattle and Minneapolis to Tokyo and Shanghai via Anchorage. The airline initially was slated to change the name to Northwest Oriental Airlines, but wisely opted not to.
		April 1, 1950 Northwest used Strats on transcon and Asian stages. These were replaced by DC-7s beginning in 1953. Passengers loved the Stratocruiser, particularly the lower deck lounge, but its engines were unreliable, resulting in "tri-motor" service often. Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings
		April 30, 1961 Northwest was flying DC-8s, along with DC-6s and DC7s in the early 1960s. 707s and 720s would arrive later.
		August 1, 1968 Northwest had an all jet fleet as of 1996 with extensive routes to Asia using 707’s and 720’s. Florida and Hawaii had been added in the 60’s as well.
		February 1, 1974 By 1974, Northwest Orient’s 22 specially configured Pratt & Whitney DC-10-40s had been delivered. Services were still centered around the Northern tier of the U.S. with schedules to Florida and California. Notice no Asian flights overflew the Tokyo hub at this time.
		June 5, 1986 This was the last timetable before Northwest Orient purchased domestic operator Republic in September 1986. With the purchase of Minneapolis-based Republic, NW changed it’s name back to Northwest. It also gained new hubs at Detroit and Memphis as well as 100s of new routes and destinations. The merger catapulted Northwest from the 7th to the 4th largest U.S. Airline. Republic itself was an amalgamation of Southern Airways, Hughes Airwest, and North Central, formed in 1979. Hughes was formed from 3 airline’s in the 60s. The route structure now spread into Ireland, the U.K., Ireland, Scandinavia, and Germany. A new image would follow in 1989.

		Republic - 1985 This is one of the final timetables of Republic before it was acquired by Northwest.
		June 1, 1987 In 1987, Northwest dropped the "Orient" in its corporate title, which has been added 40 years prior. The word "Orient" had become somewhat politically incorrect by the time, and the airlines focused had expanded to Europe and a much more extensive domestic route structure. Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
		March 3, 1988 This was one of the final schedules before the 1989 rebranding. Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
		1994 Route Map
		October 1, 1995 Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
		October 29, 2000 By 2000, Northwest was dramatically different carrier than it was in the 80s. It owned a large percentage of Continental Airlines, was the dominant U.S. carrier in Asia, and was well into a trend setting alliance with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The fleet remained largely unchanged with such classic types as the DC-9, DC-10, 727, and 747 Classics still plying the skies in addition to the A-320’s, 757’s and 747-400s. Many European, including Scotland and Scandanavia, routes had been dropped in favor of the 1993 KLM alliance except London Gatwick, Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.
		June 1, 2002 Northwest was fairing better than most U.S. majors but was still flying in turbulent skies in 2002. The airline completed a 3 way allaince with Continental and Delta. In 2003, the carrier introduced a new lower cost o maintain livery, its first image change since 1989.
		2005 U.S. and International Route Map Northwest has joined SkyTeam thus Continental and Delta routes are included on its route map.

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