Northwest CEO Urges U.S. DOT to Approve International Anti-Trust Immunity Application Among SkyTeam Partners

Northwest CEO Urges U.S. DOT to Approve International Anti-Trust
Immunity Application Among SkyTeam Partners
Steenland Says Approval Is Necessary to Both Preserve and Expand Airline
Alliance's Benefits for Consumers, Communities and Carriers 


WASHINGTON, July 21  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Airlines president and
chief executive officer Doug Steenland urged the United States Department of
Transportation (DOT) to approve the application of a group of airlines in the
SkyTeam alliance for international anti-trust immunity.

In a speech Tuesday before the International Aviation Club in Washington D.C.,
Steenland said approval of the application involving Air France, Alitalia, CSA
Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest
Airlines is necessary to both preserve and expand the many benefits that the
alliance offers consumers, communities and the carriers involved.

"The Air France-KLM merger is the genesis for our pending application with
DOT", Steenland explained.  The application "brings together two successful and
first-rate alliances (Northwest/KLM and SkyTeam) with proven consumer-friendly
track records."

"In order to fully preserve the efficiencies and consumer benefits of the
existing alliances, it is necessary to bridge the immunities held by
Northwest/KLM and SkyTeam," continued Steenland.  "Linking the Northwest/KLM
and SkyTeam alliance networks will generate substantial new benefits including:
new and expanded trans-Atlantic nonstop service; new online connecting service
in almost 9,000 markets not currently served by either of the alliances;
increased pathway options benefiting 16,280 city pairs that account for almost
80 percent of trans-Atlantic travel; greater discount opportunities by allowing
passengers to choose from numerous itineraries; improved time of day coverage;
and reduced travel time in over 4,000 markets, representing 18 percent of the
transatlantic traffic."

Northwest and KLM operate a highly integrated joint venture which was granted
anti-trust immunity by the U.S. Department of Transportation in January, 1993. 
Air France operates an alliance with Delta, Alitalia and Czech (members of
SkyTeam) under anti-trust immunity granted by DOT in January 2002. Air France
and KLM received merger approval in early 2004.  In September 2004, Northwest
joined the SkyTeam alliance of airlines as a marketing member. SkyTeam includes
Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, Alitalia, CSA Czech, Delta and Korean Air.  The
pending application with DOT seeks to bridge the existing anti-trust immunity
of Northwest/KLM and the SkyTeam carriers Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech and
Delta Air Lines.

SkyTeam Application Receives Broad Support From Communities, Corporate
Customers, Labor and Consumers

Northwest's application has received an unprecedented array of support from a
diverse group of parties including communities, corporate customers and
consumers who today are already benefiting from immunized alliances among
SkyTeam partners.  The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Business
Travel Coalition have also filed with the DOT in support of the application.

The Wayne County Airport Authority, which manages Detroit Metropolitan Airport,
has seen its nonstop service between Detroit and Amsterdam grow from zero daily
flights to five daily flights this summer as a result of Northwest's immunized
alliance with KLM.  According to a news release from the Wayne County Airport
Authority, Northwest service from Detroit could well be enhanced and upgraded
if the DOT approves and immunizes the agreements as requested by Northwest and
SkyTeam.

At Northwest's Twin Cities hub, the airport, the cities of Bloomington,
Burnsville, Eagan, Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as many local
organizations, also expressed their support.

As an example of the benefits that anti-trust immunity can bring to a region,
Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which
operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport pointed out in a news
release that before Northwest and KLM received anti-trust immunity, there were
no nonstop flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and
Amsterdam. This summer, the Northwest/KLM joint venture offers three daily
non-stops, totaling 807 seats.

Additionally, Twin Cities' leaders argued that, with anti-trust immunity,
Northwest Airlines would be in a position to provide additional European
nonstop services to the community and to continue to generate economic value
and jobs.

Memphis, which recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of nonstop service to
Amsterdam, said in a strongly worded filing to the DOT that the Northwest hub
continues to be critical to the economic health of Memphis and the entire
region.  As a major contributor to the success of the community, Northwest also
is essential to Memphis' entry into the global economic market.

The Business Travel Coalition (BTC), which seeks to lower the long-term cost
structure of business travel, believes the proposal, which seeks anti-trust
immunity and codesharing authority, is in the best interest of large buyers of
commercial aviation services.  Over ninety members of the Coalition have signed
a letter to DOT in support of the application.

According to the Coalition, the SkyTeam proposal eliminates unnecessary and
costly restrictions and addresses current competitive imbalances which limit
service options.  For example, the SkyTeam proposal will establish additional
pathways to international destinations for travelers by directly linking U.S.
and European hubs.  As a result, travel times and costs for many trips will
drop.

Additionally, Northwest has received support from the Air Line Pilots
Association (ALPA) as well as substantial corporate customer support from
highly esteemed companies nationwide who conduct business in the international
arena including FedEx, Ford Motor Company, General Mills, General Motors and
Medtronic, to name a few.

As General Motors said in its letter of support, "The Sky Team Alliance
partners and other airline partnerships are a critical support to General
Motors' international travel demands. If Northwest/KLM and the Sky Team
applicants are allowed to operate international service with global anti-trust
immunity and code-sharing, we believe the opportunity for convenient, cost-
effective air transportation should be increased, and could result in
advantages that should include improved flight schedules, reduced travel times,
new nonstop service, and additional low fare choices."

General Motors states in its filing that, "The importance of increased
international travel opportunities to our country, our communities and
airports, and to those of us who have business dealings with customers and
suppliers throughout the world cannot be understated."

In its filing to the DOT in support of anti-trust immunity and speaking
specifically of Northwest and Delta Air Lines, ALPA says that, "it is concerned
that the denial of the joint application could have a severe negative effect on
at least one of these two carriers, and thus on the livelihood of that
carrier's pilots."

ALPA continues that the "loss of these [international] services, would have in
addition to the negative consequences identified by the airports and
communities in their answers, obvious critical adverse consequences for the
carriers and their employees as well."

Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ:NWAC) is the world's fourth largest airline with
hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and
approximately 1,600 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, an
airline alliance that offers customers one of the world's most extensive global
networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 900 cities in excess
of 160 countries on six continents. 

DATASOURCE: Northwest Airlines



CONTACT:  Northwest Media Relations, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.nwa.com/ 

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