Northwest – Skyteam – USA
Northwest will phase out its DC-10s by 2007. Northwest Airlines, one of the largest remaining operators of the long out of manufacture, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, is finally to retire its remaining aircraft in favour of Airbus A330s and Boeing 747-400s.
The A330 will offer the following according to Northwest:
Northwest’s A330s are equipped with the airline’s World Business Class lie-flat seats, new seats in coach class, and an in-flight entertainment system in both cabins that Northwest was the first North American airline to offer.
Northwest will phase out its DC-10s by 2007. Northwest Airlines, one of the largest remaining operators of the long out of manufacture, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, is finally to retire its remaining aircraft in favour of Airbus A330s and Boeing 747-400s.
The A330 will offer the following according to Northwest:
Northwest’s A330s are equipped with the airline’s World Business Class lie-flat seats, new seats in coach class, and an in-flight entertainment system in both cabins that Northwest was the first North American airline to offer.
The 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 a number of 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.
World Business Class travelers enjoy an array of features including a seat that reclines 176 degrees (more recline than other U.S. airline), a leather-wrapped privacy canopy, 60 inches of space between seats, 110-volt personal laptop computer power, cycling lumbar support, a six-way adjustable headrest that slides along a track so it can be adjusted to a traveler’s individual height, and four seat-back storage pockets.
Northwest’s A330s also feature 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. "
An airline with a less than glorious reputation will have AVOD, near lie flat business class seats (which it did introduce a couple of years ago) and new economy class seating which sounds like what some major international airlines introduced about a decade ago.
Clearly the airline is somewhat healthier than it has been, and this will be a step forward having a consistently better service than most other US airlines. Northwest was the first to introduce (angled) lie-flat seats among North American carriers, but it will still take more for it to be ranked better than 3 stars.
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