The world’s fourth largest airline, Northwest Airlines, began service to the Dominican Republic on 20 December. This is a regularly scheduled flight that operates once weekly (Saturdays) with 150-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. Northwest becomes the first major airline to offer direct air service from the Midwest. The service is nonstop from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. However, passengers will connect from the east and west coasts, as well as from the midwest, Canada, and Asia. The Dominican Republic, the Caribbean island with the most hotel rooms, more than 35,000, recently launched a major push to increase the flow of American travelers. Northwest flew into Puerto Plata on December 20th with a full plane of tourists headed for the North Coast resorts. The service will operate through April 4, 1998, as per confirmation to DR One News and Information Service, directly from Northwest Airlines. Sara Steig of the airline’s public relations department, confirmed that it is a trial run. "Future plans will depend on the success of the flight this season," she said. While at the present time they will only be serving the North Coast city of Puerto Plata, Northwest is examining new destinations within the Dominican Republic, said Steig. She explained further that Northwest chose the Dominican Republic because the American traveler seeks something new in the Caribbean. "As people are traveling more often, they are looking for new and exotic cities to spend their vacations in and due to customer response and need, the Dominican Republic was most mentioned," she said. Northwest Airlines provides service to the Antigua, St. Maarten, San Juan, Providenciales, Montego Bay, and Grand Cayman in the Caribbean. The airline is working closely with all travel agencies authorized to sell Northwest tickets. As part of vacation packages, the airline works with the Northwest WorldVacations and MLT Worryfree Vacations, to name a few. The new Dominican route has been marketed in the United States as a new destination for this winter. It has also been included in travel packages and the airline has sent news bulletins to travel agents, among other marketing tactics. This is the first year Northwest has operated the flight. Future plans will depend on their success this season. The new U.S. connection will also prove to be convenient for Dominican travelers that will now have nearly unlimited access to the 400 cities Northwest flies to in over 80 countries on six continents. Northwest is the world’s fourth-largest airline and operates a fleet of 401 aircraft. Northwest began its operation on October 1, 1926, flying mail between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago. The airline today maintains hub cities in Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul (world headquarters of the airline) and Tokyo. Northwest’s U.S. system alone spans 49 states and the District of Columbia. Northwest has more than 1,700 daily flights and operates more than 130 nonstop flights between the United States and Asia each week. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-225-2525 or online through WorldWeb Reservations at http://www.nwa.com Route Strengths. Northwest strengthened its U.S. route system by acquiring Republic Airlines in 1986, gaining hubs in Detroit and Memphis. In 1993, Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines formed an alliance offering convenient service between the U.S. and cities around the world. Northwest also has marketing affiliations with several regional airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, that offer dozens of connecting flights daily. Northwest offers the most airline service between the United States and Japan. The airline operates a fleet of 402 aircraft including Boeing 727s, 747s, and 757s, McDonnell Douglas DC9s and DC10s, and Airbus A320s. Northwest also is one of the world’s largest cargo airlines, operating a dedicated fleet of eight B747 Freighters. Northwest has on order 115 aircraft, including Boeing 747-400s and 757-200s and Airbus A320s, A330s, and A319s.
