Northwest starts Heathrow to US flights

Northwest Airlines and joint venture partner KLM are starting daily nonstop services from Heathrow to Detroit, Minneapolis/St Paul and Seattle next spring.

Flights from Heathrow to Minneapolis/St Paul start on 30 March, flights to Detroit begin on 1 May and flights to Seattle on 1 June. Once in the US passengers from Heathrow will be able to access over 250 destinations around the US via Northwest's hubs.

"Our Detroit and Minneapolis/St Paul hubs are the most efficient and uncongested connecting airports in the US and, together with our Seattle gateway, will link Heathrow to every point in America," says president and chief executive of Northwest, Doug Steenland.

Northwest is launching its new Heathrow flights with business travellers in mind. Northwest has the largest fleet of new Airbus A330s in the world and the average age of its trans-Atlantic aircraft is around 4 years. "Our $6 billion fleet modernisation programme is a significant part of the greening of Northwest Airlines and we will be expanding our campaign for a healthier environment even further with a forthcoming announcement," says Steenland.

Northwest's Airbus A330s are equipped with up to 34 World Business Class lie-flat seats with a privacy canopy, as well as 264 economy class seats. An interactive in-flight entertainment system offers travellers a choice of 40 movies, 56 audio channels and six games.

Northwest is continuing to operate daily round-trip flights between Gatwick and Detroit. British Airways recently announced that it will stop flying from Heathrow to Detroit from 29 March.

Written by: Nick Purdom