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Northwest Airlink Carrier Mesaba Airlines Completes First Revenue Flight With New CRJ900 Aircraft

Posted on: Thursday, 7 June 2007, 18:00 CDT

Mesaba Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) operating under the Northwest Airlink banner, today completed its first revenue flight with the new 76-seat Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet aircraft.

Flight 3675 departed Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) on-time at 7:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time with 76 passengers and a crew of four. Flight 3675 arrived at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) at 9:42 a.m. CDT.

"Today's launch of the CRJ900 marks a new beginning for the people of Mesaba Airlines and our customers," said John Spanjers, Mesaba president and chief operating officer. "The Mesaba team has worked diligently over the past five months preparing for this day and we look forward to introducing this state-of-the-art aircraft to cities throughout the Heartland of the U.S."

The CRJ900 offers dual-class service with 12 seats in first class, arranged in a one seat-aisle-two seat configuration, and 64 seats in coach class, arranged in a two seat-aisle-two seat configuration.

In addition, the interior of Mesaba's Northwest Airlink CRJ900 regional jet has been modified from the standard CRJ900 platform to provide customers with best-in-class comfort. Features include leather seats, larger overhead compartments to accommodate more carry-on luggage, larger windows offering enhanced passenger views, light emitting diode (LED) lighting throughout the cabin, a new sidewall and ceiling panel design, and additional headroom throughout the aircraft.

"The 76-seat CRJ900 allows Northwest greater ability to tailor its service to meet market demand while providing customers with a comfortable and efficient flight experience," said Neal Cohen, Mesaba chairman and Northwest chief executive officer -- regional airlines. "The new aircraft type provides us the opportunity to offer Northwest Airlink customers a best-in-class flight experience and we are pleased to introduce the CRJ900 to our customers."

Mesaba's first CRJ900 is currently scheduled to serve DFW, Fargo, N.D., and Chicago (Midway) from Northwest's MSP hub. Mesaba's fleet will grow to a total of 36 aircraft by the end of 2008.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, Mesaba operates as a Northwest Airlink partner under service agreements with Northwest Airlines. The airline serves 72 cities in the United States and Canada from Northwest's three major hubs: Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis. Mesaba operates an advanced fleet of regional jet and jet-prop aircraft, consisting of the 34-passenger Saab SF340, the 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ200 and the 76-passenger Bombardier CRJ900. Additional information can be found on Mesaba's Web site at www.mesaba.com.

Source: Business Wire

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