The official end of Northwest Airlines (1926 – 2009)

Northwest Airlines-NWA (Minneapolis/St. Paul) officially ended as an airline yesterday (December 31, 2009) when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the merger of the NW Part 121 Air Operators Certificate (AOC) into a single Part 121 AOC for Delta Air Lines, now the world’s largest airline. This ends the history of the airline which started as Northwest Airways on October 1, 1926. The company became Northwest Airlines in 1934.

Ironically the “new” Delta Air Lines is really being managed by a large number of former Northwest executives. In reality the merger was NW taking over DL and keeping the DL brand (like America West and US Airways).

News link:

atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/12/28/daily28.html?page=1

Copyright Photo: Steve Hill (Bruce Drum Collection)