Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PlatMM, BA and Alaska Emerald, HHonors DIA, Accor, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat Amb, UA Silver, AA
Posts: 4,515
Sad to see NRT leave! I actually lived in Japan for many years and was a regular on flights to the USA and also all around Asia, using my (then- NWA) miles for First Class on the 747-200s, for example... Ahh.
Here are the routes that I've flown on NW/DL to/from Japan, most of them now gone:
NGO to:
MNL
HNL
KIX to:
HNL
KUL
TPE
MNL
NRT to:
MNL
TPE
HKG
SIN
BKK
SYD (!)
PEK
PVG
ICN
FUK to:
HNL
So yes, I've got some NW/DL memories! That said, now that there is a nonstop on DL MSP-ICN, that's a pretty good start to getting to Asia.
As for those who are surprised that MNL is the lone remaining Asian tag flight, did you know that NW for a time had THREE daily 747s flying into MNL? KIX, NGO, and NRT! So to keep one 767 on ICN-MNL is actually quite a drop in itself. NW/DL never had more than one flight per day to any other place in Asia, did they?
I agree with the above poster that 7 US markets to HND seems excessive, especially with no connecting traffic or partners, but then again NW/DL does have more name recognition in Japan than DL does in South Korea.