formeraa

Agreed! Back in the 80's, NW had the slogan "The World is Going Our Way", trying to be a global airline When I saw DTW's new terminal, I thought that they finally had made it to a "global" airline look and feel.

But I liked NW because, while I was in school in the 80's, they offered some really good student fares. I didn't really mind the spartan airport accommodations and sometimes surly service. And again, in the late 90s, I was able to take advantage of some really low fares through Apple Vacations. Plus, I grew up in Seattle and Northwest Orient was the largest airline there at the time (they had 747s and DC-10s and they own concourse).

fly747first

I preferred NW's "now you're flying smart" slogan even though it was a complete lie lol

nwa330

most of those Memphis flights were DC9. I flew them all the time. I even had a bank of first class seats in my basement out of a 9. Bought them from a mechanic at NWA.

nwa330

2 class. Flew it all the time to LAX and MCO. I remember making phone calls from my seat. How cool was that.

cmd320

When did NW remove F entirely and go all two class?

tardyturtle

Couldn't agree more--absolutely love the design of the McNamara terminal, and every time I travel through there it's hard to fathom it's almost 20 years old! The biggest tell-tale sign of its age is the poor resolution on those jumbo-tron TVs at some of the gates.

MSPeconomist

Assuming you mean international routes, I would guess around 2000 when PMNW and KLM brought out World Business Class as an enhanced business class product (and it was genuinely better than regular business class at the time). I recall IFC on (some) TPAC PMNW routes in the 1990s as well as having some business class to IFC paper upgrade instruments in my PMNW FF account when IFC was finally eliminated on the last remaining TPAC 747-400s. PMNW eliminated the "Asian/Japanese hostesses" who greeted thanked Japanese/Asian passengers and changed into kimonos up in the air to serve tea a bit earlier. [Now the position would be called "language of destination" FA by DL, with additional pay and some ability for more junior FAs to pick desirable routes, but these Asia-based female employees were familiar not just with the language but also customs, culture, manners, etc. They worked hard and were often observed cleaning lavatories in the middle of flights, etc.]

The elimination of IFC by PMNW was somewhat gradual, starting with the TATL routes (that were generally codeshared with KLM) and also starting with the smaller wide body aircraft. During the transition period and beyond, many PMNW longhaul aircraft still had the old IFC seats that generally were selectable only by PMNW (and partner?) high tier elites before check in on the day of departure. Hence, with PMNW PE status, one could pick (depending on the specific aircraft) either upper deck seats or the first business class cabin (in the nose of the 747) and get the wider recliner seats with additional pitch that reclined much farther (and went flat in the middle section of the last row of the first (nose) 747 section, seats something like 4E and 4F, depending on the specific aircraft type).

cmd320

Yes, that was what I was interested in. I figured it would have been around the same time as KLM. It’s interesting that most of the SkyTeam airlines (CO, DL, KL, NW) opted to discontinue F while AA, UA, and many of their partners retained it. I always found this a bit of an odd move for NW, primarily because of their presence in the Pacific market.

MSPeconomist

The PMNW 747 TPAC routes to/from Japan were the last to have IFC, even though their business class offering was already WBC with new WBC seats.

Let's not forget that WBC was always an enhanced business class offering from its introduction, positioned between business class and first class. It was always significantly better than some competitors' business class products of the same generation and even now, for example the BA cabins with some rear facing seats or UA business class 2-4-2 cabins from not long ago. Other carriers like KE, SQ, CX, AF, LH, etc. had (or still have on some routes) 2-3-2 business class configurations long after DL went to 100% direct aisle access seating in business class, with or without suites.

xliioper

WBC featured "angled flat bed" seats in the early 2000's -- https://i0.wp.com/thepointsguy.com/w...2C2048px&ssl=1
Lots of complaints about these in the NW forum as I recall.

MSPeconomist

Yes, and for me it took some experimentation to learn how to sleep well on them (my trick was to first go to the flat as possible mode and then move the seat back a bit in the upright direction), but these were considered to be the latest and arguably the best business class seats at the time. Other carriers used either recliners or also angled lie flat seats for business class then.

readywhenyouare

Was NWA planning a new business class seat for the 787?

Velocipediste

I don't recall a connection but I assume there must have been. The ultimate destination was South Padre Island with a limo from Harlingen. I doubt DTW-HRL was direct.

No. Just three seats in the back of a 727. I got spoiled into expecting some flights to have such a low load factor.

fly747first

I think it was late in 2000 when they phased out F from international flights and replaced with a new World Business Class product

hnewman

I am pretty sure it was before then as I was going to Japan pretty often and do not remember 1st. I think it was 1994 or so.