History Question about Detroit City, and other former NWA cities
 

Did NWA ever fly from there? I have done a little research and can not find anything.

Also, I would like everyone's help to try and compile a list of former US cites that NWA used to serve, but no longer does.

I know that:
Youngstown, OH
OAK
Gainesville, FL
for starters.

ONT was dropped about a year ago. When I first moved there in 1991, NW had three RT services daily. Two arrived direct from MSP, one from MSP after a stop at SNA. All three returned directly to MSP.
And occasionally, when LAX was fogged or otherwise weatherd in, the 747 from NRT would fly in to ONT. I remember early one Xmas morning when I was flying out and there were maybe a half-dozen widebodies at ONT -- NW, Qantas, and some others.

NWA did fly out of Detroit City at one point... Only regional flights though, and I am not sure the time frame or to what destinations. I do know that they did though. :)

Detroit City airport's runway is too short for mainline jets, but it would be a perfect place for the Airstinker planes to pick up pax and shuttle them over to Metro during peak hours (on bad traffic days, it can take up to an hour on the road to get to DTW from points east of Detroit's main drag, Woodward Avenue).

If Mesaba/Pinnacle/Compass got in there, it'd really be a great boost to the area and DET airport.

Other than the nice thought, I can't image there is any incentive to actually do it.

So the updated list is as follows:
DET
ONT
OAK
Youngstown, OH
Gainsville, FL
ELP (I took that CRJ once, wow! MSP-ELP never again)

Assuming you're doing a "real" research project, the best way to go about this would be go on E-Bay and buy as old a timetable as you can. The question then becomes how far back do you go -- before the merger with Republic, back to cities served by the Blue Goose.....?

Bob H

I am looking for a post merger list. Thanks for the heads up about the timetable. I had not thought about that.

I think you'd have to go back to the 40s-early 50s to find NW at DET. I have an AA timetable for 1946 that has AA flying to DET, so I suspect (but can't prove) that DET was the airport in use at the time. At some point airlines deserted DET for Willow Run (YIP -- great for U of M/EMU students, but a bit of a hike for anyone else), then they gradually moved into DTW in the late 50s-mid 60s (AA was first). Would have made for some interesting interlining in the years when some were at YIP and others at DTW.

WN flew from DET for a short while in the 80s, but the short runway meant they had to short-fuel the 737s. They tried to get the runway lengthened to allow flights to PHX, and when that didn't happen (would have meant moving at least one cemetary) WN dropped DET.

Now, I can think of several airports that were mainline (although served by Convair props in most cases, maybe with the occasional DC( in some cases) in the aftermath of the RC merger that have been downgraded to Airlink-only status. APN, PLN, MQT, CWA, ATW, just off the top of my head. ABE and (IIRC) AVP also had DC9s but are now Airlink-only.

I think you are mistaken about who used DET. Back in the 80s, it was Comair (don't think it flew as Delta Connection at the time) from DET to Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. It may also have gone to Cincinnati. Believe it was back in the day of Fairchild Metros. Then, Southwest came in around 86 or so, then left again about 95. ProAir came in around 99 and died in 01.

I don't think NW ever was there. Remember that before Detroit Metro was Willow Run (YIP).

North Central (Republic's predecessor) might have been there.

Back in the mid-80s, before NW and RC merged, there were some weird connections...NW flew from GRR to DTW, but from nowhere else in the state. RC flew from most of the outstate locations to ORD and DTW, and a few to MKE. UA flew MBS-LAN-ORD (with the stop) and GRR-ORD on 737s! Simmons Airlines flew from LAN-ORD in Embraer Bandeirantes (the 15 seaters). It was big news when Simmons got....are you ready for this....Shorts 360s (those boxcar-like airplanes which you haven't seen in about 10 years) with...get this....a Flight Attendant!!!. Piedmont flew LAN and GRR to DAY, with really good connections to BOS, LGA, DCA, CLT (duh), EWR, DFW, DEN and LAX (they had a really efficient mini-hub there with as I recall 3 banks of flights from places like Champaign, South Bend, GRR, LAN, MBS (?), AZO(?), CAK (?).

I took a quick glance at some timetables and found these Airlink cities gone:

DBQ Dubuque, IA
ESC Escanaba, MI
JLN Joplin, MO
MEI Meridian, MS
MKL Jackson, TN
OWB Owensboro, KY
RFD Rockford, IL
SPI Springfield, IL

HOU (Houston Hobby) - not sure when they vacated...

When glanced at this thread I thought it said Detroit Rock City! Now that would be exciting.

/never a member of the Kiss Army

I thought this was Continental something or other that did the DET, Burke Lakefront in Cleveland and Meigs Field in Chicago.

RNO (dropped the same time as ONT)

DET is a wasteland. The only reason it's around is charters, medical, cargo, and GM/DCX. Back in the mid-'80s there was some service (don't remember who), and I did pick up someone many years ago from BWI... talk about great parking! But with DTW an hour away (with all that service), it's hard to justify trying to strike up service in DET.

Not that I wouldn't fly out of there. I do enjoy short-field flights, hence my preference for MDW over ORD (among other reasons!).

Steve B.