Why the name?
May 29, 2007 | 12:34 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SFO
Posts: 141
Why the name?
Sorry if this is a "lame" question, but why is Northwest Airlines called "Northwest" if is it headquartered in Minnesota and its 3 main hubs are Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis?
Back in the 20s when the airline was founded, did people refer to that region as the Northwest?
Just curious...
Back in the 20s when the airline was founded, did people refer to that region as the Northwest?
Just curious...
May 29, 2007 | 12:37 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: RST
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From Wikipedia:
Northwest began flying passengers in 1927. In 1928, the airline started its first international route with service to Winnipeg, Canada. The airline's operations were expanded to smaller cities in the region by the end of the decade. In 1931 Northwest sponsored Charles and Anne Lindbergh on a pioneering flight to Japan, scouting what would become known as the Northwest Airlines Great Circle route, and proving that flying through Alaska could save as much as 2,000 miles on a New York-Tokyo route. In 1933, Northwest was designated to fly the Northern Transcontinental Route from New York City to Seattle, Washington; it adopted the name Northwest Airlines the following year as a result of the Air Mail Scandal. Northwest stock began to be publicly traded in 1941.
May 29, 2007 | 1:07 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SFO
Posts: 141
Very interesting, thanks!
Should make it more of a habit to check out wikipedia.
Should make it more of a habit to check out wikipedia.
Jun 3, 2007 | 2:36 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Chicago, IL & Detroit, MI U S A
Posts: 101
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan was originally called the "Northwest Territory" before being slowly divided up into states. It was the original northwestern area of the young United States.
There is also Northwestern University in Chicago.
NWA's original flights were mostly NYC, DTW, CHI, MKE, MSP, etc. towards the "newer" northwest region of the Dakotas, MT, ID, WA, OR, AK, etc.
Flights were awarded to airlines in the US based alot on regionalism, hence: Northwest, Southwest, Western, Eastern, Northeast, Southern and North Central Airlines. Sort of like how it's in China today. They're just names of where their preponderance of flights were. Most are gone now, just SWA and NWA remain.
NWA has a Memphis hub from its merger with Republic Airlines.
In case you didn't know, NWA started in 1926, later using the name "Northwest Orient Airlines."
Bonanza, West Coast, and Pacific Airlines became AirWest then Hughes AirWest.
Southern and North Central Airlines became Republic Airlines.
AirWest and Republic merged to form a larger Republic Airlines.
Republic and Northwest Orient merged to become NWA.
If a US airline didn't have a "regional" name, they then usually had something patriotic, democratic, or American-sounding, hence: Republic, United, American, Liberty, etc.
There is also Northwestern University in Chicago.
NWA's original flights were mostly NYC, DTW, CHI, MKE, MSP, etc. towards the "newer" northwest region of the Dakotas, MT, ID, WA, OR, AK, etc.
Flights were awarded to airlines in the US based alot on regionalism, hence: Northwest, Southwest, Western, Eastern, Northeast, Southern and North Central Airlines. Sort of like how it's in China today. They're just names of where their preponderance of flights were. Most are gone now, just SWA and NWA remain.
NWA has a Memphis hub from its merger with Republic Airlines.
In case you didn't know, NWA started in 1926, later using the name "Northwest Orient Airlines."
Bonanza, West Coast, and Pacific Airlines became AirWest then Hughes AirWest.
Southern and North Central Airlines became Republic Airlines.
AirWest and Republic merged to form a larger Republic Airlines.
Republic and Northwest Orient merged to become NWA.
If a US airline didn't have a "regional" name, they then usually had something patriotic, democratic, or American-sounding, hence: Republic, United, American, Liberty, etc.
Jun 3, 2007 | 5:46 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2004
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And Delta doesn't fit the bill ...
Jun 3, 2007 | 6:51 am
#6
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Actually, Delta's name does have a geographic tie...to the Mississippi River Delta. From Wikipedia:
The company has its roots in Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded in 1924 in Macon, Georgia by several partners including Collett E. Woolman becoming the world's first aerial crop dusting company. Huff Daland moved to Monroe, Louisiana the following year. In 1928, Huff Daland Dusters was purchased by C.E. Woolman and renamed Delta Air Service after the Mississippi Delta, where its route connected Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe. The original directors of Delta Air Service were C.H. McHenry, Travis Oliver, and M.S. Biedenharn. By 1934, Delta began mail service from Charleston to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.[citation needed]
The company has its roots in Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded in 1924 in Macon, Georgia by several partners including Collett E. Woolman becoming the world's first aerial crop dusting company. Huff Daland moved to Monroe, Louisiana the following year. In 1928, Huff Daland Dusters was purchased by C.E. Woolman and renamed Delta Air Service after the Mississippi Delta, where its route connected Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe. The original directors of Delta Air Service were C.H. McHenry, Travis Oliver, and M.S. Biedenharn. By 1934, Delta began mail service from Charleston to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.[citation needed]
Jun 3, 2007 | 7:50 am
#7
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"it adopted the name Northwest Airlines the following year as a result of the Air Mail Scandal."
OK, Any idea of what the "Air Mail Scandal" was about???
OK, Any idea of what the "Air Mail Scandal" was about???
