Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-sized cities and towns where larger aircraft might not be economical to operate and also to larger markets to either provide additional capacity or more frequent flights than could be justified using mainline aircraft. The Northwest Airlink trade name was replaced by the Delta Connection trade name for Delta Air Lines following the Delta/Northwest merger.

History

Northwest Airlink was formed in December 1984 when Northwest Airlines took steps to enhance its domestic services by entering a marketing agreement with Mesaba Airlines. Mesaba was the dominant airline serving Minneapolis/St Paul at the time. Under the agreement, Mesaba would operate as Northwest Orient Airlink. Mesaba initially operated commuter and regional turboprop aircraft. The Mesaba fleet at this time comprised fourteen Beechcraft 99 and one Fokker F27 aircraft. In 1985 Big Sky Airlines entered the Northwest Airlink agreement with 8-18 passenger seat aircraft including Jetstream 31 and Fairchild Metroliner commuter propjets. Another Northwest Airlink operator was Fischer Brothers Aviation flying CASA C-212, Dornier 228 and Short 360 commuter turboprops. An Official Airline Guide (OAG) flight schedule dated February 1994 lists the following commuter and regional air carriers operating Northwest Airlink service: In 2001, Pacific Island Aviation was operating Northwest Airlink service with Short 360 commuter turboprop aircraft between Guam, Saipan and Tinian. Northwest Jet Airlink was subsequently formed to operate services with Avro RJ85 jets flown by Mesaba Airlines. Another Northwest Jet Airlink operator was Business Express Airlines flying Avro RJ70 jets.

Operators and fleet

Fleet

The following air carriers were operating Northwest Airlink service at the time of the merger of Northwest Airlines with Delta Air Lines:

Historical regional jet fleet

The Northwest Airlink brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of jet aircraft over the years including the following types:

Historical turboprop fleet

The Northwest Airlink brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin turboprop aircraft over the years including the following types:

Incidents and accidents