Service with Northwest "The A330 will allow us to both grow our revenues and lower our costs. The A330 will equip Northwest with the customer comforts and amenities necessary to compete for today's sophisticated international traveler, and simultaneously enable Northwest to take another important step to contain our costs through reduced operating expenses and expanded fleet commonality."  The fuel-efficient, wide-body Airbus 330 was the first new aircraft type added to the Northwest fleet in 14 years, when its cousin, the A320 made its arrival. Northwest purchased the A330 to enhance Atlantic and Pacific services. The new airliner brought range, capacity, economics and amenities to improve existing international operations using Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft. Passenger Experience World Business Class on the A330 offered Northwest's new lie-flat seat, each with a private canopy, 60 inches of space between the seats, and state-of-the-art entertainment system.  Customers in the 264-main cabin also enjoyed in-flight video programming on a 6.5 inch screen found on the seatbacks with audio and video on demand. The economy class seat offered more personal space than any other seat in Northwest's fleet and featured a "winged" headrest, with bendable sides. 330-300 Northwest's first scheduled A330-300 flight left Detroit on August 25, 2003, and arrived in Amsterdam the next morning. The A330-300 became Northwest's trans-Atlantic flagship aircraft, gradually replacing the DC-10-30s on its trans-Atlantic routes. The last Northwest DC-10 ended international service on October 29, 2006, and retired from domestic service on January 8, 2007. The A330's fuel efficiency allowed Northwest to increase trans-Atlantic service by 12% from 2000-2007, but use almost 30% less fuel. Northwest CEO Doug Steenland said the fuel-efficient A330 fleet was part of the "greening of Northwest Airlines." The A330 was "much quieter" and 35% more efficient than the DC-10 aircraft it replaced.  In October 2007, Northwest received its 32nd Airbus A330 aircraft, making it the largest A330 operator in the world. Northwest now had the youngest international fleet of any North American airline, and the youngest trans-Atlantic fleet of any North American or European carrier. 330-200 Northwest accepted delivery of the smaller, longer-range A330-200 on July 21, 2004, and it arrived in Minnesota/St. Paul on July 22. Northwest configured the 330-200 with 243 seats: 32 World Business Class and 211 in Coach. The 330-200 could fly about 17 percent further than the larger -300 model. The A330-200 made its first scheduled flight with Northwest on September 1, 2004, between Portland, Oregon, and Tokyo-Narita. It was Northwest's first new aircraft type across the Pacific since the Boeing 747-400. The A330-200 began replacing DC-10-30 and Boeing 747-200 aircraft serving destinations in Asia. The 1,000th aircraft made by Airbus was an A330-200 delivered to Northwest in November 2004. Video & Pics
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