Northwest inaugurates trans-Pacific Airbus flights
WILLIAM MCCALL; The Associated Press
PORTLAND - Northwest Airlines on Wednesday became the first domestic carrier to offer trans-Pacific service aboard an Airbus A330-200, with a flight to Japan that features amenities such as business-class seats that flatten into beds and on-demand movies.
Introduction of the fuel-efficient, twin-engine European jet also marked the beginning of a West Coast expansion for Airbus near the birthplace of rival Boeing Co. in Seattle.
Northwest, the only U.S.-based airline to operate the A330-200, has dedicated its first two Airbus jets to its Portland-Tokyo route.
The Minneapolis-based airline will add the Airbus to its Tokyo flights from Sea-Tac Airport and San Francisco later this year as five more aircraft are delivered by Airbus, said Northwest spokes-man Kurt Ebenhoch.
The 243-passenger A330-200 has 32 business-class seats that fold and bend all the way into a flat bed, with a privacy hood and lumbar support that can massage the backs of weary travelers.
The Airbus also features a new entertainment system throughout the airplane that gives passengers access to on-demand movies with individual remote controls that can fast-forward and rewind. The remote controls also allow access to music, electronic games, maps, shopping and other information.
Seats also feature sockets so that travelers with laptop computers can plug into the airplane's power system and avoid using batteries.
The amenities "are essential for us to compete effectively," said Laura Liu, Northwest vice president of international marketing and revenue management.
She noted the A330-200 also is 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the DC-10 it replaces, and is much quieter.
Todd Blecher, a Boeing spokesman, said the introduction of the rival Airbus is part of a new era in air travel that will feature smaller, more fuel-efficient planes that can provide international service to smaller airports or markets, such as Portland.
Blecher said Boeing already has orders for its new 7E7 line, with the first delivery expected in 2008. The new Boeing aircraft will compete with the Airbus model for long-range flights.
"They will provide airlines a tool to open city pairs like Portland and Tokyo, or any number of city pairs around the world, by bringing the range and efficiency to smaller airplanes that had only been found on larger airplanes," Blecher said.
The new Airbus service was welcomed by Port of Portland executive director Bill Wyatt, who has worked hard to restore international flights to Portland after it became the only major city on the West Coast without direct international passenger service with the departure of Delta Air Lines in March 2001.
International service did not resume until March 2003, when Lufthansa offered a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, the same month that Mexicana Airlines announced it would offer daily passenger service to Guadalajara, Mexico, which began in May 2003.
Northwest began its Tokyo service from Portland in June.
