Northwest Airlines Inc. is considering increasing flights between Japan and the United States with the introduction of Boeing 787s into its fleet in 2009, Chief Executive Officer Douglas Steenland said Tuesday.
"As to a potential for new routes . . . the benefit of (the) 787 is that it will allow us to also expand, and whether we will be able to return to the New York-Tokyo market will be one possibility," Steenland, who is also president of the company, told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.
"Another might be to operate from Memphis (Tenn.) to Tokyo," he said, adding that the major U.S. airline will be looking at other expansion opportunities in Japan.
Northwest operates about 80 weekly flights between Japan and U.S. airports, including Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Its nonstop flight between Tokyo and New York was suspended in 2005. |
