Choose a winner for your airline travel needs.

Whether you are arranging airline travel for yourself or your members, choose a winner [ths]. [ths]. [ths]. [ths] Choose Northwest Airlines, which with KLM received Air Transport World's prestigious Airline of the Year award in 1997.

Serving more than 400 cities in more than 80 countries on six continents, Northwest has more than 1,700 daily flights and operates more than 130 nonstop flights between the United States and Asia each week. Its U.S. system now spans 48 states and the District of Columbia, with hubs in Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Tokyo.

Fourth largest airline emphasizes customer service

Northwest has grown to be the world's fourth largest airline by placing a priority on customer service.

"We're all here for the customer", says Ray Vecci, executive vice president, customer service. "Customer service extends far beyond whether a person is able to write a ticket, board passengers, or check a booking."

To ensure customer satisfaction, Northwest employees attend a training program called Passport to Success that provides guidance for those interacting with the customer directly or indirectly.

"Passport to Success recognizes the people-to-people interactive skills that are so fundamental to a service business," Vecci adds. "In large part, it means dealing with the customer as a unique person by displaying a caring attitude. There's no substitute for genuine spontaneity when serving our customers' needs, which is reflected in making them feel truly welcome and minimizing their inconvenience when it occurs."

Training also emphasizes personal responsibility "Through Passport to Success, we share ideas on how we can turn an unpleasant situation into service excellence," says instructor MaryBeth Howe. "We stress how important it is for each employee to take personal responsibility toward exceeding customer expectations at every opportunity."

Travel Northwest's information highway

In addition to customer service, Northwest is known for its innovative Web sites, such as Northwest WorldWeb (www.nwa.com), WorldWeb Reservations (www.flynwa.com), and Corporate Travel Manager (corporate.nw. com) - a specialized site supplying information to corporate travel managers.

"With nwa.com, customers have complete travel planning tools at their fingertips 24 hours a day," says Sharon Solfest, a senior specialist in new channel marketing and a key driver in developing the Web site. "This includes flight availability, prices, car and hotel bookings, and destination information such as maps and weather. They're in complete control. I think there is something, too, in being able to see it and believe it with their own eyes."

Since the introduction of www.nwa.com in 1996, the site has won nine national awards including best Web site, best money-making Internet site, and most innovative and dynamic site. It averages 2.2 million hits per day and is growing at a rate of more than 10 percent per month.

"The focus is to have the structure - with a minimum of heavy graphics - that ensures the site is fast and easy to navigate, thereby making it easy for customers to quickly get what they want," says Al Lenza, vice president, distribution planning. "Secondly, our core functionality - content and services - must reflect what customers want. If we do those two things right, it facilitates growth of nwa.com as a distribution channel."

Online industry travel sales are expected to grow from $911 million in 1998 to $11.7 billion by 2002, of which Northwest currently represents about 7 percent.

"That's not to say, however, that this technology is doing away with a need for reservations agents or travel agencies," Solfest adds. "Instead, it provides an alternative channel to those customers who are predisposed to conducting their own research and booking travel."

For example, through WorldWeb Reservations, customers can search for flights, obtain flight departure/arrival information, and buy E-tickets; they can then obtain boarding passes from the Electronic Service Center at certain airports. Customers can also find special reduced-rate fares on inventories of slow-selling tickets by visiting Cybersavers at the www.nwa.com site.

How Northwest got its start

The largest subsidiary of Northwest Airlines Corporation, Northwest Airlines began mail service on Oct. 1, 1926, flying between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago. Passenger service began the following year. In 1947, it pioneered a route to Asia, offering service to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila. Operating across the Pacific for more than 50 years, it continues to offer the most service between the United States and Japan.

Northwest strengthened its U.S. route system by acquiring Republic Airlines in 1986, gaining hubs in Detroit and Memphis. In 1993, Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines formed an alliance, featuring convenient and seamless service between the United States and cities around the world.