MINNEAPOLIS - (October 18, 2006) - Northwest Airlines today announced that customers may now print their boarding passes at international fax machines after checking in for flights over the Internet as the airline expands its boarding pass by fax option to international locations.

"This enhancement makes the speed and convenience of nwa.com check-in available to more of our customers worldwide," said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce. "Particularly when traveling, many of our customers have told us they often have easy access to a computer and the Internet, but not to a printer. This enhancement allows them to check in from a laptop or other computer no matter where their travels take them around the world and have their boarding pass waiting for them at their hotel, a nearby office or another location."

In July 2005, Northwest enhanced its Internet check-in service to allow customers to select from either the "print boarding pass" or "fax boarding pass" option after beginning the check-in process at www.nwa.com. If the "print boarding pass" option is selected, the boarding pass is sent to a nearby printer. If the "fax boarding pass" option is chosen, customers are asked to enter a fax number, and the service faxes the boarding pass to them at the number of their choice. Initially, the service was able to send boarding passes to North American fax numbers. More than 200,000 Northwest customers have received their boarding passes using the fax feature since its implementation last year.

Self-service check-in is the preferred form of check-in for the vast majority of Northwest’s customers, allowing them to speed through the check-in process in as little as 90 seconds. During the month of September, 83 percent of Northwest’s customers checked in for their flights over the Internet at the airline’s www.nwa.com Web site or at one of 1,100 self-service check-in kiosks located in 229 airports spanning the globe. Northwest has kiosks in more locations than any other airline in the world.

Usage of Internet check-in has continued to grow and now accounts for a larger percentage of self-service check-ins than at any time since the service was first launched by Northwest in November 2000. Of the 83 percent of Northwest customers using the self-service check-in option during the month of September, one-third of them checked in over the Internet and two-thirds used kiosks.

PASSPORT READERS SPEED INTERNATIONAL CHECK-IN AT KIOSKS
All of Northwest’s 1,100 self-service check-in kiosks are equipped with passport readers, saving time for international travelers by allowing them to slide their passport through the kiosk reader to provide needed information from the passport electronically, rather than manually entering the information using the kiosk keypad.

The airline’s kiosks are available to travelers in every airport served by Northwest in North America and all 15 of the cities in the airline’s Asia/Pacific network. Customers checking in for Northwest flights originating in Europe are able to do so through the kiosks of the airline’s trans-Atlantic joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or through Air France kiosks at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris.

"Northwest’s strategy has been to offer these time-saving conveniences to our customers at every location we serve worldwide," added Lenza. "Our customer service technology has become a critical element of the Northwest flight experience, an experience we strive to consistently deliver no matter what city, country or continent our customers visit."

NORTHWEST HAS BEEN A LEADER IN EXPANDING SELF-SERVICE TO INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS
Northwest has been a leader in making its convenient self-service check-in options available to customers traveling internationally. Northwest was the:

• First to offer self-service check-in to Asia and Europe. In November of 2002, Northwest became the first airline to offer self-service check-in for travel originating in the U.S. to Asia and Europe.
• First to offer self-service check-in from Asia. In May of 2003, Northwest was the first U.S. airline to offer self-service check-in for travel originating in Asia. Travelers originating in Asia/Pacific can obtain their boarding pass through one of 11 Web sites, which include translations into five Asian languages.
• First to offer self-service check-in throughout its network. In June of 2003, Northwest implemented "interline" electronic ticketing with its joint venture partner KLM, allowing customers to use a single ticket for travel on either airline. The implementation made self-service check-in available to every market served by Northwest worldwide.
• First to offer check-in kiosks for U.S. flights from all of the cities it serves in Asia. In addition to its Internet check-in option, in March 2005, Northwest became the first airline to make self-service check-in via kiosk available from all 15 of the cities it serves in Asia/Pacific for flights to the U.S.

Northwest Airlines is the world’s fifth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and approximately 1,400 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, an airline alliance that offers customers one of the world’s most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 900 cities in excess of 160 countries on six continents.

Source: Northwest Airlines
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