Farewell, Red Tail

[Dont call me Shirley]

So long, NW. It was good to know you.
With all due respect to DL, NW was crossing the world's biggest ocean and the arctic circle while DL was still bouncing from Dothan, AL to Atlanta with five stops.

 

[Spock]

So long, NW. It was good to know you.
With all due respect to DL, NW was crossing the world's biggest ocean and the arctic circle while DL was still bouncing from Dothan, AL to Atlanta with five stops.

True............... I wonder now how much longer before this (NW) message board will stay up. Technically, NW is no more.

 

[tech2101]

True............... I wonder now how much longer before this (NW) message board will stay up. Technically, NW is no more.

It was fun while it lasted.

 

[Kev3188]

Good, bad, disastrous; I think I've seen it all while at the mighty Red Tail.

I can't think of a better carrier to have "grown up" at, and I wouldn't trade the ride for anything.

 

[jj]

Good, bad, disastrous; I think I've seen it all while at the mighty Red Tail.

I can't think of a better carrier to have "grown up" at, and I wouldn't trade the ride for anything.

i will miss NW orient too.I wish i could turn the clock back and have NW and TWA merge they seemed alot alike both rest in peace.

 

[robbedagain]

I enjoyed seeing the red tail NWA planes! I also remember flying on the the little Metro Link the planes were the size of mailing tubes as they used to call it from ORF to BWI way back in the 80s and or 90s RIP NWA

 

[WorldTraveler]

It's rather sad that the farewell thread for NW is as short as it is... other topics have generated far more replies and posts. granted, we all knew it was coming but this Sunday was still a sad day. GULP. A very sad day.

There are those of us who have spent nearly all of our lives in the South and still have a great deal of admiration for what NW accomplished. No one who loves aviation has to be moved by what happened this past weekend... even though it was so low key as a transition point that most people missed it.

There are alot of emotions still raging about this merger and they begin to die down until the labor representation issues are resolved. even then, there will be winners and there will be losers - that is inevitable when combining two airlines as large as DL and NW. We can all pray that the labor integration will be as painless as possible and that there are far, far more winners than losers.

It is worth noting that DL has successfully integrated more personnel from other airlines into DL than any other airline in history. No other airline has been formed from the efforts of so many other airlines as has DL. It is actually quite a testament to the tenacity of DL that they have achieved what they have considering from where they started.

No one at NW can honestly wish that they had merged with TW. NW somehow managed to avoid the politics and superegos that destroyed TW and PA - although the LBO came dangerously close.

While NW is losing its own separate identity, it and its employees will fare far better than have those of just about every other major airline that no longer exists.

There's more than just a bit of irony in the realization that NW faded into history in the middle of a cold January night in MSP.

May there be many beautiful sunrises and warm days ahead for NW's people and planes - wherever the widget may take them.

I would like to suggest that those former NW employees share their very best moments from their days at NW. No bad moments. No negative responses. I simply want to hear the best of the best experiences from NW's people.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

It's rather sad that the farewell thread for NW is as short as it is... other topics have generated far more replies and posts. granted, we all knew it was coming but this Sunday was still a sad day. GULP. A very sad day.

........
I would like to suggest that those former NW employees share their very best moments from their days at NW. No bad moments. No negative responses. I simply want to hear the best of the best experiences from NW's people.

Great post indeed!

 

[joanne]

Everything will be fine, once Flt. service/fleet service win the Union elections !

 

[TWskyliner]

Best of luck to the fine people of NW.

 

[Airlinelifer]

"The only thing that is constant is change."

Eastern Airlines 1982 - 1989

Northwest Airlines 1989 - 2010

Delta Air Lines 2010 - ????

Good luck everybody!!!!!

 

[Kev3188]

I would like to suggest that those former NW employees share their very best moments from their days at NW. No bad moments. No negative responses. I simply want to hear the best of the best experiences from NW's people.

There's just not enough bandwidth...

* Watching the sunrise over the mountain while awaiting HNL and/or NRT inbounds
* Countless sunsets
* Hours and hours of stories from old timers about "the old days." That oral history is priceless.
* Weddings, Divorces, Funerals, Births, Birthdays
* Riding out blizzards together
* Laughing so hard you couldn't breathe
* Sharing some of the best holiday meals ever in a break room
* Along with that, learning that "family" is what you make it.

I could go on and on and on...

 

[lineguy43]

I worked with some great people at NW..I had a lot of great memories..But unfortuately the bad has overtaken the good in my case.. With all due respect to Kev I wish I had worked with him and wish him the best under the new regime. But for me I still have a bitter taste in my mouth and am glad to see the red tail go....

 

[dc92000]

I dont believe the elimination of flight codes, and paintjobs will bring a tear to my eye. My first chief loved to tell me stories of a time when only the most senior employee coulld get an opportunity to spend six 'months in a quonset hut on shemya , fuelin=loadin=fixin
That gig that so many waited to get paved the way for the value of thr orient routes delta now so-much covets
We all work hard. Without the cooporation of the unions, the orient routes wouldnt be what they are today

 

[WorldTraveler]

There's just not enough bandwidth...

....

I could go on and on and on...

The airline industry has far too many negatives to keep a person engaged if there isn't some sort of romance of flying.... the pioneers at NW who opened the Great Circle Route across the North Pacific would never have done so were it solely a business endeavor. If the romance of aviation is lost, working for an airline is just a "job" and there are far easier ways to make a living. If you don't get some sort of adrenaline rush when you see a plane being pushed away from the gate (or do it yourself) and head for the runway, you probably have lost the romance of aviation.

NWA became what it is because of the pioneering spirit of aviation that opened new frontiers....something a lot of people no longer appreciate as they bellyache about why they are 30 minutes late despite the need for deicing. NW's accomplishments are in the same vein as Pan Am's except PA pioneered aviation to multiple regions of the world - even if they took the "safer" route across warmer waters.

It should also be noted that there is a significant difference in how PA and NW ended.... PA was a tattered wreck when DL and UA picked up the pieces, DL preserving far more of the parts and people it obtained. NW was true to its historical form that propelled itself to a leader in aviation until the last flight arrived at the gate under the NW banner.

Delta built on the foundation Pan Am developed to become the largest airline across the Atlantic by a very wide margin, including being the first to return US carrier service to Africa. It will be very interesting to watch what DL does with the Pacific and NW's northern tier hubs (which is where DL most needed a domestic presence) but I have a feeling that the pioneers of NW in a few years will be very proud of how Delta has continued to build NW's heritage, including providing rewarding employment for its people.

Every indication is that Delta is more capable of keeping the Northwest heritage alive and its people engaged than any other airline.