Northwest to Retire Last 747-200 From Scheduled Passenger Service

On September 12, Northwest's last 747-200 in scheduled passenger service will begin its retirement routing as NW8, departing Narita for Seattle, and then continuing as NW170 from Seattle to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

"The 747-200 was the mainstay of our international fleet, particularly in the Pacific for several decades," said Captain Lane Littrell, NWA's fleet training captain on the -200. "It has served our passengers and our company well and many of us who have flown it, worked in its cabin or maintained it have a soft spot for it. We'll miss it even as we appreciate the improvements provided by the new generations of A330s and 747-400s."

Northwest began flying the 747-200 in 1975, when the airline took its first delivery of the new model jumbo jet. Northwest's 747-200 passenger fleet peaked in size at 22 aircraft in 1997.

During their 32 years of service, Northwest's 747-200s completed more than 320,000 flights and traveled more than 1 billion miles. Two 747-200s will continue to operate for Northwest as charter aircraft. "