Northwest Airlines And Food And Wine Magazine Announce Partnership

Collaboration Designed to Enhance On-Board Wine Offerings

At a celebratory event top executives from Northwest Airlines and Food & Wine (F&W) magazine toasted the formation of a new partnership in which they’ll collaborate on the selection of wine and champagne the carrier offers in domestic First Class and international World Business Class.

“This is another step in an on-going process of enhancements to our premium products and service said,” Beth Shultis, Northwest Airlines vice president-Marketing Programs/Advertising. “With the expertise Food and Wine brings to the selection process, our customers can look forward to seeing expanded on-board wine selections reflecting the most current trends and preferences in wine and champagne.”

Northwest recently introduced more than 50 percent more leg room, greater recline and a host of service enhancements to its World Business Class product, which it offers jointly with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Included are upgrades to pre-departure service and cocktail snacks, main meal presentations, a new mid-flight snack and a new digital audio system.

“Customers make their travel choices based on a combination of product, services, and convenience said,” Phil Haan, Northwest Airlines executive vice president-International, Sales and Information Services. “Our sum total, especially on our Trans-Pacific system is unmatched in the industry and just continues to improve.”

Northwest and F&W have designed a joint “seal of recommendation” which was unveiled to the public at today’s event. Customers will immediately begin to see the seal affixed to the wine and champagne selections served in Northwest’s domestic First Class and international World Business Class. The seal indicates that the wine being served has been recommended to Northwest by F&W experts to compliment Northwest menu selections.

“Enjoying a fine wine with the imaginative cuisine developed by Northwest’s consulting chef team is the type of experience premium class travelers appreciate,” said Julie McGowan, Food & Wine senior vice president/publisher. “We know our readers are passionate about wine. They turn to F&W as a resource for expanding their knowledge and discovering cutting-edge winemakers and the wines that are shaping trends around the world.”

F&W contributor and wine expert Steven Olson, president and co-founder of the beverage consulting company Libations will be featured in an on-board video presenting tips for choosing and enjoying wines.

Northwest currently features more than 18 fine wines in their distinctive wine cellar. In addition to an exquisite champagne and port, two white wines and two red wines are available on each flight.

Recent new entrees introduced in World Business Class include beef tenderloin with smoked pepper sauce, cheese-potato soufflé and squash medley and oven-roasted chicken with wild mushroom sauce and blue cheese tortellini. World Business Class entrees are created in collaboration with Northwest’s consulting chef team of Kevin Cullen of Goodfellows in Minneapolis, Brian Polcyn of Five Lakes Grill in Detroit and Master Chef Jose Gutierrez of Chez Philippe at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

Northwest Airlines is the world’s fourth largest airline offering more than 2,600 daily departures with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam. With its travel partners, Northwest serves more than 750 cities in more than 120 countries on 6 continents. Based on statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Northwest was the most on-time U.S. airline among the seven largest network carriers for the period 1990-1999. Northwest is the 2000 recipient of Air Transport World Airline Technology Management Award. Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flyer program is the highest rated U.S.-based program reviewed by InsideFlyer Magazine, the leading authority on airline free travel programs.

Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Departures, T&L Golf, and Travel & Leisure Family magazines are part of the American Express Publishing Corporation, a subsidiary of the American Express Company managed by Time, Inc. under the terms of an agreement signed in March 1993. The company also publishes SkyGuide and a variety of cooking, travel, wine, time management, and financial books and products, plus a custom publishing group.