Garrison Keillor's Eulogy for NWA

[cargoflyr69]

Growing up in the Twin Cities and now finally making my childhood dream come true flying for the "Red Tail," I feel much the same way as Garrison Keillor, creator of the Prairie Home Companion writes:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2008/04/16/northwest


Sad days here in the Northland. Good luck to all my NWA brothers and sisters.

 

[Cessna340]

Just as boring as his radio show...

 

[CiFIknow]

I hear ya. Growing up in MN it was my goal too. Almost got there being a member of one of the cancelled classes. Sad days indeed...

 

[na4life]

"The company was founded by romantics, men who loved aviation, and in 1989 it fell into the hands of rapacious bandits who ate its heart and plunged it headlong into debt and could be as cruel to employees as any other big union-busting corporation. But we cling to childhood illusions."

Just change the year and you can sum up the last 25 years for every Legacy carrier out there.

 

[CA1900]

Some parts of his essay are very telling, though:

Our family did not fly, we drove, and Spokane was as far west as we went, where Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Bessie lived, and so Northwest Orient was not a carrier to me, it was a romantic concept. ...

We are good travelers, we middle Americans, and when Northwest opened a route to Beijing, everybody and their cousin talked about going there, and this spring the direct Minneapolis-Paris route opened, a beautiful idea to us as we scrape the ice off our windshields. We don't actually go, of course -- we go to work -- but we could go on any given day...


I did not fly in an airplane until I was 28 years old and that was a late-night Northwest flight on a 747 to New York. I sat back in the 30th row, surrounded by empty seats, my nose to the window, and when we came down through the clouds to the great city spread like a blanket of glittering stars and into Kennedy Airport, I felt as if I'd been given a great prize.

Sorry, Mr. Keillor, but romance and nostalgia don't pay the bills on a $350 Million 747. Unless people actually buy tickets on those empty seats surrounding you, your ability to "go on any given day" can't last forever.

 

[PCL_128]

It is somewhat sad. Northwest is the oldest airline in existence still operating under its original name. As much as I hate the scumbags that manage it, I'll miss seeing the Red Tail.

 

[General Lee]

It is somewhat sad. Northwest is the oldest airline in existence still operating under its original name. As much as I hate the scumbags that manage it, I'll miss seeing the Red Tail.

I thought it was called Northwest Orient?

Bye bye--General Lee

 

[PCL_128]

Northwest Orient was just a marketing gimmick. The airline never officially had that name, even though they painted it on their airplanes for a time.

 

[gutshotdraw]

We can all hope the DOJ tubes the deal............naahh. What was I thinkin?

 

[PCL_128]

With the Shrub's DOJ? This is a wet dream for them. More money for their rich buddies.

 

[cargoflyr69]

After reading some of the responses here it pretty obvious that some of you are missing the point entirely in this piece.

I think you really have to be a Minnesotan to fully understand what he is saying here. Its not about money, politics, or anything else. Its purely about an 82 year long institution that will be hard for us to see go. For us Minnesotans it will be hard driving down 494 where rows of red tail used to park at the MX hangar, only to see the "widget" tacked up.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Just like People in ATL had to do with Eastern. People adapt and forget.
We as aviation professionals do not.

 

[Donsa320]

Northwest Orient was just a marketing gimmick. The airline never officially had that name, even though they painted it on their airplanes for a time.

No, it was really Northwest Orient after World War 2. When NWA bought us (Republic) the management decided that the corporate name was too long and that it slighted the Atlantic business which was just starting to grow. The corporation was legally changed back to just "Northwest" after 1986.
DC

 

[PCL_128]

No, it was really Northwest Orient after World War 2. When NWA bought us (Republic) the management decided that the corporate name was too long and that it slighted the Atlantic business which was just starting to grow. The corporation was legally changed back to just "Northwest" after 1986.
DC

I'm pretty sure that was just a "DBA" name and not a legal name change. From Wikipedia:

"With its new routes, the airline re-branded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines, although the legal name of the company remained Northwest Airlines."

The same information was published in the World Traveler magazine a few years ago for the 75th anniversary celebration.

 

[Donsa320]

I'm pretty sure that was just a "DBA" name and not a legal name change. From Wikipedia:

"With its new routes, the airline re-branded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines, although the legal name of the company remained Northwest Airlines."

The same information was published in the World Traveler magazine a few years ago for the 75th anniversary celebration.

Well I guess the company fibbed to us back then, huh?

Anyway I can recall when Delta was Delta C&S after they merged with Chicago and Southern, so there. <grin>