Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) celebrates 16 years of industry-leading charity efforts through its signature AirCares program.

Introduced in 1992, Northwest Airlines’ AirCares program was launched as a strong commitment to enhancing the communities Northwest serves and beyond. Through travel resources and the generosity of more than 50 million travelers each year to support causes worldwide, AirCares and its selected partners provide safe, reliable travel and assistance for those in need.

”Celebrating 16 years of AirCares is an historic achievement by Northwest’s customers and employees who have given so much,” said Tammy Lee Stanoch, vice president, corporate communications, “The incredible level of generosity from donors through AirCares, its partners and programs -- including KidCares and EarthCares -- have provided a real-life difference in changing thousands of lives world wide. We are extremely proud to have been able to strengthen our partner charitable organizations and the communities we serve.”

AirCares

In the 16-year time period, over 30 domestic AirCares partners have been featured; their missions ranging from disaster relief, last wish-granting, special needs and cancer research, to name a few. The program was later expanded to include charities in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

To date, several million dollars and over 700 million WorldPerks miles have been contributed to our AirCares partners by Northwest and its customers.

Through various AirCares accounts, millions of miles were contributed after disasters such as 9/11, the tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina and the China earthquake. Contributions have been made to AirCares partner charities from all over the globe and helped those in need in all parts of the world.

Kristen G. Solt, vice president, Hope Lodge Network, American Cancer Society praised Northwest’s AirCares program:

“Northwest’s AirCares program has made it possible for cancer patients and their families to put aside their monetary worries about paying for travel -- and focus on fighting their cancer,” said Solt, “It is hard to place a value on the hope and peace of mind that comes from getting to treatment and uniting families together in the fight, and for this, we are eternally grateful to Northwest Airlines.”

KidCares®

Since about 2002, Northwest’s AirCares primary emphasis has been focused on its KidCares program, which began in 1999 as an addition to the AirCares program. The KidCares medical travel program provides travel for a child, accompanied by one adult, to obtain needed medical treatment -- a critical element when a child’s health depends on receiving treatment far from home. This travel is made possible by contributions from Northwest’s generous WorldPerks customers that are then matched by the Airline. To date, KidCares has provided free travel for more than 1500 children and an accompanying adult.

NWA EarthCares®

Also, as part of AirCares, a recent enhancement called NWA EarthCares was created to show ongoing support of protecting the environment, with The Nature Conservancy^® as Northwest’s founding partner.

By contributing to The Conservancy’s voluntary carbon offset program customers are helping fund projects specifically designed to sequester carbon and help reduce the effects of carbon emissions. The voluntary donation offsets a customers’ personal amount of CO2 impact to the atmosphere. The money raised will be used to set aside land, pay for forest conservation, plant trees, and measure and verify the amount of carbon sequestered over the next 70 years.

For more information about Northwest Airlines’ AirCares, KidCares and EarthCares programs, log on to www.nwa.com.

Northwest Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam. Northwest, with its regional partners, operates approximately 2,400 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 1,000 cities in excess of 160 countries on six continents.

Northwest Airlines