Compass Airlines (North America)

Compass Airlines logo

Compass Airlines logo

Compass Airlines is a new subsidiary to Northwest Airlines to be launched during the 4th quarter of 2006 flying a single Bombardier CRJ-200 between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Washington Dulles. During the concept phase, the subsidiary was known as "NewCo".

Compass was formed due to a contract dispute between Northwest and its pilots' union. Due to the scope clause in the pilot contracts, the number of mid-sized jets operated by the airline was limited. In order to avert this problem, Northwest bought the operating certificate of defunct Independence Air on March 10, 2006, for $2 Million, in order to establish a new feeder airline. Compass will operate Embraer E175s and Bombardier CRJ-900s. These aircraft are not a direct replacement for the aging DC-9s and lower the cost per available seat mile. It is expected the replacement for the DC-9 will be the EMB-190/195 series aircraft that will be operated by mainline Northwest Airlines. The max number of seats that Compass can operate is 76 seats due to the Northwest pilots contract that is to protect the jobs of many mainline pilots.

While the order and delivery of these aircraft are pending, a single CRJ-200 with as many as up to four by the end of the year will remain in service to preserve the airline's operating certificate.

On September 28, 2006, Compass Airlines officially received approval from the United States Department of Transportation to begin operations, though approval from the Federal Aviation Administration is pending.

Fleet

Compass Airlines fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Embraer 175	(36 orders) (36 options)	76 (12/64)	Northwest Airlink Service	To be operated by Compass Entry into service: Mid-2007
CRJ-200	1	50	Northwest Airlink Service	Operated by Compass