Plans To Fly Old Independence Air Plane Fall Through

Northwest Airlines announced Friday it has delayed the launch of its new lost-cost subsidiary Compass Airlines from later this month, to later this year -- September, to be exact.

The reason? No airplane... which is kind of necessary for an airline.

Representatives with Northwest told the Detroit Free-Press that they originally wanted to launch Compass with a plane that last flew in the colors of Independence Air, which went out of business in January.

As Aero-News reported, the carrier also petitioned the Department of Transportation for its quick approval to transfer Independence's operating certificate to Compass.

That plan has reportedly hit some snags, however... and now, Northwest says it will instead use a CRJ-200 currently in service with Northwest Airlink operator Mesaba Airlines -- which, along with Pinnacle Airlines, had been invited to bid on the regional contract earlier this year. But that plane won't be ready before September.

Once it's up and running, Northwest plans for Compass to handle flights between its hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis.

Northwest is reportedly considering two options for the Compass fleet -- the CRJ-900 by Bombardier, or Embraer's 170/175 series.

FMI: www.nwa.com