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Northwest Airlines and Air China Reinforce Partnership

Northwest Airlines and Air China have announced reinforcement of their alliance and the upgrading of their products. It is a historic milestone in Sino-American aviation as well as in China's own aviation history, it was said at a recent joint press conference. A new agreement for code-sharing cities and frequent-flyer programs, as well as improvements in business-class services was also announced.

Under the China-US Air Service Agreement, and based on the Commercial Cooperation Agreement signed by the two airlines in May, 1998 (effective from December 19, 2000), Northwest Airlines has put its new code on eight Air China domestic flights.

Its code had earlier been displayed on Air China flights between Beijing and eight cities -- Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Nanjing, Qingdao, Chengdu and Xiamen. Northwest Airlines and Air China have also cooperated on their transpacific and US domestic routes since October 27, 1998.

Northwest Airlines is the first foreign carrier in China to place its code on the country's domestic flights.