Northwest unveils new Heathrow-USA flights

US carrier Northwest Airlines has announced plans to launch new services from Heathrow Airport to Detroit, Minneapolis-St Paul and Seattle next year.

The daily non-stop flights will be introduced to take advantage of the open skies agreement between Europe and the USA, and will be launched in partnership with KLM.

New flights to Detroit will begin on May 2nd, departing at 08:50 BST, while the Minneapolis-St Paul service will be launched on March 30th with a take-off time of 14:25 BST.

Meanwhile, passengers will be able to travel to Seattle with Northwest Airlines from June 2nd, with flights departing at 18:30 BST every day.

"Our Detroit and Minneapolis-St Paul hubs are the most efficient and uncongested connecting airports in the US and, together with our Seattle gateway, will link Heathrow to every point in America," commented Doug Steenland, president and chief executive of Northwest Airlines.

British Airways currently operates its own route between London and Seattle.

• Bmi doubles flights from London to Moscow
• British Airways business class check-in open at Terminal 5
• Gustav not as severe as first feared
• New Zealand celebrates 'top country' award
• Luton Airport invests in multilingual technology
• Airlines take action as Gustav approaches
• Terminal 5 hosts impromptu basketball match
• Airline collapse leaves 60,000 looking for transatlantic flights
• Virgin Atlantic flights to host film competition
• Swiss hires top chef for premium services