Northwest Airlines Cargo joined global airline cargo alliance SkyTeam Cargo, effective Sept. 30. The addition of the world's fourth largest airline and the largest cargo carrier among U.S. passenger airlines extends the range of strategic options for the organization.

"NWA Cargo's freight forwarder customers are larger and more global than ever," said Jim Friedel, president of NWA Cargo. "To meet our customers' growing demands, we must continue to expand our network. We look forward to working with SkyTeam Cargo to add new destinations to our network, while also simplifying the airline's cargo business by adopting the standardized SkyTeam product line."

Effective immediately, NWA Cargo will begin offering the Equation express product. NWA Cargo's current product line will be migrated to the SkyTeam Cargo standards of Cohesion, Variation, and Dimension during the next several months.

"We also look forward to working with our SkyTeam Cargo partners to reduce our costs in areas including purchasing, handling services, trucking services, and supplies. With jet fuel prices at record levels, every airline must consider new ways of reducing operating costs," said Friedel.

In addition to carrying freight and mail on its 600 passenger aircrafts, Northwest also operates a fleet of 14 Boeing 747 freighters. The Boeing 747 freighters are entirely dedicated to Pacific operations, serving most major Asian gateways.

SkyTeam Cargo carriers operate 8,700 daily flights to 540 destinations in 127 countries. SkyTeam Cargo was founded in 2000 by Aeroméxico Cargo, Air France Cargo, Delta Air Logistics, and Korean Air Cargo. Alitalia Cargo and CSA Cargo joined SkyTeam Cargo in 2001, KLM Cargo joined in 2004, and NWA Cargo in 2005.