D 
NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. 
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS AS OF DECEMBER 31 , 1950 
CROIL H 
E. I. "\ HY TT .................... .................... Vice President and Comptroller 
K. R . F E RG o ............ Vice President-O p rations and Engine rin a* 
Lr C . GLOTZBACH ...... Vice President and A sistant to the President 
C LBERT ........................................................ Vic President ales 
FLOAN ................................................ Vice President and ecretary 
L. S. HoL TAD . .. ...... ......... .. .... .. .... . ......... ....... .......... ..................... Treasurer 
FRA K C . J DD .... .. ........... . . R egional Ti ice President-Tl e t rn R egion 
D. J. Kr G ................................ R egional T ice President-O rient R gion 
v\ 11. 
J. ErnE ................................................... ........... Assistant Treasurer 
. D. P IEPGRA ... .............................................. .. ......... Assistant Treasurer 
C. L. TE\\ A RT ............. . ................................. . .............. Assistant ecretar, 
s 
K . R. F E RG 0 1 .......... .. ..... . V ice President- O perations and Engine nng 
.Y ortlw .. est Airlines I nc.** 
"\ I. T DOR GARDI TER .......... Chairman, Board of Directors I ncorporat d I nv stars .. . 
Boston, A1 ass. 
RoBERT M. H ARDY .... ......... .... President, unshine ~lining Co. Yakima Tl a h. 
CROIL Hu TER ... ....... ..... ..... ... President, !\ orth,J.J st Airlin s I nc. 
Jo EPH T. JoH 1 so ............ President, The Alili aukee Co., M ilwaukee, Tl is. 
M L C0LM . MACKAY .......... pecial Partner, L aidlaw & Co. ew 1 ark, X . Y. 
DR. CHARLE "\1  AYO ...... :VJ avo Clinic R ochester, A1inn. 
LO zo P ETTEY .................. Vice President and Director, Farm rs tale Bank, 
Brush Colorado 
WILLI 
Enwr 
1 TERN ............. .... .. . President, D akota Tational Bank Fargo, . D . 
Vh-IITE .......... .... ........ Chairman, Board of Directors Kalman & Co. 
t. Paul, Minn. 
E. I. HYATT ... ..................... Vice President and Comptroller, orthw st Airlines, I nc. 
PRINCIP L REGI TRAR 
THE CHA E N TIONAL B K OF Tr-IE CITY OF JEw Y ORK . Y. 
PRI1 CIPA:::.. TRAN FER GE T 
BANKERS TRUST CoMPA Y E \ YORK> . Y. 
Co-REm TRAR 
H ARRI TR T D A\"IJ G B A K. CHICAGO) I LLINOI 
Co-TRA FER GE T 
T HE FIR T ATIO AL B AN I OF CHIC GO) CHICAGO, I LLI OI 
*Resigned Feb. 26, 1951. 
**Re igned M ay 28, 1951. 
GENERAL OFFICE 1885 "CNI\'ER ITY AvE 1 UE T . P A L 4 ,1r E OTA 
 . HIGHLIGHTS OF 1950 
20 000,000 fl t of Stratocrui er in compl t operation coa t 
to coa t, Hawaii and Ala ka. 
Total operating revenue incr a ed 25.6 % over 1949. 
Pa enger r venue up 18.9% over 1949. 
Reduced bank loan $3,859,637. 
Total freio-ht and expre revenue up 30.3 % over 1949. 
Exp nded 4 559 000 in capital inv tment . 
Increased n t working capital $1,602,800 over 1949. 
ew high of 854 459 revenue passengers. 
25TH YEAR OF EXPERIENCE 
 h r hold r of orth,, t Airlin 
In 19.50 y ur ' p  
marred by ' f ur 
em d in ound epared 
to tinu the the 
wo1 n1aj r  t wa 
a year i uble- 
d 'k lux pa - 
enoer ti ally 
toward  aliz d 
in 1 r.: e in the  O" 
into fl t. op 
and _ tantial. 
pro!IT provino t 
cienc eet. 
fter all , r th'-''' _ t ir lii 
a net lo o 7 fter takino-  
358~48 n ' dit appli a prior 
ear It b not d that ure 
refle high depr tion a ion 
ha f -,87 .2+7. " hi h , 57 
O"reater than for 194 . In that,. ted 
net earnino of 1 357,679. ' 
Total op r  ,. in 
to 51 396.51 pa ,. 
1949. fail t- 
total d 7 .8 i tha 
2.523 re fo t an 
r venu unt 2. r 
 n in of .3 o,~r 1949 
of 3.277. r Y nue 
fro 87 942 in 19+9 to 3.1+8 - 
395 in 1 -o, rea of 18. p r cent. 
On the other id f th ratin(J" 
expen e total d 51 95 266 a ,,ith 
38 988,909 th '  r part 
of thi in rea .5 p r 
cent more at . more 
revenu pa en the balan e , a 
attribu tabl to f labor and mat - 
rials and to th wn op ratin(J" and 
rnaintenanc - ,,. trato rui er . 
The balan e he t po itio  r company 
is ound. t De emb r 31 ino apital 
totale O an in :800 
over , ital a ea im- 
prove oteworth 1 0 
our ade an o ,000 
for additio  1  "e note 
pa rnent o 6 o ino- bank 
loan fully paid up p di 
with a di. b f 4 u 
5,155 har er e t 
market for $90 896 retirino- q 
the company' articl of inc rp . 
In pril 1950 " e borrowed the final 
amount of a 21,000 000 bank loan. The 
borrowing ere paid down to 17 140 .)63 at 
the end of th year and h,1v ~ m b en 
r du d to 16,140.33 b a 1000000 pa - 
m nt made in farch 1 -1. 
I\. are bl to report briefl at thi time 
n two imp rtant d v 1 pment in th op ning 
month f th urrent , ar 1951. 
 w      at we xperi- 
u ino month of 
r d dine in air 
t t four th 
in th me 
f r por lo for 
th th in lud 1 of 
i 7. 2 4 7 in v 1a t 
at the end r month  o t 
+ 110.582 and at of fa; o t 
-L287 .828. Thi ,ear we had all for 
th uart r and made a of 228 
in At th nd of th ou th 
o amounted to 1 + nd on 
th 1ation now availab lo be 
fu du d by profit f 
. in April of 1951 the i il ero- 
nL oard fixed . air mail rate 
f r our operation in p ar . The e 
repla  t rn rat hich ha _e 
be n in fol 1p rate ppli- 
ation 1 n pen n th Board 
determined that uncle Id Your om- 
pany had b n und rpaid app1~ 
oximat 1 
+J02 69_ on it dom ti rout and o erpaid 
0 .130.3+-l: on it int rnational r ute , a n t 
und r f 1.5 72.3-1-8. In   e 
,.A.B. t mporary ma  e 
J :rnua . . \\hich are _d d 
your omp 11a1l 
the of approximat I 
7.800.000 in 19 r both  and 
international route . ain t t , 810 
r 
1 r. it i o-ra tifyino to 
o-rowth from mall 
0.. . 
a a maJor 
thr e 
 o mile. 
rout p tial i 
exp i " ill 
continue to i o ition 
in 1951 and i 
I " ant to tak m 
appr iation to all empl ,alt 
and upport they ha un the 
mpan durin th ar. 
By authorit of th Board of Dire tor 
President and Gen ral A1a11ager 
a int Paul Minn sota 
Ma y 29, 1951 
 THE YEAR IN REVIEW 
Th equipment difficultie encoun- 
tered by your company in 1950 were 
tho e inherent in the development and 
progre of commercial air transporta- 
tion. From the tandpoint of ervice to 
the public and the nation's defen e, 
performance exceeded that of the pre- 
viou year. Revenue pas enger mile 
flown on the company' domestic lines 
and throughout the international sy - 
t m increa d, re pectively, 21.8 and 
23.9 per cent over 1949, exceeding the 
comparable average performance of the 
nation' 16 trunk carrier . Revenue ton 
miles flown increased by 25.4 per cent. 
FLEET OPERATIONS 
STRATOCRUISERS 
The new double-deck luxury Strato- 
crui er were used in dome tic operation 
and al o between the Pacific orthwe t 
and Anchorage Alaska, and to Hawaii. 
Their passenger appeal proved high as 
did the gros revenue they produced. 
Howe er, due to un ati factory perform- 
ance of certain component parts, their 
operating and maintenance co t were 
25TH YEAR OF 
greater than could have been rea onably 
anticipated and their dajly utilization 
wa at a minimum. 
In the company' opinion the high 
1950 operating costs were due to a num- 
ber of the manufacturer's de ign defi- 
cienci s and to its failure to comply with 
ome of it contract repre entation . 
Furthermore, the delay of over two year 
in the delivery of the fleet riously af- 
fected our comp titive po ition during 
that period. A a re ult, the company 
has brought uit for damage again t the 
manufacturer and thi uit i now pend- 
ing in the Federal Court in the State of 
y\T ashington. 
The problem of reducing Stratocrui er 
operating expenses and improving it 
utilization ha received our concentrated 
attention and that of the other u, er a 
well as the manufacturer. At the end of 
1950 sub 'tantial progre had been 
mad in regard to both expen e and per- 
formance, and ju tifie the confidence 
that the profit potential of the e popular 
double-deck Stra to cruisers will be real- 
ized. 
EXPERIENCE 
 MARTI 202 
Our tw nty Martin 202 airplan ar 
out of rv1ce. Certain modification 
it m r lativ ly minor in nature and in- 
exp n ive to accompli h, have b n 
tabli h d by the Civil A ronautic 
Board, and th modification will b 
mad . In th m antim the plan r - 
main fully c rtificat d and in condition 
to fly. At thi writing, final di po ition of 
the fl t ha not been d t rmined. 
Do GLAS DC-4 
Throughout 1950 the company fl w 
DC-4 in pa enger coach ervic in th 
nited tat and in fir t-cla rvic 
on orthwe t' Ori nt rout . Th y al o 
wer flown in xclu ive fr ight ervice on 
<lorn tic route , in coach rvic be- 
tw nth nit d tat and Ala ka and 
in military contract op ration . At th 
nd of 1950 eighte n D -4 w r m 
op ration. 
t the pr nt time our DC-4 are 
al o b ing u d to op rate om ch d- 
ul form rly flown by Martin 202 . 
Additional DC-4 ar b ing acquir d 
for thi purpo . 
KOREAN AIRLIFT 
Th know-how of orthw t irlin 
wa r cogniz d jn a triking mann r wh n 
the ov rnment at a tim of national 
m r ncy a  jgned to th company a 
major rol in th airlift from thi coun- 
try to Tokyo and oth r point in th 
Ori nt. On the ba i of xp ri nee ain d 
durin World War II and furth r xp ri- 
n acquir d in comm rcial rvjc to 
th Ori nt, orthw t wa nam d a 
pnm contractor jn thi. military air 
tran port . rvic . orthw st pilot. fl w 
DC-4 pr viou ly op rated by th - om- 
pany jn it own comm rcial rvic and 
al o D -4 of a number of oth r ub-con- 
tra ting airlin s. orthw t round er ws 
maintajn d th ntir fl t. 
UNITED NATIONS SERVICE 
In addition to th airlift as i nm nt, 
orthwe t op rat d a p cial rvic for 
nit d ation. involvin fli ht. b - 
tw n Tokyo and point in Kor a. Thi 
ROUTES 
d D -3 aircraft own d by th 
ation and 1 op rat d xclu- 
orthw t irlin p r onn I. 
no major chan 
J. 
in th 
company' rout during 19 0. dmon- 
ton, ca pita! of th Provine of lb rta and 
c nt r of an xt n ive oil d v lopm nt 
The anatomy of luxury flying is illustrated in this cutaway diagram of a 75-passenger double-deck Boein~ Stratocruiser. Ten of these gia.~t 
high-altitude airliners make up a Northwest luxury fleet serving passengers from coast to coast and on direct routes to Alaska and Hawa11 
 __ ,,._.~--J: 
....------ 
ar a wa activat d a a traffic top on 
the company' route b tween the Twin 
Citie and Anchorage, Ala ka. Al o dur- 
ing the year orthwe t tarted serving 
Formo a on it route between Tokyo 
and Manila. 
Formal application wa made to the 
Civil Aeronautic Board for permis ion 
to u p nd trunk line ervice in several 
area which produce limited traffic, or 
which might be more economically 
served by feeder type carrier. In addi- 
tion, Iorthwe t continued to eek elimi- 
nation of C.A.B. re trictions on service 
east of Milwaukee, under which flights 
mu t originate or terminate at ew York 
or Washington on the one hand and at 
the Twin Citie or points west on the 
other hand. These matters await action 
by the C.A.B. 
IMPROVEMENTS 
Three large hangars comprising a new 
$1,150,000 Northwest Airlines line main- 
tenance base at Wold-Chamberlain 
Field went into service during the year. 
These facilities at the Minneapolis-St. 
Paul Airport provide for efficient line 
maintenance of all types of equipment 
operated by the company. 
OPERATIONAL DATA 
The percentage increase in revenue 
passenger miles from 1949 to 1950 was 
greater than the related increase in pas- 
enger revenues. This was a result of the 
increased volume of low fare passenger 
coach business done in 1950. Coach pas- 
enger miles in 1950 amounted to 27.6 
2 5 TH YEAR OF 
per c nt of all pa enger mile , and the 
revenu from coach pa senger repre- 
sented 20.9 per cent of all pa senger 
revenue. 
Sy tern expen e per ton mile of serv- 
ic offered to the public were lightly less 
in 1950 than in 1949, and the percentage 
of thi ervice actually sold wa some- 
what higher. These gains were offset, 
however, by the fact that average reve- 
nue per ton mile old was down more 
than 6 p r cent, largely as a result of 
the increased volume of business done at 
lower tariff rates. 
POTENTIAL 
After twenty-five year of develop- 
ment, the Northwest Airlines system now 
serves some of the greatest agricultural 
and industrial areas and vital popula- 
tion centers of America. These areas in- 
clude the rapidly growing Pacific orth- 
west, the Province of Alberta, center of 
Canadian oil production, and an ex- 
panding Alaska traffic favorably affected 
by military activity but well based on ci- 
vilian passenger and cargo requirements. 
orthwe t' routes to Hawaii, Alaska, 
and to the Orient cover areas with huge 
potentials and are geographically and 
strategically linked directly with our do- 
me tic ystem. Japan, Okinawa, Formo- 
sa, the Philippines and Hong Kong are 
proving rich sources of travel and trade. 
Travel to Korea before the outbreak of 
the war was substantial and any future 
rebuilding of this area should again gen- 
erate heavy traffic in both passengers 
and cargo. Our orth Pacific route to 
EXPERIENCE 
 the Ori nt \ia ~ 
\la ka and th ~ 
-\1 utian 
ha pro\ d practical by four y ar of 
out tandin  op ratino- p rforman and 
dependabilit  and ha th adrnntao of 
beino- approximat 1 2.00D mil hort r 
than the Mid-Pacific rout . 
The pion rin  of our rout ha b en 
ompli h d and w ar nm, in the pe- 
riod of mor full) d \' lopino the traffic 
potential. 
MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC CORPS COMMEND NWA 
*' I de ir to ext nd mv co,nm ndation and 
appr ciation to you and )Olli" ntir organi.:a- 
tion for th s pl ndid record you ha ' achie d 
i11 conductina vour contract op ration for th 
D epartment ''af th A ir Force. 
" F rom th time ')'Our first aircraft arri d 
under contract to the Air Fore until this dat , 
I ha e not rec iu d a sina/e complaint or riti- 
cism of th manner in  hi h )'Ou ha adniin- 
istered ')'OUT r span ibilit . Th co-op ration of 
your per onnel in  orking u.:ith th ,nilitar')' has 
been of th hi ahest order and r pres ntati- of 
a hi uhl) effici nt a11d busin s-lik organi::ation. 
J am sur '.)'Ou  ill be pl ased to kno that 
our compan')' leads all oth r contract carriers 
in effecting rapid turn-around on aircraft  itall')1 
n ed d for carr,ina additional cargo into 
J apan.) 
**('] would lik to tak this op port unit')' to 
express 111)' d p appr ciation for the xc llent 
scricc that .Y orfhi.u t Airlin s has afforded the 
Am rican Jfi sion in Kor a durinu th past 
y ars of op ratio11 in Kor a and especiall')'. 
during th la-t f   k. Tl ith extremely 
littl no tic . in th ourse of four da) s three 
xtra plan s i.C r made a ailable for this pur- 
po and, a a re ult. c i.U r abl to get a con- 
siderable number of per ans to Japan plus 
th ir baggage. I n addition to this 0i'orth est 
ha ah.ar ai n us exc llent s r- ice both in 
and out ~f eoul on air-freiaht and fate D - 
partm nt pouches.' 
ExcERPT FRO~r L ETTER TO NoRTHWE T Am- 
LIXE FRO;'.!: 
*Edward H. \\ hite 
Brigadier General AF Commanding 
1503rd . ir Tran port \\ ing, Pacific Di Yi ion 1f A T 
**John J. i\fuccio 
T.:. mba ador to K orea 
Ever since the outbreok of war in Korea 
last summer, Northwest Airl ines, as a prime 
contractor, has been operating an airlift to 
the Orient. Flying its own ships and others 
from sub-contracting airlines, it has carried 
men and supplies to the Far East over its 
regular short-cut route to Japan. Typical is 
th is scene a t a west coast airport as Gls 
board a Northwest plane for Tokyo. 
 BALANCE SHEET 
ASSETS 
....................................................................... ............................................. $ 4,531,805 
. . Tr a ury Bill -at redemption price ( aggr gate co t 
, l 248 285) .......... ...................................................................   
oun t r ivable: 
For trans1 orta tion (including U. Gov mm nt a - 
ount of $3,459 228 ) .................. .. .................... $4,941,745 
ther urr nt account ... ........................................................ . 
Le. allowance for lo . e ...................................... ................... . 
Inventori of repair m at rials and operating upplies- 
o- nerally at lower of co t (fir t-in, fir t-out ) or replace- 
816,615 $5,758,360 
33,000 
m nt m arket. ......................................................................................................................... . 
0th r urr n t a et : 
Pr pa id insuranc , ren t, tax tc ..................................... .. 
Rcimbur cmcnt due from . . Government within one 
y ar- cc contra deferred r dit and ote A. .................. . 
R cf undabl income tax s ari ing from operating lo . 
carry-ba k stima tcd ................. .. 
633,917 
371,352 
265,563 
1,249,874 
5,725,360 
894,444 
1,270,832 
T OTAL U RRE T A ET ....... ....................................................................................... $13,672,315 
OTHER ET 
undry r la ted bu inc invc tment ( at o t- no quoted 
market), depo its, and note .................................................... $ 173,309 
Le allowanc for lo e .............................................................. 2,000  171,309 
E timatcd income tax . whi h will be rccoverabl upon 
ettlcmcnt of war contract .............................................. . 
PROPERTY PLA T A n EQUIPMENT- on the ba is of o t (in- 
cludin 'a t of 9,694 010 completely am ortized to residual 
amoun t of $177 123)- ot B 
Cot 
Land ..................................................................... $ 31,393 
ir raft and re ervc equipment.......................... 38,992,81 8 
Conver. ion o t on lea ed air raft...................... 1,613,036 
Building. on land not owned. .............................. 3,046,263 
th r building and equipm nt.......................... 5, 81,343 
Improvcm nts to I a. d prop rty...................... .. 1 079,623 
o t of w rk in progrcs. . .... ... . .. . ... .. ... . . ... .... ... .. ... 308,302 
on-op rating property....................................... 10,006 
Depreciation 
and 
Amortization 
Allowance 
$ ........ . 
13,816,338 
1,613,036 
655,316 
2,478,057 
920,978 
2,594 
66,000 
Balance 
31,393 
25,176,480 
2,390,947 
3,103,286 
158,645 
308,302 
7,41 2 
, 50,662,784 $19,486,319 $31,176,465 
DEFERRl-:0 1 HARGES 
Training and other co t. in c nn tion with th Bo ing fle t, le 
a umulat d amortizati n ( ov r life of fie t ) of , ] 39, 778 ........................ $ 
Long-term r ntal prepayments.. .................. .. ................................. .. 
thcr def err cl harg ..................................................................................... . 
657,346 
68,642 
28,467 
237,309 
31,176,465 
754,455 
$45,840 544 
December 3 1 / 1 9 5 0 
NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. 
LIABILITIES 
CURRENT LIABILITJE 
Ac aunt payable and a cru d expen e : 
Trade account. .......................................................................................... $ 3,008,858 
alari , wage , and vacation compen a tion.............................................. 1,751,349 
ir trav I contract d po it -gro ............................................................ 486,625 
Pay roll taxe and taxe withheld from mployce ' wage ...................... 461,967 
R etirem ent plan contribution , including amount withh Id from 
mployce ' wage - Note C ..................................................................... . 
aving bond and other deduction from employc ' wag ................... . 
A rued local tax ...................................................................  .....  .....  ..    
cru d rent and int re t. .......................................................................... . 
nearned tran portation revenue- es tima ted ............................................. . 
Federal and tate tax on incom -e tima ted ............................................. . 
Curr n t m a turitie of long-t rm d bt, le 1,000,000 due J nua ry 1, 
195 l, paid in D ecember, 1950 .................................................................. . 
TOTAL RRE T LrABILITIE ................................................................ . 
Lo c-TERM ] EBT- c u red- ate B 
ate payable to bank under Credit Agrcement-47'0- 1,000,000 
payabl on the fir t day of J anuary, A] ril, July and O ctober of 
each year, Jc current maturitie of $3,000 000 .................................... .. 
DEFERRED CREDIT 
R eimbur emcnt du from . . Governm nt- 
CAPITAL TOCI A o URPL - Not B and D 
apital tock : 
contra and ote A .... 
4.6 % cumulative p rcfcrcnc sto k, par valu $25 p r hare; entitl d 
upon liquida tion r r d mption to $26.2 per hare at D ecember 
31, 1950, reducing to , 25.25 per h are after M ay 1, 1953, plu 
accumulated unpaid divid nd.; convertibl in to common tock to 
D ecember 31 1956, a t the rate of one har of common for each 
, 16 of the par value f the 4.6 :, cumulative prefer nee to k : 
uthorized 600 000 hare , le ,. ,155 hare permanently retir d 
under mark t fund purcha c. ; ou t ta nding 384 845 hare ............  
Common tock par value$ ] 0 per har : 
u thorized 3,000,000 h are ; uni ued 2. 179 142 hares of "'(hich 
5 77,267 hares arc re erved for convcr. ion of 4.6% cumulativ 
pr fercnce stock, 10,000 hare ar r :erv d for option at $11.25 
per hare, 5 147 hare arc re erv d for option at , 10 per hare, 
and 14 800 h are arc reserved for i su ancc in onn tion with 
fu tu re OD ti on whi h may b granted t officer and employ ; 
out tanding 820,858 hare .................................................................... .. 
apita l urplu (after accu mula ted deduction of, 560,625 for di idcnd. 
paid on 4.6 % cumulative pr f r nee to k) ............................................... . 
82,497 
62,485 
351,543 
32,560 
,621125 
8,208,580 
2,821,033 
20,650 738 
Earn d urplu ...................................................................................................... 662,67 
Co TINGENT LrABILITIE - ote E 
COMMITMENT - ate F 
ee a ompanying not to financial . tatem nt 
, 6,237,884 
540,605 
236,926 
3 000 000 
10,015,415 
14,140 363 
371,3 2 
l 
45 840,544 
 PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT 
Year Ended December 31, 1950 
NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. 
Operating revenue : 
Tran portation: 
Pa enger ................................................................................................... . 
M ail- ote A ........................................................................................... . 
Expres , freight, and exce baggage ..... ................................................ . 
Charter and other ................................................................................... . 
Pacific airlift for the U. S. Government ..................................................... . 
Repair and ervic income, rent , etc.,-net ............................................... . 
TOTAL OPERATING REYE UES ............................ .. .......... ................. . 
Operating xpen e : 
33,148,395 
9,409,526 
4,388,119 
227,007 
Flying operations .......................................................................................... $15,654, 788 
Ground operation ........................................................................................ 6,385,189 
Maintenance and repair .............................................................................. 12,024,822 
Pa enger ervice ..................................... ..................................................... 2,903,744 
Traffic and ale ............................................................................................ 3,984,494 
dverti ing and publicity............................................................................ 1,442,156 
dmini trative and general, pay roll taxe , property taxe , etc............... 3,301,899 
Provi ion for depreciation and amortization.............................................. 5,873,247 
Provi ion for doubtful account adju tment , recoveries, etc................. 24,927 
0PERATI a Loss ... ...... .. ..... .. ...... .... .. ....... .... ...... ............. .. .. ....... .... .... . 
Other income and credit : 
Intere t on marketable ecuritie ................................................................ $ 7,235 
Di count and other intere t earned ........................................................... . 70,529 
Profit from di posal of depreciable a ets ..................... ............................ . 129,850 
Profit from ale of urplus inventorie ....................................................... . 69,430 
R eduction in re erve on U . . Government war contract , less appli- 
cable recoverable income tax of 20,000 ............................................... . 33,396 
undry ........................................................................................................... . 51,714 
Income deduction : 
Intere t and debt expen e: 
Intere ton long-term debt ........................................................................ $ 772,026 
Other long-term debt expen e ............................................................... . 71,380 
$ 843,406 
Other intere t expen e ........................................... .................................... .. . 13 803 
Route exten ion and development ............................................................. . 5,905 
undry ........................................................................................................... . 59,809 
Loss BEFORE INCOME TAX CREDIT ................................................. . 
Income tax recoverable on operating lo carry-back- ote A ................... . 
FOR THE YEAR .... .......... ........ ......... ... ... ... .. .... ........ ....... .. . 
pecial credit-additional mail pay compen ation for prior period , le 
related f deral income taxe of $223,956- ote A. .................................. . 
ET Lo LE PECIAL CREDIT .. ......... ................. ... .. ...... ..... ... ...... . 
*Indicate red figure. 
e accompanying note to financial tatements. 
$47,173,047 
3,969,670 
253,794 
$51,396,511 
$ 
$ 
51,595,266 
198,755* 
362,154 
163,399 
922,923 
759 524* 
265,563 
493 961 * 
358,483 
135 478* 
 Year Ended December 31, 1950 
CAPITAL 
s URPL u s 
Balance at January 1, 1950, after accumulated deduction of $560,625 
for dividends paid on 4.6% cumulative preference stock ...................... .. $ 2,782,992 
Add: 
Exce of par value over purchase price of 5,155 hares of 4.6% 
cumulative preference tock which was r tired pursuant to 
market fund provi ion of that stock .................................................... .. 37,979 
Exce of ca h received over par value of 50 share of common tock 
sold from trea ury ............................................................................... .... . 62 
Balance at December 31, 1950, after accumulated deduction of 
$560,625 for dividends paid on 4.6% cumulative preference tock ...... . . 2,821,033 
EARNED SURP LUS 
Balance at January 1, 1950 .............. ..... .................................................... ............................... $ 1,242,207 
Deduct balance tran ferred from tatement of Profit and Lo : 
et lo for the year ....................................................................................  493,961 
Special credit- additional mail pay compensation for prior period , 
le related federal income taxe of $223,956- Iote A ..................... . 358,483 135,478 
1,106,729 
D educt ca h dividends on 4.6 1 
o cumulative preference tock- 1.15 
per hare for the four quarter ending ovember 1, 1950 ( dividend 
payable February 1 1951, have not been declared or paid) ................ .. 444 053 
Balance at December 31, 1950 ..................................... .................................. . 662,676 
See accompanying note to financial tatement . 
Note A- The Civil Aeronautics Board ha retro- 
actively adjusted the Company's temporary rates of 
mail pay for the period September 26, 1946, to 
December 31 1950 on international routes and for 
the period D ~cembe~ 8, 1947, to December 31, 1950, 
on domestic route , and awarded net additional mail 
pay aggregating $1,572,348 for those periods. The 
temporar rates so adjusted will become final rates 
upon the completion of formal proceedings by the 
Board and the Company. 
It is e timated that this adjustment less related federal 
income taxes of $137,856 affected the Company's net 
income as follows: six months ended December 31, 
1946--decrease $25,500, year 1947- increase $211,- 
670, year 1948- decrease $140,683, year 1949- in- 
crease $312,996, and year 1950- increase $1,076,009. 
In the accompanying financial statements, the adjust- 
ments for 1950 have been included in their respective 
categories, and the adjustments applicable to prior 
years aggregating $358,483 have been shown as a 
special credit a the la t item in the Statement of 
Profit and Los . 
In determining the a forementioned mail pay adju t- 
ment the Board included $361,526 in partial reim- 
burs: ment for lo s of profits and additional co t 
resulting from the temporary withdrawals from ervice 
of the M artin fleet in 1949 and 1950. As to the 
remaining balan e of uch los of profits and addi- 
tional cot tated in the Board's order at 1,39+ 315, 
the Board has agreed to reimbur e the Compan in 
separate monthly payment in accordance with the 
December 31, 1950 
following schedule, or until such time as it may be 
determined by the Board that the Company should 
not receive mail pay in excess of a service rate: 
M onthly payments ID 1951 $ 371,352 
do 1952 371,352 
do 1953 371,35 2 
do 1954 222,591 
do 1955 57,668 
TOTAL .......................... $1 ,394,315 
The remaining balance of $1,394,3 15 has not been 
reflected in the a ccompanying financial statements as 
either a credit to earnings or to earned surplus ; how- 
ever, the monthly payments receivable in 1951 , 
aggregating $371,352, have been included in the 
Balance Sheet in contra accounts under the captions 
"Other Current A sets" and "D eferred Credits," since 
in the opinion of the M anagement, the Company 
will be entitled to receive mail pay in excess of a 
service rate for at least tha t period of time. 
t the same proceedings before the Board, temporary 
rates of mail pa for the year 1951 were determined 
which are e timated to produce mail pay compensa- 
tion of approximately $7,417,722 for 1951 exclusive 
of reimbur ement relating to temporary withdrawal 
of aircraft from er ice. Thi compare v,ith $8,509,- 
847 awarded for the ear 1950, exclu ive of reim- 
bur ements relating to temporary withdrawal of air- 
craft from service. T he fin al rates for 1951 may be 
 NOTES (Continued) 
either high r or lower than the t mporary rate which 
have been pre ently et by the Board. 
B- t D ecember 31, 1950, the loan under the Credit 
greement with certain bank (with which the R e- 
con truction Finance Corporation has a participation 
agreement) were ecured by a chattel mortgage on 
all Dougla D C-4, Martin 202, and Boeing 377 flight 
equipment con i ting of complete aircraft and spare 
engine , propeller , major a semblie and parts, hav- 
ing a depreciated cot of $21,758,910, and mortgage 
on it hangar and other improvement located at 
airport at Minneapoli , Minne ota, and eattle, 
Wahington, having a depreciated co t of $1,314,598. 
A total of 3,859,637 ha been repaid under term 
of the Credit greement of which $859,637 ha been 
applied to note in inver e order of due dates. 
Under term of the Credit Agreement applicable to 
the e loan , the Company ha agreed, among other 
thing : 
(a) to maintain a ca h collateral account a ecurity 
for the payment of principal and intere t of the 
loan which hall at all time be equal to that 
amount by which the unpaid balance of the loans 
exceed 80 % of the depreciated co t of all flight 
equipment; 
(b ) to maintain current a et in exce of current 
liabilitie ( exclu ive of current maturitie owing 
on the principal of the loan under the Credit 
Agreement) in the amount of $3,500,000 from 
July 1, 1950, to July 1, 1951 ; and 4,000,000 
thereafter ; 
( c) to encumber or mortgage a ecurity for the loan 
under the Credit greement, uch other proper- 
tie a the bank or R econ truction Finance 
Corporation hall elect; 
( d ) to limit additional borrowing , mortgage and 
lien , capital expenditure and commitment , 
lea ing of propertie , inve tment in and guar- 
antee and endor ement for other (all a set 
forth in the Credit greement) ; not to enter into 
any merger or con olidation or to ell or other- 
wi e di po e of ub tantially all of it a et ; and 
( e) not to declare or pay any dividend ( other than 
tock dividend ) on it capital tock and not to 
purcha e, retire or redeem any of its capital 
tock except that (a) 4.6 % cumulative pref- 
erence tock may be retired under the provi ion 
of the Amended Articles of Incorporation, and 
(b ) dividend on 4.6% cumulative preference 
tock may be declared and paid to the extent 
that the net improvement in earned urplus ince 
March 31, 1949, exceed 224,250. At D ecem- 
ber 31, 1950, uch improvement in earned ur- 
plu amounted to $1,812,618. 
C-The Company provides for an unin ured em- 
ployee ' retirement plan which i contributory on the 
part of both the employee and the Company. Charge 
to profit and lo on the part of the Company for 
ACCOUNTANTS' REPORT 
Board of Director , :Northwe t Airline , Inc. 
aint Paul inne ota 
pa t ervice and future ervice benefit for the year 
ended D ecember 31, 1950, aggregate $289,470 of 
which $271,440 wa for future ervice benefits. The 
actuarie ' report a of September 30, 1950, the end of 
the fourth plan year, indicate a maximum aggregate 
liability of the Compan for unfunded past service 
benefit e timated at $652,777 which may be paid at 
the discretion of the Company in variable amounts 
each year and which i presently being funded over 
a period e timated not to exceed twenty-five years 
from October 1, 1946, the effective date of the plan. 
D-The Company' Amended Articles of Incorpo- 
ration provide for the retirement of it 4.6% cumu- 
lative preference tock under market and sinking 
fund provi ion . 
Pur uant to the above provi ions, the Company set 
aide 90,918 on March 31, 1950, and purchased 
5,155 hare of 4.6o/c cumulative preference stock at 
an aggregate co t of $90,896, returning $22 to the 
general funds of the Company. 
o amount i required to be et a ide on or before 
March 31, 1951. 
The term of the cumulative preference stock al o 
contain certain re triction relative to dividend on 
and repurcha e of common tock in addition to such 
prohibition under the Credit Agreement summarized 
in Tote B of ote to Financial tatements. 
E-The Compan i involved in a number of law uits 
which are outlined briefly as follow : (a) those in 
which any claim paid by the Company will be fully 
reimbursed by the U. S. Government under the terms 
of variou war contract ; (b) tho e in which any 
claims paid by the Company will be fully reimbursed 
under insurance contract : and ( c) other mi cella- 
neou claim of approximately $623,200 in excess of 
in urance coverages and approximately $136,000 
which are not covered by in urance or other indemni- 
fication which the Company believes will be settled 
without material effect on it financial po ition. In 
view of the circum tance outlined, no provision has 
been made for any portion of the amount involved. 
Provi ion ha been made in the financial statements 
for all known liabilities for taxe on income. The 
Company' federal and tate income tax return , how- 
ever, may be ubject to adju tment for the periods 
from June 30, 1942, to D ecember 31, 1949. R eview 
by the Bureau of Internal R evenue is pre ently in 
progress. 
Operation of the Company include fixed price con- 
tract with the U. S. Government which are ubject 
to renegotiation of profit . 
F-The Company' commitment for capital expendi- 
tures at D ecember 31, 1950, amounted to approxi- 
mately $940,000 of which approximately $832,000 
wa for spare part and a emblie for flight equip- 
ment. The Company ha no material long-term lease 
commitment . 
We have examined the balance heet of ORTHWE T IRLI ES, I C., as of D ecember 31, 1950, 
and the related . tatement of profit and lo and urplu for the year then ended . Our examination wa 
made in accordance with generally accepted auditing tandard , and accordingly included uch te t of 
accountin record and uch other auditing procedure a we con idered nece ary in the circum tance . 
In our opinion the accompanying balance heet and tatement of profit and lo and surplu pre ent 
fairly the financial po ition of ORTHWE T . IRLI TE , I C., at December 31, 1950, and the re ult 
of it operation for the ear then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principle applied 
on a ba i con i tent with that of the pre~eding year. 
aint Paul. Minne ota 
pril 11, 1951 
ER. T & ER T 
Certified Public Accountants 
 A RECORD OF 
l 1950 $9,409,526 $33,148,395 $4,122,222 613,446,244 9,975,120,154 26,868,177 
1949 9,039,154 27,873,942 3,163,278 495,114,870 9,445,597,392 25,908,552 
1948 8,444,106 24,074,778 2,072,362 386,509,809 8,052,148,614 22,288,002 
1947 4,018,340 20,520,631 1,019,497 382,544,382 5,473,873,894 20,824,912 
1946 1,254,257 18,062,492 553,875 385,858,473 4,099,317,238 19,304,234 
1945 1,649,575 10,060,619 409,613 218,469,773 5,396,757,098 12,870,714 
1944 1,500,874 6,073,967 246,030 120,834,296 4,900,802,947 7,523,146 
1943 1,353,822 3,139,713 297,941 63,787,683 4,005,180,807 4,584,766 
1942 1,850,601 2,410,512 240,800 52,061 ,159 I 2,528,042,954 4,931,815 
1941 1,955,826 2,526,721 118,885 59,659,145 1,871 ,311,191 6,353,659 
1940 1,769,735 2,151,311 79,531 51,175,254 1,370,076,043 6,079,669 
1939 1,763,288 1,324,728 61 ,186 34,749,246 1,166,518,244 5,399,024 
1938 1,286,549 829,554 41 ,625 21 ,153,258 1,116,975,430 5,310,015 
1937 1,076,293 761 ,839 33,768 16,685,852 841,274,933 4,462,439 
1936 1,050,639 759,981 27,318 16,528,401 671,011 ,789 3,699,818 
1935 629,724 481 ,528 12,388 10,342,834 315,817,803 2,841,198 
1934 ' 251 ,133 199,074 4,319 4,301,145 44,034,248 1,643,127 
1933 762,208 188,966 1,873 4,108,313 82,613,032 1,823,850 
1932 884,719 200,984 343 4,127,800 77,867,566 1,639,015 
1931 917,635 205,164 575 3,934,093 89,706,330 1,434,555 
1930 648,799 119,349 146 2,129,600 Not Avail. 1,032,340 
1929 495,708 121,075 Not Avail. 1,956,400 II 736,664 
1928 195,315 24,890 II 402,400 II 314,496 
1927 76,029 8,663 II 126,000 II 211 ,667 
3 Months, 1926 11,790 -o- II -o- II 47,397 
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