Northwest Launches Mobile-Device Transactions

Northwest Airlines today enabled customers to access any feature on nwa.com through such handheld devices as Treos, BlackBerrys and Web-enabled cell phones.

Northwest and others have bolstered customer interaction through handheld devices with alerts and flight notifications, but Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce, today said the new feature is more comprehensive and interactive. Lenza said travelers now can perform transactions through mobile devices, including online checkin, upgrades and Northwest's Coach Choice option, which allows economy passengers to purchase certain window and aisle seats.

Northwest partnered with Usablenet to enable the handheld device transactions, which, the company said, "automatically detects the browser type and provides on-the-fly content in different formats that allows nwa.com to function for all mobile devices without the need to change the original code."