Micheal, I was really surprised by this move also. NW codeshares with Alaska on SEA-PDX-SEA routes and I would think that they would prefer to ferry NRT pax from PDX to SEA. I guess offering non-stop flights is a profitable choice. There are several reasons for this: 1. PDX throws in great incentives. 2. There are major companies that does business with Asia such as Intel, Nike, etc. 3. This market was served by DL before until DL pulled out of it. BAHA Fan of seing SEA-FRA by UA one day -----Original Message----- From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Michael A. Burris Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 9:51 PM To: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Northwest To Fly Portland =96_Tokyo_Nonstop David / All: Portland has become an increasingly important international departure point for the Asia Pacific Rim countries. Is there something strategically significant about Portland that warrants this attention? Has their economy increased so significantly as to offer continuous service point to point, without being a transfer for other cities? I'm not knocking Portland by any stretch, but with Seattle not so far North and San Francisco just south, I wonder if this will pan out in say two to three years? What is Portland's largest industry? Thanks, Mike Burris Cambridge, Mass "Fan of people in the know and locals." __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com