Northwest wants to cut some Iowa air routes

To cut costs, Northwest Airlines wants to stop flying to five Midwestern cities, including two in Iowa.The flights now served by Northwest Airlink are considered unprofitable, so it’s considering discontinuing service to Mason City and Fort Dodge, as well as to Thief River Falls, Minnesota; Watertown, South Dakota and Escanaba, Michigan. Northwest says it’ll end its service to those towns in 90 days unless the government agrees to subsidize the routes. The airline says its bookings are way down and most of its flights are only half-full.