Travel Blog

An article in Crain’s Detroit says Northwest Airlines has taken “a quiet approach” to repairing its image after this summer’s flight delays. The airline recently agreed to trim its schedule, cut pilot flight hours and is offering them overtime and bonuses in addition to bringing back furloughed pilots and hiring new ones, it added.

Tyler has spent pretty much all of vacation on the phone with Northwest Airlines (NWA!) trying to get his luggage shipped to us because like morons, they lost it and he’s without clothes and all that good stuff. It’s been stressful for me to listen to because I’d like to climb through the phone and bitchsmack every person he’s talked to. How can people just NOT be helpful? Is it THAT difficult? A couple hours later, Tyler smiles and says, “my luggage will be here tomorrow by 4:30!”. Finally.

When we got to LA we discovered that none of our luggage made it onto the airplane and two days later we are still waiting for them. I am NEVER flying on Northwest Airlines again, their customer service sucks, each person that was asked to help us with our seating problem passed the buck to somebody else and on top of all that, no luggage. I know the nasty TSA agent has nothing to do with the airline but the whole experience left a whole lot to be desired. The only fun part was watching Lauren as she sat next to the window and really “got” that we were flying up in the air with the clouds. That was pretty cool.

Today we departed from the confused state of Michigan in order to arrive in Orlando, Florida at approximately 8am and after a sleepless night I must admit Northwest Airlines is probably the absolute worst airline company that you can fly without a doubt. Although, this time they managed to get my luggage passed to the correct terminal and airport, the service on the plane was by far the worst i have ever experienced.

So what’s with the title? Last year I flew a few times, to the tune of over 25,000 miles with Northwest Airlines, and my WorldPerks membership was upgraded to Silver Elite status. The main thing I’m going to enjoy: getting on the plane prior to general boarding. I know Northwest saves 10 minutes by doing this, but I still find it… I don’t know… rude? annoying? that after exit rows, first class, and WorldPerks Elite and SkyTeam Elite members board, EVERYONE boards. Personally I would rather lose the 10 minutes and board by row rather than be hearded in like cattle into the JetWay.

My First Mileage Run of 2007: Northwest Airlines posted a mistake fare of between $125 and $160 for a one way Vancouver, Canada to Chattanooga, TN ticket booked into Y-class. Because it’s a Y-class ticket and I’m a frequent flyer, I get an immediate and free upgrade to First Class too!

Via iArarat, news that 24-year-old Armenian-American computer science student Christopher Soghoian has had a run-in with the FBI for highlighting an airline security flaw. Soghoian was responsible for creating a web site that generated fake boarding passes for Northwest Airlines.

Amerika’ya uçan ilk Türk özel hava yolu şirketi olmak için bu kez yine kolları sıvayan AtlasJet şirketi büyük süpriz yaparak Amerikan Northwest Airlines ile işbirliğine gitmeyi planlıyor.

All I can say is WOW. Recently Northwest Airlines gave pink-slips to some of its employees. Included in their layoff packet was a booklet titled '101 Ways to Save Money.' Included in the list were the following:

Remember, the Marriott charged me 30,000 points for 1 night. On the Starwood card I get an easily redeemed (even before special offers and free nights) 3.6% return vs. Marriott’s pain in the ass 1.2% return on their card. Northwest Airlines offers a card at a dollar a point as well. Getting to from LAX to NYC and back (with significant restrictions) would cost you 25,000 points, worth $378 at NWA.com for the exact same flights. That’s 1.5% of highly restricted return on investment that you may not be able to redeem if they go belly-up. United Airlines is much the same. Discover Card gives you greater flexibility but only 1% cash back. I haven’t seen any cashback cards that go over 2% except for certain types of purchases.

Today I made flight reservations via Northwest Airlines. I’m flying from Portland International Airport to Narita International Airport on September 11, 2006. Trust me, that was not my choice for a flight date (I even get to pay an additional $2.50 fee for “September 11 Security”).

Another thing really annoying about Yahoo! Travel - tell me if you haven’t had this happen to you before - is that they’ll show you a decent air fare, so you decide to book the flight. You work through all the return flight options until you’re all set to go. Then (and Northwest Airlines is REALLY bad about this), just when you’re thinking, “life is good, I’ve got myself a good trip here”, you get a message saying that the fare is no longer valid and has been changed - upwards of course, most times a lot upwards. I suppose it’s the price we all pay for convenience and avoiding the whole travel agent route, but it still is very annoying.

Meijer Inc., Gannett Co., American Financial Group Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Northwest Airlines are among the companies already charging or planning to charge smokers higher premiums. The amounts range from about $20 to $50 a month.

When I received the following e-mail string from reader Kristina M. Reser-Jaynes, I wondered whether I should take it up with Northwest Airlines or include it in a story about airline rules. Instead, I decided to republish it (with her permission) on the site without commentary.

On the flight back, I proceeded to leave my DS on a plane. This has caused me a lot of inner grief and emoism. Is that a word, “emoism”? Haven’t heard back from Northwest Airlines about it, but I was able to tell them exactly what flight it was that I lost it, and in a timely manner. Maybe I’ll get a call back from this sometime, they certainly didn’t return my call from today. I’m not so much bummed about having to buy another DS, especially since the redesign is coming soon, but rather my game saves. I lost both Animal Crossing and FFIV, and will have to do a lot more work if I have to rebuy those too. Also, my copy of Mario Kart is hosed for online play since Nintendo matches DS serials with game serials.

In the Northwest Airlines Terminal building at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a clever worker has patched the terrazzo floor. Since I am not there every day (although it seems like it the traveling I do), I don’t know the reason for the patch. But nonetheless, it is a patch. You can see it 12 gates away.

The trip up here was pretty nice. It was my first flight on KLM and I got bumped up to Business Class. That was because I checked in using my Northwest Airlines Silver Elite status. Normally you get these status levels on various airlines after flying a bunch of miles, but one of the benefits of working for a big company like Microsoft is that I got bumped to upper levels on a few airlines just by asking the travel department. I was instantaneously Silver Elite. I have never even been on a Northwest plane. I left Microsoft over a year ago, but the bump was good for two years. Woohoo!!!

So, I am in London. Some of you may have heard that our backpacks were lost. Here’s the story. Our plane to St. Louis showed up almost an hour late, and so our layover in Detriot became -5 minutes. So after being locked on the plane at the gate in Detriot, we had to run, actually run at an airport, to our next flight, where they were just waiting for us to leave. A question arose… would our backpacks have enough time to transfer to the next plane? Nope. But the flight here sucked, Northwest Airlines is the most horrible way to fly, we kept saying “no wonder they are bankrupt”. Sauce is free on the plane, if you are 21, I am hoping the way back you need only be 18 since that is the age here, but I am not that lucky. Just as we were about to land, they spilled coffee all over my leg.

Officials with Northwest Airlines were worried enough to demand a recent meeting with RIM.

A smallish room off to the side, with windows down one side that faced the concourse, and one in back that faced a closed in area of the runway, obscured by a picturesque, muted blue dumpster. If one looked carefully enough, you could also make out baggage carts and the tail end of an NWA aircrat. Not so much a “lounge” as it was a glass cubicle, a smokers aquarium, on display for the busy travellers to observe the future generation of cancer patients. Being a “lounge”, one was required to make purchase a tasty brew and/or burger in order to indulge their habit. So, I ordered a Dos Equis, and some kind of ABQ burger. After the waitress left my table, my urge to light up was quelled by a more than sufficient supply of second and thirdhand smoke.

America subsidizes Northwest Airlines. Northwest Airlines wants to outsource the airlines attendants jobs to a foreign company with low paid foreign help. If you connect the dots then it is easy to see that indirectly your tax dollars, the very tax dollars these airline attendants pay into federal taxes, and income taxes, will subsidize the outsourced salaries. Indirectly these same faithful taxpaying Americans will be effectively paying their replacements salaries, how can this be?

Delta and Northwest airlines filed for bankruptcy Sept. 14, after unions balked at the carriers' demands for another round of deep pay cuts, lay-offs and other concessions. While Northwest has said it will refuse to deal with the mechanics during the bankruptcy proceedings, this stance is illegal.

Grandpa loves airplanes. He has so many wonderful stories of flight experiences. He started flying a little crop-duster type plane when he was a teen. He flew at fairs and parties. He flew in the Navy, and flew for Northwest Airlines. He knows so much about planes. I love listening to his stories, and he never tires of telling them.

In the first days of the Northwest Airlines strike I heard a union mechanic on TV saying that he distrusts and despises the treatment by NWA management. That seemed like an odd statement to me – if NWA is such a bad place to work, why did they so easily find replacement workers for the striking union members? As the NWA mechanics’ strike continues, we see striking mechanics taking every opportunity they can, even coming to a residential home in suburban Minnesota, to pickett out on the sidewalk and embarrass all those who didn’t live up to their commitment to the union. This will not help their cause.

I was chagrined to see that Northwest Airlines, my usual airline of choice and the frequent flier program in which I participate, jacked up their prices to Rome. I wonder if that has anything to do with their whole bankruptcy thing. Anyway, in good news, American (with whom I also have miles, though not as many) is now offering a better price.

That fight taps into frustration felt by people like Elyse Casey, 57, of Gibraltar. Casey said her husband Daniel’s monthly prescription bill of $100 stretches the family’s $20,000 income. She is paid $8.80 an hour cleaning planes for Northwest Airlines.

I was really hoping that business model transformation at Delta Airlines would work. But as I had feared all along, Delta did not make it, and neither did Northwest Airlines. The example of Delta in particular shows how difficult business model transformations are when legacy issues make certain changes difficult. The traditional US airline companies are burdened with the same challenges that auto companies are. And that is why I would not be surprised to see Ford and GM continuing to be in serious financial trouble.

A couple days ago I commented on the stock market's odd reaction to the Northwest Airlines strike. I stand by my comment, and apparently The Economist does too. While British Airways has cut $1.8 billion/year in costs and is in a strong financial position, they have been crippled by their recent strike. Northwest Airlines, on the other hand, anticipated the likelihood of a strike, and on the verge of bankruptcy with little to lose, didn't give much in their union negotiations.

Employees of Northwest Airlines reported finding two deflated landing gear tires during preflight inspection of a passenger jet yesterday morning at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, on the fifth day of a nationwide mechanics’ strike against the company.

Northwest Airlines has a very traditional contract, little changed from the days of regulation. Northwest will put you on another airline’s flight, in first class if necessary, without any of the provisos included by Delta and Continental.

Flying Northwest Airlines? A pain. The service staff at Narita were helpful when about 15 of the 35 Ottawa JETs (Japan English Teachers) discovered one or more pieces of baggage didn’t seem to join us. I was one of them. Two hours of waiting and my backpack of clothing came to me (it had been misplaced). Others were not so fortunate. Several people had luggage completely missing, and those who had checked-in near the end of the line in Ottawa found out their luggage had gone a different route and might not have made it. For some of them, it included the bag that was intended to keep them going for the Tokyo Orientation.

The theory of gravity violates common sense in many ways. Adherents have a hard time explaining, for instance, why airplanes do not fall. Since anti-gravity is rejected by the scientific establishment, they resort to lots of hand-waving. The theory, if taken seriously, implies that the default position for all airplanes is on the ground. While this is obviously true for Northwest airplanes (relying on “A Wing and a Prayer”), it appears that Jet Blue and Southwest have a superior theory that effectively harnesses forces that overcome so-called gravity.

so for those of you who have managed to keep updated on my life through this here blog you’ll know that during all my travels thus far this summer, something has gone wrong and near wrong. memorial day weekend blew as i wasted an entire week doing absolutely nothing all the while berit was just minutes away without me knowing. south carolina was…interesting. i dont think i’ve ever done so much damage to my car in such a short amount of time. then in D.C. i got a flat tire almost exactly the same time as i entered D.C. now, finally, during july 4th weekend, i have the most hellish time with northwest airlines (i have come to treasure non-stop flights), kill the best phone in the world, and have some wierd ass shit from the hudson be eating me alive (i’ve been itchy all over since my dunk).

You’ve got one dollar to spend on improving your business. Do you spend it on:

1. a new logo
2. an ad campaign
3. improving your customer’s relationship with your company

Northwest Airlines Corp. complained the loudest when Delta Air Lines Inc. capped many of its one-way fares at $499 in January. And on Friday, Northwest was the one to try to push those fares higher, tacking $50 each-way onto fares aimed at business travelers.

With my Singaporean friends traveling back and forth this summer, Andy alerted me to a great deal where Singaporean travelers could get a free iMac G5 or an iPod mini just for booking a flight to places like New York. Check out the details as seen from the official Northwest Airline promo page.

Northwest Airlines passengers who said goodbye to free meals in February at least got free pretzels to console them. Now the airline is taking the pretzels away, too.

Today Northwest Airlines announced that effective June 9th they would no longer offer pretzels for free in their coach sections. This move, not serving pretzels, will save Northwest $2 million dollars a year. Northwest is currently in bankruptcy and lost $458 million last quarter. A 3 oz bag of trail mix will be available for $1.

Northwest Airlines Corp. has tapped Miller Lite, the nation’s No. 2 light beer, to replace top-selling Bud Light on all of its flights worldwide.

WHEN the new A380 took off from Airbus's French production base in Toulouse on April 27th, it should have been the European aircraft manufacturer's big week. The successful first test-flight of a 555-seat super-jumbo was quite an event. Instead, Airbus's American rival Boeing almost stole the show. On April 25th, Boeing said that, if all the options are taken up in a new order for widebody jets from Air Canada, the value at list prices would be around $15 billion—making it one of the biggest aircraft orders ever. The following day, Boeing landed a second huge order from Air India. Soon it will announce a third, this time from Northwest Airlines for its new 787 long-haul aircraft.

Boeing is also expected to announce an order of eighteen 787s from Northwest Airlines. Northwest was previously Airbus’ third-largest customer.

The new U.S. rules will also apply to Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Panama. Eagan-based Northwest Airlines is a big player in tourism to Mexico and is the largest U.S. carrier to Canada. Many Canadians travel to northern Minnesota, and Minnesotans often drive to Canada as well.

His first triumph in the U.S. market was selling 100 narrow-body A320s to Northwest Airlines. Steven Rothmeier, the airline's chairman at the time, remembers being enthralled by Leahy's presentations, which seemed to anticipate all of his questions and supply well-thought-out answers.

Northwest Airlines is also within days of buying 787s to update its aging fleet. Boeing and Northwest won't comment, but sources say a key part of the deal may be upfront financing from Boeing.

Flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport on Northwest Airlines open a new era for regional travelers and the Unity Township airfield.

As of today, April 11, members of Northwest Airlines' frequent flyer program can begin earning miles on China Southern, the People's Republic of China's largest airline, and vice versa. In addition, both airlines will extend reciprocal privileges at airport clubs. And both airlines will accept the other's miles for award tickets. Obviously, this new marketing marriage increases travel options for Northwest frequent flyers interested in visiting Asia.

As a former pilot for Northwest Airlines, I have spent a great deal of time on various technology initiatives, always with the intent of improving the information flow between the aircraft and the enterprise. Think about it - the aircraft is the only thing in the airline industry that really makes any money. Yet it's the one part of the business that is disconnected from the overall enterprise network. In any other industry, this would be unacceptable. But in this industry, it's the way we've operated since the beginning.

As per the promotion, passengers receive an Apple iMac G5(17-inch 1.6 GHZ) upon completion of a paid, qualifying roundtrip flight on Northwest Airlines World Business Class(full J or C fares only) from Singapore to New York (JFK), San Francisco or Los Angeles, or an Apple iPod Mini(4 GB) upon completion of a paid qualifying roundtrip flight on Economy Class (Y or B fares only).

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. joined Continental Airlines Inc. in raising some fares for the third time since Feb. 24, bringing the total increase to as much as $50 round trip.

The incident occurred 15 minutes before the scheduled landing, Northwest Airlines officials said. The seatbelt sign was turned on, they said.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines Corp., which had planned to expand in 2005, is reversing course and now says its domestic capacity will be flat this year.

CASPER -- Northwest Airlines flights between Casper and Minneapolis-St. Paul have not met the company's expectations in recent months, a company spokesman said.

People flying in an out of the Idaho Falls airport have a new option.  Passengers headed east....will soon be able to make non-stop flights to and from Minneapolis.  Northwest Airlines will now be providing non-stop service between Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Idaho Falls.  The Director of Idaho Falls Regional Airport explains.

Both moves have been led by Northwest Airlines, which last year sat on the sidelines of similar attempts. Although the latest fare increase, launched on Thursday last week, was matched by most of the largest airlines, JetBlue and South-west, the only profitable carriers in the last quarter, have not followed the fare increases.

Northwest Airlines Corp., AMR Corp.'s American Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. have raised fares on most flights in the United States and Canada by as much as $20 roundtrip.

From Air Travel Center Airfare Specials.

Prices in USD: Sample of Each-way Fares between: San Francisco-Tokyo 254, New York City-Guangzhou 325, Washington D.C.-Taipei 325, Seattle-Shanghai 330, Boston-Osaka 374, Minneapolis/St. Paul-Tokyo 374, Detroit-Beijing 375, Milwaukee-Shanghai 375, Indianapolis-Guangzhou 415, Memphis-Hong Kong 415. Each-Way Fares from Portland, OR to: Tokyo 259, Nagoya 269, Seoul 289, Shanghai 305, Beijing 305, Hong Kong 335, Guangzhou 335, Busan 339, Singapore 369, Manila 473. Sample of Each-way Fares between: New York City Amsterdam 210, Boston Paris 230, Washington D.C. Venice 285, Detroit Paris 290, Atlanta Munich 295, Chicago Frankfurt 305, Seattle Stockholm 335, San Francisco Zurich 375, Indianapolis Warsaw 380, Los Angeles Bucharest 410.

Northwest Airlines Inc. has a new role: fare increaser.