Your thoughts on Northwest Airlines?????????

Hey Everyone

Just wondering what everyone thinks about flying on Northwest
Airlines. I am asking this question, as I have found a great fare
through Travelocity from Denver to Toronto with them. All other
airlines seem to be charging around $400-$500 vs. $188 price offered
with Northwest. I have a friend that flies once every 3 or 4 years and
he thinks that makes him an expert on the subject. He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this. Also please tell me if I
should fly through Detroit or Minneapolis (could be wrong cities as my
expert friend gave me this information) when flying to Toronto.

Sam Smith

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:11:56 -0700, wrote:

Hey Everyone

Just wondering what everyone thinks about flying on Northwest
Airlines. I am asking this question, as I have found a great fare
through Travelocity from Denver to Toronto with them. All other
airlines seem to be charging around $400-$500 vs. $188 price offered
with Northwest. I have a friend that flies once every 3 or 4 years and
he thinks that makes him an expert on the subject. He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this. Also please tell me if I
should fly through Detroit or Minneapolis (could be wrong cities as my
expert friend gave me this information) when flying to Toronto.

Sam Smith

Go ahead, you might be lucky and have a good experience.
It is all hit and miss these days when it comes to travel.

wrote:
Just wondering what everyone thinks about flying on Northwest
Airlines. I am asking this question, as I have found a great fare
through Travelocity from Denver to Toronto with them. All other
airlines seem to be charging around $400-$500 vs. $188 price offered
with Northwest. I have a friend that flies once every 3 or 4 years and
he thinks that makes him an expert on the subject. He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this. Also please tell me if I
should fly through Detroit or Minneapolis (could be wrong cities as my
expert friend gave me this information) when flying to Toronto.

A Google search for "Northwest Airlines sickout" shows some current news
articles, so your friend might be on to something; if I were you, I'd
read the articles and come to your own conclusions. You didn't say when
you were planning to fly, and it's hard to predict what will be
happening then.

I believe Detroit and Minneapolis St. Paul are Northwest hubs, but I can
tell you that Denver isn't. If you do lock in a good fare and fly
Northwest, you might try to get as early a flight out of Denver as you
can, so if the flight is canceled for some reason, you'll have a chance
of being rebooked on another Northwest flight (there aren't many of
those into or out of Denver). A really cheap ticket might be marked
"Northwest only" and might not be accepted by another carrier.
Likewise, on the way back, I'd recommend that you leave as early as
possible; if something happens with your onward flight to Denver, you
don't want it to be the last flight of the day.

Long layovers can be boring, but they can also buy you some time if a
flight into the hub is delayed. And if that flight is on time, you
might be able to stand by for an earlier onward flight.

If a flight is canceled because of a Northwest problem and you end up
stuck in Detroit or MSP, my guess is that Northwest would have to get
you a hotel room, but it could still be a hassle. But then, as the
other poster implied, flying can be a hassle anyway.

On the other hand, if you're looking for an opportunity to do some
voluntary deboarding for fun and profit, this could be your big chance
to collect some Northwest flight vouchers. Book some late flights and
tight connections, make sure you have the overnight basics in your
carry-on, and have fun. Based on my limited knowledge and experience,
if you do have to spend an unplanned night somewhere, I'd rather be in
Minneapolis or St. Paul than Detroit.

Louis

On 30 Jul, 07:36, Louis Krupp wrote:
wrote:
Just wondering what everyone thinks about flying on Northwest
Airlines. I am asking this question, as I have found a great fare
through Travelocity from Denver to Toronto with them. All other
airlines seem to be charging around $400-$500 vs. $188 price offered
with Northwest. I have a friend that flies once every 3 or 4 years and
he thinks that makes him an expert on the subject. He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this. Also please tell me if I
should fly through Detroit or Minneapolis (could be wrong cities as my
expert friend gave me this information) when flying to Toronto.

A Google search for "Northwest Airlines sickout" shows some current news
articles, so your friend might be on to something; if I were you, I'd
read the articles and come to your own conclusions. You didn't say when
you were planning to fly, and it's hard to predict what will be
happening then.

I believe Detroit and Minneapolis St. Paul are Northwest hubs, but I can
tell you that Denver isn't. If you do lock in a good fare and fly
Northwest, you might try to get as early a flight out of Denver as you
can, so if the flight is canceled for some reason, you'll have a chance
of being rebooked on another Northwest flight (there aren't many of
those into or out of Denver). A really cheap ticket might be marked
"Northwest only" and might not be accepted by another carrier.
Likewise, on the way back, I'd recommend that you leave as early as
possible; if something happens with your onward flight to Denver, you
don't want it to be the last flight of the day.

Long layovers can be boring, but they can also buy you some time if a
flight into the hub is delayed. And if that flight is on time, you
might be able to stand by for an earlier onward flight.

If a flight is canceled because of a Northwest problem and you end up
stuck in Detroit or MSP, my guess is that Northwest would have to get
you a hotel room, but it could still be a hassle. But then, as the
other poster implied, flying can be a hassle anyway.

On the other hand, if you're looking for an opportunity to do some
voluntary deboarding for fun and profit, this could be your big chance
to collect some Northwest flight vouchers. Book some late flights and
tight connections,

In the UK budget airlines let you book tight connections but refuse
compensation if it is below the recommended minimum.

make sure you have the overnight basics in your
carry-on, and have fun. Based on my limited knowledge and experience,
if you do have to spend an unplanned night somewhere, I'd rather be in
Minneapolis or St. Paul than Detroit.

Louis

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:11:56 -0700, wrote:

Hey Everyone

Just wondering what everyone thinks about flying on Northwest
Airlines. I am asking this question, as I have found a great fare
through Travelocity from Denver to Toronto with them. All other
airlines seem to be charging around $400-$500 vs. $188 price offered
with Northwest. I have a friend that flies once every 3 or 4 years and
he thinks that makes him an expert on the subject. He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this. Also please tell me if I
should fly through Detroit or Minneapolis (could be wrong cities as my
expert friend gave me this information) when flying to Toronto.

Sam Smith
Whether it is a "sick-out" or not, it is a fact that NWA is short crew
hours at months end and has had abnormally high flight cancellations
in the last days of the summer months. They cannot call other pilots
because there are none available to be called. One should definitely
avoid NWA at month ends.

Beware! I just heard a news item to the effect that yesterday
NW canceled over 200 flights because of unavailability of pilots. This
seems to happen around the end of each month.


Elizabeth

wrote:

He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a problem,
as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the flight. I am
sure that they plan for things like this.

NWA has laid off too many pilots. What is happening is that towards the end of
the month, the pilots are reaching their limit for flying and not able to fly
the last couple of days. NWA in turn has been canceling flights at the end of
the month because they don't have crews available.Theoretically, NWA should be
able to hire sufficient new pilots and adjust their schedule to address this
problem, but it takes time.

--
"Tell me what I should do, Annie."
"Stay. Here. Forever." - Life On Mars

(Rick Blaine) wrote in
:

wrote:

He says that this
airline is cutting back on flights right and left, as many of their
pilots are calling in sick. I can't see how that should be a
problem, as all they need to do is call another pilot in for the
flight. I am sure that they plan for things like this.

NWA has laid off too many pilots. What is happening is that towards
the end of the month, the pilots are reaching their limit for
flying and not able to fly the last couple of days. NWA in turn has
been canceling flights at the end of the month because they don't
have crews available.

If that's all it was, then this shouldn't be a new problem, but
should have been occurring since NWA first got rid of the pilots.

I'm pretty sure they haven't increased the number of flights,
and I don't think they've cut even more crew recently.

Their crew scheduling system is sophisticated enough to keep track of
pilots' allowed flight hours and take into account "normal"
absenteeism, so the only other answer I can come up with is
"abnormal" absenteeism.

Theoretically, NWA should be able to hire sufficient new pilots and
adjust their schedule to address this problem, but it takes time.

NWA says they're recalling some pilots and hiring more, but as you
say, re-training takes time. As everybody has pointed out, they are
adjusting their schedule, but they're doing it in real-time.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

NWA has laid off too many pilots. What is happening is that towards
the end of the month, the pilots are reaching their limit for
flying and not able to fly the last couple of days. NWA in turn has
been canceling flights at the end of the month because they don't
have crews available.

If that's all it was, then this shouldn't be a new problem, but
should have been occurring since NWA first got rid of the pilots.

I'm pretty sure they haven't increased the number of flights,
and I don't think they've cut even more crew recently.

I gather that with all the delays this summer, pilots are running up
more hours than they used to.

The problem of NWA running out of crews at the end of the month is a
real one. I wouldn't book on them on the last few days of the month,
either.

On Jul 30, 9:14 am, (John L) wrote:
NWA has laid off too many pilots. What is happening is that towards
the end of the month, the pilots are reaching their limit for
flying and not able to fly the last couple of days. NWA in turn has
been canceling flights at the end of the month because they don't
have crews available.

If that's all it was, then this shouldn't be a new problem, but
should have been occurring since NWA first got rid of the pilots.

I'm pretty sure they haven't increased the number of flights,
and I don't think they've cut even more crew recently.

I gather that with all the delays this summer, pilots are running up
more hours than they used to.

The problem of NWA running out of crews at the end of the month is a
real one. I wouldn't book on them on the last few days of the month,
either.

This is just a thought, but why don't they cancel a flight here and
there throughout the month, rather than a bunch at the end of month.

Just my 2 cents
San Smith