iaflyer
Mar 6, 04, 12:16 pm
Here is a short trip report about my recent excursion to San Francisco (SFO) from Detroit/Metro (DTW) on Northwest Airlines. The trip out was in First Class while the return was in Economy.
We arrived at a chilly and snowy Detroit Metro at 7:45am for our 9:07am departure on Northwest flight 343. The five inches of snow the day before did not hamper our travel to the airport, nor our parking at an off-airport location. I use Qwik Park, which always seems to do a great job. They helped load our bags into the bus and we made our way to the Northwest World Gateway. The bus dropped my traveling companion and I off on the lowest level, where all the rental car buses and off-airport parking buses pickup and drop their passengers.
We made our way upstairs to the spacious check-in area of the new World Gateway. Still very clean and much more attractive than the old terminal. As we had luggage to check, we skipped the relatively empty line for travelers who had either no luggage, or had checked it at some previously seen E-ticket kiosks. We did not use the E-ticket machines, as we required a discussion with an actual person. I know the E-ticket machines have agents there, but I wanted the face-to-face contact. We joined the “Domestic Luggage Check-In” line and waited around 20 minutes. As we waited in line, a Northwest agent directed most people to the E-ticket machines on the south side of the terminal. Right next to use was the Internet Check-in line (for those who had checked in over the Internet, and printed a boarding pass, but had luggage). As an aside, last time I did that, I waited in that line for almost 30 minutes as there was only one agent working that line.
The agent quickly found our reservation, and had printed us our coach boarding passes. As the line one level down is usually smaller, we went down the stairs and entered the queue. Quickly we reached the front of the line, were the TSA agent directed me to the dreaded “SSSSpecial Attention Line”. As I had been through that before, I was well versed in the procedure – it only took an additional five minutes or so.
We made our way to gate A56 to see our 757-200 in old Northwest colors parked at the gate. We stopped by the pleasant gate agent to see what our upgrade hopes were – quickly, we found that we had been upgraded to 5D and F. Excellent! The time before boarding pass quickly and our flight was called. After boarding, we discovered why we had been upgraded. The plane was perhaps half full.
The Flight Attendants welcomed us aboard and assisted with coats and bags while offering pre-departure beverages. I opted for some orange juice, while my companion did not have anything. Our departure time came quickly we pushed back precisely on-time: 9:07am. The taxi to runway 4R was quick, although bumpy from all the compacted snow on the taxiways. We passed a bevy of Northwest A319s and A320s, and quartet of Northwest 757s. Half were -300s in the new paint scheme while the 200s were in the old paint scheme. After two Northwest DC-9s departed, and a Southwest 737 we took the runway.
A combination of few passengers and cold temperatures (10F / -14C) made for an impressive climb rate. We quickly turned to the west, and headed for Chicago and points west. Before we had even left the metro area, we passed 10,000 feet and the flight attendants began moving around the cabin. The flight attendant soon came around with drink service while the aroma of breakfast heating in the ovens make me hungry for breakfast.
Soon she came around offering one of two choices:
Swiss Cheese Omelet with Roasted Potatoes and Sausage Links with fruit
Or
Raisin Bran and 2% milk and Yogurt.
Both were accompanied by either Bagel and Cream Cheese or a Blueberry-Crumb Muffin.
I choose the Omelet and muffin combination while my companion did not eat. The tray was laid down first, and then the omelet and muffin were added from the cart. I would have preferred them to be assembled then presented as one. Alas, I guess getting food on a scheduled 5+03 flight should be enough for First Class these days huh? Somewhere in here, the Captain came on the PA and announced that our flying time to San Francisco would be 4+35 with a few bumps before reaching the Rockies. We were flying at 35,000 feet and he expected us to be a few minutes early, or at worst, on-time.
The omelet was tasty although the cheese was not real – that much was apparent. The muffin was indeed crumbly but good. The potatoes were good – not mushy but not underdone either. As I do not like sausage, I can not report on the quality of it. The fruit was attractive – melon, strawberries and some orange pieces. The most amazing part of the meal was metal silverware - spoon, fork (2) and knife.
After the meal service, the trays were cleared away promptly. Throughout the flight, the FAs slowly went up and down the First Class section to see if anyone needed anything. They were not obtrusive – just slowly checking if anyone needed anything. About three hours into the flight, the FAs came through with Spindzles, Almonds and beverages.
Soon we began our descent into San Francisco. The Captain came on and said that a marine layer had moved in, and visibility was down to 5 miles but he was expecting an on-time arrival. Soon we slipped into the layer of clouds and descended down to the runway. We touched down at 11:07am on 28R as an American 767 began its takeoff roll on 28L. We taxied in past a United 777 and parked among Northwest 757 and A320s at gate 47 at 11:13am, arriving three minutes late. We exited the airplane first through the second boarding door and made our way to the BART station. While waiting for our BART train, there was a great view of some heavy United equipment: three B747-400s, a United 777-200 and a Singapore B777 as well. Next is the return from San Fran.
Return
My sister was able to drag herself out of bed at 9am to drive us to the airport for our 12:35pm flight to Detroit (NW342). We offered to take BART, but she said it was no problem. We arrived at the ticket counter around 11am for the 12:30 flight. The line was short as we got our boarding passes and as therehere was no line at security quickly passed through the TSA checkpoint. Now that we had an hour and fifteen minutes until our flight we looked around. There were some food places, a busy newsstand and lots of seats.
There was little to do until out flight was called except read. The crew showed up on time and we were soon boarding. Alas, we were relegated to the back of the airplane: row 33, seats D and F. This row is at an exit door, so there is lots of space between us and the bulkhead in front of us. The flight was not full in economy, although first class was full. We had the middle seat between us empty). I am tall so having the exit row was nice.
We pushed back from gate 47 three minutes early. We taxied a short distance to runway 1L and immediately took off. We climbed to 37,000 feet quickly and soon made our way westbound. The scenery was remarkable once we cleared the haze layer so we had lots of look at for 3 hours and 55 minutes enroute.
The service was unremarkable for economy, so I’ll give the brief version. They brought around lunch, which consisted of:
Baby Carrots
Choice of Turkey or Corned Beef with cheese on Whole Wheat roll
Walnut Shortbread cookies
Spring Water
There was drink service and coffee service. The crew did come around with a second drink service during the descent. We touched down light as a feather on 4L and taxied to the gate, arriving about 15 minutes early.
I’ll admit – it was much more enjoyable writing the details of First Class rather than Economy. I guess that is because lately riding up front has been rare, so I enjoyed it even more than usual.
We arrived at a chilly and snowy Detroit Metro at 7:45am for our 9:07am departure on Northwest flight 343. The five inches of snow the day before did not hamper our travel to the airport, nor our parking at an off-airport location. I use Qwik Park, which always seems to do a great job. They helped load our bags into the bus and we made our way to the Northwest World Gateway. The bus dropped my traveling companion and I off on the lowest level, where all the rental car buses and off-airport parking buses pickup and drop their passengers.
We made our way upstairs to the spacious check-in area of the new World Gateway. Still very clean and much more attractive than the old terminal. As we had luggage to check, we skipped the relatively empty line for travelers who had either no luggage, or had checked it at some previously seen E-ticket kiosks. We did not use the E-ticket machines, as we required a discussion with an actual person. I know the E-ticket machines have agents there, but I wanted the face-to-face contact. We joined the “Domestic Luggage Check-In” line and waited around 20 minutes. As we waited in line, a Northwest agent directed most people to the E-ticket machines on the south side of the terminal. Right next to use was the Internet Check-in line (for those who had checked in over the Internet, and printed a boarding pass, but had luggage). As an aside, last time I did that, I waited in that line for almost 30 minutes as there was only one agent working that line.
The agent quickly found our reservation, and had printed us our coach boarding passes. As the line one level down is usually smaller, we went down the stairs and entered the queue. Quickly we reached the front of the line, were the TSA agent directed me to the dreaded “SSSSpecial Attention Line”. As I had been through that before, I was well versed in the procedure – it only took an additional five minutes or so.
We made our way to gate A56 to see our 757-200 in old Northwest colors parked at the gate. We stopped by the pleasant gate agent to see what our upgrade hopes were – quickly, we found that we had been upgraded to 5D and F. Excellent! The time before boarding pass quickly and our flight was called. After boarding, we discovered why we had been upgraded. The plane was perhaps half full.
The Flight Attendants welcomed us aboard and assisted with coats and bags while offering pre-departure beverages. I opted for some orange juice, while my companion did not have anything. Our departure time came quickly we pushed back precisely on-time: 9:07am. The taxi to runway 4R was quick, although bumpy from all the compacted snow on the taxiways. We passed a bevy of Northwest A319s and A320s, and quartet of Northwest 757s. Half were -300s in the new paint scheme while the 200s were in the old paint scheme. After two Northwest DC-9s departed, and a Southwest 737 we took the runway.
A combination of few passengers and cold temperatures (10F / -14C) made for an impressive climb rate. We quickly turned to the west, and headed for Chicago and points west. Before we had even left the metro area, we passed 10,000 feet and the flight attendants began moving around the cabin. The flight attendant soon came around with drink service while the aroma of breakfast heating in the ovens make me hungry for breakfast.
Soon she came around offering one of two choices:
Swiss Cheese Omelet with Roasted Potatoes and Sausage Links with fruit
Or
Raisin Bran and 2% milk and Yogurt.
Both were accompanied by either Bagel and Cream Cheese or a Blueberry-Crumb Muffin.
I choose the Omelet and muffin combination while my companion did not eat. The tray was laid down first, and then the omelet and muffin were added from the cart. I would have preferred them to be assembled then presented as one. Alas, I guess getting food on a scheduled 5+03 flight should be enough for First Class these days huh? Somewhere in here, the Captain came on the PA and announced that our flying time to San Francisco would be 4+35 with a few bumps before reaching the Rockies. We were flying at 35,000 feet and he expected us to be a few minutes early, or at worst, on-time.
The omelet was tasty although the cheese was not real – that much was apparent. The muffin was indeed crumbly but good. The potatoes were good – not mushy but not underdone either. As I do not like sausage, I can not report on the quality of it. The fruit was attractive – melon, strawberries and some orange pieces. The most amazing part of the meal was metal silverware - spoon, fork (2) and knife.
After the meal service, the trays were cleared away promptly. Throughout the flight, the FAs slowly went up and down the First Class section to see if anyone needed anything. They were not obtrusive – just slowly checking if anyone needed anything. About three hours into the flight, the FAs came through with Spindzles, Almonds and beverages.
Soon we began our descent into San Francisco. The Captain came on and said that a marine layer had moved in, and visibility was down to 5 miles but he was expecting an on-time arrival. Soon we slipped into the layer of clouds and descended down to the runway. We touched down at 11:07am on 28R as an American 767 began its takeoff roll on 28L. We taxied in past a United 777 and parked among Northwest 757 and A320s at gate 47 at 11:13am, arriving three minutes late. We exited the airplane first through the second boarding door and made our way to the BART station. While waiting for our BART train, there was a great view of some heavy United equipment: three B747-400s, a United 777-200 and a Singapore B777 as well. Next is the return from San Fran.
Return
My sister was able to drag herself out of bed at 9am to drive us to the airport for our 12:35pm flight to Detroit (NW342). We offered to take BART, but she said it was no problem. We arrived at the ticket counter around 11am for the 12:30 flight. The line was short as we got our boarding passes and as therehere was no line at security quickly passed through the TSA checkpoint. Now that we had an hour and fifteen minutes until our flight we looked around. There were some food places, a busy newsstand and lots of seats.
There was little to do until out flight was called except read. The crew showed up on time and we were soon boarding. Alas, we were relegated to the back of the airplane: row 33, seats D and F. This row is at an exit door, so there is lots of space between us and the bulkhead in front of us. The flight was not full in economy, although first class was full. We had the middle seat between us empty). I am tall so having the exit row was nice.
We pushed back from gate 47 three minutes early. We taxied a short distance to runway 1L and immediately took off. We climbed to 37,000 feet quickly and soon made our way westbound. The scenery was remarkable once we cleared the haze layer so we had lots of look at for 3 hours and 55 minutes enroute.
The service was unremarkable for economy, so I’ll give the brief version. They brought around lunch, which consisted of:
Baby Carrots
Choice of Turkey or Corned Beef with cheese on Whole Wheat roll
Walnut Shortbread cookies
Spring Water
There was drink service and coffee service. The crew did come around with a second drink service during the descent. We touched down light as a feather on 4L and taxied to the gate, arriving about 15 minutes early.
I’ll admit – it was much more enjoyable writing the details of First Class rather than Economy. I guess that is because lately riding up front has been rare, so I enjoyed it even more than usual.