sllevin
Aug 2, 04, 7:28 pm
I was an AA flyer. Then last year I took a comp to NW Gold and switched my flying to Northwest. In general I've been happy with NW, except, as I'm back on the west coast again, some of the frequencies transcontinental are poor at best, and, of course, there's not a lot of north-south service. I know that SJC-BUR would involve a stop on HP...but hey...I'm a mileage addict anyway.
Something that's attractive would be the ability to fly BA's WT+ or Club World and earn miles when going to London (we have a significant London facility). And I could still use NW to Asia (and even Europe if I understand correctly) for my travels there.
Domestically I tend to fly to DFW, ORD, MCI, JFK/LGA, IAD and FLL/MIA the most. (As well as LAX, and well, believe it or not, HII).
And how does HP First compare to NW First domestically?
Thanks!
Steve
steve64
Aug 2, 04, 11:39 pm
Hi Steve,
Similar situation but a little backwards.
I was AA Platinum a few years back while DFW based. Comped to CO Gold (the equivilant level to AA's Plat), earned CO Platinum, stayed that way for for about 4 years and never looked back to AA. Was transferred to Phoenix 2 years ago and thot great, my CO alligiance works well out there. But CO dropped HP a couple of months later.
So I comped to HP Platinum (they loved comping from that OnePass account :) ). Earned HP Platinum for this year but have defected to NW where I'm currently Gold and on track to Platinum by years end.
How does HP First compare to NW's ??
I can't really complain about HP's First since I fly on discount fares yet still get upgraded. But I do get the same upgrades on NW, and while no complaint's about HP, NW is IMHO better.
Why do I think that ?
1) Larger First cabins (read: better upgrade chance). Smallest is 16F, even on the small DC-9-10. HP has 8F on the 737, 12F on the Airbus 319/320 and 14F on the 757
2) Larger route structure ... especially after adding in their partners.
3) Better chance of a meal in First (give HP some credit here ... I haven't flown them "long haul" in a year and I've heard they have started increasing their service ... my observations here may be dated). No meal in coach. Period. Systemwide. In First, have to be almost a transcon to get food and then it's usually very simple (search for "hotpocket" on this thread ... I like them and think they're perfect for a 2-3 hour lunch, but not for a 4 hour dinner flight ... and I did get tired of them every month between PHX and TPA). Even the 6pm-ish (read: dinner time) PHX to DFW trip (a 2.5 hour flight) only gets nuts and beverages in a plastic cup.
4) Better recovery from service disruptions. HP's operation has improved a lot from a few years ago but NW has a better gripe on what's going on. And throw a monkey wrench into the operation (which is bound to happen to everyone in the airline industry) and HP has a really hard time recovering.
5) Better Elite mileage bonus (Plat gets 125% on NW versus 100% on HP)
6) On-line checkin has always worked (versus about a 40% failure rate w/HP)
Things I prefer on HP over NW:
1) Website has a nice "price shopping" feature that shows the lowest fare for the day prior/after your requested departure/return (shows in a nifty grid) so you can consider how a slight change in plans may save $$$
2) As long as I'm Platinum (won't be next year), I can designate one person (Mom) to be Silver
Things that other FlyerTalkers have derated NW for (and my counterpoint)
1) Cloth seats in First (cloth breathes easier)
2) Meals served from a cart "coach" style (better than no meal .. and who else would serve a salad/entree/dessert (tho all on one tray) on a flight length like Tampa-Memphis ?
3) Small First Class seat pitch (ditto for HP .. if comparing to other carriers, I prefer to sacrifice a little room for a better upgrade %)
Also, look carefully at flight times out east. Not as ironic for you being in SJC as it is for me being smack in the middle of HP's main hub but ... for east coast cities (for you I'm thinking IAD/MIA/FLL) HP's service can be VERY limited. One or 2 flights a day and maybe a red-eye from Vegas. I find NW's sked to be a little more flexible (especially if my flight cancels) even considering an out-of-the-way connection versus HP's nonstop (but I'm weird like you and don't mind the extra miles that strange intinerarys can offer ;) ).
To sum up my opinion:
I think of HP as the "little airline that could". No real complaints tho there are a few (frequent) rough spots.
NW is the old legacy carrier but still an underdog in their class. They offer the same benefits as HP but with a little more polish and expertise. Their networks and partnerships are the tie-breaker if it should come to that.
I'll take NW without a question. If NW reduces Elite benefits (ala CO/DL) then I'll consider returning to HP in a heartbeat.
Steve