Eastbay1K
Jul 19, 05, 12:19 am
Race to the Bottom
A day of flying in domestic F on NW and DL. For the life of me, I’m not sure why we don’t see ads on the TV with a song going “We Want to Suck, and It Shows.” I already had clues that this was not going to be the “best trip ever”, but here it goes. The only reason for this trip is that I’m trying to get to 75K Alaska Q miles (and certain partner flights count), which gives me a bonus 50K miles.
The routing was SFO(NW)MSP(NW)ATL(DL)SFO. This was a DL ticket and DL codeshare on the NW flights, as it priced less for the A class seats. I went to check in on the DL website, which told me I had to go to the NW site. I went to the NW site, which checked me in for all 3 segments. I then called DL to ensure I was properly checked in. The rep, somewhere in a time zone 12 ½ hours later than my time zone couldn’t answer my question, but he did tell me my flight was cancelled. He then repeated himself a few times. He then had me hold and then told me my flight wasn’t cancelled. I asked him “Am I showing as checked in?” He couldn’t answer this question. I then held for quite some time for a web support person, who was able to answer in seconds, and had no idea why he said the flight was cancelled, let alone not being able to tell me if I was “checked in.”
Then came the 4am wake up call. I was showered, dressed, drove 30 miles, parked, and in the terminal and through security in maybe 70 minutes. SFO/MSP- Boarding – uneventful. Predeparture beverages offered – I asked for a (I want to go right back to sleep) Bloody Mary – no vodka in the front galley. And so, water it was. The flight itself was fairly uneventful. The NW breakfast wasn’t bad. Plastic utensils, real glass. No choice of entrée. No special meal availability. You are going to get a plate of ground pigs and eggs no matter what. The crew – polite but uninspired. Arrival @ MSP was on time.
And then it was off to the Worldclub. Woo. Actually, not bad at all for a domestic lounge. I only had about 15 minutes, and then left to the MSP/ATL flight. We were expecting a weather hold due to ATL, but didn’t take much of a delay at all. This was good because I had been dreaming of my NW lunch for … um … minutes. Again, row 1 on the A320. Flying NW is really really boring. This crew was pretty nice, and again, a choice of dead smoked bird slices on bread, or yes, more dead smoked bird slices on bread. On the side was a bowl of mayonnaise with some sliced potatoes. This stuff was so gloopy that (well, I shouldn’t have even tasted it) it was just disgusting. And so, I made my own inflight entertainment, using the 2 plastic forks, chunks of bread, the extra mayo packet, and lettuce leaf. The FA started laughing when he saw it, got his camera phone, and took a picture to prove to his wife that people actually do play with the food. NW’s special selection of wine was well, wet. Most of the projected rough air never happened. And then, coming in for a landing … 500’ 400’ 300’ 200’ 100’ … 1000’ within seconds. So much for landing. Better not to hit someone on the runway. And then, after a grand round tour of the ATL area, we landed, without incident.
More on this flight – there was a guy wearing a WWJD bracelet. Now I don’t know if J would have poured his own wine despite the FAs telling him not to, and they’d do it for him, or if J would have been drinking until just about passing out, nor did I ask him what J would do, but this is what Mr. WWJD bracelet did.
And then it was off to the Crown Room. At least my Alaska membership has me able to visit these partner lounges. What a zoo. Time to check the email, and whatnot, for about ½ hour, and then, off to the zoo that was DL 575. Gate area – Zoo. Flight severely overbooked. Couldn’t get enough volunteers at the gate – they came on the plane begging for more. But I digress. In the Crown Room, I asked the agent to check if indeed, my NW-web-issued BP had me checked in properly. She said yes, but the system still shows me in MSP, so I should get to the gate just when boarding starts so they wouldn’t give my seat away, and would actually know I was in ATL. I asked “Do I need a DL-issued pass?” No. Ok….
Finally, boarding commenced. Wouldn’t you know, the DL reader couldn’t read the pass, and the gate agent had to manually issue me one on the spot, holding up boarding. Pre-departure drinks offered. I had the vodka that I missed out on at 6:00 AM. This was a 767-200, in a 2-2-2 configuration. And then my seatmate came. I know the 767 doesn’t have the most spacious front cabin, but I don’t ever recall having to be “twisted” for an entire flight because the seatmate was so large. He tried not to hang into my personal space, but well, he didn’t fit in the seat, and in fact, when he got up, the chair wanted to get up with him.
Per the suggestion of some FT people, I ordered the hot seafood special meal. DL, as NW does, gives you a choice of nothing, but does still have the SPML option, and so I opted. Pre-dinner beverage – no nuts (let alone hot), no salty snacks, nothing. The DL special blend of wine was about as inspired as the NW special blend. And then came the food. My special meal consisted of 3 shrimp, and a plate full of canned greenbeans and canned corn. Oh yes, and a small salad. It bordered on the disgusting. The rest of the peoples had a choice of chicken, or chicken. It actually looked a bit better than my meal. The dessert wasn’t half bad. Service on this flight was completely uninspired. The seatbelt sign was on for well-over half the flight, despite no more than a few pieces of barely moderate chop, and an occasional light chop. One of the FAs was in the cockpit a long time (not while the pilots were in the lav), with the galley cart blocking the lav access for quite some time.
The best part about this flight was that it was on time, and given that it was an hour delayed the prior day, 3 hours delayed the day before that, I was just happy to be home.
Overall comments and observations: No pillows, no magazines, meals ranging from edible to absolute crap, service from uninspired to ok, seats ranging from not too uncomfortable to someone’s fat hanging into mine, no IFE on NW, all in all, an uncomfortable day, and a sad commentary on the state of “premium” travel in the USA. I really miss flying UA. For all the UA flyers that are pissing and moaning these days, sit yourself on the other side. Having taken a couple of NW and DL trips in the “front cabin” this year, they are really pathetic. No matter how much $ you may want to spend, you just really can’t have a comfortable experience on either of these airlines – and really, other than a UA or AA plane with international seating, you can’t get across this country in any real comfort. (Actually, the UA 2 cabin F seat is much better than my offerings this year on AS, DL, or NW.)
The postscript: My disc problem in my lower back flared up tremendously on this trip. All day, I have been in pain, telling myself, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU DO THIS? Of course, next week, when I am enjoying the fruits of my most recent redemption of AS miles, flying the world in opulent splendor, I’m sure I’ll have a memory lapse. Gone are the days of being able to plop in a plane, have a decent meal and a movie, and get off the plane in a good mood.
Fin
A day of flying in domestic F on NW and DL. For the life of me, I’m not sure why we don’t see ads on the TV with a song going “We Want to Suck, and It Shows.” I already had clues that this was not going to be the “best trip ever”, but here it goes. The only reason for this trip is that I’m trying to get to 75K Alaska Q miles (and certain partner flights count), which gives me a bonus 50K miles.
The routing was SFO(NW)MSP(NW)ATL(DL)SFO. This was a DL ticket and DL codeshare on the NW flights, as it priced less for the A class seats. I went to check in on the DL website, which told me I had to go to the NW site. I went to the NW site, which checked me in for all 3 segments. I then called DL to ensure I was properly checked in. The rep, somewhere in a time zone 12 ½ hours later than my time zone couldn’t answer my question, but he did tell me my flight was cancelled. He then repeated himself a few times. He then had me hold and then told me my flight wasn’t cancelled. I asked him “Am I showing as checked in?” He couldn’t answer this question. I then held for quite some time for a web support person, who was able to answer in seconds, and had no idea why he said the flight was cancelled, let alone not being able to tell me if I was “checked in.”
Then came the 4am wake up call. I was showered, dressed, drove 30 miles, parked, and in the terminal and through security in maybe 70 minutes. SFO/MSP- Boarding – uneventful. Predeparture beverages offered – I asked for a (I want to go right back to sleep) Bloody Mary – no vodka in the front galley. And so, water it was. The flight itself was fairly uneventful. The NW breakfast wasn’t bad. Plastic utensils, real glass. No choice of entrée. No special meal availability. You are going to get a plate of ground pigs and eggs no matter what. The crew – polite but uninspired. Arrival @ MSP was on time.
And then it was off to the Worldclub. Woo. Actually, not bad at all for a domestic lounge. I only had about 15 minutes, and then left to the MSP/ATL flight. We were expecting a weather hold due to ATL, but didn’t take much of a delay at all. This was good because I had been dreaming of my NW lunch for … um … minutes. Again, row 1 on the A320. Flying NW is really really boring. This crew was pretty nice, and again, a choice of dead smoked bird slices on bread, or yes, more dead smoked bird slices on bread. On the side was a bowl of mayonnaise with some sliced potatoes. This stuff was so gloopy that (well, I shouldn’t have even tasted it) it was just disgusting. And so, I made my own inflight entertainment, using the 2 plastic forks, chunks of bread, the extra mayo packet, and lettuce leaf. The FA started laughing when he saw it, got his camera phone, and took a picture to prove to his wife that people actually do play with the food. NW’s special selection of wine was well, wet. Most of the projected rough air never happened. And then, coming in for a landing … 500’ 400’ 300’ 200’ 100’ … 1000’ within seconds. So much for landing. Better not to hit someone on the runway. And then, after a grand round tour of the ATL area, we landed, without incident.
More on this flight – there was a guy wearing a WWJD bracelet. Now I don’t know if J would have poured his own wine despite the FAs telling him not to, and they’d do it for him, or if J would have been drinking until just about passing out, nor did I ask him what J would do, but this is what Mr. WWJD bracelet did.
And then it was off to the Crown Room. At least my Alaska membership has me able to visit these partner lounges. What a zoo. Time to check the email, and whatnot, for about ½ hour, and then, off to the zoo that was DL 575. Gate area – Zoo. Flight severely overbooked. Couldn’t get enough volunteers at the gate – they came on the plane begging for more. But I digress. In the Crown Room, I asked the agent to check if indeed, my NW-web-issued BP had me checked in properly. She said yes, but the system still shows me in MSP, so I should get to the gate just when boarding starts so they wouldn’t give my seat away, and would actually know I was in ATL. I asked “Do I need a DL-issued pass?” No. Ok….
Finally, boarding commenced. Wouldn’t you know, the DL reader couldn’t read the pass, and the gate agent had to manually issue me one on the spot, holding up boarding. Pre-departure drinks offered. I had the vodka that I missed out on at 6:00 AM. This was a 767-200, in a 2-2-2 configuration. And then my seatmate came. I know the 767 doesn’t have the most spacious front cabin, but I don’t ever recall having to be “twisted” for an entire flight because the seatmate was so large. He tried not to hang into my personal space, but well, he didn’t fit in the seat, and in fact, when he got up, the chair wanted to get up with him.
Per the suggestion of some FT people, I ordered the hot seafood special meal. DL, as NW does, gives you a choice of nothing, but does still have the SPML option, and so I opted. Pre-dinner beverage – no nuts (let alone hot), no salty snacks, nothing. The DL special blend of wine was about as inspired as the NW special blend. And then came the food. My special meal consisted of 3 shrimp, and a plate full of canned greenbeans and canned corn. Oh yes, and a small salad. It bordered on the disgusting. The rest of the peoples had a choice of chicken, or chicken. It actually looked a bit better than my meal. The dessert wasn’t half bad. Service on this flight was completely uninspired. The seatbelt sign was on for well-over half the flight, despite no more than a few pieces of barely moderate chop, and an occasional light chop. One of the FAs was in the cockpit a long time (not while the pilots were in the lav), with the galley cart blocking the lav access for quite some time.
The best part about this flight was that it was on time, and given that it was an hour delayed the prior day, 3 hours delayed the day before that, I was just happy to be home.
Overall comments and observations: No pillows, no magazines, meals ranging from edible to absolute crap, service from uninspired to ok, seats ranging from not too uncomfortable to someone’s fat hanging into mine, no IFE on NW, all in all, an uncomfortable day, and a sad commentary on the state of “premium” travel in the USA. I really miss flying UA. For all the UA flyers that are pissing and moaning these days, sit yourself on the other side. Having taken a couple of NW and DL trips in the “front cabin” this year, they are really pathetic. No matter how much $ you may want to spend, you just really can’t have a comfortable experience on either of these airlines – and really, other than a UA or AA plane with international seating, you can’t get across this country in any real comfort. (Actually, the UA 2 cabin F seat is much better than my offerings this year on AS, DL, or NW.)
The postscript: My disc problem in my lower back flared up tremendously on this trip. All day, I have been in pain, telling myself, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU DO THIS? Of course, next week, when I am enjoying the fruits of my most recent redemption of AS miles, flying the world in opulent splendor, I’m sure I’ll have a memory lapse. Gone are the days of being able to plop in a plane, have a decent meal and a movie, and get off the plane in a good mood.
Fin