My way back on nwa
 

On Jan6 I needed to get home from PBI, with DH gone I figured I would fly NWA as they had the best times and I wanted the miles.

So I called and spoke with Platinum Elite support, they told me I should just bring the confirmation page to the airport and NWA would fly me standby, she also said they wouldn't charge the fee.

When I got to the ticket counter I spoke with an agent Paco, he told me I would need a paper ticket before he could do anything. I explained that DH didn't do paper tickets and that my confirmation page was the only thing i had. He told me i should contact DH and get something else. So i explained that DH was out of biz and that there was nothing else I could get from them. He then told me that "They [DH] screwed me over" by going out of biz.

Paco went and got John the manager and he told me he didn't have time to deal with me.

So I called Platinum Elite support, who were very nice and apologetic. I handed the phone to Paco who argued with the agent for a minute or two before agreeing to ticket me.

He charged me the fee and gave me standby gate pass. The flight was leaving in 20 minutes and I asked him if he could just give us seats and he said no I had to do it at the gate. He refused to give me a standby pass for my second leg. When I asked him to have them hold the flight he also refused.

This whole ordeal took about 70 minutes. So my little sister and I ran to security and were greated by the line management manager. He wouldn't let us cut the line, he told us we should get to the airport sooner. The Line looked like a ride at Disney it was the longest security line I have ever seen. An agent took pity on my sister who at this point was crying and bumbed us to the front, our tickets had 'ssss' but TSA pushed us to the front and helped rush us through the process (they still went through everything and did their job). We ran to the gate and got their as John (the manger i talked with before) was closing the gate. He wouldn't give me a seat nexto my 11 year old sister even though there were empty rows on the airplane.

When I got to DTW I spoke with the gate agent who had no idea what was going on. She told me I would need a 'transfer ticket from DH' She showed me what the delta ones looked like. I explained that I could not get that from DH since they were out of biz, I told her that if i could get forms from them they would still be in biz and thus I could fly with them. She was polite but just had no idea what was going on or what to do.

Another call into Platinum Elite support this time it was from a payphone since my cell was dead. They called the gate and told her to put me on the flight. The gate agent called over a manager and got me on. The gate agent was very apologetic about the whole situation. When I asked her for seats next to each other she told me she had already done that and given us a whole row.

How has everyone else done?

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. I flew Spirit from PBI to DTW. They were wonderful--no fee was charged and no issues.

I wanted to take them or southwest since they didn't have the fee but they dont go into syr

What an adverture - you'll always remember the experience.

climbguy,

I'm really curious how you got to talk to Platinum Elite support at NW, not being a Platinum elite and all.

Guess alot of people who jumped at the cheap tkts on DH figuring they would fly someone else if need be and earn miles at a very cheap price , will be in for a rude awakening.

Guess the old saying still stands, You get what you pay for.

I think the NWA agents were DUMB for handling the OP or anyone else in such a way, very easy to have gained a potential new customer. But I dont blame them for not giving a seat assignment at Check-in , Standbys usually only get a seat at the Gate where they are Confirmed that in fact they are on the flight.

How do we know he isn't platnum elite with NWA?

Although, if NWA treated me like that, I'd end that relationship pretty fast. Way to pick up pax that are looking for a new airline, NWA....

I just got off the phone with nwa and they are giving my sister and i 5,500 miles each. They are also going to refund the $100 fee.

As for the elite status, a friend of mine is an elite and we called in together.

Wow, NWA always seems to provide new stories that continue to reinforce my (low) opinion of their customer service and operations. I haven't had to fly anywhere since the shutdown and I will make no excuses for FlyI's final outcome, but the skies already seem much less cheery without Independence.


Cheers.

Cause he said so down below, and if you follow his posting history, you can pretty much tell that he isn't an elite on anybody.

Well, I'm not sure that NW is considered strong competition for FlyI pax -- probably on equal footing with CO and DL. It seems that UA and US/HP would be more likely choices for displaced FlyI pax. Further, if FT is any indication, I'm guessing that most pax that flew DH regularly flew them on certain routes specifically and flew "the competition" on the rest -- IOW, they already have a "home" carrier.

thanks dhast, and fyi I was an nw silver about a year ago, but I fly DH more and more because of their price and service. As for picking up customers, DH pax from dtw will look to nw, and really why piss off any potential customer. I am a few miles short of the award flight i want on nw and after that i plan on avoiding them. There is no way you can tell me that it makes sense to piss off any customer, from the plat elites to the occasional flyer. NW needs all the biz they can get.

Thats why its best to fly a Legacy Airline.

Huh? The legacy airline (NW) treated the OP very poorly indeed. Shame on them.

A classic example of how an "unusual travel circumstance" can turn into an ordeal when bad luck strikes (usually in the form of agent cluelessness). Always allow time in circumstances like this for things to go wrong. Often they will.