Lets us know what you hear avid....I flew 175k last yr, i will hit 75k here by the end of April. I am a little bit more captive living in MSP. You are absolutly right if they do not pull from the C/F bucket than i might as well actually start flying the cheapest most effecient carrier to my final destination.
You bet. I am guessing I will get a very vague and unsatisfactory answer but anything less than "NW SWU's will be honored as advertised through 2009" will not be good enough for me.
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Well, when a boss wants you to work on Saturday he generally asks you at the end of the day, right?
If the airlines are losing money because fuel costs more, either fares have to go up, or benefits have to go down, or airlines have to go out of business (or merge). If NW doesn't merge, do we really expect that NW was just going to continue to operate as-is losing money forever?
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2009 NW GE Upgrade Success: 82% (18/22); PE 100% (2/2)
If the airlines are losing money because fuel costs more, either fares have to go up, or benefits have to go down, or airlines have to go out of business (or merge). If NW doesn't merge, do we really expect that NW was just going to continue to operate as-is losing money forever?
They are not all losing money:
U.S. airlines' profits are expected to fall to $1.8 billion from an estimated $2.8 billion last year. "This could easily turn into a net loss should the current economic environment deteriorate further," according to IATA.
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Well, when a boss wants you to work on Saturday he generally asks you at the end of the day, right?
Programs: DL Sky-Ultra Lounge Member frequent WN LAS-MHT nonstop member
Posts: 3,002
Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelrah
Well, the fact that Delta Skymiles is inferior to Worldperks has been established on this board and discussed ad nauseaum.
I'll also observe that Delta and Comair scored low in the latest airline quality measures. Amongst the legacies Delta was close to the bottom (only USairways had a worse quality rating). Comair also scored low.
So not only do we have to look forward to a devaluation in our FF miles, we also have to suffer with low quality Delta.
IMO, the "low quality Delta" argument is suspect. It's not like NW is known industry wide for the "best quality" product (though, it has gotten better).
For every 10 people who say that Delta sucks, you can find an equivalent 10 who think that NW sucks.
There are much better arguments to focus on, with respect to the relative advantages of NW over DL -- leaving aside the "quality" issue; which just distorts the "real" issues of substance (such as worldperks, pricing, elite upgrades, NW Elite Line, qualification by segments, Platinum Companion Upgrades in advance etc etc).
Programs: NWA PE, UA GS1K, PC Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, HHonors Gold, Marrott Silver
Posts: 466
Quote:
Originally Posted by ifette
I now fly out of SFO/SJC. I'm thinking about switching to UA... or at least, I may stop once I hit 75kEQM on NW, forget about the SWUs, and pick up 100K on UA. I will at least get comped to Premier Exec, so it won't be too bad for those intervening months between P.E. and 1K.
I'm just wondering if I should wait it out a bit to see if UA has any special offers to entice former NW/DL members, such as actually comping 1K for people who have 100K+ EQMs on NW/DL for the current year...
I went ahead and did a UA challenge to 1P last year (after passing 200k EQM on NW) and this year my plan is to get UA 1K and NW PE just to hedge my bets. Once the dust all clears I will figure out where which carrier (NWDLAFKL, UA, UACO, UAUS, AA?? WN ) to continue with as my primary becuase I certainly hope I don't continue to fly enough to maintain top status on multiple airlines!
Ok, assuming my FF miles survive this, I just had a nightmare image. I have elite status on NW mainly by regularly flying BWI-MSP-ANC roundtrip several times a year. Every time I fly Delta regardless of the destination, they route me through Atlanta. I'm having a vision of going to Anchorage by way of Georgia. Good for my FF mile count, BAD for my backside.
U.S. airlines' profits are expected to fall to $1.8 billion from an estimated $2.8 billion last year. "This could easily turn into a net loss should the current economic environment deteriorate further," according to IATA.
Actually, with jet fuel at its current level of $3.50 / gallon, the US airline industry is projected to lose $12 Billion this year.
My hope is that adult supervision will be supplied by the Europeans and they will nix this takeover-on-the-cheap by Delta. I mean this has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy: Former CEO of airline A leaves and then ends up at airline B. Airline A's board, still loyal to the former CEO, agrees to a takeover which undervalues the asset they are responsible for, and publicly calls it a merger. To make it even more dramatic, board of airline A stabs its own current CEO in the back, destroys its airline's identity, and agrees to put its former darling at the head of the final product. Only the ever-supine FTC would approve of such a deal, which is only good for the ego of someone named Anderson. The Europeans, twice not once, in the past several years have provided adult-supervision in these cases of crazy American takeover-and-merger-mania, saying no to WorldCom and GE - and the Europeans were right in doing so both times. Maybe they will do it a third.
As a valued Northwest Airlines customer and WorldPerks® member, I wanted you to be among the first to hear that we have announced a merger with Delta Air Lines. Subject to regulatory review, our two airlines are joining forces to create America’s premier global airline which, upon closing of the merger, will be called Delta Air Lines.
By combining Northwest and Delta, we are building a stronger, more resilient airline that will be a leader in providing customer service and value. Our combined airline will offer unprecedented access to the world, enabling you to fly to more destinations, have more flight choices and more ways than ever to earn and redeem your WorldPerks miles.
You can be assured that your WorldPerks miles and Elite program status will be unaffected by this merger. In addition, you can continue to earn miles through use of partners like WorldPerks Visa®. And once the new Delta Air Lines emerges you can look forward to being a part of the world’s largest frequent flyer program with expanded benefits.
The combined Delta Air Lines will serve more U.S. communities and connect to more worldwide destinations than any global airline. Our hubs – both Delta’s and Northwest’s – will be retained and enhanced. We will be the only U.S. airline to offer direct service from the United States to all of the world’s major business centers in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa and around North America.
Both airlines bring tremendous strengths to this new partnership. Our complementary service networks form an end-to-end system that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. This is a merger by addition, not subtraction, which means all of our hubs – both Northwest’s and Delta’s – will be retained. In addition, building on both airlines’ proud, decades-long history of serving small communities, we plan to enhance global connections to small towns and cities across the U.S.
All of these positive benefits of our combination mean that we can:
Offer a true global network where our customers will be able to fly to more destinations, have more schedule options and more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles in what will become the world’s best and most comprehensive frequent flyer program.
Continue to serve our current roster of destinations and to maintain our hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo.
Improve our customers’ travel experience, through new products and services including enhanced self-service tools, better bag-tracking technology, more onboard services, including more meal options, new seats and refurbished cabins.
While we work to secure approval of our merger, which may take up to 6 to 8 months, it will be business-as-usual at both airlines. We will continue to operate as independent airlines and the people of Northwest will remain focused on providing you with the very best in safe, reliable and convenient air travel. At the same time, both airlines will be planning for a seamless integration of our two airlines, one that delivers to you the enhanced benefits that will earn – and retain – your preference.
As we work through this process, we will keep you informed at every step along the way. Thank you for your business and we look forward to serving you on your next Northwest flight.
So how is this going to cover the kerosene they burn when oil is $110/barrel & rising?
It will allow the airline to raise domestic fares to a sustainable level, allocate equipment more efficiently and afford more efficient domestic aircraft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CreekTraveler
My hope is that adult supervision will be supplied by the Europeans and they will nix this takeover-on-the-cheap by Delta. I mean this has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy: Former CEO of airline A leaves and then ends up at airline B. Airline A's board, still loyal to the former CEO, agrees to a takeover which undervalues the asset they are responsible for, and publicly calls it a merger. To make it even more dramatic, board of airline A stabs its own current CEO in the back, destroys its airline's identity, and agrees to put its former darling at the head of the final product. Only the ever-supine FTC would approve of such a deal, which is only good for the ego of someone named Anderson. The Europeans, twice not once, in the past several years have provided adult-supervision in these cases of crazy American takeover-and-merger-mania, saying no to WorldCom and GE - and the Europeans were right in doing so both times. Maybe they will do it a third.
The EU has had a much more liberal approach to airline mergers: AF/KL (plus AZ!), LH/LX, SN in its various incarnations.
Last edited by slippahs; Apr 20, 08 at 11:56 pm.
Reason: merging two posts
One of the NWA agents once told me that Delta does do after-hours SMS via India. Not sure if that's true or just industry gossip. I agree with the previous poster's sentiment -- I have long avoided calling Delta customer service to avoid the outsourced call center experience. Maybe that was part of their strategy.
I have to add my agreement, here. Took one flight with Delta last year, which went through numerous schedule changes. The India call center was atrocious during the few times last year I was stuck with them trying to straighten things out. Ugh! Have been with NW for about 10 years now; dread the merger.
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Took
Programs: SPG Gold, NWA Silver, HHonors Gold
It will allow the airline to raise domestic fares to a sustainable level, allocate equipment more efficiently and afford more efficient domestic aircraft.
Does this mean our board will be closed eventually??? Of course it does. I don't want to whine but I don't like Delta. I don't like their planes, their crown rooms, their upgrade percentages, their hubs, their elite benefits, etc, etc. At the same time who do I go to and are they any better? I have two more years on my WC membership and I don't want to go a whole year with no status. Someone please wake me up from this bad dream I am having.
Well I've slept on it and still don't feel one iota better.
Not looking forward to devaluation of all my WP miles, changes in elite benefits and upgrade availability, added fees for award redemption, etc.
Regardless of what happens since all those details aren't official, I just don't see anything good to come out of this for us NW flyers. It's not like routings are even a major concern since we are already in SkyTeam. If you ask me, it might even get a little bit worse with the loss of CO codeshare ops.
) to continue with as my primary becuase I certainly hope I don't continue to fly enough to maintain top status on multiple airlines!
