Actually, out of habit, every time I get off of a flight which tends to be NW, I do in fact make a point of saying thank you to the crew, nice flight or nice service, nice landing, or what ever to simply acknowledge the people who delivered the service, regardless of if I expect it or not, same applies with GAs and so forth. On the other hand, given that I rarely check bags, Im not sure who to say thanks to when they arrive on-time, other than when I fill out the surveys that I get from NW which I've noticed tend to arrive after an irregular operation, weather or mechanical related.

IDB, not sure what your point is, however since you mention IDB, humm, in over 2,000 flights (yes, I have a log), and I can honestly say I have only incurred one IDB. VDB, sure and for those I was compensated for given that they were VDB. In the one case of an IDB, I did end up thanking a station manager and some supervisors who got involved and made the situation right and a win win for all involved, except perhaps to the non-rev who was moved from FC to the main cabin to free up a seat for me as part of the IDB “package” and solution. Maybe I have been luck in avoiding IDBs I really don’t know how often they occur compared to VDBs, that’s just my experience, perhaps they occur more often.

[QUOTE=cs19;10861873]+1

Ok, so here's my point, its simple, we as passengers pick and choose who we fly with for different reasons, both domestically and internationally, it may be price, it may be flight times, connections, trying to minimize connections and chances for problems and so forth among other preferences.

As passengers or consumers, we should assume that the carrier will do their best effort, hopefully as close to 100% reliable as possible within their control to get us where we are going when we planned to go for what we are paying/contracting with the carrier for the service to be provided.

Should the carrier not deliver on their part, and, assuming the issue was within the carriers control, then reasonable compensation can be expected, something that I have seen occur many times in the past.

However, I also assume that when I make my travel plans that there is always the chance that something might occur, that I might be delayed, and try to build that into trip planning when and where possible.

Bottom line is this, if the carrier does not get me to where they are supposed to in the time frame they are supposed to due to circumstances within their control, then I would expect something reasonable from the carrier in relation to the amount of delay or service disruptions experienced, which could be some miles, an apology (real sincere or non sincere), or what ever. If the carrier does their best, and on average meets or exceeds my service expectation, they get a thank you and more of my business. Chose to agree or disagree, that’s the beauty of traveling and having travel choices and discussions in this country. - H