srodr

I just got back from my first run for the 20-segment challenge. Did 6 segs: PIT-EWR-DTW-MDW, and back. I bought the ticket from CO because of the double point bonus, and had 3 segments on CO metal, and 3 on NW metal. I figured to try for gate upgrades for the NW segments.

I haven't received my RW card yet, but my status shows as RW on the KLM website, so I figured it would show up on the boarding passes like with OnePass status. Of course, it didn't, and so the frustration began...

In EWR, with 3 hours to kill, I figured I'd hang out in the World Club in terminal B. Without a card, the lady at first gave me a little hassle, but after working her computer a little, she found my status and let me in.

When I got to DTW, I went to my gate and asked for an upgrade. The agent looked at her screen and said I'm not a RW, so no upgrade. I told her that the correct status showed on the club's computer, but she didn't much care. I sat in the back with 14/16 first seats empty.

Next, at the counter in MDW, I tried again with the same results. The agent said to call NW and see if they could look up the status and fix it in the reservations. I tried, but they too couldn't find any evidence of RW status. So I sat in the back again with 10/16 empty FC seats.

Third try... In DTW, I had three hours to find a solution, so I first looked for a service center like CO has in EWR. Apparently there are none. So next I went to the World club figuring if it worked in EWR, it would work here. Wrong. She couldn’t figure it out, and suggested going to an international gate where they have a different "system". So I went to an international gate, but they said they had no access to KLM info, but the ticket counter could probably find it. So I went to the ticket counter. Here the lady was very nice, but asked me what level RW status is equal to, silver, gold, or plat? Okay, obviously no help here. She said I need to call KLM in Amsterdam. Without $30 in change for the pay phone, I gave up and sat in the back with 6/16 FC seats empty.

Next, back in EWR, I decided to go back to the club and see if the smart lady was there. She was, and I told her of my adventure. She hit some keys on her computer, and again pulled up my info-Royal Wing. I asked her what special knowledge she has that no other NW employee seems to have, and she said she has a "special code" to look up status, but any gate agent or ticket agent should also know it. (she wouldn’t give me the special code, but said to tell any confused agent to call her and she will fill them in)

Finally, for one last attempt to get some good info on how things are supposed to work, I called World Perks. I went over the whole situation with the man, and here are the facts as he told me:

- NW and KLM are partners, but have no access to each others computer systems, so there is no way for a NW employee to see an FD member's status, profile, etc.
- FD elite members are not eligible for NW elite privileges on NW flights, and NW elite members are not eligible for FD elite privileges on KLM flights.
Therefore,
- FD elite members are not eligible for domestic space available upgrades on NW, and so can't get an EUA or a gate upgrade.

These facts make no sense, and go against what I've read on this board. Here's one quote from Threy:
"I am batting a perfect 1.000 on upgrades (on NW) since they renewed their upgrade policy in autumn and I am very satisfied with NW."


So what's going on here? What's the real policy on upgrades, and is it printed anywhere? How is it possible that so many NW employees can't find something as simple as FD status for a passenger? How can a ticket agent at NW's main hub not know what a Royal Wing is? If NW and KLM are so closely related that they call themselves "NW/KLM Airlines", how can they be so disconnected and unaware of each other? I'm sure that if I had my RW card, it would have made things easier, but not having it certainly allowed a good look into how uncoordinated the two programs are.




[This message has been edited by srodr (edited 03-18-2002).]