I got to say, Doc you hit a nerve! I am amazed and disapointed at NW in general. I had to take a quick one day trip from TVC to DSM (via DTW) this week. Since the only fare available was the "screw the business pasenger" fare, I flew what NW calls "First".

My amazment is that they are still in business. Storms on the east coast basically shut them down in DTW. Not a cloud in the sky for 200 miles! It was almost comical watching agents try to figure out what to do. Most of them had their ears stuck to phones trying to get information from MSP on what to do! They had planes, pilots, and crews, but no one with the authority to decide what flight went where! Instead of some people flying, no one did!

Luckilly, my flight eventually went because the pilot came to the agent and informed her that "HE" was going to DSM and she had 35 minutes to get the plane boarded or he and his crew would be over flight time maximums!

Customer Service, don't make me laugh!! I do hope that NWA is monitoring this. I'de love to hear their side of the story, or offer to assist them in making their product better!