>>> Avoid these planes at all costs unless you're 100% sure of an upgrade! <<<

I've flown on these planes many times with Delta. I figured the combination of a bulkhead seat (always comfortable for us on Delta) and the possibility of an upgrade to F would be a great combination.

That turned out to be a really bad assumption, esp. when they hold back on upgrades and Plats (at least my wife and myself) end up riding in back.

The bulkhead coach seats were about the most uncomfortable airplane seats I've ever sat in. My back was hurting 60 minutes into the 90 minute flight, and I can still feel it this morning. The only worst combo I could think of would be to put those seats in an E-135. The leather covering looks and feels nice, but the seat itself is horrid. My wife (5'3" & normal weight) was also uncomfortable.

Ventilation was almost non-existent even once airborne. The temp at MDW was 91 when we arrived. Usually you have adquate ventilation on the ground and only lose it when they're starting engines -- not so with that plane. In the air, with both my wife's vent and mine on, I could feel just a little bit of cool air descending on me when the plane banked to the left.

Couple these negatives with the usual bad points of CRJ's, e.g. narrow aisles: My freshly-poured coffee almost ended up in F when the FA backed up. One of the FA's was a bit of a + size and couldn't walk down the rear aisle without bumping into people. My wife made a trip to/from the rear lav and came back complaining about all the legs in the aisle.

Combine these negatives with Northwest's trademark barebones Y service and you have a real loser.

To add to the misery, the gate agents at MDW were the snarkiest I've encountered in years. We first stood by for F on the 5:34 flight. She absolutely refused to let us know our position on the waitlist (only time in 3 years I've encountered such total indifference), and the only feedback she would provide was the meaningless "first-class is checked in full" well before boarding started. She never got back to us with an update after boarding was completed.

Same GA's (unfortunately) for the 8:00 p.m. flight. Availability was P2Y5 about 70 minutes before departure. When I asked during elite-preboard (at least she got that part of it right) if F was full, she refused to answer the question. Although there's no real evidence, I have to wonder (based on past experiences on Avros with full coach cabins where F often had plenty of seats, and esp. since availability was P2Y5 an hour earlier) if upgrade handling was kosher. Some openness along the lines of Delta's gate monitors (passengers names are hashed but if you know your name you can figure it out) would be a big step towards dispelling these suspicions.

My biggest regret now is booking 8 of these round trips, partly for the price, partly because Delta screwed up after a schedule change and I couldn't book what I wanted for a week, and partly for the 8 p.m. departure which allows us to return to Chicago the same day and avoid a hotel overnight.

If this experience is repeated much, I'll be more patient with Delta (they're definitely worth a few extra dollars compared to this experience) and resume pricelining hotels on I55.

Sorry, NW, but any enthusiasm over your new plane was unwarranted.