Here we go again with the utter LACK of seamlessness between the CO and NW programs.
Old Gold: You don't have to read this; you won't find anything new.

I am a CO Silver Elite, but as far as I can tell, there would have been no difference in this story had I been a Plutonium or even Unobtanium (like Old Gold)!

The other day I made a reservation, on Expedia, for my trip to SEA in June, on NW. (Straight NW flight #'s, no CO codeshares.) I put my OnePass number into the record on Expedia. The seat mapper on Expedia offered regular and "premium" (i.e. Elite) coach seating. It did warn that premium seating might be rejected by the airline based on status.

When I checked the reservation for updates the next day, all four flights showed "seats assigned at the airport". Of course, this meant that NW had rejected my seating requests. I called Continental (having read on several threads that CO Elites have to call Continental to get anything done on Northwest), and requested that they get me Elite coach seating on my NW flights. (I didn't have the Silver Elite hotline number with me, so I called the regular reservation number.)

The first agent said they had no way of accessing NW's system and that I should call Northwest. I then asked for my call to be transferred to the Silver Elite line. Since the transferred call was answered "Continental Reservations", I asked whether I had reached Silver Elite, or One Pass, or what. The agent replied "You've reached Everything!"

Interpreting this as a good sign, I told my story all over again, and again received the suggestion that I call Northwest. I replied that NW wouldn't do anything, and at best would still have to call CO to verify my status. The CO agent volunteered to call NW, and put me on hold for about 15 minutes.

When she came back on the line she was clearly agitated. Here is what she said: "I called Northwest and they refused to assign Elite seating. I then had my supervisor call, and they refused him too. I've gotten you aisle seats on all four flights, but I've also referred this to my manager, because for them to refuse isn't right. When NW Elite flyers call over here we give them Elite seating without any problem. I'm going to try to get management to deal with this because it isn't fair to our Elite members!"

So there!

This could, ultimately, turn out to be moot, if I get upgraded the day of the flights (3 out of the 4 are 757's), but it's nice to know that Continental shares our frustration over this nonsense.

Lack of seamlessness alright. I called the Gold Elite line early this morning to get my boss's Monday flights on NW upgraded. I clearly stated at the beginning of the conversation that these were NW flights. The agent could find no record of the flight number. I then reiterated that these were NW flights. Oh, OK, I found it, she said, but she still couldn't find his record, even with the conf. number. She said all I could do was to call NW. So I called, waited on hold for almost 10 minutes and no one ever answered. I had to leave. Just called NW again, answered on first ring and the record was located immediately and I was told that FC was available on his flights but that I would have to get the upgrades through CO. Called CO back and after putting me on hold for close to 5 minutes, upgrades were given on both flights.

This is really getting ridiculous guys. It's been more than 1 year now, and this alliance just isn't working as smoothly as it should be.

Northwest and Continental DO NOT have reciprocal for preferred seating. I am a NW Platinum and I have NEVER been able to get preferred seating on a Continental flight, whether I've purchased it outright from Continental or whether it's a Northwest codeshare. This works both ways. Frankly I'd be really unhappy if you told me that NW gave you elite seating considering that I've been told by CO that if I want elite seating on CO flights I should change programs!!!

Also I have problems getting NW seats with online booking for flights more than about 30 or 45 days out. I regularly make these reservations online and call to get my seat assignments.

Just because you may not be entitled to it under the published terms doesn't mean they shouldn't try to give it to you if it's available and you ask.

Besides, isn't it fundamentally preposterous that you can get a free upgrade but not a preferred coach seat? There has to be a certain level of basic logic to these things in order to achieve public acceptance and understanding.

RichG: Isn't putting Logic and NW in the same sentence an Oxymoron?

But I agree 100%. Pretty foolish that Elites on each airline can upgrade on the other, but not get premium eilte seating.

I learned the hard way that CO elites MUST call the CO line for any requests pertaining to NW. I spent a good 30 minutes on the phone with NW last week only to be told that I needed to call CO. They said that NW has no way to verify my Elite status on CO and vice versa.

Seamless it is not. But for now, CO elites need to call CO and wait on hold while the CO agent calls NW.

I may be mistaken because I don't have the booklet with me, but I am almost certain that Continental even updated its One Pass Elite Members Guide this year to delete any
reference to preferred coach seating on NW.

In last year's issue, it was clearly offered, but NW NEVER honored it. Luckily, NW has lots of first class seats and rarely holds any back, so upgrade chances are excellent.

This year, if my memory serves me right, CO's handbook doesn't promise NW premium seating in coach. I guess NW and CO couldn't work this minor detail out!

No doubt: more like "ridiculous" reciprocity rather than seamless. Good grief.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when NW and CO talk about such business. What's the rationale for such decisions??? Who's the moron?

I understand that NW res system will be updated May 1 to impose upgrade quotas ala CO's system. Anyone know if that May 1 update will include allowing recognition of CO status?

Thanks for the warning RichG, but I read it anyway.

Your memory is OK about no preferred seating on NW, Norm, preferred seating is available, however, on flights operated by America West! but not advance upgrades for OnePass elites.

Those of you who read the America West forum are aware that there is only one Flight Fund Platinum! (at least here in cyberspace) I guess that they don't want him to have to compete with all of us CO elites.

I can live without the preferred seating and most (but not all) of the time my upgrades on NW have been handled fairly well and efficiently. The place where I've really had a huge pain is using CO rewards to upgrade NW intl flights. I don't even want to go into what a pain it is.

RichG, why do you suggest that flying 757s makes your upgrade chances good? My experience is that the 757s have a much lower ratio of first/coach than most of the DC9s.

I agree that NWA's 757s don't offer a better chance to upgrade. Their 757s have 14 1st class seats vs. 16 on some of their DC9s. The 757 probably has more than twice the # of coach seats, so the ratio is much better on the DC9. Some airlines have a 1st class section that has 20 seats on 757s which would improve the ratio considerably.

I guess I assumed (shame on me) that NW's 757's had 24 First Class seats like UA & CO.