PhillyPhlyer40

****Rant on*****Ok, so I have had a few bumps with CO...but nothing major. Today, I book a flight EWR-MSP-XXX, and call NorthWORST to get seats. I am told that the "special" seats are only for NorthWORST elites, contrary to what the website says.

I do the old hang up and call back deal. Get another agent, who tells me the same thing. I ask for row 5 on the a320, and am told nope....disabled only. I ask him, not so politely, if he feels that this plane already has 4 disabled people, because most of the row is booked.

Thats it! Im done with NorthWORST. I had the option of booking a mixed EWR-ORD-CO-XXX-UA flight for 50 bucks LESS!!! I didnt want to mix carriers, and decided not to. Oh well....lesson learned.

PLEASE Larry, dont merge with NorthWORST.

***Rant off*****

alphaeagle

Certain seats are reserved for disabled/young children and held for airport assignment. CO does this as well. You could also change your your seats online on their website and have access to whatever Northwest elites have.

baglady

Is your CO elite# in the record? I've been able to do it online when it is. NW really isn't that bad.

SAT Lawyer

CO almost always blocks the A, B, and C seats in the first row in coach on its 737s, rendering them inaccessible to elites and other customers until online check-in. So I'm not sure that NW is really acting any differently.

As a CO elite, you should have access to the same seating that we NW elites do on NW metal. To the the best of my knowledge neither airline discriminates against the other's elites for purposes of seating benefits. Since you are a Platinum elite, you will almost certainly wind up sitting up front anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I haven't missed a domestic upgrade on NW in more than three years. Meanwhile, it's generally 50-60% for me on CO. I can tell you one thing: I'll take a seat up front on NW over a seat in the bulkhead on CO any day of the week, although if it's first on CO versus first on NW, CO wins every time.

dgwright99

I have always been able to select the "special" seats on NWA the website. But I usually get UGed so it rarely matters in the end.

mersk862

I'm a DL elite that often flies the Airbus and DC-9 when on NW and always go for Row 5 on these planes. Never been able to get the handicapped seats online, but can get the other ones fine with my DL number in the reservation by using the interface on nwa.com. I'm booked in Row 5 on DC-9s for all my mainline flights on an itinerary that starts tomorrow.

xliioper

Not necessarily recommending this, but if you select wheelchair assistance on the website, it will open up the handicapped seats. After you've picked your seat, you can uncheck the wheelchair assistance flag and you will still have your seat.

colpuck

horrible yet shrewd.

FWIW, I like your moniker.

Watchful

WOW...what a nightmare!!!

Deep breath....okay....

on the Airbuses it is SOP (in my experience) to have 5B and 5C blocked for disabled access, while the rest of 5 (A, D, E, F) is bookable by elites.

So the fact that four seats are taken in row 5 and 2 are blocked is....er....normal, and not a conspiracy against ya.

Good luck. Hope ya get your upgrade!

dvs7310

I never understand all this bit%@ing and moaning about NW phone agents not giving eite seating to other Skyteam elites.

If you're elite # is in the reservation all you have to do is get online and choose your seats after the booking is made. This has been discussed more than once in this forum recently.

RNE

You may not understand why passengers expect airline agents to know their jobs responsibilities, but most of us passenders do expect it.

Stripe

NW has several "tiers" of seats in Y:

• Handicapped - you can't get those until OLCI unless you convice NW you need one. Your elite level is irrelevant. CO does the same thing with certain seats, they just don't identify them. They appear to be occupied on CO.com until OLCI.
  
  
• Coach Choice - you can't get those until OLCI. Your elite level is irrelevant. However, if you are elite you don't pay the extra fee if you do choose one of them during OLCI. Although despised by many, it is a nice perk for an elite who buys a last minute ticket and doesn't get the upgrade. He/she isn't doomed to a middle seat.
  
  
• Premium and Exit - can only be reserved by elites (all SkyTeam) or those on full fare tickets. (Exit rows might be a little more restrictive, but they are less restrictive than on CO.)
  
  
• Others - anyone can reserve these.

It's quite possible to be able to buy a ticket on a NW flight but not be able to reserve a seat. If only handicapped and Coach Choice seats are open then you're out of luck until OLCI, whether you're a CO elite, a NW elite, or whatever. Furthermore, if you call an agent to get a seat assignment NW now charges a $15 fee.

NW is hardly a perfect airline, and there are plenty of reasons to call it "Northworst" (although there are many fewer than in the past), but the OP's rant is not one of them.

PhillyPhlyer40

I guess a complaint of a NW rep not knowing the rules is a reason to give them a freddy?

And yes, the are not restrictive..they are impossible. I tried online, and on phone (via NW silver line) and coiuld NOT get an exit row seat. As a skyteam elite (plat) on NW, I do believe you get access to CO exit row seats.

Oh well...guess I will hit over 1K this year as my canadian flying will now be through ORD instead of MSP!

Old Gold

I've flown NW on a good number of flights since they became a OnePass partner, I have no major complaints. As a CO Platinum I've never sat in the back of a NW flight, neither has my occasional companion, the younger Mrs. Gold.

carpboy

That's funny.