Compliments to Delta NRT Station
 

Sunday I was on NRT-MSP Flt 620 - a 747-400. After the entire flight boarded there was a mechanical that necessitated an equipment change. 15 minutes after our scheduled departure time the pilot announced we were switching to another 747.

The ground crew at NRT and flight crew was able to tow in a "spare" 747 to the adjacent gate, transfer all passengers, food, luggage and cargo and push back from the gate in 90 minutes after annoucing we were switching planes.

I was really impressed how fast everything came together and how smooth the entire process was.

I have had good luck with the NRT station as well. They seem to know what is going on most of the time.

My biggest complaint though is the lack of a DL rep in the SkyClub. There really should be someone there to help with rebooking and such.

Couldn't agree more. Even for just a simple seat change you have to go to the gate or those CS\Transfer Desk counters in both Satellite terminals.

And there is usually a line there waiting even before the desk "opens", sometimes a *huge* line....

I was on this flight and I completely agree. I was amazed at how quickly everyone got off the 747, waited patiently at the gate or back up in the lounge and boarded. I think we were delayed about 2/.5 hours but landed in MSP with a delay of only one hour.

After customs they already had assigned me to a new flight MSP-MKE but they said I could try to make my original flight, which I did with only 15 minutes to spare. My luggage didn't make it but it was delivered to my home later on in the evening.

One of the flight attendants told us the problem with the original 747 was a hole in one of the wing flaps. At any rate, I was too was extremely satisfied with the way everything went. Kudos to both he passengers, NRT and the DL flight crew. (And lucky thing there happened to be an extra 747 in NRT!).

The spare aircraft as well as the hub status, DL staff, and lounges are real advantages of flying through NRT. I also love doing customs at home so that I don't have to worry about delays causing missed connections.

I'm not sure whether DL needs an agent in each lounge or a dedicated elite line downstairs in each satellite's transfer desk, but something should be done to bring SkyPriority beyond the check in area (which IME needs lots of work at NRT--I've been having frustrating experiences with their BE check in area and it should be very simple to get it right).

For gate requests, why can't DL follow the SkyPriority SOP and have a separate elite line to be served first? This would ease the pain in general when one must see a GA.

My big complaint with NRT, for which I have not forgiven them, was one time when my plane had a bad mechanical out of SIN. I called Chisholm from the plane and rebooked on the flights I wanted with the seat assignments I wanted only to have the ground staff in NRT rebook my using totally different connections. Weather in the US, which would not have affected my routing if they hadn't messed with it, caused me to arrive home at 3 am. Not a nice way to treat a top-tier elite (plus MM) on a paid WBC/BE ticket.

The "spare" is likely the 744 for the evening HNL flight. They can fix 744's at NRT pretty easily. A lot of parts, and a lot of experience.

Has that always been that way? I recall seeing a ton of agents at the reception desk in the past. I could have swore they used to be able to do stuff there.

My most recent time through NRT (June) had a lot of agents at the desk but they were only document checkers. When I tried to get help fixing a re-route they said I had to go down to the CS desk (which was closed at the time).

Other times I had been through NRT I recall there being Delta agents there but I never needed help so don't know if they could or not.

The biggest problem at NRT is the lack of sushi in the sky club

+ 1 hating to that new and horrible development.

I have mixed feelings about NRT, they literally stranded me in NRT and screwed me over on a mx delay forcing me to pay $250 to take the next flight that actually left earlier...it was resolved by DL Corporate satisfactorily though...I just don't trust the NRT station in IRROPS myself.

Oh and the lack of SUSHI sucks...

:confused: They had it when I was at their SkyClub about 8 mos ago (great club, BTW).

+2 ! :eek:

Yes - there was a hole in the wing flap and we did "borrow" the NRT-HNL 747.

There was sushi in the club on Sunday. The showers are really pretty there too.

Overall for me I was really impressed.

The only thing that I was disappointed with was how foolish I was for not staying on the 777LR to ATL from SIN rather than hopping back on the old dog 747 in NRT. Those seats in the 777 are the best I have ever been in and although I love the upper deck of the 747 those seats are true punishment.

Overall a fun trip and looking forward to doing it again.

would be nice to know where that "spare" 744 came from. good chance a later flight out of NRT to somewhere else got delayed big time. i just don't think they have a 744 sitting around as a spare.