Kudos for nw rsa and some information
Apr 27, 2004, 1:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Pleasant Prairie, WI USA DL FO (until 2/04), NW silver '03, NW gold '04+'05 Plat '06+ (thanks, Leo!), DL SkyClub
Programs: DL Plat/ Million Miler, AS, Hilton, Marriott Bonvoy, Piggly Wiggly Pig Points
Posts: 2,233
Kudos for nw rsa and some information
I've been having massive difficulties with an award ticket I booked in December. First, the reservation sat dormant because a computer glitch had an itinerary that NW was not allowed to ticket (only on AS metal, not on AS partner metal). When that was discovered we reworked it but four months later it still hadn't been ticketed. After it finally went through, my sigh of relief was short-lived in that yesterday I learned one of the AS flights dropped off the itinerary and another was changed to a partner flight which isn't supposed to happen (and won't ticket).
I called the gold line today and the rsa who answered open the record and gasped at "what a mess" it was. He then proceeded to spend almost a half hour straightening it "because somebody has to do it and get it right." I was very impressed!
Some useful information I learned along the way in this process:
1. What's in the computer may not be what's actually available. The computer will still show WP availability on AS partner metal but, except in an emergency, that's not supposed to be ticketed that way and may just sit as an open itinerary.
2. There are likely to be even more delays in ticketing due to closure of the DTW ticketing office and computer screwups. The further back you are in the queue, the worse it's likely to be.
3. Even if and when you do get the ticket confirmation in hand, it still pays to check periodically to make sure things are still intact. In my case, AS changed one flight time by one minute which threw everything off.
I called the gold line today and the rsa who answered open the record and gasped at "what a mess" it was. He then proceeded to spend almost a half hour straightening it "because somebody has to do it and get it right." I was very impressed!
Some useful information I learned along the way in this process:
1. What's in the computer may not be what's actually available. The computer will still show WP availability on AS partner metal but, except in an emergency, that's not supposed to be ticketed that way and may just sit as an open itinerary.
2. There are likely to be even more delays in ticketing due to closure of the DTW ticketing office and computer screwups. The further back you are in the queue, the worse it's likely to be.
3. Even if and when you do get the ticket confirmation in hand, it still pays to check periodically to make sure things are still intact. In my case, AS changed one flight time by one minute which threw everything off.
Apr 27, 2004, 1:21 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Eagan, MN. Programs:Delta (lowly Silver)
Posts: 177
Must check periodically!
I just have to tell you that I agree 100% that you need to check and continue to check your award travel. We arrived at the airport to take award tixs to Cancun in Feb only to find they have been cancelled by the computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What?
So we stood at the counter at 5am until World Perks opened! They they proceeded to charge me the tax since it had been credited the prior week back to my account!
How wierd and unnerving since we were traveling with a young child!!!!
So we stood at the counter at 5am until World Perks opened! They they proceeded to charge me the tax since it had been credited the prior week back to my account!
How wierd and unnerving since we were traveling with a young child!!!!
Apr 27, 2004, 2:08 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SRQ
Posts: 2,168
We were flying back from Nice to DTW - 4 of us 2 adults and 2 kids. One of the kids boarding passes would not print - no matte what - some computer glitch, and it took an hour to sort out. If the serviceair agent had not gotten NW on the line we would have been scr*wed - as it was we were lucky we got to the airport as early as we did.
Apr 27, 2004, 3:31 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: UA Plat 2MM; AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 35,068
NW's practice of delaying ticketing is quite disturbing. Technically you're not protected for things like schedule changes without an issued ticket. While this may not be an issue for NW metal (I'm sure they'd take care of you on their flights if possible, with only a reservation, and with or without an issued ticket), I can foresee potential issues with partners as Dick describes. If you issue a ticket on a partner, and say a connection becomes illegal due to schedule change, NW could strong-arm that partner into releasing a different flight for you IF you have a valid, issued, ticket. With no ticket, the partner can be difficult and get away with it, and you have no recourse. If this happens in a market where NW has no service, you could be SOL.
Even with revenue tickets, it's mind boggling to think that an organization would not have adequate resources to collect money, and would thereby defer income. I'd understand if it were a one-time overload of work or exception to the norm, but it seems pretty common that NW defers income like this.
Even with revenue tickets, it's mind boggling to think that an organization would not have adequate resources to collect money, and would thereby defer income. I'd understand if it were a one-time overload of work or exception to the norm, but it seems pretty common that NW defers income like this.