NW computer down (from WSJ)
Jul 15, 2004 | 6:00 am
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NW computer down (from WSJ)
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Northwest Air Computer Snafu
Leads to Delays, Cancellations
By SUSAN CAREY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 15, 2004; Page D2
A brief power outage yesterday morning at Northwest Airlines' operations center near Minneapolis caused the carrier's computer systems to shut down, forcing it to delay scores of departing planes world-wide and later to cancel more than 200 flights.
The nation's fourth-largest airline said power was restored at about 9 a.m. Central time after a 45-minute failure and that flight-related computer systems were returning to normal later in the day. But as a result, the airline delayed departing flights for more than an hour, causing tie-ups at its hub airports because arriving flights couldn't go to gates until the departing planes were cleared to take off.
The disruptions cascaded throughout the day, causing further delays because aircraft and crews were out of position, and passengers missed their connections.
A Northwest Airlines spokeswoman said the cause of the outage was under investigation. She would say only that the internal power failure occurred at an airline facility. But a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the airline informed the government that the problem occurred in its system-operations control center, the nerve system for flight operations, dispatch, scheduling, meteorology and other critical functions.
Northwest said flights that were en route at the time of the outage weren't affected and landed without incident. Departures were returning to normal late yesterday, but the carrier, based in St. Paul, Minn., said it anticipated cancellations and delays until the evening.
The airline said it allowed customers who were booked on domestic or international flights yesterday to reschedule without financial penalty through Saturday. It also said it was working with other carriers to accommodate Northwest customers. As of yesterday afternoon, Northwest had canceled more than 60 of its flights and expected that number to grow. Additionally, more than 150 flights by its regional airline partners also were scrubbed.
The FAA, which provides air-traffic control, said it was informed that Northwest's computers were working again yesterday morning, the spokeswoman said. The airline's planes "are departing again," the FAA spokeswoman said. "We see them. We also are seeing arrivals, but they are coming in late because they couldn't depart on time."
Northwest, which offers 1,500 daily flights, has hubs in Detroit; Minneapolis; Memphis, Tenn.; and Tokyo.
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COMPANIES
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Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC)
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U.S. dollars 8.78
-0.33
7/14
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Northwest Air Computer Snafu
Leads to Delays, Cancellations
By SUSAN CAREY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 15, 2004; Page D2
A brief power outage yesterday morning at Northwest Airlines' operations center near Minneapolis caused the carrier's computer systems to shut down, forcing it to delay scores of departing planes world-wide and later to cancel more than 200 flights.
The nation's fourth-largest airline said power was restored at about 9 a.m. Central time after a 45-minute failure and that flight-related computer systems were returning to normal later in the day. But as a result, the airline delayed departing flights for more than an hour, causing tie-ups at its hub airports because arriving flights couldn't go to gates until the departing planes were cleared to take off.
The disruptions cascaded throughout the day, causing further delays because aircraft and crews were out of position, and passengers missed their connections.
A Northwest Airlines spokeswoman said the cause of the outage was under investigation. She would say only that the internal power failure occurred at an airline facility. But a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the airline informed the government that the problem occurred in its system-operations control center, the nerve system for flight operations, dispatch, scheduling, meteorology and other critical functions.
Northwest said flights that were en route at the time of the outage weren't affected and landed without incident. Departures were returning to normal late yesterday, but the carrier, based in St. Paul, Minn., said it anticipated cancellations and delays until the evening.
The airline said it allowed customers who were booked on domestic or international flights yesterday to reschedule without financial penalty through Saturday. It also said it was working with other carriers to accommodate Northwest customers. As of yesterday afternoon, Northwest had canceled more than 60 of its flights and expected that number to grow. Additionally, more than 150 flights by its regional airline partners also were scrubbed.
The FAA, which provides air-traffic control, said it was informed that Northwest's computers were working again yesterday morning, the spokeswoman said. The airline's planes "are departing again," the FAA spokeswoman said. "We see them. We also are seeing arrivals, but they are coming in late because they couldn't depart on time."
Northwest, which offers 1,500 daily flights, has hubs in Detroit; Minneapolis; Memphis, Tenn.; and Tokyo.
Jul 15, 2004 | 10:48 pm
#2
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Originally Posted by remedy
A brief power outage yesterday morning at Northwest Airlines' operations center near Minneapolis caused the carrier's computer systems to shut down, forcing it to delay scores of departing planes world-wide and later to cancel more than 200 flights.
The nation's fourth-largest airline said power was restored at about 9 a.m. Central time after a 45-minute failure and that flight-related computer systems were returning to normal later in the day. But as a result, the airline delayed departing flights for more than an hour, causing tie-ups at its hub airports because arriving flights couldn't go to gates until the departing planes were cleared to take off.
The disruptions cascaded throughout the day, causing further delays because aircraft and crews were out of position, and passengers missed their connections.
A Northwest Airlines spokeswoman said the cause of the outage was under investigation. She would say only that the internal power failure occurred at an airline facility. But a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the airline informed the government that the problem occurred in its system-operations control center, the nerve system for flight operations, dispatch, scheduling, meteorology and other critical functions.
Northwest said flights that were en route at the time of the outage weren't affected and landed without incident. Departures were returning to normal late yesterday, but the carrier, based in St. Paul, Minn., said it anticipated cancellations and delays until the evening.
The airline said it allowed customers who were booked on domestic or international flights yesterday to reschedule without financial penalty through Saturday. It also said it was working with other carriers to accommodate Northwest customers. As of yesterday afternoon, Northwest had canceled more than 60 of its flights and expected that number to grow. Additionally, more than 150 flights by its regional airline partners also were scrubbed.
The nation's fourth-largest airline said power was restored at about 9 a.m. Central time after a 45-minute failure and that flight-related computer systems were returning to normal later in the day. But as a result, the airline delayed departing flights for more than an hour, causing tie-ups at its hub airports because arriving flights couldn't go to gates until the departing planes were cleared to take off.
The disruptions cascaded throughout the day, causing further delays because aircraft and crews were out of position, and passengers missed their connections.
A Northwest Airlines spokeswoman said the cause of the outage was under investigation. She would say only that the internal power failure occurred at an airline facility. But a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the airline informed the government that the problem occurred in its system-operations control center, the nerve system for flight operations, dispatch, scheduling, meteorology and other critical functions.
Northwest said flights that were en route at the time of the outage weren't affected and landed without incident. Departures were returning to normal late yesterday, but the carrier, based in St. Paul, Minn., said it anticipated cancellations and delays until the evening.
The airline said it allowed customers who were booked on domestic or international flights yesterday to reschedule without financial penalty through Saturday. It also said it was working with other carriers to accommodate Northwest customers. As of yesterday afternoon, Northwest had canceled more than 60 of its flights and expected that number to grow. Additionally, more than 150 flights by its regional airline partners also were scrubbed.
Jiburi '04
Jul 17, 2004 | 7:48 am
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Originally Posted by jiburi
So that's why they were easily accommodating customers on another airlines yesterday. I was affected.
Jiburi '04
Jiburi '04
Me too!
Aug 9, 2004 | 9:11 am
#4
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5000 miles bouns
Originally Posted by mmaddog
Me too!
. For those who was affect and did not get this letter, pls get on the phone 
.
Aug 9, 2004 | 9:32 am
#5
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How badly were u affected?
Aug 9, 2004 | 9:39 am
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Originally Posted by doglover
How badly were u affected?
Aug 9, 2004 | 4:02 pm
#7
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Originally Posted by mmaddog
I got a letter from NW last week, apologising for the power outage.... blah.... blah.... blah........and gave me 5000 miles ^ . For those who was affect and did not get this letter, pls get on the phone .
. For those who was affect and did not get this letter, pls get on the phone .aloha
Aug 9, 2004 | 7:33 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,688
AA had a similar computer outage a week or so ago--after NW's. Hopefully NW will learn from whatever caused AA's outage, too.
Aug 9, 2004 | 10:18 pm
#9
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I got 2500 miles; I was delayed about 3 hours on a non-stop, with no connection that I had to worry about missing.