Serving from the Rear
 

On DCA-MSP yesterday, the F/A served from the rear. I was at 1A and felt lucky to get my choice.

I've been on lotsa NW flights and don't recall ever seeing this before. Others? Do they have discretion?

That does stink since the elite seating is in the front. So much for taking care of your best customers first.

I don't think that's a problem with first class. All the customers are there because they are NW's best customers. Either elite or paid.

flyerCO

If I notice more Platinums sitting in the last 2 rows, I will start from the back. Row 4 seems to be popular for Platinum members.

I'm guessing there's no official NWA policy for who gets served meals first? I absolutely love it when they take orders by elite status. Makes me feel a bit "specialer".

aloha

The last memo I read said it was "suggested" we do it that way. If Platinums are scattered around I find that it is difficult and awkward to do. I have had more than a couple of people angry that we skipped around even though it was by status. I guess everyone likes to think they are special!

Truthfully though, it is pretty easy to quickly assess FC before you start and work your service so that everyone gets a choice.

Is that why I am always assigned row 4?

If you'd been on DL or AA, I'd have had a strong suspicion your flight ended in an odd number, based on the FEBO theory; that is, the service starts in Front on Even (numbered flights) and in Back on Odd. It's an acronym Lex and I invented and posted on FT some years ago when we were DL flyers, after an FA told us that that's how they were supposed to do it. We later heard that on AA the FAs actually tend to stick to that rule. On DL it was hit or miss then, and in recent years we hardly ever saw it.

On NW we've almost always just seen service from the front to the back. But interestingly, on a recent flight we had a FA come quietly to us in row 3 and ask our meal choices before anyone else. I guessed it was because she'd seen she had 2 PEs.

What I now realize is that, because we prefer bulkhead seats, it's hard to guess if FAs might be giving PEs early choices or not.

On the only other recent flight where we weren't in the bulkhead, we were in row 4 - no choices left by the time the FA got to us. Horrors! ;)

Seated in First, Treated as First...
 

I tend to work first class the majority of the time - and during a meal service I generally work the meal cart from row four backward to row one... That is, after I have just completed the beverage and tidbit service starting in row one and moving backward -

The exception to this would be if I see on my list of FC pax that my non-revs are grouped in a certain area of FC - then I would start my meal service at the opposite end of the cabin, in order to ensure my revenue pax get their choice of meals and beverages first. I might even take pains to start my meal service where I see the highest grouping of Platinums, if there are enough seated in a certain area of FC.

I would never, however, take meal choice orders in terms of elite status.. I think that is just plainly rude. If you are seated in first class, no matter what the reason, you should be treated as such. If someone came to the person seated next to me and asked them for their meal preference and then ignored me and moved on to another row - I would be mortified.

Subtlety and professionalism being the side I will always err on.

I've never noticed meal service on NW not starting from the front in F. But then, most of my segments are short and don't have meals.

I agree that taking orders just by elite status, although it might be "fair", it just seems incongruous. Once you're up front, F is F is F.

I think it would be best for NW to pick a protocol and stick with it, and then seat their elites accordingly. Easier said then done I know.

While it has been rare to see 1st class cabin served from the rear forward, I have had an FA discretly ask me while seated in the last row of 1st what my preference for a meal would be when served. The FA did this before the meal service started and stated that there were many golds and others and as a PE & MM if I would like to have a choice ahead of time. :) The way the FA handled it was done very professionaly and neither the person next to myself, or across from myself knew that I had been offered a choice. ^ -H