frequentfoulup

We all knew we would be experiencing more mechanical delays as negotiations continue and have now reached an impasse. Like many FTers I thought "I'll just deal with it". Well, I'm tired of dealing with it.

Any sympathies I had for the union went out the door yesterday. Completely bogus delays with GA's joking about the blatancy are not going to garner any support for the mechanics.

I had a direct flight SFO-MKE NWA 360. Somehow during the SFO-MSP flight the plane developed a tire problem as well as an audio amplifier problem. I didn't notice any problem with the audio on the first leg and the timing of the tire problem is suspect.

Turns out they dealt with changing the tire relatively quickly, but the part for the audio amplifier took over an hour to be delivered, and since it took so long the mechanic left the plane and had to be called back once the part showed up.

The GA was taking all the heat, and actually held up pretty well. Disclosing that "we really don't need the audio amplifier to take off" put me over the edge though. It's just blatant now and maybe I've flown too much the last few weeks, but I can no longer ride the fence and see both sides of the issue.

I'm not pro union by any means, but when you see all these folks faced with the prospect of losing their jobs, it's hard to not have some sympathies. But not any more. Sure their actions are hurting the airlines, but they also hurt the passengers.

All these little stunts have done for me is to take a two sided issue and make it one sided. I don't blame NWA for the delays, I blame the mechanics. They are making my life more difficult, it's hard for me to be supportive of their cause.

ski_the_world

Check out the post by mikey1003 (4th on the page) where they actually delayed a flight to get a mechanic to replace an ashtray!(here).

BA

hazelrah

Everyone is frustrated with the slowdown and you have to wonder against whom it is targeted. Why inconvenience the passengers? Why make a sick airline sicker? What is the point, just to express your unhappiness? This seems childish to me. Any sympathy I had vanished with a 5 hour delay I experienced recently.

kpalle

It's becoming a pain for everyone involved...the GA's can't be enjoying the added pressure & scrutiny!

SeaMeFly

This is exactly the point they try to get across to the management. Unhappy Employees=Poor Service.

This is not just in airline business, it is in every businesses..

flying_kittens

Here's what I encountered at MSP on 7/22:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=455432

hreamer

On a recent trip to Chicago, both outbound AND return flights were cancelled due to maintenance.

I had a really bad experience on NWA and won't fly them again anytime soon. NWA loses, both mech's AND exec's. I don't really care who's fault it is. All I know is I'm outta here.

Knoppix

No one is having fun regarding this issue. Sometimes it's problem that can be easily fixed in 10 minutes, but instead take closer to an hour. Even before the impending strikes, there were large mechanical problems on many flights. You gotta feel sorry for the GAs.

troyintn

I will start moving somewhere else. I have a NW flight in the monring two on CO and TWO on NW next week. After that I will start buying AA, Delta, CO based on schedules. I can not afford all of the delays. Also had a bear of a time getting credit for my canceled flight earlier this week.

Flyboy-2

Today I endured a very suspicious "mechanical" at SeaTac. When I arrived at 5:00 AM, the plane (NW 978) was sitting at the gate, obviously had been there all night as it was dark inside the plane and the fuselage was covered with dew. The flight board and my cell phone email from NWA confirmed that the flight was good to go. Went into the NWA club at 5:30 AM, and then came out at 6:00 AM to find the flight cancelled due to a "mechanical".... apparently a problem with an engine had been discovered. If the flight came into gate the night before in an O.K. condition and then suddenly was discovered to have developed a mechanical problem all by itself overnight, I can't help but wonder about the potential sabotage factor. That about frosts it for me…I’m all done with NWA until they solve their labor problems, as I cannot afford to be delayed in my business travel due to the apparent rash of "mechanicals" that are apparently on the upswing.

True that NWA was very good about re-routing me via AA (but only because I had purchased a 1st class ticket). Other elites’s in the club were told that they would be taking later NW flights and I know that they endured significant delays. I feel that NWA F/A's offer suburb service but I have to be selfish and go with another carrier for now to ensure reliability in my travel.

HeathrowGuy

When half of your fleet is 20+ years old, you will have frequent mechanicals...

JONEZY00

Well good luck getting unfrosted from NW.. lesse what choices are left UA and AS same type of labour problems (and delays), Delta's chariman all but stated that they probably will not survive bankruptcy. So that leaves CO or AA and don't forget the the ariline whcih prides its self on business perks WN!

Flyboy-2

The aircraft was a 757-200 with one of the new paint schemes so I really don't believe that it was 20 years old. The point is that "mechanicals" don't happen all by themselves overnight when the plane is sitting idle at the gate. If it had flown in the night before with a problem, then the flight would not have been posted as being "on-time". I can only surmise that "mechanical" developed because of someone possibly "helped" the problem develop.

MikeMpls

You're assuming that it flew "in the night before with a problem" and that the problem was known.

Ever drive a car home in the evening and had it not start in the morning?

Ever walk out to your car in the morning and suddenly notice where somebody dinged it the night before?

The next flight crew is responsible for walking around & inspecting the airplane.

channa

I think the OP was thinking more along the lines that the mechanical issue was fabricated in the morning. That's more like what's been happening these days.