Northwest vs AA - differences & advice please
 

Hello to everyone in the Northwest forum.

I have been AA loyal for ~3 years now (and EXP) with 99% of my flights on AA, and primarily ERJs and some MD80s. I have flown Northwest 1-2 times about ~8 years ago and don't remember it at all.

It looks like I'll be flying Northwest for the next 18 months twice a week - almost always on the CRJ's and domestic.

With that said, any AA and NW experts out there that want to give me a run down on the major differences between the 2 airlines? I am mainly looking at any key differences on earning miles on flights, seating differences (it looks like you have to pay to sit in an exit row?), etc. rather than things such as on-board meals and upgrades (since I don't think there are upgrades on CRJ's?), etc.

Thanks in advance! Now, I'm going to search about status match... I know those threads are out there!

Haven't flown AA in years but a few notes:

Elites never ever have to pay for preferred seating
I've only sat in coach twice this year on NWA (out of 47 segments so far), most snacks in coach cost; meals in F are still free; snack basket in F is terrific
As a NW elite you also receive elite benefits on CO and free upgrades there as well (dont hold your breath...NW has the largest F seats as a % of total seats of any legacy carrier....CO has one of the smallest)

Well, welcome to the Red Tail. If, as you say, most of your segments end up being on CRJs, I feel for you. It's a flying torture device, unless you're 4'6".

Accumulate all the WP miles you can, but stick with your EXP status, if you can. AA is a cut above NW in many respects, so no reason to switch completely, especially if you *know* that it's for a set amount of time.

If your flight patterns change, and you find yourself flying mainline NW A/C, then you should revisit the issue.

I was a AA Plat and am a NW Plat, and I much prefer NWA! While NW does have some RJ's, some of the new ones coming out actually have first class sections, so still a decent upgrade.

I would try to get some sort of comp out of NWA. Elite benefits are better in my opinion on NWA (Free upgrades for silver and higher elites, 50% EQP for silver as opposed to 25% for AA). AA does have some cheaper off season rewards, but overall I put NWA ahead 75% of the time.

Biggest difference to me is the location of their hubs, I try to avoid ORD because you're more likely to incur delays caused by weather there, than almost anywhere else -- the last time I was on AA was during the NW pilots strike and I only use ORD if I'm going to Chicago.

Bob H

lounges
 

not sure if you'd be in/out of WorldClub cities, but another big difference is lounges (I'm a member of both):

NW offers promotions for first-time members, AA does not.
NW offers much more in terms of snacks in the WC (NW is currently rolling out some "regional" snacks unique to each club)
NW has free wifi in most clubs
WC's have a self-serve OPEN bar in most locations (some staffed) but all drinks are free.
DTW, MSP C, ORD & MEM have new, fairly stylish lounges on par with the AC's at JFK/LAX/LGA. Some NW lounges are throw backs to the 70's: LAX, BOS, MKE, etc.
In the WC's espresso/cappuccino machines are auto-dealer waiting room quality, but free.
Membership is a little cheaper for WC vs AC, NW also offers 3 year & lifetime memberships.
NW has great partner lounges: Alaska, Continental, Delta, KLM & Air France and soon Kingfisher & China Airlines. AA can't touch those numbers.
I'd put travel/ticketing/seating assistance on par at each.
DTW is the only NW domestic club that offers showers, AA has more locations.
NW has a mobile (cell phone/blackberry) app that let's you get club locations on the fly, AA has nothing like that.

In general I find the AC's to have a more upscale membership vs WC's more blue collar clientele, but the WC guests have far less attitude.

Hope that helps!

Thanks all for your comments so far. I'm still trying to find out all the details about NW and still trying to figure out the best airline for me - no connections on any airline have reasonable conections times, and direct instead of connections is preferred for me! I'll drop to AA Plat next year - no way to keep that up if I switch airlines.

I did not realize that NW has a relationship with CO. I had a few long flights last year on CO so I did a status match which they then extended through this year too (although I have 0 flights on them this year) therefore I am:

CO OnePass: Platinum and Skyteam: Elite Plus

I believe that is the highest status on CO. Does that help me in anyway in doing a status match? Or in the meantime does it provide any additional benefits?

Likewise, if NW matches my AA status, I will not obtain 100 segments in the next 6+ months, to retain it next year on NW- is it still a good stategy to try for the match??

Keep the advice coming! Thanks in advance.

I had someone comment to me this week after flying on NW for the first time in years how much friendlier the passengers were than other airlines. The only explanation I could offer was most of them were probably 'midwestern' and are friendly by default.

If you are already CO Plat, and you will easily earn enough enough EQMs/EQPs to maintain status, you might as well maintain that on the NW flights instead of burning another once-a-lifetime status match to get plat status on NW.

Fly NW and give up power ports on domestic flights; not available even in First. (For NW partisans, let's ignore the A330 to Hawaii.) No IFE on 48-state domestic flights.

You may get First Class more often due to a higher ratio of first to coach seating and unlimited 49-state upgrades for elites, but it's not AA's First Class. DC9s are simply loud - and smelly. NW is catching up to other airlines with regional jet purchases, good or bad.

You will find that there are cheaply constructed airplane seats and tightly pitched airplane seats and NW gives you both.

For most people, schedule convenience from non-stop flights should outweigh FF program loyalty although that's not a practice many FlyerTalkers will follow.:)

Your alternatives are:
Continue to fly AA
Fly NW, credit miles to Worldperks and try for a status match (based on your AA EXP, not CO platinum)
Fly NW, credit miles to CO OnePass for your NW flights.

Looking at the +/- of each:

Continue to fly AA:
+ You know them and (presumably) are staisfied with the service.
+ AA is thought to be easier to redeem awards with. Even as a no-status member with AA I've found it very easy to redeem mile for upgrades well in advance of flight time for even the cheapest fares.
- ORD and DFW.

Fly NW, credit miles to Worldperks and try for a status match
+ Excellent upgrade chances. I haven't sat in Y on NW since become silver three years ago. Platinum upgrades are guaranteed (or you get 1000 bonus miles).
+ Platinums can upgrade a companion for free.
+ Better club value. As a plat your price would be $250 per year, but your first year could be less with a promotion. You get reciprocal privileges at CO Presidents Clubs and DL Crown Rooms, so you're rarely in an airport without a club. Free wi-fi, free drinks, decent food.
+ Plats have no fees whatsoever for award tickets.
? NW and AA first class are probably on par from what one reads.
- If you're flying mostly CRJs on NW the elite status means almost nothing. There is not a decent seat on the whole plane and elite boarding just gives you the chance to spend even more time in a cramped position.

Fly NW, credit miles to CO OnePass for your NW flights
Same + and - with NW above. In addition...
+ Same club access. You would just belong to President's Club instead of Worldclub.
+ You're already Plat. No need to "use up" your status match opportunity with NW.
? On the CO forum they swear CO elites are placed after NW elites when allocating upgrades.
- You only earn 50% EQMs (and zero EQS) when flying NW on cheaper fares.
- No automatic companion upgrades.
- No access to the NW plat elite customer service line. NW's is great and if you're flying mainly on them you'll probably want that.

Overall, I'd sign up for Worldperks, take a few flights to check out the service, then request a status match from your AA EXP. You say you won't fly enough on NW to retain status past Feb 2008. However, I would make that point when you ask for the match and see if they will pro-rate the requirement.

Stripe - thanks for the great analysis and comparison.

As well, everyone else thank you for your advice.

One thing I have not yet done is the pricing via my company's travel group to see where how that factors in. I believe I will be going to NW, because it is <2 hrs on NW or 6+ hrs and connection on AA or any other airline for that matter.

I'll get back to everyone in a few weeks on my game plan!

My experience
 

I lived in MPLS for 5 years and was NW gold when I moved to Austin. Thinking that it would be better to fly AA out of Dallas than NW through MEM or MSP I took the challenge and ended up an AA platinum. In my experience (and everyone's is different) things just seemed to run smoother at NW (I know, I can barely believe I wrote that) and upgrading was much, much easier on NW. I ended up switching back to NW and occasionally fly CO if I can't get the right flight times. I know I haven't done as good of a job as others at laying out the differences, but I just thought I would chime in as someone who has been in your shoes.

NW & CO will not status match each others elites because you basically have status on each

Keep in mine, utilizing miles on NW International is next to impossible (even in domestic 2 months out I had to blow $550 to fly LAX => DTW so that I could use 30k miles to upgrade). AA has FAR more options -- one of the many reasons I switched and am still sitting on so many NW miles.

If you have to fly NW, consider AF Flying Blue as a FFP. At least you'll have access to their FC awards -- which are NOT available via USA carriers in SkyTeam.

Good Luck.