Is this a first class cabin?
 

I was flying on NW after several years of flying mainly on UA. I was somewhat shocked by the state of the first class cabin, which looked dirty and shabby. And the seats were quite uncomfortable and run down (ironically this was for a paid ticket, compared to United where I had been upgrading).

Furthermore, they denied me a comp to gold status, so I do not have much of an incentive to fly with them.

What do you expect from an airline that is still buying MD-80's ?? (used at that!)

NW doesn't have the best F/C in the industry but they are improving in the service it offers with better meals, friendly attendants, and their hub airports are looking way better by the day. I have been on them for only a year but it is much different than when I started.

Where does NW fly MD-80's? I know they don't fly from MEM.

OOPS! Sorry dc9's... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

"Furthermore, they denied me a comp to gold status, so I do not have much of an incentive to fly with them."

Hi PG, and sorry! I wish I could say that I was surprised! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

They denied me Gold staus too - even though I'd earned it! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I have just had it with NWA! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Apparently, the only incentive they feel you need is you're trying to fly out of DTW! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

With hopes, however faint, that things will improve! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Well doc, you may not be a NW Gold Elite, but look at the bright side, you are a member of Catman's "Stray Cat Family" and now in the "Black Tag Mafia" Life is good. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Yes, indeed, it's these important things in life that should and do matter to me! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Don't feel too bad about being denied gold status. My brother flew 100K miles/year with NW for two years and they never did a ****ed thing for him. He switched to UA and got operational upgrades on 50% of his segments.

QuietLion,

Sometimes I wonder if maybe NW is two separate companies - Domestic and International. I just returned from a trip to BKK from SFO. My boss and I were booked in WBC for SFO-NRT, NRT-BKK, BKK-NRT and NRT-SFO. At the NW lounge in SFO, I inquired if there was the possibility of upgrading us to F/C. The agent checked and said that there was nothing available outbound to BKK, but would try to upgrade the return segments. I had WBC to F/C upgrade coupons. She looked at a coupon and told me she should know before I left the lounge. My boss and I went to exchange some currency and when we returned to the lounge, the worker was gone. I asked another agent to check and see if the first person had been successful. She checked and confirmed that we both were confirmed in F/C, seats 86A/B from NRT to SFO. I still had my coupons. We had a good flight to NRT. When we went to board the 747-400 to BKK, the boarding pass machine spit out our passes and they were replaced with two F/C passes. These were seats 4 E/F - probably the best seats in F/C. In Bangkok four days later I confirmed that we were indeed booked in F/C from NRT to SFO. We had a co-worker join us on our business trip. He flew United from LAX to BKK via NRT. Apparently there was a problem with the LAX to NRT segment. He arrived late and missed the connection on United. He ended up on our flight NW001. His outbound from BKK was on NW as he could not find space on his original booking. Since I still had my coupon in my posession I quickly enrolled him in Worldperks and call the Platinum line. I was able to change his business class seat for a F/C seat with no problem. The very helpful phone agent also confirmed that my boss and I were also confirmed in F/C all the way from BKK to SFO. The three of us ended up seated together all the way back to SFO. When we checked in at the counter at BKK, he gave them the single coupon. So out of 10 total segments we were upgraded to F/C on 8 of them. Apparently, all for the cost of 1 coupon. (I had four of them) By the way, this was the first time for my boss to fly NW. Needless to say, he was quite impressed with the entire trip. He told me to book our upcomming flights with NW. I am sorry this was rambling on and on. I did not intend this post to be so long. It just makes me wonder why there is such a vast difference between the domestic and international service.

Again, I apologize for the lenghty post.
-RKG


[This message has been edited by RKG (edited 07-29-2000).]

I think I have found a little difference between Int and Domestic. But overall NW agents have been very accomodating to me at SILVER, GOLD, and Platinum levels. Certainly better treatment then Delta gave me with a 1st class Award ticket.

As for being comped Gold, I wonder what people expect. I have 900,000 miles with NW and I have to settle accept flying 25,000 miles to get Silver. I appreciate Nw limiting non Nw flyers from filling the 1st class seats and giving me a chance at them.

A few thoughts ...

NW's First Class cabin/services are not much different from WBC, in my view. I only flew twice or three times on F/C but they even had the same menu. The seat, however, reclines more than WBC and spacious.

This is a major difference from UA.

This is off the topic but I also think UA treats its top-tier members far better than NW. Waitlist priority is not that significantly different from Gold, etc.

I am not flying as much as I did last year after switcing to UA.

RKG--- unfortunately my brother flew his NW miles on exactly the same route you did... always in coach. He never received any upgrade certs, chose not to use miles to upgrade, got poor treatment from stewardesses on flight 7 as a matter of course, and was given the runaround several times by the US phone reservation agents.

I don't understand how someone, doc, could be "denied gold" if they "earned it"... i.e. actually flew the required 50,000+ miles. Nor do I understand how someone, Quiet Lion, could fly 100,000 miles a year for two years and "get nothing"... i.e. no platinum status, no domestic upgrades... "nothing", in spite of achieving the more-than-required mileage twice ??

From time to time these cases, or ones similar, are alluded to, without further clarification. Both of these posters have been reliable, helpful contributors on Flyer Talk, and I have valued their opinions. That's why I am disturbed by their reports here, even though what they report is so different from my own experience on NWA.

Last night I flew FC on NW on a 757.

I think I had Fred Flintstone's seat.

He got domestic upgrades and status, but he never flew domestically so they were worthless to him. All he wanted was to be acknowledged as a good customer, treated with care by the cabin crew, and get bumped to business class once in awhile. He got none of that.

It was the NRT-SEA leg in particular that had the worst service on a consistent basis, as I remember.