Stripe

Interesting. I was on 803 yesterday from MSP to LAX. It definitely was not canceled.

lovetotravel06

#803 IND-MSP was canceled. MSP-LAX and LAX-HNL were not. I only need IND-MSP thus my comment.

bk42

It looks like that NW was ready for the shortage of hours this time around, and did preventative measures. But the union is very much vindicated that it was right, the business was being run way too lean. It takes time to train/retrain pilots, and we can see that effect now with these July cancellations; there simply are not enough pilots to fly the schedule. But NW is, again, doing what it can to mitigate the effects, and it is a hard-learned lesson for management.

In related news, the StarTrib is reporting that NW is trimming its August schedule by an additional 1 percent.

florin

So, it's free for elites?

pogopossum

I had no problems with either flight on CO, arrived early in PHL.

Service on the MSP-CLE segment was excellent, complete with muffin and juice. I passed on the beverage on the CLE-PHL, but the FA was really cute!

That was a great test flight with CO, courtesy of NW.

muscotch

Interesting nobody is saying if they are getting any kind of compensation for their flight(s) being canceled. On 22 July I was scheduled VPS-MEM -> MEM-STL and my MEM-STL was canceled and I was rerouted MEM-MSP-STL. Then the plane that showed up to take us to MEM from VPS was smaller by 25 seats, then was delayed looking for volunteers and a mechanical issue. My new routing gave me only 30 minutes in MEM and now we were being delayed at least 30 minutes. Made it a no-brainer to volunteer for the first flight the next morning for a $300 (plus $100 for not needing a hotel/food) and choose to stay the night at home instead of what would have awaited me in MEM. Are they just saying sorry when they are canceling flights and not comp'ing anything to the passengers? My situtation was a combination of several things, so I'm not sure what to expect if I'm canceled tomorrow (STL-MEM-VPS).

**just starting looking at my flights success from today...the MEM-VPS was delayed 239 mins for maintenance; wonder that the passengers were offered, just food vouchers?

werldporks

I can see a lot of angry people expressing themselves in this thread. It appears, too, that they've good reason to be What does this thread have to do with Northwest WorldPerks though? I vote for a disgruntled would-be passenger forum.

imokruok

I had a flight out of ELM to DTW around noon. The weather is fine here...not sure what's going on, but it was cancelled. Seems like something may be going on, since I'm on the phone waiting for NWA right now, and I've never had to wait this long.

hnewman

I fly 7/31 SFO-MSP leaving at 17:20 PDT arriving at ~23:00 . Any bets?

yogimax

Despite your bet of 100% on cancelation, I'd give it 95% for arrival within 1/2 hour of schedule.

oliver2002

update:

7/24: 43
7/25: 44
7/26: 48
7/27: 68 (as of 4.29pEST!)
7/28: 13 in advance

Not as bad as in june, but worrisome none the less...

ewj

flight 604 msp-yyz just cancelled because no flight crew. 35 minutes before take off.


Why could not they have made the call 2 hours before.

bigguyinpasadena

Because they have no respect for their customers.
Sue the bas***ds !

NWAFA

Northwest Flying Low
By Ted Reed
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
7/27/2007 11:37 AM EDT
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysi.../10370461.html

A rash of cancellations last month by Northwest Airlines (NWA) apparently boosted results at United (UAUA) , and a planned August schedule reduction could also benefit the Minnesota-based carrier’s competitors.

Northwest said recently that it will reduce flying next month by about 4%, broadening a previously announced cutback. By doing so, the airline is hoping to avoid a repeat of the June cancellations, when it called off about 1,000 flights in the last 10 days of the month because of crew shortages.

United seems to have been a clear beneficiary. An “exceptional June performance ... was further enhanced by an unexpected but very welcome volume of close-in bookings, leading us to exceed the recent revenue guidance that we had issued,” United CEO Glenn Tilton said earlier this week during a conference call.

CFO Jake Brace later declined to quantify the impact but said he “would call it ‘not material.’”

Still, Morningstar airline analyst Brian Nelson said “there is no doubt” that Northwest’s cancellations helped United, “although obviously you can’t attribute United’s solid performance solely to that.” Nelson said United’s results underscore the impact that labor difficulties may have on Northwest, which will report earnings Tuesday.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are calling for a profit of 79 cents a share for the June quarter.

The recent cancellations reflect a continuing dispute with pilots, who contend that cutbacks made during Northwest’s 20 months in bankruptcy have led to short-staffing.

Under a contract negotiated during Chapter 11, pilots’ maximum flight time increased to 90 hours a month, up from 80. The new standard reduced the likelihood that pilots will volunteer to fly extra hours during the busy summer travel season.

In a letter to employees, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland said the carrier reined in the August schedule by 4%, rather than 3%, in order “to create additional reserves and reduce the maximum number of hours that our narrowbody pilots will be asked to fly during August.”

The maximum hours for those pilots in August will be 86, down from 88 or 90 hours a month ago, he said.

To further reduce flight hours, Northwest will take steps such as altering flight schedules to minimize delays in East Coast cities that suffer from air traffic congestion. The carrier also recalled all eligible pilots from furlough and said it will begin hiring new pilots.

The moves came after Northwest cancelled 109 mainline flights, including 36 for maintenance, during the July 21 weekend.

With many airplanes flying full during a busy summer, schedule cuts could push passengers to other carriers, although they would not be likely to require the type of last-minute changes that boosted United’s yields in June.

Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, said that “reducing the schedule is a Band-Aid approach” and that the carrier should seek remedies in cooperation with its pilots.

He called for improved scheduling to minimize idle time during pilot trips, increased staffing and the restoration of additional pay for flight instructors and overtime pay for pilots who exceed 80 hours monthly.

“They are unwilling to spend additional money to fix pilot fatigue and morale problems on a permanent basis,” Blaufuss says. “Instead they are reducing schedules and forgoing increased revenue.”

SchmutzigMSP

I'm not sure what more the pilots want from NW. NW has reduced the schedule to accommodate unusually high pilot absenteeism, weather, mechanical, and ATC delays. They've retooled their pilot schedules to minimize how pilots fly into/out of the East Coast and to minimize general layovers. NW has also recalled all of their pilots on furlough and began accepting applications for off-the-street pilots earlier this week, something I don't think they've done since after 9/11. What more do the pilots want NW to do?