OK, despite the thread title, this is not meant as a generalized bash of NW. I basically like NW for their reliability and decent people. But I am getting awfully tired of the broken equipment (broken audio, reading lights, etc.) that seems to happen on every flight I take out of NRT. Some of you may remember my thread a while back about how I experienced equipment problems on 6 of my last 7 NW flights:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum35/HTML/003769.html

Well, I have made two more trips since then, with the following problems:

NRT-MSP (WBC): seat back broken (will not stay upright if I lean back into it; always slides into the fully reclined position)

MSP-NRT (WBC): audio broken

NRT-SIN (coach): reading light switch at my seat turns on the reading light of the seat in FRONT of me. Reading lights in the next section of the plane flash on-and-off endlessly whenever pax try to turn them off

SIN-NRT (coach): reading lights AND audio in my section of the plane don't work, affecting about 50 people.

So that means that 10 out of my last 11 Asia flights on NW have had equipment problems.

Generally, I like NW, but this is totally unacceptable. They are not even providing the most basic amenities (lights, working seat backs, audio) on their long-haul transoceanic flights. This makes their economy class particularly appalling -- unquestionably the worst economy class product in Asia-Pacific. The other major Asia-Pac airlines (JL, NH, CX, SQ, UA (777s), AA, CO) have in-seat videos in coach (which actually work most of the time), for God's sake, but NW doesn't even have a working old-fashioned audio system most of the time!!

It seems clear to me that NW has made a strategic decision to serve the lowest end of the market (budget-minded travelers who don't care about amenities) and offer the most bare-bones, low-frills service in the trans-Pacific market. And they do not budget enough to ensure that the few amenities they do offer actually work on a regular basis.

I have always appreciated NW's schedule reliability and the generous Worldperks program, but sitting for hours on these flights with no entertainment and no lights is realling getting to me. Does anyone know if JAL will match my elite status on NW??

(And for those of you who criticize me for not writing to NW with these complaints, I am actually going to do so this time! I will let you know how (if) NW responds! I just wanted to vent here first.)

[edited for UBB code and grammar]



[This message has been edited by KGruendel (edited 01-25-2003).]

Fly CO metal. IAH-NRT and EWR-NRT are codeshares with NW. I've done this for the last 3 of my trans-Pacific trips.

I'll be back on NW metal for trans-Pacific/trans-Atlantic flights once they finish installing the new seats.

- Pat

The new seats you're speaking of are in W.B.C., of course. I can't ever imagine seats getting any better in coach (why can't the swift-to-follow-each-other airlines copy AA's M.R.T.C. philosophy?)

Oops, I digress.

If a problem at my seat isn't obvious to the flight crews (i.e. obvious being an entire section of the DC-10 having no audio), I try to let the Purser know during the flight so s/he can have it put into the aircraft's log book. It may not get fixed for your flight, or the next flight or the flight afterwards, but the chances of it getting fixed are much better than if somebody doesn't complain.

Yes, I know about "Contact Us" on nwa.com, but anything I send there gets filtered through a bureaucracy. NWA should have a web page to report fixable problems like this. Anything sent to that web page goes straight to maintenance to look at.



[This message has been edited by DJMeatBall (edited 01-25-2003).]

Why not flying UAL? they still fly the pacific, don't they??? Well, do it while theirs still last, until who knows when!! And when you come back to us, stop *****ing!

hey, stop trolling.

I think it is very reasonable to expect that whatever amenities are being offered (whether W.B.C. or proletariat class) are in working order.

FWIW - MSP-NRT yesterday in WBC up front and all was great! Other than the token FA with attitude who came up from the rear during the other attendendts break, service was great. The attitude of the FAs (except one) was outstanding, food was great (did the Japanese dinner which they are improving), seat worked as did the audio (although I have noticed on -400s it does not always). WBC was full however coach was about 60-70% full. Lot's of room to spread out which people were doing.

NRT-SIN was upstairs on the -200 and once again ontime, equipment worked, service and food was great.

Now, I set an expectaction for NW which is not as a world class business class or first class carrier with not the newest equipment. I take NW for what they are vs. what they are not.

NW - Keep up the improvements in the attittudes on board as that can really make a differance!

CO (coach) is the 'poor man's business class' and beats the hell out of NW WBC any day of the week, especially for food, and entertainment.

Food doesnt have to be palatable but entertainment does.

The flgihts are too long to have annnoying films like Scoooby Doo and Stuart Little 2, reruns for November and December.

If KG's experiences are even half of what is stated, these are legitimate issues...the attitude you convey is IMHO careless and disrespectful. Take some time off.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by atgwcn22:
CO (coach) is the 'poor man's business class' and beats the hell out of NW WBC any day of the week, especially for food, and entertainment.

Am I reading this correctly? You are stating that CO coach is superior to NW business class? I wouldn't go that far. WBC's 60 inches of pitch and three-course meals beat CO coach's 31 inches of pitch and standard Y meal anyday. Now, if you are comparing CO BusinessFirst to WBC, that's a whole different story.

Someone else here suggested I fly CO metal. I've done that a few times and really enjoy CO's 777s and entertainment systems. (And BF was great the two times I experienced it.) But CO's flights to the US are very limited, and NW usually offers a much better schedule and better connections for the places that I travel to.

Here is the text of the email I just sent to NW:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have generally been very happy with Northwest Airlines during the 6 years (and approximately 220,000 flight miles) that I have been flying Northwest. However, I would like to bring your attention to what I believe is a serious problem--the unacceptably poor condition of your aircraft interiors and equipment. On 10 of my last 11 flights to and from Narita, I have experienced broken equipment (reading light, audio connection, or seat back) at my seat. On my most recent trip to Singapore (flight 19 from Narita on January 21st), the reading lights in my entire section of the plane were malfunctioning. The switch at my seat turned on the light of the seat in FRONT of me, while the reading lights of several other passengers in the section would periodically flash uncontrollably. On my return flight (#20 on January 25th), the reading lights and audio in my section of the plane (rows 35 through 45, seats A through E) were not functioning, leaving 50 or so passengers with no entertainment and no lights to read by.

This has become a regular occurrence when flying Northwest. As I mentioned above, I have had similar problems on 10 of my last 11 flights, and four of those flights were in World Business Class. (I attach a list of these flights and the problems with each flight at the bottom of this message.)

There is something seriously wrong when 90% of your flights (at least the flights I take) do not even offer the most basic amenities such as reading lights and audio that work. Your flights from Narita are very long, and I am becoming increasingly tired of sitting for 10 or more hours with either no entertainment, no reading light, or a broken seat back. This is unacceptable, particularly when all of your major competitors in Asia-Pacific offer significantly better equipment (such as personal video screens at each seat in coach on the majority of their fleet). I urge you to seriously re-examine the way that you maintain your aircraft interiors and make sure that you budget enough to prevent such widespread malfunctions of equipment.

As I said, I generally have been happy with Northwest. But my level of disappointment grows each time I board a trans-Pacific flight with broken equipment.

I hope you will take actions to remedy this problem.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Best regards,
XXXXXXXXXXX

LIST OF PAST FLIGHTS AND EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS:

MSP-NRT (#19) XXX XX, 2002 (World Business Class, upper deck):
Faulty audio connection (loud static)

NRT-MSP (#20) XXX XX, 2002 (World Business Class, upper deck):
Broken seat back (does not stay partially reclined; always slides back to the fully reclined position)

HNL-NRT (#21) XXX XX, 2002 (Economy Class)
Broken seat back (always slides into the reclined position)

NRT-HNL (#22) XXX XX, 2002 (Economy Class)
Broken reading light

SFO-NRT (#27) XXX XX, 2002 (World Business Class)
Broken seat back (does not stay partially reclined; slides into the fully reclined position)

NRT-SFO (#28) XXX XX, 2002 (World Business Class)
Everything working (the one flight out of eleven without any problems)

MSP-NRT (#19) XXX XX, 2001 (Economy Class)
Broken audio (unable to watch movie as a result)

NRT-MSP (#20) XXX XX, 2001 (Economy Class)
Broken audio (unable to watch movie as a result)

MSP-NRT (#19) XXX XX, 2001 (Economy Class)
Broken audio (unable to watch movie as a result)

I wonder if you'll get the standard WorldPerks bonus mile contribution from customer service as compensation for your experiences?

Wow please post your future itineraries in the appropriate forum. You seem to have statistics go against you in a bad way and I want to avoid being on the same flights.

Took four transpacific and six transatlantic flights last year and on only one flight was an equipment problem. Video did not work in WBC - KL #606. So I guess my stats are 10% - glad I am on the lower side of the stats although I do remember a flight a few years back (CDG_DTW) where nothing seemed to work (even catering did not provide enough meals.)
I wrote an email to NW and I got satisfaction or at least NW now puts me only on planes where the equipment is working. Never even considered posting at The world's most popular frequent flyer community since reportedly employees monitor these boards most likely, they are not the ones who can fix the problems. Good luck in getting your problem rectified. You at least have finally taken a positive step towards doing that.

Based on your comment about the "new seats," it sounds like you're talking about business class. How does CO's new BF seat compare to WBC? (I've only experienced CO's old seat.) I find NW's WBC seats very comfortable (when they aren't broken). The new CO seat looks extremely uncomfortable, the way it is "flat" on an incline. It seems like anyone lying in the full "flat" position would feel like they are going to slide off. Is it not as bad as I'm imagining?

KGruendel, were you offered anything (miles, amenity coupons) in flight for any of these events?

I'm not implying that an inflight offer of some level of compensation excuses the equipment deficiencies, just curious.

Kgruendel,

Can you email the dates of the flights to me please? I tried to send you an email but it bounced.

Thanks,
Sankaps.