Well NW must be getting Deltified. I have a reservation that I made just after Christmas. It has just been changed for the FIFTH time (by NW, NOT me). Departure is 6/27, return 7/1.

The return is now listed as VPS-MEM-MSP-GFK. VPS-MEM and MEM-MSP are both listed as NW 3586.

Questions: 1) Does this mean that both legs must have availability in order to get upgraded from VPS to MSP? There is 45 minutes in MEM. If I am not upgraded on the VPS-MEM leg, can I deplane and get on the upgrade list for MEM-MSP? Or will NW do this automatically, with the GA magically appearing on the plane and moving me forward?

2) Will this only count as 1 Elite segment, or 2?

This has really been a mess since my wife is on an award ticket with the same? itinerary. They just change her itinerary without any options. I always get a chance to approve the change on my paid ticket.

3) Can you ask NW to link an award reservation and a regular reservation so they know we are traveling companions?

In my not-so-recent experience, not only will R class have to open up on both legs for the upgrade, but you will also get shorted out of 102 EQM (since VPS-MEM is 500 and MEM-MSP is 700, but VPS-MSP is 1198).

I expected the EQM loss. How about the segment count for VPS(MEM)MSP?

1 segment means I have 29 YTD.
2 segments means I have 30 YTD (qualify for 2010 Silver).

I believe it counts as just one segment, VPS-MSP.

Can you ask NW to link an award reservation and a regular reservation so they know we are traveling companions?

You can but it is only a comment that is added. If they don't read it when making any kind of changes........

Good news from my experience: I had the same thing happen to me in February - - a TPA - MEM - MSP connection was changed from two separate flights to the same TPA-MSP flight number - - and in fact it was the same plane arriving and leaving from the same gate in MEM.

I made sure to get off the plane in MEM (got BBQ of course) and re-scan the boarding pass for the MEM-MSP portion, and got separate mileages credits for each leg, with credit for two segments. ^

Getting separate mileage credits had nothing to do with you de-planing and rescanning your BP when reboarding. Had to have been related to the way your PNR itinerary was booked...possibly a flight connecting to itself.

>>>>>Getting separate mileage credits had nothing to do with you de-planing and rescanning your BP when reboarding. Had to have been related to the way your PNR itinerary was booked...possibly a flight connecting to itself.

Since it was a two-segment connection to start, and continued to be displayed that way after the flight numbers becane the same, the system clearly never merged the segments (I got two different seats when EUA came through, and had to look up each seat map separately).

If I hadn't rescanned my boarding pass in MEM, the question is: would I have been a no-show for MEM-MSP?

I'm wondering also. I was originally on two DC9 flights, now merged into a single CR9 flight with a stop in Memphis. But, NWA.com is still letting me pick seats for the VPS-MEM and MEM-MSP legs. Has the system really combined those 2 segments into one?

>>>>But, NWA.com is still letting me pick seats for the VPS-MEM and MEM-MSP legs. Has the system really combined those 2 segments into one?

My guess is that an agent would have to manually cancel the original two-segment booking and then re-book it as a single segment. But you are probably better off just keeping it the way it is, on the good chance you will get full EQM and segment credit. Just be sure to get off in MEM and re-board, so that your boarding pass is scanned there.