mudala

Booked Gold Elite wifey on NW PerkPass itin RST-DTW-MDT-DTW-RST. Everything ok until she gets to the MDT-DTW-RST legs. She learned of NW3735 two hours estimated delay . Stated reason: Inbound aircraft NW3829 delayed because of crew issues. She anticipated misconnect in DTW for NW3761 if she waited for NW3735 to take her to DTW. Problem: She had a next morning medical appointment in RST, as do many people. No obvious way to get from DTW to RST in time for appt. MDT NW/Pinnacle service people very kindly booked her on UA7440/AA3987. Wifey very happy. Planned arrival in RST yet that evening-at 20:40 instead of previously anticipated arrival of 20:03.

UA7440 late in arriving at ORD Terminal 1. No jetway. Long wait for offloading of gate-checked carry-ons. Arrived at AA desk in Terminal 3 about 15 minutes after AA3987 departed for RST. She thought she might be able to make an ORD-MSP-RST flight yet that night. Delta desk there; looked convenient. She went to inquire carrying all her necessary documentation. She was told she needed to go to NW desk in Terminal 2 for service: "WE ARE NOT THAT MERGED YET".

She followed those instructions. By the time she got to NW in Terminal 2 they were closing up for the night, BUT they very kindly stayed to book her on AA4387 the next morning. [In the meantime I got her a room at Marriott O'Hare] Because of the NW commitment to service, she arrived in RST in time for her appointment.

Have other NW passengers experienced examples at Delta of "We're not that merged yet"?

socrates

do a search....tons of threads....it gets worse when everything says DL...at least in ORD there is still a seperate NW / DL station

Lyaec350

Yep, also hear the other way around from the "helpful" RST XJ agents. "Sorry we can't help you get a better seat than 35F on a DL MD88, we can't see any DL seating charts" and "Sorry we can't see DL elite upgrade lists, or even whether or not you are on them".

Otherwise its interesting how many people on flyertalk are from the RST area.

azj

It's true... There are some aspects of the merger that haven't been merged yet. The biggest one being the computer systems. Therefore if you are at a city that hasn't merged gates (ord) or a city that hasn't ever seen DL service before (rst) you still have to treat the two airlines as separate.

The ORD agents for DL do not have access to the NWA computers and vice versa. Also, the RST agents don't have access to the DL computers. It's not that they are being unhelpful, it's just that they CANT!

The computers will be merged in early 2010... Then a huge amount of the confusion caN be eliminated. The merger has to be done in steps, it would be impossible for a project of this magnatude to be completed overnight.

formeraa

But the KEY point is: Until the behind-the-scenes systems issues and training issues were solved, why didn't they just operate DL and NW separately? They could have cross-trained agents in the new system slowly over time and combined operations in an orderly manner -- not the messy (somehow-you're-supposed-to-know-that-NW-is-on-the-right-and-DL-is-on-the-left-at-the-DELTA-counter) that management has implemented.

azj

I agree, it seems like the brand changeover is happening really fast... but it had to start at some point. Perhaps they should just be more clear and make it more obvious where you need to check-in at an already rebranded station. I also think they could have provided better training for the agents that are already working both systems.

I can tell you I help a DL agent with PARS EVERYTIME I fly into a DL operated station, so that we can get our flight out ontime. They're getting better, but in the beginning it was chaos. But, a learning curve is to be expected.

Lyaec350

Obviously this is not the XJ agents fault directly, its just annoying that right now we have all the negatives of DL (25% silver bonus, no free standby for silvers, broken website, broken upgrades on NW coded DL operated flights, increased # of elites, higher M,B,Y fares) but none of the advantages, at least not in cities with no premerger DL presence.

azj

I understand... from the employee perspective we are on the short end of the stick too! Not in all areas, but it sure seems like the merger is going "Deltas way" as opposed to a merger of equals and taking the best from both airlines and making them "one great airline."

DavidDTW

Only until November. I asked a GA when they transition last time I flew thru ORD.

RustyC

If memory serves, last time I was at BHM they had taken the NW signage down at check-in and replaced it with DL, but had a sign saying that desk handled only MEM/DTW flights.

In a related thing, an FA on one of the international intra-Asia NRT flights said something like "Welcome to Northwest, the best part of Delta!" in his PA annoucement. I was half-asleep byt could swear I heard that.

Have also gotten confusion when ordering a "Delta drink" like Woodford Reserve on flights worked by NW FAs. You explain what it is and they shuffle through the cart, usually finding it.

slippahs

I've heard that twice at gates in MSP when the boarding announcements were made.

ResSalesGuy

Absolutely...and unfortunately when it comes to computer systems.....Deltas way was a definitely not the better computer system...It was just cheaper to keep everyone on it....Behind the scenes its a joke...It takes 5 desks at DL to do what 1 desk at NW is capable of....Its like stepping back in time 5 years technologically speaking

AsiaTraveler

When I flew NW two weeks ago, there was a delay at our departure airport. For some reason I could only remember the DL CS number, but everything at the airport (departure signage, etc.) was all labeled as this being a "DELTA" flight. So I call the DL CS automated system, and of course I'm told "there's no such flight..."

TokyoKid

Yes! Most definitely!! Flying out of Logan on 8/18/09 on our way back to NGO, after checking in at a kiosk, we approached the Delta counter to check-in in Terminal A. The agent there told us we should proceed to the other Delta counter located near the other end of the terminal (within sight) for Northwest flights. Since we had already checked in using the kiosk, she very kindly completed our check-in process. Personally, I can't wait for the merge to be complete and the two airlines to become one smooth, trouble-free, and highly efficient airline (place sarcasm here)!!

drsan

I have to ask...why can't the agents access each others' systems?

Is this a DL management decision, or (just) a lack of training? The way you worded your post, azj, it sounds like the former...actual ACCESS to the systems, i.e. red people aren't given blue logins, and vice versa.