DTW int'l fl crew to/from Japan
Aug 30, 2009, 4:40 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 93
DTW int'l fl crew to/from Japan
From August 18-20, MrsTokyoKid, ToddlerTokyoKid, and I returned to Japan from Boston on NW. Usually we fly to NGO via DTW. I've been flying this route long before I married MrsTokyoKid. This time, using frequent flyer miles, we were routed to NGO via MSP, SFO (with an overnight stay by the airport), and NRT.
To sum up the international NW/Delta flight out of SFO (Flight 27), all I can say is what a refreshing change when compared with the flight from DTW direct to NGO!!!
Aircraft aside (uncomfortable 747-400 vs comfortable A330-200 or 300), the flight crew restored my faith in NW service. The flight crew was actually very nice, courteous, professional, pleasant to talk with, didn't talk down to you, and didn't treat you as though you were some sort of annoyance and/or potential terrorist, compared with the grumpy, tired, unprofessional, easily agitated and annoyed flight crew out of Detroit!!! If we can, from now on we'll try to fly the SFO-NRT-NGO route each time we depart the U.S. even though we must endure 4 flights instead of 2...with a toddler! MrsTokyoKid and I agreed we'd being willing to do this just to avoid DTW-NGO's flight crew.
Granted we flew the SFO-NRT flight only once and perhaps just got lucky with the flight crew. Has anybody else notice differences in flight crew to/from Japan which you fly 2 or more times R/T each year, too? I'd be quite interested in learning more about your experiences.
To sum up the international NW/Delta flight out of SFO (Flight 27), all I can say is what a refreshing change when compared with the flight from DTW direct to NGO!!!
Aircraft aside (uncomfortable 747-400 vs comfortable A330-200 or 300), the flight crew restored my faith in NW service. The flight crew was actually very nice, courteous, professional, pleasant to talk with, didn't talk down to you, and didn't treat you as though you were some sort of annoyance and/or potential terrorist, compared with the grumpy, tired, unprofessional, easily agitated and annoyed flight crew out of Detroit!!! If we can, from now on we'll try to fly the SFO-NRT-NGO route each time we depart the U.S. even though we must endure 4 flights instead of 2...with a toddler! MrsTokyoKid and I agreed we'd being willing to do this just to avoid DTW-NGO's flight crew. Granted we flew the SFO-NRT flight only once and perhaps just got lucky with the flight crew. Has anybody else notice differences in flight crew to/from Japan which you fly 2 or more times R/T each year, too? I'd be quite interested in learning more about your experiences.
Aug 30, 2009, 8:27 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: St. Louis
Programs: NW/DL Plat, SPG Gold, Hertz Gold 5*
Posts: 99
TokyoKid,
I don't have that much directly comparative experience (timeframe concurrent) between the various NW Asian portals to NRT (e.g. DTW, MSP, SFO, etc). The vast bulk of my Asian travel departed via SFO, where I was living at the time. However, I have been routed through DTW and LAX on a few returns for various reasons.
What I can tell you is that by and large, my SFO based crews to and from NRT were excellent. Granted I was flying WBC, but I always had pleasant experiences.
ok maybe that didn't help that much. But one set of data points for you!
I don't have that much directly comparative experience (timeframe concurrent) between the various NW Asian portals to NRT (e.g. DTW, MSP, SFO, etc). The vast bulk of my Asian travel departed via SFO, where I was living at the time. However, I have been routed through DTW and LAX on a few returns for various reasons.
What I can tell you is that by and large, my SFO based crews to and from NRT were excellent. Granted I was flying WBC, but I always had pleasant experiences.
ok maybe that didn't help that much. But one set of data points for you!
Aug 30, 2009, 9:53 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 93
Actually, just now I recalled having flown WBC out of Seattle or San Francisco with MrsTokyoKid at least 5 years or so ago. I don't recall any negative experiences/interactions with the flight crew, so it must have been a positive experience. As I mentioned in my previous post I have almost always flown through DTW over the past 20+ years of flying to/from Japan averaging at least 2 flights per year.
Aug 31, 2009, 10:27 am
#4
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 439
TokyoKid, what was the actual date you flew flt 27 SFO/NRT?
Aug 31, 2009, 2:35 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Delta Skymiles Platinum
Posts: 650
I have flown to Asia many times on NW from JFK (until NW17/18 were discontinued), and since then through MSP and DTW a few times each. There are good FAs and bad FAs on every route. Fortunately I have encountered more good than bad. I never noticed a pattern, either good or bad, from any particular origin point.
Aug 31, 2009, 4:13 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 93
We flew out of SFO on August 19 on NW fl 27 and arrived in NGO via NRT around 7:45pm on August 20.
I didn't intend to imply that all flight crew out of DTW were grumpy, tired, unprofessional, easily agitated and annoyed. A small handful have been pleasant over the many years but overall the people I've encountered ranged from indifferent/let's get this flight done with already to what I mentioned above.
On the flight from SFO to NRT I had been sitting for a long, long time and really needed to stretch my legs (I'm about 6'2"). I didn't notice the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated. I had been standing at the rear of the aircraft for 5 minutes, or so, when one of the flight crew sitting in the last row of the aircraft with another flight crew told me to sit down. The way she worded her request was so kind, professional, and thoughtful that I returned immediately to my seat (even if she had been nasty I still would have returned to my seat). Once there I thought to myself that a flight attendant on an international flight to/from DTW has never requested I return to my seat in the same manner.
Again, perhaps we just got lucky with that particular flight crew. I'll be flying back to Boston next March. On either the U.S. bound or Japan bound flight, or both, I plan on flying to/from SFO in economy. If the flight crew is as nice and professional the second time around, perhaps there's something to my theory.
I didn't intend to imply that all flight crew out of DTW were grumpy, tired, unprofessional, easily agitated and annoyed. A small handful have been pleasant over the many years but overall the people I've encountered ranged from indifferent/let's get this flight done with already to what I mentioned above.
On the flight from SFO to NRT I had been sitting for a long, long time and really needed to stretch my legs (I'm about 6'2"). I didn't notice the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated. I had been standing at the rear of the aircraft for 5 minutes, or so, when one of the flight crew sitting in the last row of the aircraft with another flight crew told me to sit down. The way she worded her request was so kind, professional, and thoughtful that I returned immediately to my seat (even if she had been nasty I still would have returned to my seat). Once there I thought to myself that a flight attendant on an international flight to/from DTW has never requested I return to my seat in the same manner.
Again, perhaps we just got lucky with that particular flight crew. I'll be flying back to Boston next March. On either the U.S. bound or Japan bound flight, or both, I plan on flying to/from SFO in economy. If the flight crew is as nice and professional the second time around, perhaps there's something to my theory.