Lurch

This is my first trip report which is just some impressions from a trip 11/8 to 11/18. DTW,as usual left something to be desired. Check-in was a 20 minute wait because of having only 2 agent in the FC/WBC check-in counter. When arriving at the World Club I noticed the agent had us in coach on the AMS-VIE leg. The Club agent tried but could not get the BC seats we reserved. There was a 2and 1/2 hr maintenance delay. Boarding was first shove first serve with little attempt to do in some order. After boarding a 45min delay to try to find out how much fuel on board. Then another 45 because of inability to back from gate due to congestion. Flight was okay in WBC, but in general NW's BC falls way shor in comparison to BF on CO. The food was generally non-descript and service perfunctory. The European BC lounge in AMS is much better than the international one. The two KLM (AMS-VIE and return) were fine in their 5 across seating. Two excellent meals on 1 and 1/2 hr flight. Served quickly and politely, they were tastier than the transatlantic meals. VIE has to have the cleanest airport. It was tough to find a scuff mark in the wax. Their maintenance supervisor should be hired by some US airports. At VIE airport we caught a bus to Budapest to stay with a friend. Back to VIE we stayed at the Renaissance Wien, using a 3 day certificate and paying a weekend rate for the other two nights. A great buy at $100 a night for a five star hotel. Not fancy, but very comfortable. Three of us in a room with two bed and a sofa bed. Never had to wait more than 10 seconds for an elevator. One of the best breakfast buffets with everything from smoked salmon to pastries to fruit to eggs etc. They included the buffet in the free nights for all 3 of us. The buffet normally cost about $18. Nice rooftop pool. Not inthe center of town, but the subway station was across the street and it was only 4stops to the center. The flight back was KLM all the way. Again it seemed a bit more pleasant than on NW. The biggest problem was a lost bag which took three days to get delivered to us in Budapest. We never got a satisfactory explanation for the delay. But the bread and pastries and Mozart in Vienna were worth it.

BlondeBomber

Good to have a report on the service (or lack thereof) on NW/KLM.

Thanks.

Rudi

thank you - and please continue to inform us about your (good and bad) NW experiences.