Actually, Tripler, I’d take the OP, minus the obscenities, and send it to:
Tim Rainey
Senior Vice President, System Operations Control (SOC)
Northwest Airlines
2700 Lone Oak Parkway
Eagan, MN 55121
With copies (prominently indicated, of course) to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Minot Daily News. Northwest would hate to have the press casting them as insensitive to servicemen at this time, especially when they are trying for one of those loan guarantees.
I did something similar once, and got some satisfaction, The key was finding the person in the company in charge of the area (flight ops, in your case) and letting that person know that the papers in their hometown were getting copies for the letters to the editor page. Sending it to the top management didn’t do much. The senior line managers will be scared to think that their bosses might be reading about the company in a negative light in the paper over breakfast.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Tripler *
I’m still torqued at the lackadaisical attitude of NorthWest. Would you ever accept an overpriced product, with average quality, late, incomplete, and with a major attitude?
[QUOTE]
Well… no.
But then, I don’t have to - I have a pilot’s license. I do my own flying.
The KLM is not that much better. They constantly overbook flights from South Africa to Holland. The last time I had to stay a day longer so I could take the next flight the following day.
Guess what ? They also overbooked this one. I was fortunate enough to have made such a big scene the day before that they noted that I HAD to have this flight. So they had to kick some other unlucky bastard from the plane to accomodate me.
After every flight I swear to myself : I am never flying again, ever. Unfortunately it is unavoidable if you want to see something of the world. So always make sure your handluggage has all stuff you will need and only put easily replacable items in your normal luggage.
[ul][li]She was simply telling you what the problem was. What makes most passengers maddest is when they feel information is being withheld from them.[/li][li]I don’t know for sure about big Northwest, but on the feeder airlines the flight attendants are responsible for counting the number of passengers and giving the information to the pilots. This includes how many children, how many adults, how many forward and how many aft.[/li][li]The luggage is weighed before loading and this information is also then given to the pilots, who then figure out the weight load after everyone is on the plane. A preliminary estimate of the load is made and can start the process earlier, but the above accounting is always done after the doors are closed.[/li][li]Overbooking will stop when passengers are willing to pay for the tickets they bought but didn’t use and when there are no delays causing passengers not to make connections. In other words, NEVER.[/li][li]The flight attendant(s) knew your group was on the plane (they get a list that would show that) and should have tried to be more helpful.[/li][*]Flight attendants are woefully underpaid. [sup]But not just by Northwest[/sup][/ul]
As a Yukoner held hostage by Air Canada for more years than I want to talk about, I was unaware there was any other way. I wondered where they found their business model…
A guy sitting was at an airport bar and noticed a beautiful woman sitting next to him. He thought to himself, Wow, she is so gorgeous, she must be a flight attendant. So he decides to scoot towards her and try to pick her up, but couldn’t think of a pick up line.
After thinking for a while, he turns towards her and says, “Love to fly and it shows?” She gives him a blank, confused stare and he immediately thinks to himself, Oh crap, she mustn’t fly for Delta.
So he thinks of something else and says, “Something special in the air?” She gives him the same confused look. He thinks, Damn! She must not fly for American.
So next he says, “I would really love to fly your friendly skies.” When suddenly the woman, irritated beyond belief with this guy, barks out, “Man, what the hell do you want?”
The man in a relieved voice says “Ahhh, Air Canada.”
[ul][li]She was simply telling you what the problem was. What makes most passengers maddest is when they feel information is being withheld from them.[/li][li]I don’t know for sure about big Northwest, but on the feeder airlines the flight attendants are responsible for counting the number of passengers and giving the information to the pilots. This includes how many children, how many adults, how many forward and how many aft.[/li][li]The luggage is weighed before loading and this information is also then given to the pilots, who then figure out the weight load after everyone is on the plane. A preliminary estimate of the load is made and can start the process earlier, but the above accounting is always done after the doors are closed.[/li][li]Overbooking will stop when passengers are willing to pay for the tickets they bought but didn’t use and when there are no delays causing passengers not to make connections. In other words, NEVER.[/li][li]The flight attendant(s) knew your group was on the plane (they get a list that would show that) and should have tried to be more helpful.[/li][li]Flight attendants are woefully underpaid. [sup]But not just by Northwest[/sup][/ul] **[/li][/QUOTE]
Hrm, fair enough . . .
Point 1: Duly noted. I actually appreciate this kind of candor. However, when she’s privy to this before the rest of us, it sorta makes me uncomfortable. Point 2: This should already be done at the ticketing counter. After all, don’t they assign you seats there? Shouldn’t there be a computer program that sorts out the averaged/assumed weights of the passengers along the fuselage? Why should the flight attendants have to count? Point 3: Again, luggage is weighed at the ticketing/check-in counter. Besides carry-on luggage (which could be assumed at a certain weight), this information should already be in the hands of the pilot and crew before the doors close. Last minute calculations? Fine. Two hours worth? Only if we’re launching a Saturn V to the moon . . . Point 4: I somewhat agree. Overbooking should stop when all of the seats and/or weight is unforseeably maximized on an aircraft. If the airlines want me to accept $300 and a RT ticket because their gambling screwed up, it isn’t my problem. Their fault, they took chances that are affecting everyone else. . . Point 5: I agree. Maybe they didn’t know we were military, but something about our itineraries should have jumped out at them. Prudence is a good idea . . . Point 6: I am completely unsympathetic. If you don’t like the pay in your job/career, you can always find another one. . .
Never ever ever ever ever EVER believe a flight crew who tells you they can hold an aircraft for you. They’re only saying it so you’ll leave them alone about missing your flight. I’m sure they sounded very convincing, but there’s no way one pilot can hold up a flight in another city. Sure, you might get lucky and the connection will hang around a few extra minutes, but not because a pilot flexed his muscle.
And incidentally, baggage is weighed at the ticket counter to determine any extra charges a passenger might have to pay. There isn’t any way to track specific bag weights for specific destinations. Final passenger counts and bag info is reported to the tower in the last 10 or so minutes of boarding, so it is a bit of a last minute rush. But there is NO WAY they can justify delaying a flight like that.
There isn’t any way to track specific bag weights for specific destinations.
Oops. Of course they can track this- I just meant there wasn’t a running tally kept at the ticket counter for every flight checked in.
The things that happened on that flight could happen on any airline in the country.
What sets Northwest apart, in my experience, is that they just don’t give two shits. They don’t even pretend to feel bad that they’re not able to live up to service expectations. I have all kinds of patience for delays, weather problems, weight juggling, parts replacements, crew shortages, and all the rest IF the airline expresses some sort of psuedo-sincere regret about it. IF one employee would go out of their way to try to make things a little better.
Ten years ago, everyone in Detroit talked about how much they loved Northwest and how lucky we were to have such a superior airline servicing our town as a hub. Five years later, people were doing anything they could to get flights on other carriers, and that continues to this day. Something happened to change things, and I’d like to know what.
[SIZE=1]neener! neener!
[sup]But not just by Northwest[/sup][/ul]
I wondered where they found their business model…