Yesterday I felt a day over forty. Today, I feel two days over forty. Wonder what I'll feel tomorrow...
Yesterday I felt a day over forty. Today, I feel two days over forty. Wonder what I'll feel tomorrow?
Member since:17.04.2004
Reviews:35
Members who trust:17
I have used Northwest airlines several times in the last two years to fly to Minneapolis from London Gatwick direct, and also to fly internally in the US into and out of Washington Dulles.
The flight from Gatwick is nearly always full, and the aircraft in use are DC-10s. These planes are ageing badly, I was surprised to find Northwest still flying them as it seems every other developed nation airline has replaced them years ago. I don't know how old the planes are, but they certainly lack many of the features of more modern fleet aircraft. There is no seat back TV, the in flight entertainment is by projector
on the bulkheads. Unless you're pretty close you can't see what's being projected!
Space in economy class is not the greatest, although at 6'4" this is a problem for me on most flights where I don't get upgraded! The seats are old fashioned, and not particluarly comfortable too.
The DC10s are scheduled to be replaced some time in this summer by more modern Airbus aircraft, hopefully these will be better. In the mean time its a bit disconcerting flying in an aircraft maintained by McDonnell Douglas mechanics which have been given redundancy notices pending the introduction of the new fleet! The last but one flight back from MSP was delayed due to a replacement plane being required as the one we were going on having a mechanical problem. The last flight from Gatwick was delayed due to electrical problems... not a happy experience especially as they had loaded us all on the plane before announcing the delay.
======== Booking ==============
I book through Expedia, but Northwest/KLM have a direct booking capability online which is always worth checking. Expedia seem to get cheap seats, and you can choose your seat ahead of the flight date. This facility is further improved by membership of the KLM air miles scheme, now renamed Flying Blue instead of Flying Dutchman. ======== Awards Scheme ==============
The Northwest frequent flyer programme is shared with KLM and Air France as main partners, but there are over 140 airlines which participate in the Skyteam alliance. For Northwest registering with KLM is the way to gain frequent flyer miles. The programme has two mileage totals, the first is the total miles ever flown, the second is what's called the level miles which is calculated to December 31st annually. The level miles affects your status in the scheme, 25,000 miles being the first point where status increases from the lowest level (ivory) to silver. Once past Silver things accelerate as this means any flights are credited with 50% extra mileage. Miles can be used to gain upgrades, book reward flights, and many other purposes. Miles can also be gained by hotel bookings, car hire, and many other purposes. Once at silver level you can book in at the Business Class / First Class check in, this can make a difference to the trauma of check in for a busy flight. It also makes it much more likely that you will get an upgrade...
======== Food ==============
The menu on the international flights is complementary, but always the same! It gets a lilttle tedious for regular flyers! The food is of a reasonable standard as far as airlines go... but if I ever hear "Vegetarian Pasta or Chicken" again it will be too soon. The little bottles of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon are actually very good though, I don;t mind these not changing!
======== Cabin crew ==============Northwest seems to have a policy of using older cabin crew... when departing from Gatwick it is a little, shall we say, "frustrating" to see the neighbouring Virgin Atlantic cabin crew boarding at the same time. The Northwest crew are obviously very experienced, some would say jaded and over the hill but that would be perhaps a little unfair. They do seem more interested in gossiping with each other than serving customers, there has definitely been a depreciation in standards, perhaps due to the financial troubles of the US air industry demotivating many.
========= Hubs ===============
Northwest flys in and out of almost every US airport of note, but its two main hubs of operations are Minneapolis and Detroit. Detroit is called their 'World Gateway', the base for most of Northwests international flights.Minneapolis is an airport almost entirely dominated by Northwest, at least 75% of flights using the airport are Northwest.
========= Fleet ===============Northwest have a varied fleet, they have almost every sized plane in the fleet ranging from the 747s on the Pacific routes to the twin prop ten seaters for the smaller US airfields. The fleet appears to be mixed age, the DC10s are perhaps the oldest craft on the list though. One time taking off from Gatwick all the overhead compartments opened as the plane lifted off... the same thing happened again on landing. Very disconcerting that...
========= Summary ===============
Sitting somewhere between budget airlines and the main flag carriers Northwest are an odd mix. They operate the only direct flights from the UK to Minneapolis, and do so at a reasonable price even compared to the obscure indirect routes. I can't wait for the replacement planes though, or to pass gold level!
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I last used this airline on a flight from US to South-East Asia - and I loved it from start to finish.... the food was superb. The staff was superb. Wonder if times changed or if they are better on some routes than others. x
Luckyfriend 22.06.2005 00:01
Bet you look good in them long haul flight stockings at 6'4"!! LOL Another great review! Bev x
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Advantages: Cheap, wide connections, Drinks are on the house, available all the time Disadvantages: Entertainment? Nice cabin crew! Unusual noises and lots of 'em
monkfeesh 20.04.2003 (03.11.2004)
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Review of North West Airlines
Advantages: Member of Flying Dutchman Frequent Flyer Program, Extensive USA network Disadvantages: Attendents don't give wine to under 18/21 yr olds, Delays, Nothing Special, Legroom not brilliant, Lack of Inflight Entertainment.
NESMA 14.04.2001 (22.04.2001)
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Review of North West Airlines
Advantages: High turnover of passengers, but doesnot feel as stress out as London or Paris airports Disadvantages: Lots of missing baggage lieing somewhere
Advantages: Operate an efficient service, fly to over 500 destinations via many partners, excellent customer service Disadvantages: none so far..
Connoisseur_Haggler 07.07.2001 (07.07.2001)
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Review of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
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