Tag: Northwest Airlines

This is an open letter to the CEO and all the employees of Northwest Airlines.

This last week I had the pleasure of flying your airlines on a business trip from Appleton Wi to St. Louis, Mo connecting through Minneapolis, MN. The day before my return flight, there were some pretty nasty storms in the midwest that caused havoc to travelers all over the US. When Minneapolis is backed up, that pain can be felt in many a city around the US. This was true in St. Louis as my departing flight was delayed several hours due to the previous days weather related backups and a runway that was closed in Minneapolis.

Once I boarded the flight to Minneapolis I had a sneaking suspicion that my regional flight to Appleton would be delayed. As i’ve learned, regional flights get canceled by almost anything minor… if a flight attendant gets an hangnail 🙂 — so bad weather is a shoe-in for delayed or canceled flights to Appleton. Once we landed in Minneapolis, over the loudspeaker, the flight attendant gave us a 1-800 number to call to find out about connecting flight status. I called he number and found out that my connecting flight was not delayed but had been canceled. This really wasn’t any huge newsflash, what made me wince was the amount of time I thought I would have to stand in line, dealing with getting a seat on what would most likely be an oversold later flight. These types of situations ALWAYS bring out the worst in people. I try to keep a cool head and roll with the flow, but not all travelers can say the same.I know the ground staff tries to do their best, but all people want to do is get home… Ahhh the glamor of business travel.

As I deplaned, my mind turned into survival mode. Where’s the monitors, and where the closest ground agent to get me re-ticketed on a later flight, wheres the bathrooms as its going to be a long time in line and I need to prepare myself.  I had to act fast as I know others are in the same boat. Upon exiting the jetway, I was greeted by the nicest gentleman in Northwest blue. He asked if I needed assistance with my connecting flight. I told him I called the 1-800 number and was told my connection had been cancelled and that I needed to get furhter info on a later flight. He then said the magic words I thought I would never ever hear… “Please go over to the counter, find your name and find your updated ticket and itinerary”

So I made a 90 degree turn and made a beeline for the ticket counter. These in nice rows where the new seat assignmentss for many if not all of the passengers that had cancelled flights. I quickly found my name, which was highlighted in yellow on the boarding pass. I had a seat on the 7:55 PM flight to Appleton. A confirmed seat… WOW!!!  Not only did I get a seat, but there was a voucher for 2500 free frequent flier miles and another voucher for $50 off my next NWA flight.

So let me see if I got this right. I don’t need to find a free ground agent to get re-booked. I don’t need to schlep myself and my luggage in line along with 50+ other people who are all mad, tired and missing their families… to get re-ticketed? AND NWA was giving me $50 off another flight and frequent flier miles to boot? Remember this wasn’t their fault, its mother natures gig here. This was some customer service!!! I love it!

This is exactly what I call customer service and the reason I am now going to look for chances to book flights on NorthWest Airlines. THANK YOU Northwest for an amazing customer sevice experience, Love Tommy.