northwest airlines or us air

[sandy cruiser]

im getting ready to book my airfare for sep. i've found two with great prices and time whitch airlines are nicer or is on time more often

[JJPNYC]

Hi-

For airlines, neither is "better" than the other in my opinion. I might go with who you have your frequent flyer miles with.

 

As for on-time schedules, it all depends on where you're flying from & to. If you can provide that info, I might be able to help with an opinion.

[hdawson]

What airport?

[PVDCruiser]

Yes, the airports you are traveling to and from would help. Then we can figure out what hubs you are mostly likely going through (if any) for a faster trip.

 

For the short term, US Airways is fine. I've never had a problem with them. For the long term, however, Northwest is actually MAKING money.

[hdawson]

Dandude. When did NW last make a profit? If the OP can fly from Dayton or Akron/Canton they have AirTran as an option. I received an email this morning that they are in sale.

[Boo's Mom]

For sure NWA. I heard on the news today...that US Air is DISCONTINUING their peanuts ! Saving 1 million dollars per year. Tis True. :eek:

 

Other than this.... I have no input. :p

[PVDCruiser]

Dandude. When did NW last make a profit? If the OP can fly from Dayton or Akron/Canton they have AirTran as an option. I received an email this morning that they are in sale.

 

I just read it a few months ago in Airways magazine. Maybe I misread it and they were saying how much money the A330s are making.

 

I didn't check AirTran or the OP's location as she was just asking about NWA and USA. Sorry. :)

[worldsbestcandles]

I went to a wedding in Kansas City, we flew NWA from Detroit and all of BF's family flew USAir from Philly. Both are hubs for each airline. We got all of our luggage and every single one of them had at least one piece of luggage lost, and some had no luggage until about 2 hours before the wedding. They were all on different flights too.

 

I would pick NWA hands down over US Air from my experience in the past, and now definitely from that incident.

 

BTW, it looks as though the closest major airport to the OP would be Columbus, OH.... just from looking at a map at least....

[Suzieb]

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news, and I perfer NWA myself. But NWA mechanics just voted down their contract, and now the 30 day cool down has started. Maybe they can settle before and strike can happen. So for the next few months I would keep my eye on this

[vossjemi]

Never flown USAir. First trip with Northwest was this past Jan for our cruise. I realize bad luck can happen with any airline, but we hit a streak of it. Flight delayed 1 1/2 hours due to de-icing...their one and only de-icing truck broke down so they had to wait until American was done with theirs to borrow a truck. Yeah. Got to Memphis late and missed our flight to Miami. Guess what? That was the only direct flight from Memphis to Miami that day...so they booked us on a flight to New Orleans with the last leg from New Orleans to Mia to be on American. But we had to wait at Memphis about 5 hours for this flight. When it got close to boarding time, they announced the PA system on the plane wasn't working and it would be at least an hour for them to get it fixed if they even could. REalizing that would make us miss our New Orleans flight to MIA we asked the gate attendant our options. He got a call and was talking the whole time and before we knew it he had printed us off tickets to St. Louis and said RUN. Great. We ran and barely made the flight to St. Louis. When we got to STL, bad news again. Airport had been closed for 2 hours due to snow. We had to wait an hour on the tarmac before we could even go up to the gate. When we got off the plane, we were already late for our flight to MIA...which they again gave us AA for the last leg since Northwest apparently didn't have anything. STL was a madhouse....wall to wall people. We RAN to the opposite end of the airport for our connecting flight (isn't it always that way?) and had to go through security again...but there was a line of about 100 people. WE knew if we had to wait through that line,we would miss the flight if we hadn't already. A nice security person directed us to another wing to check through security and go through back hallways where we needed to go. WE got on the plane just as it was boarding, thank god.

 

We arrived in MIA around 10pm when we were supposed to be there around noon. OUr luggage of course ended up in New Orleans. We had to file a claim for lost luggage...you have to do that with the airline who handled your last leg...which was American. We finally got to our hotel around 11:30 pm. We were at the Holiday Inn downtown. We had planned on spending the whole day at Bayside, but by the time we got there, everything but Hooters was closed. Best damn wings and corona I think I've ever had.

 

AA would have delivered our luggage to hotel the next day anytime b4 4pm, but we wanted to be on the ship early. So...since luggage was supposed to arrive around 8:30 am, we taxid back out to the airport...and whew, it came right out. Thank goodness we had our luggage.

 

I guess the good deal out of it was our travel insurance covered us on taxi fares, our meal at HOoters, and some other minimal overnight expenses. But it was the absolute worst flying experience i've ever had. AA really bailed us out...they de-iced our plane, they got us to MIA, and they got us our luggage...yet we had booked with Northwest. I will be real hesitant to book with Northwest again....not sure if my experience was a one time thing or what. But, you know what, we could have been out of our original airport on time if they'd had a working de-icing machine.

[worldsbestcandles]

Never flown USAir. First trip with Northwest was this past Jan for our cruise. I realize bad luck can happen with any airline, but we hit a streak of it. Flight delayed 1 1/2 hours due to de-icing...their one and only de-icing truck broke down so they had to wait until American was done with theirs to borrow a truck. Yeah. Got to Memphis late and missed our flight to Miami. Guess what? That was the only direct flight from Memphis to Miami that day...so they booked us on a flight to New Orleans with the last leg from New Orleans to Mia to be on American. But we had to wait at Memphis about 5 hours for this flight. When it got close to boarding time, they announced the PA system on the plane wasn't working and it would be at least an hour for them to get it fixed if they even could. REalizing that would make us miss our New Orleans flight to MIA we asked the gate attendant our options. He got a call and was talking the whole time and before we knew it he had printed us off tickets to St. Louis and said RUN. Great. We ran and barely made the flight to St. Louis. When we got to STL, bad news again. Airport had been closed for 2 hours due to snow. We had to wait an hour on the tarmac before we could even go up to the gate. When we got off the plane, we were already late for our flight to MIA...which they again gave us AA for the last leg since Northwest apparently didn't have anything. STL was a madhouse....wall to wall people. We RAN to the opposite end of the airport for our connecting flight (isn't it always that way?) and had to go through security again...but there was a line of about 100 people. WE knew if we had to wait through that line,we would miss the flight if we hadn't already. A nice security person directed us to another wing to check through security and go through back hallways where we needed to go. WE got on the plane just as it was boarding, thank god.

 

We arrived in MIA around 10pm when we were supposed to be there around noon. OUr luggage of course ended up in New Orleans. We had to file a claim for lost luggage...you have to do that with the airline who handled your last leg...which was American. We finally got to our hotel around 11:30 pm. We were at the Holiday Inn downtown. We had planned on spending the whole day at Bayside, but by the time we got there, everything but Hooters was closed. Best damn wings and corona I think I've ever had.

 

AA would have delivered our luggage to hotel the next day anytime b4 4pm, but we wanted to be on the ship early. So...since luggage was supposed to arrive around 8:30 am, we taxid back out to the airport...and whew, it came right out. Thank goodness we had our luggage.

 

I guess the good deal out of it was our travel insurance covered us on taxi fares, our meal at HOoters, and some other minimal overnight expenses. But it was the absolute worst flying experience i've ever had. AA really bailed us out...they de-iced our plane, they got us to MIA, and they got us our luggage...yet we had booked with Northwest. I will be real hesitant to book with Northwest again....not sure if my experience was a one time thing or what. But, you know what, we could have been out of our original airport on time if they'd had a working de-icing machine.

 

Whew! Sorry you had such a nightmare of a trip. I know any airline can have problems like that, but it has been my experience that the airports actually "own" the de-icing machines and they are distributed to each de-icing pit (sometimes by terminal or runway) so it really wouldn't be NWA vs. American at that point, more like a bad allocation of resources. Not that your trip was any different due to this, but that's been my experience.... unless apilot can comment differently.... but that's what I was told when I had a similar situation (although without the connecting headaches that you had).

[copnlpn2]

I've been monoriting airfare rates for a round-trip flight Oct. 29-Nov.8 from Pittsburgh to Orlando for quite some time. AirTran has had the best rates but I was leery of booking with them after reading some of the CC postings. Southwest's rates are great but they are thus far only accepting bookings through Oct. 28. Delta, Northwest, American and others had lay-overs and cost considerably more than Airtran and Southwest.

 

Someone at work told me to check USA3000 which does not show up on travel site search engines, i.e., Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. The best rate I saw they had was for $158 non-stop and round trip! BUT the flight to Orlando got in too late for me to catch the shuttle I wanted to Cocoa Beach.

 

Even so, I kept checking their site every day and Wednesday I saw where a new flight time for Oct. 29th was posted. I was so excited with the rate and time that I instantly booked my flight. It wasn't until after I called at least 10 friends to tell them about my "deal" that I went back to the site (for a friend) and read cmpletely through their "WILD Wednesday" offer (they have a sale every Wednesday). I had been so excited that I missed the fine print that said I should put the word "WILD" in the promotions code box so I could get an additional $14 off my trip! That would have meant my own ticket would have only cost $144!!!!

 

Oh well, I still think I go a great deal. Please check out the USA3000.com site and see if any of their flights and times would be suitable for those of you looking for great rates on a top-notch airline. (And be sure to read the fine print - you just might save some extra money!)

 

Happy cruising!

 

Cindy

[hdawson]

copnlpn. The three top domestic airlines for service for 2004 were JetBlue, AirTran and Southwest in that order. United was fourth. AirTran and JetBlue have the youngest fleets of any US airlines. AirTran is all Boeing. JetBlue Airbus and the Brazian Embraer (yuck). Avg aircraft age is 3.5 yrs. I believe those three are the only profitable airlines in the US. Further, if it matters, JetBlue and AirTran allow TWO checked bags, ea weighing up to SEVENTY pounds not fifty. And the FAA recognized AirTran as best of all at baqgage handling for 2004. Both JetBlue and AirTran are currently taking delivery of 100 plus new aircraft and expanding service.

 

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1112624102.html

[copnlpn2]

hdawson - Whew, you're a regular fount of knowledge and I appreciate your input.

 

I was aware of most of what you said, but my comment about USA 3000 wasn't based on hard data but rather on the opinions of several of my friends and acquaintances who have flown several different airlines. When I considered flying USA3000, their comment was that it would be fine and I would enjoy the experience.

 

I fly everywhere but am not fond of flying. I also get lost in a paper bag and bend over backwards to get a non-stop flight. I am also not rich and need to shop carefully for my fares. USA3000 "suited" my needs and my friends knew it - hence the green light to book with them.

 

Again, thanks for your info. I'll be more careful in the future "categorizing" an airline until I check their stats.

 

Cindy

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

A colleague in my office has flown USA 3000 a couple times already on the Orlando International to Chicago-O'Hare route and she raves of the low fares, clean planes and friendly service.

 

As with any newer airline, its probably a good idea not to book too far ahead in case they go belly up. Don't know anything about their finances but fuel prices continue to skyrocket.

 

BobK/Orlando

just off: Sea Princess

next up:

Sovereign of the Seas (10/05)

Costa Mediterranea (01/06)

[copnlpn2]

King Bob - Thanks for your post. I'v read on these boards about the financial problems of some airlines and did a Google search regarding USA3000 and the only "negative" thing I came up with (regarding a few delayed flights) had nothing to do with finances. So I felt reasonably safe in booking my flight for October 2005. I'm looking forward to a great Caribbean cruise and hope your upcoming cruises are wonderful too!

 

Thanks again,

Cindy

[sandy cruiser]

we are leaving out of columbus ohio going to ft. lauderdale,fl

sept1 .thank you for all the advice

[Crescoia]

Today (July 12th) NWA just formally asked the National Mediations Board to release them from talks with their mechanics union. Since the union has also previously done the same thing, the media is reporting that this is a move that could bring up a strike deadline in August.

 

If I was flying NWA on Sept 1, I'd have a backup plan.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We used to support US Airways - flew them all the time. But as more and more flights have been dropped here at Pittsburgh Internation - over 500 a day at one time and now down to 217, we don't use them any more. And very soon they are dropping 4 more flights and cutting our direct flights to San Diego and Seattle.

They are more interested in becoming a small regional air line with small planes.

[hdawson]

Expect more flights to be removed from their schedule. A condition of the merger is to elimated 50 to 60 more airplanes.

[Bill S]

Oops! We are flying NWA to Amsterdam on July 21 for a Baltic cruise-so I think we will be OK for that flight, but wonder about our scheduled return on August 9 back to MSP and then to LAS, both on NWA. Since NWA is a partner with KLM, I wonder if NWA was shutdown due to a strike, would KLM fill in on the international leg? Any guesses?

[Crescoia]

Your August 9th flight should be safe. Once the mediator does declare an impass and the Union give their intent to strike, there is a mandatory 30 day cooling off period. So the soonest they could go on strike would be mid-August.

[Bill S]

Crescoia: thanks for the input! That squares with what I read later today from a USA Today article that was published today. Once a formal release from mediation is issued, the 30-day cooling off period commences and as of today, even though NWA and the union have requested a formal release, it has not yet been granted, I assume by the NLRB. So, I agree, we should be OK for the return trip. The article also qouted NWA as saying that they will continue to fly even if a strike results. Thanks again!!

[rainmaker]

What is the effective start date for the 30-day cool off period? I am scheduled to take NW on my Alaska cruise on 7/31. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

[Bill S]

rainmaker: I just did a google search and per Reuters, today, July 20, both NWA and the union were released from collective bargaining and the 30 day period starts TODAY!. The article went on to say that the mechanics' union cannot legally go out on strike until after August 20. So, unless you have a really, really long Alaska cruise, you should be ok.