Complain about a product or service

Northwest Airlines

Northwest Airlines • Ticketing snafus • Luggage lost, stolen, destroyed • General hostility • Disgruntled Employees • Northwest vs. KLM • Pray for food --- News • Delta, Northwest Complete Merger • Delta, Northwest Merger Faces Heavy Chop • Troubled Northwest Strikes New Deal With Pilots • A Seething Summer of Discontent for Northwest Airlines • Northwest Passengers Face Uncertain Summer • Pilot Shortages Plague Northwest Passengers • Machinists Pact May Head Off Northwest Airline Strike • Northwest Hopes to Cancel Employee Contracts • Delta, Northwest File for Bankruptcy • Northwest Flying Despite Strike • Northwest Warns Of Bankruptcy • Strike Looms At Northwest • Northwest Seeks Replacement Flight Attendants • Northwest Pushes Up Fares

An icy fossil that survives only because Southwest apparently dislikes cold weather, Northwest is perhaps the most rigid U.S. airline when it comes to making even the slightest accommodation to the customers who keep it in business.

The complaints in this section illustrate how unnecessarily miserable travel can be if one chooses the wrong carrier.

Here are a few of the more recent consumer comments:

Stephen of Hartford CT (03/20/09)
I was returning to Hartford from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Minneapolis to Detroit leg was overbooked ao I was offered and took a first class ticket (boarding pass) on a later direct flight to Hartford.

Two hours later, when I was boarding, the pass would not scan at the gate. The ticket agent told me I had been cancelled off the flight and, of course, no first class seats were then available. In fact, the only seat available was in the very back of the plane, next to the toilets, between the two, not one, screaming children on the flight.

Tommy of Pflugerville, TX March 15, 2009

Tommy of Pflugerville TX (03/15/09)
On March 13, 2009, I arrived at the Austin-Bergstrom Airportat 5:30 for a scheduled business flight to Washington DC. I had to exit a long line to address an family emergency call, after a 45 minute wait for counter service (who spent at least 30 minutes on the telephone trying to resolve a another 'cancelled' flight customer) I was informed that I was 'too late' to catch my originally scheduled flight. Fine, I agree to pay 150 for the 'change'; my wife is accomapanying me and when trying to reschedule her flight purchased through Expedia, I was told it was now 'worthless'; that she would now have to pay 1000 each way to reschedule. I asked why so much and I was informed that 'it was spring break and demend was high'.

So, I start making calls to the Nortwest customer service number to see if I could get this resolved. The 'supervisor' I spoke to was extremey rude, arrogant, confrontational and no help whatsoever. By the time I had finished this, I had received another family emergency call and knew I needed to cancel ny re-booked flight. Customer service refused my request to delete the additional rebooking charge--even though I never made it to have my luggage checked in. Nortwest has left the worst taste in my mouth that will linger with me for a very, very long time. I will never have agency staff EVER schedule me --or anyone else --to fly on a Northwest plane. I understand that they had to 'merge' with Delta to survive; my recommendation for Delta is to get rid of this excuse of carrier and let them go extinct.

Let me also mention that a young lady was in line with me, a senior at Florida State University, who was having the same issues and the same gougeing of tickets prices, but in her situation, she was informed that the they could not schedule ane of ther ovverpiced flights for over a week. She was in tears and very distraught and had been on the phone for over an hour when I finally left. Northwest is the poster child of businesses that totally deserve to become inoperable, bankrupt and destitute--and I certainly await--and wish-- all of these to take place sooner than later.

Dan of Miami, FL March 5, 2009

Dan of Miami FL (03/05/09)
Northwest Airline . My 11 year olds sons baseball team is going to detriot from miami fl to play in a tournanment on marriol day weekend . (45 poeple) my wife made our rervastion and made a mistake on the return flight. a day early. when I went to make the correction 3 day later after a team meeting the airline wanted 450 change fees for the 3 ticket. plus the increase in fair. i fell the increase in fair is justfied but the would not wave the change fee, I felt that it was wrong with the amount of poeple we had on that flight. I call rev. and the would not do anything.

I had a friend of mine who is One of there 747 Capt. to try to get a # for customer ser. he told me to give him my comfermantion # he'll call me back. 20 min later he call back and told me that he spoke to a res. manager and that if i could prove that the team was travel and using NWA that they would wave the charges. so I call the costmer ser # and got a run around. which put me back to a res manager. needless to say after getting laughed the best that thay woud do is 225. They said were in a strungling enconoie and we need the money.

 being 5 hour on the phone & stuck i took the deal. being the hole world is in need of customers you would think an airline would be more understanding. That 225.00 change fee cost northwestern other 25 person fars to detroit. I was told by some employlee's that sence there salaries have been cut by 52% and there retirement was takenway , that most empoylees / pilots don't care about the airline,& the air does'nt care about the costermer its all about the money. In this world of corprate take over an less chooces we they consumer lose and get lost in red tape.

John of Orchard Lake, MI February 22, 2009

John of Orchard Lake MI (02/22/09)
Northwest has just raised their carry on pet fee from 80. to 150. This is simply a way of gouging loyal pet owners. Unlike baggage fees which are ligitimate since they add to their expense, a carry on pet costs them nothing. I will now make Northwest my last choice.

Evelyn of Bryn Mawr, PA February 19, 2009

Evelyn of Bryn Mawr PA (02/19/09)
I cannot get through to a real person to book seats; my confirmation number is L63L6N. I am frustrated. I have been on line for hours and tried for an hour to get a real person. After giving and listening to info,numbers...the person says your flight is confirmed. I want seats. I want to talk to a person! I cannot seem to get one or a seat online.

I will be away until Feb23rd; can someone please, please call me or send me a real person, or a real phone number or a real addres.

Fumin of Madison, WI February 15, 2009

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