15 NOV 2008
NW 2349 ROA-DTW 6:08 AM-7:42 AM
NW 542 DTW-LGA 10:03 AM-11:55 AM
16 NOV 2008
NW 343 LGA-DTW 6:00 AM-8:06 AM
NW 2348 DTW-ROA 10:25 AM-11:55 AM
Pre-trip report
I woke up at 3:15 am and discovered by way of my nwa.com and flightstats.com flight alerts that my first flight, NW 2349, was delayed by FOUR hours six minutes, until 10:14 am, as there was no inbound aircraft from last night. I checked my itinerary at nwa.com and they had not re-accommodated me, so I called. I wondered what kind of customer service one would get at 3:24 am!
The phone was answered within 1-2 minutes by a representative that addressed me by name and was shocked when I told her my flight was delayed by four hours!
The agent put me on hold for approximately 9 minutes, then came back and said she was trying to get my seats and put me on hold another 4 minutes and was able to re-accommodate me as follows:
DL 5543 ROA-ATL 8:30 am-10:00 am seat 12C full Y fare
DL 908 ATL-LGA 10:40 am-1:04 pm no seat assignment full Y fare
The flights showed up in my itinerary along with my DL PNR, so I was able to look up the flight itinerary, etc. on delta.com and add a frequent flyer number, but I was not able to select a seat or check in online online at either delta.com or nwa.com (it redirects you to delta.com for DL flights.) The reason I could not select a seat for the second flight is because there only remained “coach choice seats,” available only at check in, which I was unable to do! Neither my NW or DL frequent flyer number could get me a seat assignment.
So I went back to bed for an hour and a half and got back up at 5:45 am.
When I got back up, I was able to select seats and check in and I was standby listed for F! I was able to sleep another hour and a half, eat a full breakfast at the Residence Inn, print my BPs in the business center, and arrive ROA to a very short line through security. I overheard people who had been rerouted 2-3 times already for the delayed NW flight. I am so relieved that I had set flight alerts so I knew when I got up at 3:15 am that there was a problem!
DL 5543 ROA-ATL 8:30 am-10:00 am seat 8B exit full Y fare
DL 908 ATL-LGA 10:40 am-1:04 pm seat 27C exit full Y fare
DL 5543 ROA-ATL 8:30 am-10:00 am CRJ seat 8B
We backed away from the gate at 8:27 am and were airborne at 8:36 am. We had a full in-flight beverage service and a snack choice of two packs of peanuts, Biscoffs, or one of each. I read and dozed until about 30 minutes out and the ASA pilot sitting beside me started talking to me. He also had “misconnected” as his inbound aircraft did not reach ROA last night, either. He was not called and just happened to check his schedule online! So he was booked on my flight, guaranteed space, ended up only having to fly three legs today, and he gets a paid day off since scheduling forgot to call him with his schedule change! He told me he was amazed at all the fees that airlines were charging. He also told me about his wife having to fly US and how shocked she was when she had to pay $25 for an aisle choice seat and drinks (she is DL Gold.) He and I agreed that the “feeing” had gone too far and that airlines should just raise fares. He was especially disappointed that DL elected to go to NW’s fee structure for 1st and 2nd checked bags, because of the delays that can result from all of the gate-checked bags.
We landed ATL early at 9:51 am, but did not get off the plane until around 10:05 am. I had to hurry from C52 to B12 where my flight was boarding zone 8! As the GA scanned my BP, out popped my new seat assignment, 3C aisle in F!
DL 908 ATL-LGA 10:40 am-1:04 pm 757 seat 3C (24 F seats)
When I boarded, there was a pillow, blanket, headphones, and a mini Dasani at my seat. The FA hung my coat in a closet. There was a full pre-departure bev service and I had a Bloody with lime in a plastic cup. We pushed back around 10:45 am and were airborne by 11:00 am. In-flight service was a choice of snacks from the snack basket. I chose peanuts and Biscoffs instead of Sun Chips and granola bars. I also had a Bloody Mary, in a glass and with lemon this time. When I got up to use the lav, I noticed that the FA had left out the snack basket on a drop-down shelf on the front left wall for passengers to grab snack their own on the way back to their seats. That worked for me and I took a 2nd bag of Biscoffs! In-flight IFE was the normal DL TV shorts. The weather in NY was not good, announced the pilot, misty and overcast with a half-mile visibility and a ceiling of 400 feet. Our ETA was one hour 32 minutes take off to touch down. Around noon, the FA collected trash and brought me another Bloody. At this point, the flight got very bumpy and all passengers and FA were asked to be seated. Shortly thereafter we started our descent and the flight became smoother for a time. The FA came around and gave us a mini Dasani to go. That means I was served two waters and three Bloodies. We landed at 12:39 pm, 25 minutes early.
