? Concerning Northwest/Continental Airlines

[mickey4ver]

Has anyone used these airlines for their trips and what are your thoughts on them? Northwest right now is running the cheapest airfare for some flights we need next month to the west coast area, but I'm figuring there must be some reason they are SOO much cheaper than all the other airlines.

All opinions welcome please. Also some of the connections are in Minneapolis or Detroit area, are problems with bad weather, like snow a big issue when flying into these airports in the winter months?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[noodles]

We flew Northwest in Jan of 2000 to DW. We had no problems at all. All our flights and connections were on time. We did run into a major snow storm in Minneapolis, but they de-iced the plane and we were off. It was very strange to leave Minneapolis in a snow storm and arrive in Orlando to very warm temperatures! I wanted to use them this trip, but their prices were too high.

 

[zulaya]

Continental has a very good rep. My dad flies them for business as often as he can.

NWA is good too. Sucks for us in MSP because the rule the world here so we don't usually get a deal, but MSP is awesome because we are prepared for the snow and you can always land and take off. I have lived in MN for over 20 years and I can remember only 2 times when the airport closed for snow in that time. We have tons of de-icing equipment and the plows are always running inthe snow. So if you are considering a connection, by all means go through MSP, because MSP has a good record of keeping the flights going.

NWA might be cheap to the west coast because their major hubs are MSP, Detroit and Memphis.

 

[mickey4ver]

Thanks so much for the information and comments. I might just bite the bullet and give them a try! NW has all the other airlines beat considerably for this particular trip and has the times etc. that are needed.

 

[CarolMN]

If there is bad weather in the picture, there is no other airline I'd want to be on than NWA and no other airport I'd want to be at than MSP.

NWA has a special system that routes their planes around bad weather (as much as possible). IIRC, they have a patent on it and are offering it to other airlines. I honestly cannot remember flying through any significant turbulence/bad weather on NWA and I used to fly a lot before I retired.

MSP knows how to handle snow and ice. They HAVE to, and they are very good at it. Weather than may bring airports (which are not used to handling it) like Atlanta to a close, will not make much of a difference at MSP.

I'm a big fan of NWA and prefer to fly them whenever I can - I just don't like their prices out of MSP most of the time. Trying Delta for the first time later this month for that reason.

Hope you have a good trip no matter which flights you choose.

 

[mickey4ver]

Thanks Carol...plans are made now for flying NW. The flights are into Detroit though for changing, but I'll take your word that NW is a stand-up airlines and considers any bad weather in the forecast.

We fly Delta a good bit, to Florida and out west. I've never encountered a problem with them and feel you will do well flying them. I'd have stuck with them too for this trip, but NW beat the price by $90 a ticket and had the times that were convenient and needing mulitple tickets, that $90 extra each adds up.

Thanks again for the support, I feel a little better now....it is so hard to push that "click/buy" button on line...I always start second guessing myself! LOL

 

[Mom of 5]

DH and I are using Northwest/Continental for our trip - we're leaving in a couple hours ! We'll post about our experience when we return.

 

[mickey4ver]

Now that IS going to be first hand knowledge! I'll await your return and review! Have a good trip.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We have flown NWA to So CA. (Stop over in Minneapolis)
It was fine.
We flew Continental last month: Omaha to Houston to MCO and return. We were very pleased with them. I would say next to Midwest Express I liked them best.
We are booked with NWA again in January. We got a pretty good rate, plus great departing times. Our stop overs are VERY brief and in Memphis.
I am looking forward to this trip because our flight times are so good. We leave 10:30 am. aahhhhhhh.... I was getting so tired of getting up at 5am to catch an early flight.
And we don't leave MCO until early evening. Gotta love it.

 

[smart cookie]

Am taking my third winter trip to orlando on Northwest this coming Feb. Have never ran into any weather related delay with them. Did have to de-ice once in MSP, which delayed us about 15-20 minutes due to the fact that there were so many planes being de-iced, but i'd rather spend that time de-icing than having a problem with ice...

I recall very few times when the MSP airport shuts down in the winter...it usually has to be pretty bad. Maybe happens once or twice in a normal winter (if that.)

 

[mickey4ver]

Wow, again, thanks for all the great info! As I stated, I went ahead and booked with NW, so I'll be able to put my .02 cents in afterwards also

They sure did beat any other rate that was out there with any other airline for when/where we needed. The times were very important and also the $$ were an issue for this particular trip.
I actually went into Detroit DTW airport site, and it looks like they have done quite a bit of refurb and additions. Have a very short ground time while changing flights, but will get a little "taste" of the place moving from gate to gate.

Thanks

 

[nuthut]

I would choose NWA or Continental over any other airline. The brand new terminal in Detroit is great for connections.

 

[Mom of 5]

Hi-

We got back from our trip last night. We booked through NWA and flew them on 2 legs to Orlando. Then on the way home we flew Continental. Of course, being from Baton Rouge, we didn't have any problems with winter weather .

Both airlines were great (my only complaint was having to fly in small, cramped commuter planes on the 2 shorter legs of our trip). Both airlines were on time for departures, and we arrived early into Memphis, Orlando, Houston, and back home in Baton Rouge. I wouldn't hesitate to use either airline in the future.

Hope you enjoy your trip ! I already wish I could go back...

 

[debster812]

DH and I just flew NWA from Boston to Las Vegas with connections in both directions through MSP. No problems at all. We departed on time, were slightly delayed getting to MSP (because of 100+MPH headwinds) and made our connections no problem.

I would fly with them again in a heartbeat.

 

[jfulcer]

Ok, around here we call Northwest NorthWORST. The planes are cramped, at least 40% of the time the flights are delayed, and I've had lots of problems with breakdowns.

Connecting flights are sometimes nightmares in MSP as (if I remember correctly) the arrival and departure gates are a distance apart. I could be thinking a different airport. Twice now we've had to do the OJ Simpson sprint through the airport to make connecting flights on NW, primarily because the first leg left late.

And you really don't know terror until you've sat - on the plane - watching them work on the engine for almost 2 hours and then they tell you it's now fixed and you get to leave on that plane with that 'fixed' engine. And then during that same flight, the engine sounds as if it's gonna throw a rod or something.

Their rates are great, but we've had less than stellar experiences with them, and I'm not even talking about the food. We've come to appreciate paying a little more for a different airline that is a little more reliable.

I'm hoping your experiences are better - MSP is their main hub so maybe they try a little harder there.

 

[maggie-c]

We leave Thursday and are flying Continental direct from Newark to Orlando, but Northwest on the way home through Detroit.

I fly quite a bit for work and prefer Continental; last year I flew Northwest to China and they were perfectly fine.

I'll let you know how it went when we return.

 

[smart cookie]

Here's a little statistical data for you

Airport Performance - Detroit Metro :

Airline On-Time Arrival %
America West 55.5
American 75.2
Continental 74.8
Delta 65.9
Northwest 84.7
Southwest 75.9
United 70.1
US Airways 76.1

This data is from the most currently available period as reported to DOT/BTS by the airlines.