How Angry Would You Be???

[tycon07]

As I was looking at the arrival time for Northwest Flight 825 to pick up my nephews, I did a MAJOR double take. The plane was supposed to arrive at 9:25pm in Indianapolis. Instead it is scheduled to arrive the next day (Aug 5th) at 9:30am. I was so astonished I went to Northwest's site thinking maybe the on-time flight stautus on the IND site was wrong. SUre enough the site says it too........9:30 tomorrow morning.
My nephews are going to wait for the flight in the morning, but I don't see them flying NWA anymore...........EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! Because of mandatory flight crew rest. I know it is for the safety of the passengers and I support that whole mandatory thing, but why doesn't NWA have another crew to bring the flight back???? What would YOU do if you were in that situation???

 

[DebbieB]

Yikes! I never saw a flight delayed overnight. Usually they would just cancel it. So the delay might be better than a cancellation, which would leave them stuck finding another flight, possibly a connection. Where are your nephews staying tonight? I assume the airline would be paying for a hotel.

I fly for work alot and delays & cancellations have become a way of life, all different airlines. I try to avoid the last flight of the day.

 

[WDWBetsy]

As I was looking at the arrival time for Northwest Flight 825 to pick up my nephews, I did a MAJOR double take. The plane was supposed to arrive at 9:25pm in Indianapolis. Instead it is scheduled to arrive the next day (Aug 5th) at 9:30am. I was so astonished I went to Northwest's site thinking maybe the on-time flight stautus on the IND site was wrong. SUre enough the site says it too........9:30 tomorrow morning.
My nephews are going to wait for the flight in the morning, but I don't see them flying NWA anymore...........EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! Because of mandatory flight crew rest. I know it is for the safety of the passengers and I support that whole mandatory thing, but why doesn't NWA have another crew to bring the flight back???? What would YOU do if you were in that situation???

Well, I guess I'd contact the nephews to make sure they're taken care of (I'm not sure if they are waiting at the airport or will be taken there in the morning; your post didn't specify). You are really in a situation where the only thing you can do is wait. I wouldn't throw a fit or anything at the airport.

This can happen with other airlines, so yes - you could suggest they never travel with Northwest ever again, but things happen. I'd rather the crew gets the rest and gets the passengers in safely. At that late hour (and with airline cutbacks), I don't know the possibility of getting another flight crew - if they could, they would.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

There were lots of very late and cancelled Delta flights when we flew over the weekend. There also were lots of irate passengers!!

 

[bicker]

This can happen with other airlines, so yes - you could suggest they never travel with Northwest ever again, but things happen. I'd rather the crew gets the rest and gets the passengers in safely.

Good point. Indeed, most often, in such a case, the flight would be simply cancelled. I think it is a credit to Northwest that they decided not to cancel the flight, so pax didn't have to try to rebook. If that had happened, some folks might have had to wait most of the day for the next flight out.

 

[CarolA]

Actually it would be highly unlikely that NW has a full crew sitting around just to take over this flight. It's not just a matter of having pilots and FAs they have to be trained on this type of plane. Plus... they just don't keep that many extras on reserve anymore. NW is bleeding red ink, they can't afford to pay people to be "in waiting" as a replacement crew

I agree with others, there is not much you can do expcept make the best of it. I assume your relatives are not unaccompanied minors alone at an airport.

As Bicker pointed out, this can happen on just about any airline. NW is not doing anything different here.

 

[Brian Noble]

If they are flying under the unaccompanied minors program, they should be well taken care of. From the NWA FAQ:

What happens if one of my child's flights is delayed and/or canceled?

If we have any indication that your child's flight(s) may not operate as scheduled, we will advise you and suggest you book travel for another day. If the delay or cancellation occurs enroute, Northwest employees will do the following:

Rebook your child on the next available departure to their destination.
Contact the person at the destination who is planning on picking up the child and/or the person listed as the emergency contact. We will continue to attempt contact until contact is made.
A Northwest employee will stay with your child until they can be boarded on an alternate flight.
If it is determined that your child will be rerouted on another airline, Northwest will consult with the parent or guardian at the destination city prior to making these arrangements.
Under rare circumstances, an overnight may be required (major snowstorm, etc.). In these instances, we will provide overnight and meal accommodations for your child. A qualified guard and/or Northwest employee will provide continuous supervision to ensure your child's safety during their overnight stay. You will be contacted with all pertinent information if this rare circumstance does occur.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Our return flight at the beginning of this week was late leaving MCO. Evidently, all of the Delta flights in and out of MCO were off from a HUGE delay earlier in the day. We'd heard that an afternoon Louisville to MCO flight couldn't land in Orlando due to the storm. They had to land in Daytona due to lack of fuel. Just as they landed there, a lightning storm erupted there. They couldn't refuel the plane because of the lightning, so all those folks had to just sit there. Our flight attendant said it took those passengers more than 5 hours to reach Orlando! This is normally less than a 2 hour flight!! Anyway, we had a plance at MCO but no flight crew. There were several unattended children on our flight. Once we were on the plane, the flight crew took really good care of them. At the airport, they were watched but not closely. Also, everything shut down in the airport around 9 pm; so the kids were pretty hungry and thirsty by the time we got on the plane. Of course, all the attendant had were peanuts, crackers, and sodas; but she let them have 2 of whatever snacks they chose.

 

[DebbieB]

tycon07 - were your nephews OK? I see on Northwest's site that the flight came in at 9:21am this morning.

I had a flight on NW delayed over 3 hours at MSP in June, they sent me a letter of apology and 1,000 bonus miles.