N W Airlines question

[yooperfan]

Does NW have layovers in any cities on their flights to MCO or are they always direct? Also, has anyone heard if they plan on cutting back flights to MCO this winter?

 

[zulaya]

I don't know about Michigan, but NWA has several non-stops from MSP-MCO. They also have maybe a couple that connect thru DTW and MEM.

No one knows what cuts they are making for winter. The airlines have to tackle their fall schedule first.

We just have to sit tight and see what happens.

That being said, NWA is very stable in terms of keeping their schedule as it is once it's released. They are not big on moving and cancelling flights like Delta and Airtran are. Could that change? Maybe. It all depends on what happens in the industry and what routes are needing attention.

 

[lizziepooh]

Northwest has direct flights from Detroit. None from Traverse City. One from Grand Rapids on Saturdays and I think there is one from Flint. I haven't checked other Michigan cities but I would guess all flights from the UP would be connecting.

 

[Sleuth]

We live about an hour north of Traverse City (in Charlevoix) and almost always fly out of Detroit non-stop. For our flight next month we are flying NWA and were able to get non-stop round trips for the five of us for under $200/ea. If we would have flown out of Traverse City it would have been at least $300 more per ticket. I'd rather drive to Detroit and pocket the extra money. Granted, Marquette is a ways up there but you may consider driving if you're up to it. I've heard you can get some good rates out of Flint but I have never seen anything that beats flying out of Detroit.

 

[yooperfan]

We live about an hour north of Traverse City (in Charlevoix) and almost always fly out of Detroit non-stop. For our flight next month we are flying NWA and were able to get non-stop round trips for the five of us for under $200/ea. If we would have flown out of Traverse City it would have been at least $300 more per ticket. I'd rather drive to Detroit and pocket the extra money. Granted, Marquette is a ways up there but you may consider driving if you're up to it. I've heard you can get some good rates out of Flint but I have never seen anything that beats flying out of Detroit.

Wow! For a minute there I thought you meant driving all the way to Florida,Hah Hah! We tried that once and almost divorced. We have tickets out of Marquette for the third week of Jan. but I'm worried they might change us to a layover after Detroit. I'm not familiar with any other airports and with a lot of layovers being 40 min. now, I wouldn't be comfortable with that. We will be lucky if we can make the flight we have now. Let's see 1) Flying out of Marquette on time in January. 2) Arriving Detroit 12:55pm, connecting 1:35 pm. If they start reducing the # of flights, plus people being displaced from other airlines canceled flights filling up what's left, I don't know about the odds of catching another flight at a reasonable time out of Detroit. I know, I'm freaking out, but a 24 hr drive in Jan. just isn't in the cards.

 

[PoohPhan]

Wow, a 40 minute layover is not very long. Plus, it looks like you have an XJ plane from Marquette to Detroit, and those usually land at Terminal C, and your DTW to Orlando flight will leave from Terminal A. Not a terrible hike, but at least 10 minutes, depending on your gate -- and your bags will have to make the trip, too.

That said, Northwest is offering the flight, so they think you'll make it.

I am going to tell you not to worry, because you and your bags will get to Orlando. But you may want to call Northwest and see if they can (for free) put you on flight 3196 (MQT to DTW, arrives 12:55 at DTW) and then flight 422 from DTW to MCO (leaves DTW at 3:10 pm, arrives MCO at 5:41 pm). That would give you a 2hr15min layover and put you in Orlando about 1.5 hours after the original trip. Worth a shot. If they won't do it, then maybe you can post about what to do if you have a short layover.

FWIW, I believe NW flies direct to Orlando out of Minneapolis (MSP), Detroit (DTW), Memphis (MEM), Indianapolis (IND), and seasonally out of Flint (FNT), I think. Also, keep in mind that by January Northwest and Delta will have merged. From Marquette I don't think that would affect your flight schedule (DON"T let them try to route you MQT to DTW to ATL to MCO!), but just an FYI.

 

[KLAIT]

We go out of Houghton often and I have to say that Northwest is notorious for changing their times "just a bit" several times over a few month period. We have to connect through Minneapolis and I would say that the last 4 or 5 times we went to Orlando, they have changed the times of the little planes that fly into the UP and we have not had enough time for connections...so we are able to choose whichever flights we want...with not penalties or charges...

I would say that 6 months out to January, you will see some changes one way or another.....but, watch frequently as they are not so good about notifying you that they change...as soon as the connection time is not enough, call immediately and they will re-book you.

 

[jenelope]

Flying from Marquette to Detroit in January, my chief concern would be delays because of weather. The McNamara terminal is manageable in 40 minutes, but if there was a problem with ice or snow, your 40 minutes could be eaten up by delays.

It's unlikely that NWA would change your non-stop to a layover from DTW to MCO.