*Detroit to London* on Northwest Airlines
Written: Aug 05 '05 (Updated Aug 07 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great online check-in option, on-time arrival, good service despite turbulence
Cons: Hard to see the movie, some exit row seats are obstructed
The Bottom Line: NWA is not a bad choice for a trans-Atlantic flight.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Northwest Airlines |
This is a detailed account of my most recent experiences on Northwest. I traveled from Detroit to London Gatwick on Thurdsay, June 23, 2005. I returned via the same route on Thursday August 5, 2005. After such a long international flight, I have mostly positive things to say about this airline.
Check-In
I really am pleased with NWA’s wonderful online check-in program. As much as twenty-four hours in advance, it is possible to check in online with the airline. I wasn’t sure whether I should mess with it or not, but then I realized checking in online will allow you to do curbside bag check and skip all the lines at check-in once arriving at the airport. It only takes a moment to check in online and then you just have to print out a boarding pass and receipt. On the way down, I probably would honestly have missed my flight had I not done this. My husband and I were caught in horrible traffic and delayed for almost two hours. As a result, after some frantic maneuvering I ended up at the airport less than an hour and a half early instead of the required two hours. I know it would have been my own fault if I missed my flight, but luckily the curbside check-in only took about two moments and I was handed a boarding pass to proceed directly to my gate. I arrived there about ten minutes before boarding, and I’m not sure if I could have made it through the check-in line in this amount of time. So yay for online check-in!
I did not use this program on the way back because I didn’t have access to a printer to print out the ticket, However, the line at Gatwick for check-in was very short and the process was generally quite efficient even though I arrived exactly at the two hour mark and many other people were arriving at the same time.
Flight Schedule
My first flight was to depart at 9:40 p.m. and arrive by 10:00 a.m. in London. It began to taxi from the gate right on time and arrived ten to fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The boarding process began well ahead of time and everyone was on the plane and situated.
The return flight was to depart from London Gatwick at 1:50 p.m. and arrive in Detroit at 5:15 p.m. We were about a half hour late in departing but the time was made up in the air so we still actually landed ten minutes ahead of schedule. This was fortunate because many people had connecting flights and had to pick up and re-check luggage.
The Flight
Both planes I was on had two seats, then five seats, then two seats. I was in the middle section on the first flight, and I wished I would have been on an aisle because my legs became quite cramped during the seven hour flight. My friend commented that an extra three inches of leg room would have made a significant difference in comfort. However, on the way back I had an aisle and my knees were not sore at the end of the flight. Do pick your seat online and request an aisle seat if you would like a little extra leg room. The seats reclined further than most seats do for domestic flights. Each guest was given a pillow and blanket, and an option of free headphones for movies. Surprisingly, there were very few televisions and the one in my section was on a wall seven to ten rows ahead of me. There was really no way for me to see the full screen where I was seated on the first flight, but I had a perfect view from the second row on the return flight.
The screen alternated between information about our arrival time and flight speed to recently released films. Films on the two flights included “The President’s Daughter,” “Miss Congeniality Two”, and “Beauty Shop.”. The lights were out in the cabin for at least three hours of the flight down and I was able to get some sleep, which was a plus. On the return flight the lights were at a dim level for most of the flight.
One thing I must note about seat selection is that I do not recommend the seats in the exit row. You will have no storage room in front of you since there are no seats, just a wall. Additionally, the window seats on this row are partially obstructed by a protrusion and the person who sits there must swing their legs out at an angle. The girl assigned to one of these seats on our flight was quite upset and essentially refused to sit there. Fortunately, a shorter person offered to switch but if I were you I would avoid this situation altogether.
Food Service
Each flight had two meals. On the first, drinks were served immediately. A dinner service was given at 11:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. London time) but I simply couldn’t eat a second dinner at that hour. It seemed counterproductive to eat a meal so late when I was trying to switch over to a time that was earlier. The choice was between a vegetable lasagna and a chicken dish. It seemed like most people did eat their meals. Breakfast was served at about 2:00 a.m. (8:00 London time) and I did enjoy that because it helped my body adjust to the new time. The meal was apple sauce, fruit yogurt, and a biscuit with egg along with orange juice, coffee, or water.
The return flight served a choice of pasta or chicken along with bread, cheese, a salad, and strawberry shortcake. The second meal was pizza and lemon ice cream. As airline food goes the quality was a little above average.
Service
Service was very pleasant. Our flight attendants were polite and wanted to make sure everyone was ok throughout the flight. I didn’t really have any special requests so I never used the call button. I noticed beverages were filled a little higher than normal, and the people around me who ordered pop were all able to keep the full can. The return flight was quite turbulent but the staff was still willing to run around offering water and tea throughout the flight. There seemed to be a lot of people complaining, wanting to switch seats, etc. and all the staff handled these requests with considerable patience.
Baggage
I had no problems with baggage on either flight. After an hour and a half wait in customs upon arriving in London I was relieved to find my luggage still circulating the carousel. On the return flight our luggage came off the plane very quickly, probably within five to ten minutes. Everyone from my program who traveled Northwestern received all of their luggage in the same condition it left in, fortunately.
Overall…
I was sufficiently pleased with my Northwest flights that I wouldn’t hesitate to take another overseas trip through them. Nothing was phenomenal, but I can’t really say anything negative. After a crazy summer in London, I am so relieved to be home safe and sound I can't nit pick too much about food quality or leg room! My flights were on time and the service was friendly so all in all it was a positive experience.
Recommended:
Yes
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