Northwest WorldGateway Terminal - You should have moved a LONG time ago
Written: Mar 13 '02 (Updated Mar 13 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great new terminal, they fly almost anywhere that I need to go
Cons: Customer service can be hit or miss, some older planes need updates
The Bottom Line: It's not about the journey, it's about the destination . . . or something like that.
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| twunschl's Full Review: Northwest Airlines |
Since I live in Detroit, and one of Northwest Airline's main hubs is the Detroit Metro Airport, I have to fly Northwest unless I want to pay through the nose. I recently got a tour of the new WorldGateway Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport (we refer to it as the Midfield Terminal because, well you guessed it, it is Mid Field) and that prompted me to write this review about my love/hate relationship with Northwest.
Customer Service - Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first
Where should I begin? Hmmm, I think that everyone heard about Northwest holding planeloads of people hostage in the middle of the runway during a snow storm in Detroit. They just weren't held hostage, they were tortured when they weren't allowed to go to the bathroom after the toilets became full. Now this has to be the best example of how terrible the customer service can be. Luckily, I did not get to experience this terrible situation, but I got to hear about for weeks on the nightly news. One good thing came out of all that, the customer service has gotten better.
I have rarely in the past two years had to hang up the phone and call back to get a better representative. I can almost always get someone who is kind and helpful on the first try. Sure, there have been a few things here and there. Like the time that Northwest booked a flight for me and my husband a few months after we were married. Somehow, they managed to get my new last name right, but gave my husband my maiden name. How that could happen is anyone's guess. When I called to correct the mistake, I was told it would cost me $55 to change the name. Since it was their mistake, I found this unbelievable. I called back, explained the story again to someone else and they changed the name immediately. I don't think that this is just the customer service at Northwest, I have a hard time with many large companies.
The customer service on-line through the internet has always been helpful also. You can ask a question and someone will e-mail a response within 24 hours. I have even gotten answers within an hour. Most flight attendants and sales agents that I have run into have also been very kind and helpful with a few exceptions here and there.
If you do ever have a big problem, and you want to have frequent flier miles reimbursed or a pass for another flight, you can contact their customer service department through their website at www.nwa.com. Go to the Talk to us link and then leave a Comment about a flight. Make sure that you are very specific about your problem and the action that you would like to take place. When our flight from Hawaii was delayed, we had to reschedule our connecting flight in Minneapolis. When we got to Minneapolis, we found out that we weren't placed in first class (I had used frequent flyer miles to upgrade since it was our honeymoon). The other bad part was we weren't even seated together. It was a really terrible way to end our honeymoon, especially since the service agent was extremely rude. I sent a letter to Northwest with all of the details and I was reimbursed a quarter of the frequent miles, given 5,000 miles for the agony and two first class upgrade pass that were good for another year.
The Planes - We might as well get the other bad stuff out of the way too
Almost all of the planes that I have flown on have been older and in desperate need of a face lift. On only one flight in the last four years has there been TV monitors in the ceiling for in flight entertainment. This seems like such a simple thing to add and it made the flight so much nicer. Many times our seat has been broken in some way. Like it won't recline, the arm rest won't go back and one flight the tray table wouldn't stay "in the upright position" and kept falling down during the flight.
When we did fly first class on Northwest (our one and only time) we realized that it wasn't better than economy class. First class is how the entire plane should be. It made us realize that you don't pay double to fly in first class and get treated like queens and kings. You pay half of an outrageous amount to get basically ignored and cramped.
The Food - Then & Now
Then
Before September 11th, when the airlines still served food, Northwest wasn't half bad. Breakfast was the best. They had an ala carte service where you got your choice of any or all of banana, cereal, yogurt and bagel. Sometimes, the bagel was even warmed. Lunch was good too, although I didn't experience it very often. On one flight, it was a pretty good pan pizza. Dinners were never that great, but the salad was always edible and there was always some kind of good dessert, like cake or even cookies.
Now
Buttered Pretzels or Buttered Pretzels. They are pretty good though!
The Terminal - Detroit's New WorldGateway
The old terminal at Detroit Metro Airport was always on the Top Worst Airport lists. I could go on and on. About the low ceilings, the LOOONNNNNGGG walks through a maze of corridors, the cold bathrooms, the torn seats. It just keeps going. But let's not concentrate on the bad, let's get to the good stuff.
Now this is what all airports should be like. This is an amazing building that was designed completely for ease of travel. The terminal has large open ceilings. It is one long terminal that is almost a mile long. Can't walk that far? Don't worry, you don't have to. The airport has a tram system that runs inside from one end to the other. It stops in the middle of the terminal where the baggage claim area is. Northwest claims that you never have to wait more than two minutes for the tram. There are electronic maps all throughout the terminal that show you where you are and where the tram is so you can decide if you want to hop on.
Don't want to take the tram, but still don't want to walk? There are probably dozens of moving sidewalks that run down the middle of the terminal. I didn't count, but I would guess that there is a moving side for every 5 - 7 gates. As soon as one ends, there is another moving sidewalk just a few steps ahead. They make "walking" the mile long terminal a breeze.
The terminal is also more than just a place to fly off somewhere. It is almost like a mall with an airport inside. Along one side of the terminal are the gates, down the middle is the moving sidewalk and on the other side are dozens of shops and restaurants. You are never lacking a place to eat, get a book or magazine or find that cheesy souvenir from Detroit. There is even a GM store here. The restaurants are all run of the mill. There is a Mexican restaurant, a sandwich shop and a Bud Weiser Bar. There are also coffee shops and a food court that has Burger King, Little Ceasars, Japanese something-or-other and a few other chain restaurants. Expect to pay a lot of money for the run of the mill restaurants though. I got a hot pretzel, small bottle of water and a chocolate shake and it cost me $9.75!
The other wonderful thing that I noticed too were all of the restaurants. Since my tour was in part due to the cleaning at the terminal, I found out that there are 475 stalls in the entire airport. There are also "Family Restrooms" which I have never seen before, but what a wonderful idea.
All in all, my experience with Northwest over the last 10 years has been good. Afterall, they are taking me off on vacation, who can complain about that?!
Related Review
nwa.com
http://www.epinions.com/content_54943256196
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
twunschl
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