Delta switching flights to Northwest - beware!!
 

We booked travel for next feb from bos to PBI on a non-stop flight. This morning i went to add frequent flyer #'s and found out that i had been switched to a one stop flight through detroit to PBI with no notification. Travel time went from 3 to 6 hrs. I called customer service and was told that the flight i had originally booked was not available however, on-line at delta.com i could book the same flights and they had plenty of seats. However, now the price would be triple the original price. I finally was able to speak to a supervisor who told me that delta did not have to notify me of the change and she was able to switch me back to the non-stop flights. She could not provide me any reason for why i was switched. I called a friend who is traveling at similar times and she went and checked her reservation and found out that her's was also changed from a direct flight to a one-stop flight without notification. I am going to watch this reservation closely

Actually in reality Northwest no longer is a carrier since they were bought by Delta.
This is one of the many problems people against the merger mentioned but thanks to the Bush Administration's policies this merger went through and this is one of the problems that is going to occur. Another feather in W's hat.

Delta is planning even further capacity reductions for the 4th quarter of '09 and 1st quarter of 2010. The change may have been preemptive. It's quite possible the non-stop flight you originally scheduled is being considered for cancellation. February is 7 months away. Don't be surprised if the schedule changes a few times between now and then and don't be too shocked if your non-stop flight disappears altogether.

Keep in mind that airline schedules are finalized a month at a time - so the sked for next Feb. won't be final until the very end of December or the first of January. Also by next Feb. those flights won't be Northwest anyway - they will be Delta.

Northwest still has its own operating certificate so they are still considered a seperate carrier, despite the merger.

Thanks for correction abutterfinger25 :)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe America West and US Air are still operating on separate certificates. It's been four years since they "merged."

Single certificate
 

I read something, might have been on US Airways' press release page, indicating the two airlines were approved for a single certificate. This release came-out about a year ago.

Along with my beloved Virgin America, I give US Airways and United two years, tops, of remaining life.

I think they are both on one cert now... Let me check up on that and I will let you know.

I can't recall when I the last time I saw American West Metal.

Thanks for the replies. You are both right, they are under a single certificate and have been since Sep. '07. It was two years to the day from the initial announcement of the "merger" so I expect the timeframe of the Delta/Northwest single certificate would be about the same. abutterfinger25 I don't think the livery has anything to do with the operatig certificate because US Airways started re-painting the America West planes only a few months after the merger was approved. Likewise Delta has begun to re-paint some of the former Northwest aircraft as well, most notably the 747 fleet.

What was confusing me about the US Airways operating certificate is that for the most part their labor is still divided between former America West and legacy US Air. The pillot unions are still in negotiations and the flight attendant contracts don't come up for renewal until next year I believe. The huge issue is seniority. My neighbor who was a very senior flight attendant with America West will, when the flight attendant workforce is combined, be much lower in the "pecking order" when it comes to choosing work schedules and vacation time.

I could not locate anything about American West having their economic authority certificate revoked, renewed, cancelled, shreded, burnt, ect.

And I don't want to bother the folks downstairs to look for me.

Northwest/Delta service terrible July 17
 

I was delayed in Minneapolis for over an hour on NW because 2 seats on the plane were broken and they hadn't realized it until right before the flight. After an hour delay they bumped 2 people because could not use those 2 seats. THEN, after we finally arrive in Detroit and just might be able to make connecting flights, the jet bridge was not at the gate...waited 20 minutes and another jet bridge was brought but was a handicapped one so we could not use...waited another 20 minutes and the THIRD jet bridge was not working. FINALLY, we were assigned a new gate and by the time we got there, we had been on the ground waiting for an hour to deplane. The flght attendants told us not to worry because staff at connecting flights knew we were late, but apparently the staff at my connecting gate were not aware that I was only minutes away from missing my flight, which I did and had to wait yet another 2 hours and be rerounted to an additional stop in Atlanta. What a nightmare. I just wish Delta could make sure these types of 'mechanical' issues were resolved and they kept up with their equipment such as seats, jet bridges, etc with more care. I also wish the flight staff would have been honest with us and check ahead to our connections to see what we were going to miss, other flights we could be booked on, etc, which DID happen when we were delayed on a return flight a week later. Oh, and I have been trying to give feedback at the Delta.com sight and it is now available right now!