[nitetrain]

Hi All and thank you for your replies. A few points of clarification if I may. The poster that intimated flights are not confirmed until one month out is incorrect. Please refer to the following confirmation change received: A schedule change for your itinerary departing on January 5 has occurred. Your new flight schedule follows:

Flight: NW 2436
From: Minneapolis - St Paul, Minnesota
To: Tampa, Florida
Departure Time: January 5, 10:20 am
Arrival Time: January 5, 2:27 pm


Confirmation number: 778N4E

That is a 3 hour direct flight that I wanted. Nothing else. Point #2. While it may be easy in the world of some to reschedule, the remaining direct flight was booked or arrived around midnight. There is quite a difference between 2:30 p.m. and midnight. Point #3. Please refer to my post that states MSP to DFW to TPA is a 5 1/2 flight. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time than waste 2 1/2 hours or more if there is a weather delay in January in DFW. This is more than a 2 hour difference someone referred to from the airline's own confirmation:

A schedule change for your itinerary departing on January 5 has occurred. Your new flight schedule follows:

Flight: NW 2348
From: Minneapolis - St Paul, Minnesota
To: Detroit, Michigan
Departure Time: January 5, 10:00 am
Arrival Time: January 5, 12:49 pm

Flight: NW 2406
From: Detroit, Michigan
To: Tampa, Florida
Departure Time: January 5, 1:55 pm
Arrival Time: January 5, 4:38 pm

Point #4. Sun Country is not an option not only because they are in bankruptcy, but because they do not have an accommodating schedule, especially for the return trip.

Point #5. I am not about to, nor should I have to change planes when I book a confirmed direct flight. This customer did not institute the changes, Northwest/Delta airlines did.

Point #6. This customer would have accepted an upgrade for this inconvenience, but when it was requested the NW service rep said "NO." As in not an option. As in they don't really care about their "Customer First" claim. Quite the contrary. My experience proves that to be a gross exaggeration.

Point #7. Regarding my hotel and car. Since no reasonable alternative was available to me January 5, 2010 my only recourse was to fly either late January 4th or January 6th via NW. Since my wife and I both work Monday and did not want to start our vacation later we opted to get to the Florida warmth earlier. That means we have to change our hotel and car reservations at added costs obviously. Not to mention the time to cancel our car reservation (required) and reschedule an extra day. That costs more money where I live and where I vacation. Same for the hotel.