[katmouse]

Dec. 14th We flew from Cleveland to Memphis then Memphis to Little Rock. We changed flights in Memphis and had to sprint across the airport to make our connecting flight clear across the airport only to hurray up and wait. We boarded and sat there for 45 min. for "documentation to come through" then went into a holding pattern in the air that changed a 30 min flight into 60 min all in all it took longer to fly from Memphis to Little Rock then it would have taken to drive. NWA isn't taking security very serious either. The guy next to us boarded with drinking a glass bottle of Bud Light beer, and when it was empty he used the bottle to spit his chew. Outside of that being rude, the bottle could used as a weapon and the flight attendants did nothing. The flight back was much more fun. At the last minute NWA cancelled our Memphis to Cleveland flight due to airplane maint. We caught a flight to Columbus, we sat on the plane for 1 hour because our ground crew went missing. And of course they lost our luggage. The terrible thing about that is they don't care and are not interested in helping you. Regardless of your issue. My husband uses a breathing machine at night and cannot sleep without it. I explained, we cannot just run out and by another one and going without it is dangerous to his health. They didn't care, haven't called us. They still don't know where our bags are. No one at NWA uses the useless Luggage Tracking system. They don't even show our bags scanned in at the Airport in Little Rock. Terrible airline, people that don't care or do their jobs. We will never fly NWA again.

[mfwhitepharmd]

If I were you, I'd go online to management and state the same story you posted here (include all fight numbers, dates, times, employee names if you know them, etc).

When I had similar problems with SouthWest, I did this and received an apology, a promise to "look into it" and a $400 voucher for a future flight.

Good luck!

[swzarsa]

I had a similar problem with ATA airlines and I also received a personal apology and renumeration for the trouble I was caused.

Good luck as well..

[ChrisH]

A "holding pattern" is air traffic control and has nothing to do with NWA. Blaming NWA for having to go into a holding pattern, is not right. I am a pilot; that is something that you are instructed to do by air traffic control, and can be for numerous reasons.

Maintenance is something that is considered the "airlines fault", but airplanes, just like your car, sometimes need maintenance. It happens. It is unfortunate, when it is your flight, and you are delayed, but better to fix the problem on the ground, than get into the air, when the problem occurs.

[Bhara]

This is my first experience with NWA and it sucks. As per my scedule, I flew from Milwaukee to Buffalo on Jan 10th. My connection is at Detroit. I had problem at every stage. My trip took over 18h instead of 5.5h. As per the original schedule the flight NW346 is supposed to start at 6.00 pm and there was a delay of 2.5h and it started at 8.30pm. My connecting flight to Buffalo from Detroit (flight number NW1130) already left and NWA shocked saying that my next flight on next day (11th jan) at 10.15 a.m. They did not make any arrangement for my night stay. Instead, they told that it is my responsibility. After working all day on 10th, I was hoping to reach home and rest to prepare myself for work on 11th Jan Off-site in buffalo.
I felt so exhausted and did not even have any energy to find a Hotel and was disappointed that I cannot work on Friday morning to fiinish assigned task. I had my laptop with me and could not even sleep as I didnot feel secure. I stayed 12h at the gate and was hoping that the flight on 11th Jan will start in time on 10.15 am. To my bad luck, the Flight did not start and we are not allowed to board as the crews were missing. For an hour and half I was held again at the Gate. No one was there at the gate to even to listen to my complaint.

Finally I boarded the flight at 11.45 am, after nearly 14h wait period at the Detroit airport). This further delay of the mornig flight for no reason made it almost impossible for me to work on Friday and I lost my one day salary, adding to my pain.

Not sure when I will reach buffalo. Hopefully, if I reach by 2 pm, I have successfully sustained this torture for 20h. It would have taken half the time only if drove my car instead. I lost my one day salary and provide excuse to my employer- Will NWA compensate me for my stess, loss of pay, and my physical suffering?
I spoke to the customer service over phone and after an hour talk with them, they told that I need to send e.mail to customer care.


whom should I complain to get some compensation for the pain they caused?

[rlmer]

The poor quality of NWA customer service is from the "trickle down" theory. It starts at the top & goes to the bottom. There must be code in their "mission statement" that I've missed in reading it. No such thing as customer service, a joke! Never will I fly with them again & I tell people why! Our airline is a rural connection with few major airlines connecting. It was too bad for me that NWA was one of them.

[Ricklust]

Go to www.FAA.gov and type in Airline complaints "in the search bar". They take these matters seriously.

Good Luck

[MICROMED]

I THINK NWA CUSTOMER SERVICE IS ONE OF THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN. i LIVE IN DETROIT SO I HAVE TO TAKE NWA MOST OF THE TIMES SINCE DETROIT IS THERE HUB AND MOST ARE CONNECTING FLIGHTS , ESPECIALLY INTERNATIONALLY. AND NWA CONNECTS WITH KLM FROM ARMSTERDAM WHICH IS RELATIVELY MUCH BETTER. NWA CREW SHOULD LEARN BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM THEIR PARTNERS KLM. THE CREW FEELS AS IF THEY ARE DOING US A FAVOUR BY FLYING US. AND MOST OF THE CREW I THINK HAS BEEN WITH NWA ALMOST FOR MORE THAN 10 TO 15 YRS (THEY ARE ALL OLD PEOPLE).

[pattis]

Micromed, maybe you could be a little more specific about the situation(s) that you have encountered. If you write a letter of complaint it is always a good idea to be somewhat specific about why you feel this way. I am not saying you are wrong, it is just that alot of complaint letters that are non specific are basically tossed aside maybe to have a generic form letter with your name on it as a reply. One more thing (just a suggestion) please dont reply all in caps...it makes it seem as though you are angry and shouting at anyone that will listen.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

BHARA:

Milwaukee to Buffalo (Depew, NY): Amtrak runs this route also--with one connection in Chicago.

If you took a sleeper (Chicago - Buffalo/Depew) you, most likely, would have paid more than your air ticket. But you would have had a bed to sleep in, and a safe place to put your computer. The length of the trip would have been about 24hrs., counting the time in Chicago--a few hours more than you spent with the airline!

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Ricklust

Go to www.FAA.gov and type in Airline complaints "in the search bar". They take these matters seriously.

Good Luck

Actually not true. The FAA doesn't handle airline complaints that do not deal with safety. The DOT would handle complaints regarding these types of issues.

If you haven't learned from the SouthWest maintenance issues, where the FAA knew about it, the FAA is in with the airlines. They will not do anything to the airlines over these complaints.

[Leslie Winget]

NWA is the worst airline experience we have ever had! They check equipment, but still had to force land elsewhere and it took 12 hours to get to Orlando from Chicago and our luggage 24 hours.
Because I complained, a **** employee purposely put an S on my entire family's tickets to make sure that we got the full search treatment by TSA
GARBAGE AIRLINE!!! Leslie Winget