mabern2

OK, after a bit of confusion on my part I am posting this question for some guidance on the airline Northwest. I am flying from Orlando to Frankfurt Sept 1. Leaving Sept. 12 from Paris (CDG) back to Orlando.

My only previous experience with international flights is with Delta. My husband found 3 tickets (for myself, my 14 year old and husband) on Northwest for $1000 less than what Delta has had. Not having any experience with any other airline I was wondering what the opinion of Northwest is. Also, if you have an opinion on any other airlines I would appreciate any other views as well. It would be great if there was in flight entertainment such as movies, TV, games and such so my son (an consequently myself) will still be sane when we arrive there as well as home. Thank you so much for your time and I apologize for my previous mis-posting. : )

travelatte

Mabern2,
Check the NWA website for info on games or inflight entertainment. I have not flown NWA to Europe, but have in the US. It is probably one of my least favorite airlines, but if you got a great deal on the flight, how bad can it be? Pack your own entertainment and snacks if need be and enjoy the trip when you get there.

Eleni

I have travelled internationally on Northwest/KLM many times, and have always had a decent experience. The planes pretty consistently leave and arrive on time, and my baggage has always arrived with me. The staff are pleasant and helpful, and the food is better than most airlines these days.

On your way to Europe, where is your layover, Detroit or Minneapolis? We generally go through Minneapolis, which is a pleasant airport for a layover, where we usually grab a bite to eat before continuing on the second leg of the trip.

There is inflight entertainment of some prerecorded television and also movies. Games are something you need to bring with you. We always read the most enticing reading material possible, with the goal of diverting ourselves from being on a full flight for many hours (and in the last few years, I don't think I've taken a NW/KLM flight that wasn't completely full).

Remember it is a long flight, especially after you have flown up from Orlando and waited in the layover airport. I try to spend as much of this time as possible sleeping, so that when I arrive at my destination, I am not absolutely out of my mind with exhaustion.

This is what I do. I wait until after the first meal service, and then I take a prescription sleeping aid. I put on earplugs and eyeshades, and settle in with a blanket and pillow. After trying melatonin (which didn't work for me), ambian (which made me hallucinate that the aisle in the airplane was undulating and changing colors), I have settled on the prescription drug sonata as my sleep aid of choice. Sonata is completely out of my system in 4 hours, and is mild enough that I can wake up and function in an emergency.

Compared to Delta, on which I have had some of the worst travel experiences ever, NW/KLM is a breath of fresh air. Unless you are flying Business or First class (which you clearly aren't), the process of back and forth to Europe is never what I would call fun, but is one of those necessary evils you just have to put up with. There is not an airline in the world that could make it a fabulous experience. That being said, in addition to NW/KLM, I also like flying on British Airways (at least in comparison to the other options).

rkkwan

Northwest has only one daily flight into FRA, and one into CDG. Both from DTW, both on their new A330-300 (333).

The planes are brand-new, with state-of-the-art AVOD (audio/video on demand) individual entertainment system. Legroom is also decent if you can get rows 10-28 if you're flying in coach.

GreenDragon

I've flown on Northwest many times as well, and have always had a decent trip. Never anything bad that stayed in my mind... have a wonderful time!

gomiki

I recently flew NW to Amsterdam and KLM on to Berlin. It was a new A330 with seat back screens to Amsterdam. The food and service were good. The flight back from Berlin was delayed and they held the plane for the Boston passengers. We ran the length of the airport (huge) and made it. We arrived on time in spite of the delay. The fight attendant lost my movie when I asked her a question about the remote. I took it well and she brought me champagne from first class

(rkkwan, thank you for the help with my questions). We were in row 17 and the legroom was good. I was very pleased. mabern2, I hope you have a great time!

Intrepid1

If you know the exact type of aircraft that will be used on <b> your </b> flight, look it up on www.seatguru.com which will give you some further information not necessarily already covered above.

Marsha

We fly Northwest to Europe, usually through Amsterdam. Tourist class is tourist class, and the 9 hour trip to Europe is never easy, but the customer service with Northwest is better than United. (We don't have many choices out here on the prairie.) The only complaint I've ever had with a flight attendant on Northwest was the one that made my son put away his Gameboy during &quot;nap&quot; time. She said it &quot;clicked&quot; too loudly. The food is better on Northwest, too.

amp322

I have flown Northwest on two different roundtrip flights to Europe, because they had the cheapest price. Three out of four times, they either lost or delayed my luggage (meaning on one segment, it actually all arrived.) No apology from them, either. Other than that, the flight was fine, except for some serious turbulence, which could happen on any plane. The attendants are usually really funny. As I've said before on this board, if you don't mind losing your luggage, or at least having it show up later, Northwest usually has some good bargains, and is an OK choice.

cls2paris

I have always flown NWA to Europe and have never had a bad experience. I live in a hub city for NWA and I have many more flights available than the others. In April I flew on one of the newer Airbus planes. It was great to have the movie screen right in front of me. I had about 8 movies to choose from, plus music and games. The time went very quickly. Have a fun trip!

jay

Northwest is a fine airline. Like other posters have said, coach is coach but the newer planes are a bit more comfy. I am flying them next week to Helsinki. My guess is that you will go from Orlando to DTW. You will be on the new Airbus 330. look on seatguru.com for the best seats to sit in. I think that the best seats may be near the back of the plane.

smueller

We flew NWA to and from Amsterdam a few weeks ago. They now have seatback video displays that allow passengers to choose their own movies. The selection is not bad (in our case, movies like Ray, Hotel Rwanda, Meet the Fockers, etc.).

The food is not great, so you may want to bring your own &quot;dietary supplements.&quot;

Returning to the US, our flight was late and we missed our connection, but they already had our new boarding passes (for a later flight) waiting for us. Last year, we flew to Paris CDG on NWA. This flight was also so late that we missed our connection, but, in contrast to our recent experience, the airline personnel were completely unprepared for an international flight full of passengers that had missed flights. We ended up spending the night in Detroit. To their credit, NWA payed for our hotel, dinner and breakfast.

mabern2

Thank you so much for your tips!!!

amp322 - I know it may seems a bit paranoid but we usually carry back packs with a zip off day pack, so detached it is the 2 pieces the airlines allow for carry on’s. Although I will have to check the dimensions that NWA would allow. We carry these on for the trip over so we have our clothes for the trip but check our large bag on the way home. Oh and the layover is in Detroit.

rkkwan - Thanks for the seat info, I will definitely use this when making the reservations.

And you all are right that the fun will start when we get there. Also, thanks for your well wishes! : )

mabern2

Well, we bought our tickets last night for about $840 each for 3 of us!! We are SO ready to go!!! We leave Sept 1 out of Orlando at 1:30 pm and arrive in Frankfurt at 7:45 am, there will be a 1 ˝ layover in Detroit. On the way back we leave Sept 12 from CDG and back to Orlando with a layover in Detroit again. Price was great and if all holds true with opinions the trip should be fine. I will post our experience with this airline when we get back, I hope all goes well!! Thank you for all of you input and opinions……it is always very helpful! : )

TC

We fly NW almost exclusively - living in their major hub -- I find them to be a fine airline.

You will want to bring your own blow up neck pillows as NW has stopped providing pillows on their flights as of March 1, 2005. I found this out the hard way flying home from Mexico.

tcreath

We just flew Northwest to Amsterdam last week and the experience was fine. We too had a new A330 plane with the in-seat entertainment, which made the flight much more enjoyable, especially on the way home. The plane was better than most that I have used to fly to Europe, so I was impressed.

Tracy