Need advice-Please help??? NW vs Delta
 

Me and my wife are flying from Seattle to Rome and then from naples to Seattle in early April. We have all of our FF miles on Alaska and NW. (Delta is a ff partner w/both Alaska and NW). Here is the problem-Delta would be the cheaper carrier for this route on the way over($100/or more per ticket and would get us to Rome at 9:30 am). We are only there for 2 days and then head to Amalfi Coast. NW-KLM wouldn't get us to Rome until 12:40 pm. I've been searching sites for two weeks and the cheapest open-jaw tickets seem to be on Orbitz. Is it safe to book Delta or should I pay more and fly NWA-KLM on the way over? The carrier coming back will be Alitalia and United. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!!

At this time I would not book any flight on NWA as their pilots may strike sometime after Feb. 28. If it is a long strike the airline may never fly again. I don’t know what will happen to the miles in a World Perks account if the airline goes under.

NWA as you mentioned is a Sky Team Partner with Alaska, KLM and Delta, but also with several others like Alitalia and Air France. At one time they were also partnered with Continental but I don’t see Continental listed now.

Any flight on KLM that is not a NWA plane would be okay, but you have to look close as sometimes the two of them are so intermixed that when you book it may appear to be operated by one and not the other. They will tell you who the operator is.

If you can wait for a few weeks to book you can see what the outcome with the NWA Pilots Union will be.

As for Delta, I don't know anything about them.

We have tickets r/t Minneapolis to Delhi on NWA / KLM for March and are now quite worried about it. We would be happy to know sooner rather than later if NWA is a no-go so that we can make other arrangement. The news media reported that if the planes stop flying the airline will pay the unused portion of the ticket. That would not be great if we got stuck in Amsterdam on our way back and only got that small portion of the ticket refunded and then had to purchase a one-way from there.

Sky Team information:
http://www.nwa.com/skyteam/sktnetwork.html

Happy Travels

STAY OFF NORTHWEST!!!! I am stuck with Northwest tickets to London in late March. i figure that i am most likely just out the money. If there is a strike they go under. It is a mess for a lot of people and the whole state of Minnesota!

If you're worried about NW, see if you can get the same fare and same flight with a KL flight number. For example, NW34 SEA-AMS can also be booked as KL6034. This way, if NWA shuts down, KLM is still responsible for getting you to Rome. It may be on a different airline, perhaps as standby, but they sell you the ticket and they need to get you there.

If you are wanting to get the miles posted on your Alaska Airlines frequent flier plan, keep in mind that KLM is no longer a partner airline for them. Delta is a partner, as is Continental and British. If I'm paying for a ticket to Europe, I want to make sure the miles count! :) Alitalia and United are in a different partner program entirely. If it's a huge cost savings, then I would consider using them. Otherwise, I try to stick with one alliance and get the miles.

You may already be aware of this, but wanted to mention it in case you weren't.

I also would stay clear of NWA for a bit.

Thanks for your advice Issy!!! To get frequent flyer miles for all legs of our trip, I would have to pay about $170/ticket more-that's why I am considering booking Delta on the flights over and then Alitalia-United back. That way, my wife will get the Delta and Alitalia miles on her NW FF and I will get the Delta portion credited towards Alaska FF.

> Author: issy
> Date: 02/11/2006, 07:37 pm
> If you are wanting to get the miles > posted on your Alaska Airlines
> frequent flier plan, keep in mind
> that KLM is no longer a partner
> airline for them

Hey issy, this is incorrect.
KLM and AF are now back as partners in the Alaska Airlines FF program.

Not only that, there's currently a DOUBLE MILES promotion running. Fly KLM or AF and put your miles in Alaska Airlines and you get 2x miles!
See these two tables here:
http://milemaven.com/offers/program/14/
http://milemaven.com/program/14/

Popola-
Thanks for the information. That must have happened just recently. Welcome back KLM! Glad to see AF in the alliance as well.

I stand corrected. :)

Well I'd be inclined to stay off both DL or NW for transatlantic travel. American is also an AS partner and can get you to FCO via ORD at 7:30 in the morning or so, for around $970 in April.

Coming back, they don't codeshare from NAP with anyone, so you'd need to get to FCO from NAP on your own, probably around $150 to $200 on Alitalia or Meridiana.

Delta may also be facing a strike, no?

Delta and Northwest are pretty iffy. Delta faces a strike, but Northwest faces liquidation if there is a strike. Buyer beware!

Yeah, but from what I understand other airlines have to accept your tickets and/or accomodate you as they have space. Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, you'd still be taking the chance of being re-routed.

If they have space is the catch. Other carriers are already filling up as people book away from NW.

I believe the law that says other carriers have to take passengers of failed airlines expire late last year. I don't think Congress extended the law, or they may have extended it in a modified way.

When Independence Air shut down in early Jan, most carriers are willing to book stranded passengers for a $50 fee. When they have room, of course.

So, you're at least out $50 if your airline shuts down.

rkkwan,
I believe it was extended once more and now is valid through Nov 2006 with the maximum fee being $50 each way on a space available basis.

check out www.trip-information.com for more info regarding diffrent airline services