NWA strike
 

we're leaving for london in 16 days. we bought our tickets months ago, through northwest airlines. the nwa mechanics went on strike 2 days ago, and now i'm worried to death that this is somehow going to ruin my travel plans.

the official line that nwa is taking is that the replacement mechanics can carry the load and keep everything on schedule, and that travelers have nothing to worry about.

any opinions/guesses as to whether they're right or not?

worried in louisville,
pixielily

Hi Pixielily,

I live in Minneapolis, one of NWA's hubs. Out of 178 flights yesterday, approx 30 were delayed, and 4 were cancelled.

The mechanics say that this will worsen as the days go on, NWA states the opposite. Only time will tell.

Perhaps someone here with more experience in dealing with strikes will comment, but I have heard that they try very much to either continue with the flight you booked our get you on another one.

I suggest an early arrival at the airport, perhaps a call the nWA previous to that...

Best of luck %%- Tiff

Please do not worry. You will be safe and will leave for your trip. NWA has known about this strike for 2 years and has been training replacement workers for that entire time. You will not even notice a hiccup. There is a glut of airplane mechanics who want to work. I am a platinum NWA flier and think that the mechanics have underestimated the company. The flight attendants and pilots have done their share but the mechanics don't want to chip in.

I agree with the others' take here. The AMFA union has overplayed their hand and Northwest can't afford to continue "business as usual" with them. It may be that there were more problems in the month leading up to the strike than there will be during the course of it.

jay, that's a nice thought, but I wonder if the several hundred people who were scheduled on those 4 cancelled flights out of Minneapolis alone yesterday would agree that "you won't even notice a hiccup".

I'm taking a friend to the Ft. Myers airport tomorrow for a flight to Detroit on NWA. He's hoping it's OK.
By the way, I checked on the two flights from RSW to DTW for today. This morning's flight was cancelled completely. This afternoon's flight is delayed for "required crew rest". I'm curious if there were enough seats on the afternoon flight to accompany the people who got cancelled on this morning's flight. I think they'd also think this is more than a hiccup.

Cancelled flights happen all of the time. I do about 250k miles per year and stuff happens. Are these flights that would have been cancelled anyway? My guess is that they were. Also 4 flights out of the many that did leave on time may even be normal.

"Are these flights that would have been cancelled anyway? My guess is that they were."


Huh? There are two flights per day on Northwest from Ft. Myers to Detroit. Are you suggesting that "normally" one of those is cancelled ? How often, every day? Once a week? No, not really.

The strike started yesterday, one flight was cancelled today and the other is delayed. It IS because of the strike. If you choose to believe the strike isn't affecting anything, go ahead and keep your head in the sand. I KNOW otherwise.

And yes, I do know that sometimes things happen. But when YOUR flight is cancelled and there is no alternative on the day a strike starts, and there's no plane sitting there to take off, it's pretty clear that the strike is part of the problem. OK?

Oh and by the way, the official reason for this morning's flight being cancelled was "due to aircraft maintenance" -- but of course I'm sure you'll say that happens all the time too, so the fact that the mechanics are on strike has nothing to do with the fact THIS flight was cancelled.

Chill out. I believe i am right as do you. 4 cancelled flights out of the maybe 200 that left. You wouldnt be a machinist would you?

Oy Patrick, take a chill pill! Jay, don't let Patrick get to you.

Ye4s Patrick that is normal. Can I also assume that when my flight to Indianapolis on NWA delayed due to "aircraft maintainence" that the machinists were not doing their jobs properly? Your position sounds like many of the machinists that have been interviewed on the picket lines. Just scare tactics.

I apologize. It was totally silly of me to think that a machinist strike of an entire airline could possibly affect a single thing with the running of the airline.

You are no doubt right. They probably do cancel that morning flight due to mechanical problems at least five or six days a week.

I jumped to a conclusion that the strike meant anything at all.

4 flights out of 200 is 2%, that's fairly high for cancellation. For example, Continental Airlines' "flight completion" factor in the past two years have been around 99.6%, or 0.4% of flights cancelled.

But of course, the NW data is only based on one day, and there can be lots of other factors - including just pure chance - contributing to the 4 cancelled flights. I don't think it's statistically significant.

It is VERY "statistically significant" when one of those flights that was "cancelled" was yours!

NWA claims that "During the first day of the new operating plan, NWA completed more than 98 percent of its scheduled flights."

Doesn't say how many were on time, but we all know that many are not on time without the strike.

Still, I am happy that my trip to northern Michigan this weekend is on Midwest Airlines, not NWA.

Keith

We're still on hold here in Florida trying to figure out what's happening today. The last flight into Ft. Myers last night from Detroit was a couple hours late (which causes problems with crew rest for morning departures on time) just as it was the night before. The incoming flight this morning is delayed and has still not left Detroit, so we don't know how long it will be before it arrives in Ft. Myers to return to Detroit -- my friend's flight will obviously not be going off until the plane comes in, so we don't yet have a clue as to what the departure time might be. At least this morning's flight (the one cancelled yesterday) did take off today and not REAL late, so maybe that's a good sign.

All I can say if all the Northwest delays here in Ft. Myers are indeed NORMAL and not related to the strike, I've learned that Northwest is NOT a dependable airline I'd want to use. Seven out of the eight flights between Detroit and Ft. Myers in the past two days have either been cancelled or late, but I'll accept that this is NORMAL for Northwest if some of you insist it is.

Well, it's now after 11 AM and the 9:32 plane from Detroit has still not taken off, so we don't know when my friend's supposed 1:22 PM flight from Ft. Myers might be. Meanwhile they say the delay is due to "servicing the airplane" -- not that that has anything to do with the cleaners as well as the mechanics being on strike -- probably just another NORMAL delay for Northwest.

A further update. Doug insisted we go ahead and take him to the airport when they said his flight would depart at 2:30 instead of the original 1:22. According to the website, the plane did come in from Detroit about an hour and a half late (due to "servicing of aircraft"). But as I write this at 4:50, he is still sitting in Ft. Myers waiting for his flight which is now "delayed due to unscheduled maintenance". He's hoping to get to Detroit yet tonight.

All i know is they better get their s@#$ together before my trip to Italy in Ocober

:O

Let me apologize for not having anything to contribute to the actual subject of your post.. but to try to entice you to become part of the <i>Ohio River Valley</i> (IN-KY-OH) &quot;in crowd&quot; - - see

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34465251

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34598144

and keep your eyes open for Part <i>Trois</i> in 2006 (in Brown County, Indiana?)

David?

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

p.s. if you don't envision yourself becoming addicted here, in a regular fashion - - send me an e-mail, and I'll be sure you get included on notifications for the 2006 GTG.