Northwest Airlines Passenger Reviews and Northwest Airlines Customer Trip Reports

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  23 November 2008 : by A Lewis

BDL-MSP-HNL on a A319 and DC-10. The flight to HNL was excellent with dinner and beverage service. However the return from HNL-MSP was only one week later and we learned the hard way that Northwest decided to cancel the meal service on flights to/from HNL. We have not eaten since early morning, expecting a meal on the flight. We had to settle for the $3 snack box, which consisted of a few crackers and mouldy cheese. The outbound flight from BDL-MSP on a Saturday morning was canceled due to the pilot unable to fly and the gate agents were cold, unpleasant, and unhelpful. After waiting in line for 1 hour, listening to lies announced on the PA from the gate agents, I ended up just calling the 800 phone number to get re-routed - this was our honeymoon.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  21 November 2008 : by Alain Moncy

YYZ-MEM-FLL & FLL-DTW-YYZ. I'm 6'1 and had to endure a 2hour in a cramp CRJ on the first flight, flight attendant looked so bored and mechanical maybe it was because the flight was early. Second flight packed on A19 but seat pitch was much better. Return flight to DTW was on a full 757. Overall the service provided is as basic as can be; I was expecting to not have any food, and a very basic drink service but what I wasn't expecting to not even have basic entertainment such as music stations. I had brought my headset for that. I will definitely be sticking with Air Canada next time.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  16 November 2008 : by G Cueto

JFK to MSP roundtrip in Y - a good, no-frills experience. Online check-in worked fine both ways. Both flights were full, and gate agents at JFK aggressively tagged and checked in bags to minimize overcrowding and chaos on board. Service was perfunctory. Seats were at least not dirty and seat pockets cleaned. I like the fact that NW uses terminal 4 at JFK - the AirTrain station is located inside the terminal building, plus food options are generally better (given that it's mainly an international terminal) here than at the dumpy Delta terminals. Overall this was a better experience than my previous NW flights.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  15 November 2008 : by A Tormey

LHR-SEA-LHR in Y. Very good service on A330, good leg room, good seats / entertainment and attentive service from crew which was a pleasant surprise.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  12 November 2008 : by O Banderas

Another wretched experience 757 transatlantic. Poor seat comfort, very outdated entertainment, horrible food served by poorly informed crew, dirty toilets. Hope Delta invests in the 757's of NW they really need refurbishment inside. Always pick A330 for long haul.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  12 November 2008 : by Rene Hinneberg

I have been Platinum Elite with Northwest Airlines for several years. Seats in NWA planes suck and the "old" Stewardesses only care about their retirement. Last summer I was flying with my family in Business class from Amsterdam to Portland where the service was terrible. The upgrade system for platinum Elite customers seems flawed. The automatic upgrade system doesn't seem to apply if I have a coach ticket with a K-fare. Even though there were 22 open seats in First Class 5 days before the flight I was not upgraded with my platinum status. Gold Elites seem to get upgraded before a Platinum with a K-fare.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  11 November 2008 : by A Coogans

AMS-BOS Economy. A330 outbound had comfortable seats except for the box for the IFE system under the seat in front restricting legroom. IFE itself was very good, with games, quizzes, maps in addition to the movies. Meal tasty and substantial snack served before landing. Crew friendly if a little disorganised. B757 inbound had excellent legroom but seemed more uncomfortable. Crew a bit more efficient but rather cold. More like US domestic service - "breakfast" was a cereal bar. Seatbelt sign was on for hours even though the turbulence for which it was switched on for was over in minutes! Would fly them again, but try to get the A330.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  6 November 2008 : by L Sorensen

I ran the new York Marathon this weekend. It was nothing compared to the 8hr flight from JFK to AMS with Northwest Airlines. Small, old seats with defects like not working tray tables and audio systems.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  5 November 2008 : by Greg White

LGW-DTW-SAN Y-class. As a Skyteam Elite Plus member, I have avoided travelling on any US member of the alliance in the past, unless absolutely necessary! However, I was very pleasantly surprised with NWA. Check-in agent at LGW initially refused to give me a lounge invitation, but after clarifying with her supervisor, gave me one. The aircraft on the LGW-DTW sector was a narrow-body B757, and I was seated in the front row of economy which had extra legroom. I did not bother with the inflight entertainment (shown on ceiling mounted screens). FAs were super efficient and polite. A tasty meal and complimentary drinks were served. On arrival at DTW, I was upgraded to first class on the next leg to San Diego (NWA is the only member of Skyteam that provides this courtesy to Elite+ members) - flight was very comfortable, great FAs, and a really good meal!

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  31 October 2008 : by Kevin McDougald

Winnipeg to Amsterdam and back, via Minneapolis/St. Paul. Overall, a fine experience. Northwest gets points on this route for offering newer equipment (CRJ-900s on the brief YWG-MSP flights, A330s on the transatlantic sectors) and crews that ranged from calm and courteous to openly friendly. Their MSP hub is also a credit to the airline, being a less stressful hub to use than some of the alternatives. Meals prepared by U.S. caterers noticeably more sparse than those prepared by Dutch caterers. Choice of chicken or curry on MSP-AMS flights has led to some grumbling from passengers stuck with a choice of curry or nothing after the chicken meals ran out, according to one FA. AVOD fine, albeit with an uninspired choice of movies.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  28 October 2008 : by E Mallari

San Francisco-Tokyo-Manila return in economy, used FF miles one way, paid $480+ on the return flight. SFO-Tokyo check-in and boarding organized, A330-200 clean, seats a little narrow, seat pitch tight for taller passengers. IFE AVOD and entertainment selection acceptable but below standard compared to airlines like Singapore. FA's served juice, soft drinks, bottled water and pretzels about 45 mins after take off. Dinner served about one hour after initial service - surprisingly tasty but portion was only about half as much as their previous inflight meals years ago. I paid $5 for a small bottle of mediocre red wine while Asian carriers serve them free. FA raised her voice to a Chinese passenger when passenger asked for tea while FA's were still serving dinner. Pre-landing meal was served, nothing to write home about. Tokyo-Manila boarding was disorganized. Boeing 747-400 very old. No IFE but old style large screen in the front of the cabin. Lavatory I used was already dirty and smelly while plane hadn't even left the gate yet. Dinner served Tokyo-Manila flight was just acceptable. Manila-Tokyo not a full flight so FA's appeared not rushed. Dinner average, IFE worked well. Two hours before arriving in San Francisco passengers awakened, a continental breakfast was served. I wish NWA refurbish their old B747-400's.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  27 October 2008 : by Michael Veitch

BOS-AMS. B757 showing its age - cabin bland and non-descript. Leg room excellent however cabin feels a little cramped for a 6hr+ journey. Inflight entertainment a disaster - showed 2 (terrible) kids films on the 1990s style monitors hanging from the roof. Food fine but disapointed at no breakfast. Cabin crew varied from friendly to downright rude. Compared with the outbound journey (AMS-YYZ) on a KLM 777-200 the contrast couldn't have been more stark, and having booked both legs with KLM, they ought to be ensuring Northwest are offering a standard more in tune with their own.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  27 October 2008 : by Francis Tindale

Pellston to Las Vegas via Detroit. On the whole a satisfactory trip - very impressed with the security at Pellston and their helpfulness. The Detroit to Vegas leg was a little more cattle truck travel for my liking. No entertainment at all on a 4 hour plus trip was a surprise.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review :  15 October 2008 : by Rajesh Hamirwasia

Flew 4 segments within the US with NW last week and was upgraded to first on all of them. Service on CRJ 900 was great. Plane new and the seats had good recline and pitch. Connections were a breeze with the sky train in DTW. I would fly them again for my domestic US flights.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 11 October 2008 : by C Hondsen

Customer Rating : 3/5

AMS-LAX via MEM. As FB Platinum was able to reserve extra legroom seat at front of economy cabin at no extra charge. Food and service no descript, if adequate. AVOD on A330 is nice but there is nothing worth watching. Was upgraded to First class on domestic segment which is a nice Elite Plus perk. Tasty meal on 3.5 hour flight - far superior to the transatlantic economy offering.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 1 October 2008 : by R Wilhelm

Customer Rating : 2/5

DTW-FRA Economy. A330 starting to show wear with dirty seat covers and ripped seat pocket. Last minute booking so only middle seat in rear available at online check in :$50 extra charge for a window seat toward the front. Meal service quick but quantity was on the low end with quality so-so. IFE was out for a large part, which required a total shut down and system re-boot which took about 45 minutes. Breakfast service was a joke but the flight was close to on time and luggage delivery was standard. Maybe with the Delta merger they can learn something about service levels and do something to improve the crew attitude which was appalling.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 29 September 2008 : by R Kane

Customer Rating : 2/5

EDI-AMS-BOS in economy. Price was good and Northwest Airlines A330 planes have a decent seat layout for a couple travelling together (2-4-2) along with pretty decent AVOD. Flights on time and the EDI-AMS-EDI legs were handled efficiently by KLM. However the customer service from most North American airlines is amongst the worst in the skies. I have never heard cabin crew speak to passengers the way the NW crew did in the 4 transatlantic flights I've made with them in the last year. Comments from one FA in one aisle to an FA in the other aisle included "They're like children, why won't they sit down". This was followed by one particularly aggressive female attendant who said loudly "You're welcome" in a sarcastic voice each time someone never thanked her for handing them their meal. The main meals were fairly inedible too. Requests for water were met with "When I get time" and then promptly forgotten about. I've said in other reviews that the North American airline industry needs consolidation and far higher standards. Cabin crew who can't hide their contempt for passengers are the norm nowadays on American airlines in general, not the exception. As with the other American carriers, you can get good prices, but expect surly attitudes in the air, poor food and random standards of IFE.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 29 September 2008 : by B Hayes

Customer Rating : 4/5

EWR-PVG with stops in Business Class. With exception of old DC-9s between Newark and Detroit all flights were above average in cleanliness. Food excellent, seats were upgraded and comfortable. On one flight chief flight attendant made a point of welcoming everyone in the business cabin on both boarding and on deplaning. Lounge at NRT had a wide offering of western and Asian foods. First time I have flown Northwest in years and would use them again to fly to Asia.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 26 September 2008 : by T Kruger

Customer Rating : 2/5

SEA-NRT-NGO in World Business Class. Seats comfortable, however it's hard to sleep on a slope and your feet begin to hurt after one hour. I kept having to move up in the seat so my head touched the top of the seat (I'm 6 foot). Staff seemed very unhappy and not one of them smiled the entire flight. Entering the galley area got me dirty looks and a "why are you out of your seat" attitude. The man across from me had two drinks in the first couple hours after take off, then had dinner and slept for a few hours. About five hours into the flight he asked for another drink and the flight attendant gave him grief about having too much to drink and asked "are you sure you can handle your alcohol?" (3 drinks in 5 hrs with a meal and sleep in between - I think he can have a 3rd drink). I got up to ask for a soda and the attendants were talking, I had to wait for 2 minutes before they stopped and then it was "did you need something?" instead of "how may I help you". When I asked for the soda she just went back to talking and handed me the soda without looking. No, "can I get you anything else" or even "here you are sir". The food was above average for airline food but it makes no sense that they serve dinner at 2:30pm PST then breakfast at 3:30pm JST. Should be lunch, sleep, then wake up for dinner. I got off the plane about 5:30PM Japan time having just finished breakfast? The aircraft is nice and the video system works well although mine re-booted once during the flight in the middle of a movie. The staff in world business class make you wish you had flown coach. it's like paying for a meal at a four star restaurant and getting McDonald's service - that's not being fair because most visits to McDonald's the staff smile and say "how may I help you" and "thank you".

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 14 September 2008 : by Michael Parker

Customer Rating : 3/5

SEA-LHR in World Business Class. Lounge was poor: felt full even though there were only two flights left to depart and no papers available. Wash kit was comparatively poor. FAs are generally unenthusiastic and I found them over-fussy: there was their way of doing things and that was that. Mid-flight they managed to wake my wife about 3 or 4 times as they were talking so loudly in the galley. Some people did not get their choice of meal and a couple of people's seats seemed to recline involuntarily on take off. Breakfast was uninspiring and somehow felt wrong when you knew it was now 3pm in the UK. On the plus side, we arrived early. Seat was initially uncomfy but then I managed to get a decent spell of sleep. Main course ok, but not as good as recent meals on AA and CO premium cabins. However, it's GBP700 less than BA for a roundtrip.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 6 September 2008 : by X Guidez

Customer Rating : 4/5

CDG-DTW-SFO and LAX-DTW-CDG economy with my wife and two children. Good airline regarding to the price and to US carrier standards. New A330 on transatlantic flights, IFE working well, nice FA. Food was correct. Transfer in DTW is much easier than in some other airports (especially than in PHL with US). NWA Terminal in DTW is great. Domestic flights operated on out of age airplane despite their new exterior painting (757 & 320) but pleasant crew. As a Skyteam member NWA works in the newly built part of Terminal 2 in CDG, which is much better than Terminal 1. After very less pleasant experiences on other US airlines (US, AA), I will choose this airline again.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 2 September 2008 : by J Sanders

Customer Rating : 4/5

MSN-DTW-AMS and return. Excellent service on every leg. DTW-AMS was exceptional. Excellent food, free bar, and excellent seats with seat back entertainment. The return was, again, exceptional. Every leg on time. No lost luggage and very professional, friendly air and ground crews.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES review : 29 August 2008 : by M Buenk

Customer Rating : 1/5

SFO-DTW-CDG-MAD. Another horrible US carrier experience. In SFO only checking in facilities by machine, although Elite Plus member, got a middle seat on first leg. During take-off engine back- fire, return to airport. As personal is mostly replaced by machines, chaos at the airport. Finally rebooked through DTW-CDG-MAD (Transatlantic NWA and not KLM is initially booked). Apart from all known defects as lousy food, headphones, seat & unfriendly cabin staff, got separated from travel- companion. Staff in DTW rude and not prepared to help out, "you have to be thankful we have rebooked you on this flight". With Delta (after a forced rebooking as well) same experience. Elite plus members have no benefits flying with American Sky-Team partners

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