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Taken 21 August 2007 from Westchester County (White Plains), NY (Westchester County Airport) - HPN to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul International (Wold-Chamberlain) Airport) - MSP

My report is on the first leg of a round trip between White Plains, NY (HPN) and Seattle (SEA) with a stop in Minneapolis (MSP). (The other 3 flight segments on this ticket were all significantly late)

The flight was delayed and hour taking off due to Air Force One paying a visit to Minneapolis. It was delayed even further do to runway construction at MSP and thunder storms which necessitated a refueling stop in Duluth, MN. This combination of events caused massive delays too many flights so by default, I was still able to make my connection. I was fortunate. Others I spoke with missed their connection by 10 minutes and didn’t get out until the next morning.

The flight crew was actually exceptional. The pilot made a concerted effort to keep passengers notified of the flight status and delays. The lone flight attendant was delightfully personable which helped to compensate for the cramped Canadaire aircraft we were on. (Tip: Avoid the last row of this aircraft. It is next to the lav. and the seats do not recline “fully”. General seating is tight. In addition, if you are tall you will need to watch your head on this aircraft!)

My biggest issues with Northwest however were not with the flight itself but involved reservations and boarding. It took me literally about 10 calls over several days to get seat assignments. (“Call back later, all agents are busy”) In lieu of calling I tried emails. NWA did not respond. This is significant as not having an assigned seat significantly increases your probability of being bumped. NWA often leads the pack in denied boarding statistics. The boarding procedure itself was “different”. Northwest does not board by rows or zones. Just line up and get on.