NorthWest Airlines (KLM Partner) - Never again!

shoey79

:mad:

I thought i would post a complaint letter I made to NWA, we had a connecting flight from Detroit USA to Heathrow on Tuesday, but due to a problem with the first plane we missed the connecting flight and all hopes of getting back to heatrow on time.

We were offered Gatwick with no help to get to heathrow and 16 of us had a nightmare getting this sorted.

here is the complaint letter, it explains everything that happened...

...thoughts?

Thanks


***COMPLAINT***

This is a complaint about how badly a number of us were treated while travelling back to the UK.

On the 7th July 2008 we had flights booked from Orlando International to Detroit Airport; The Flight we were boarding was NW425 which was meant to leave at 1:20pm, however due to “mechanical faults” on the Aircraft it was 1hour 40minutes late into the Airport.

Because of this a number of us were concerned about a connecting flight to Heathrow, we enquired about this problem and were told that we would still have plenty of time to catch the connecting flight, as it was now due to leave Detroit at 6:10pm, this meant that we had a total of 30 minutes to catch the flight.

Unfortunately NW425 was a further 30 minutes late getting into the Airport, which meant that even if we did arrive on time, it would not have been possible to transfer.

Another customer then enquired again knowing that we would not catch this flight as to what would happen, the attendant at the desk informed the customer that because there were over 16 of us due to transfer to Heathrow that they would hold the connecting flight back for us.

This came as a sigh or relief to all the passengers, especially me as I had previously arranged and paid for transfer from Heathrow to my final destination.

Once boarded we soon departed heading to Detroit, during the flight we were informed that as soon as we landed, we would be met by someone to guide us quickly to the next correct gate, however due to a “communication issue” no one was there to greet us.

An Attendant did eventually arrive to bring us the bad news that the flight had decided to leave without us, even though we had only arrived 5mins after the flight was due to depart to Heathrow.

NWA had automatically booked us on the next flight which was to Gatwick; this was completely unacceptable as I have already paid for transport from Heathrow to my final destination.

Around 10 of us then went to the NWA help desk to find out what could be done, they informed us that we either went to Gatwick Airport or waited 24 hours for the next Heathrow flight, I was not happy about waiting so we took the Gatwick Flight instead. I ask exactly how they going to then transport us from Gatwick to Heathrow, they informed me that: “I guess you will have to make your own way there as we do not provide transport or pay for it”.

This again was completely unacceptable as we had PAID to go to HEATHROW not Gatwick.

They again informed us that nothing could be done and that we would have to all speak to the NWA Helpdesk once we had landed at Gatwick.

At 9:15pm the Gatwick Flight NW34 was due to depart but yet again due to mechanical faults we were unable to leave for a further 20 minutes.

The Plane we boarded did not have interactive Screens nor did it have power points for laptops which I required and requested in the Heathrow flight, this caused a significant inconvenience and put me behind on my work.

Once landed, we collected our bags and headed towards the NWA helpdesk, we then informed the agent of our situation, to be told again that NWA (or KLM) do not provide support for transfers from one airport to another, this was an outrage as we had not originally asked to be sent to Gatwick, nor did we wish to incur further expense, even at this stage, my transport from Heathrow to my final destination had gone, which meant that I would now have to spend extra anyway in getting to my destination.

We were then handed a card with a number to call on it, the agent informed us that we could attempt to claim a refund on any transfers we paid for; we did not accept this and asked the desk to contact and rectify this situation immediately, as this time there were 6 of us complaining to this desk.

After the agent had spoken on the phone to the NWA call centre they agreed that they could provide transfers to Heathrow airport, the whole process took over an hour to do; we eventually were transferred to Heathrow.

Because of all of this, I am very unhappy with the situation that we have been put in, my journey from Heathrow to my final destination then cost me an extra £50, which I should not have had to pay for.

I would like NWA to look into this and tell me what you can do as a company to meet my needs as a customer.

Please reply ASAP

Please also note, as an internet user, I regularly submit reviews on Customer Services provided by companies, I’m sure many other users would be very interested to hear the outcome of this situation.

Lee

dmg24

Have you sent the letter yet?

pinkshoes

Were the 2 flight booked at the same time with the same company, as normally you're supposed to leave 2 hours between connecting flights?

Why did it cost you an extra £50 when NWA provided the transfer in the end? If you were doing work on the plane, and it was a business trip, can't you put it on your company expenses?

I've had two flight delays of over 8 hours this year, but sh*t happens!

Tozer

Ah, good to see NorthWorst is up to its old tricks again.

nikaso

I must agree with OP, its disgraceful service by the sounds of it, especially when they argued about transferring you to LHR.

Voyager2002

The letter rambles, and at the beginning you seem to complain that no transport was provided to Heathrow, although at the end it is clear that this was provided.

Two issues need to stand out:
1. You eventually reached Heathrow much later than timetabled. Depending on how late you were, you should be due some compensation under EU rules (check your rights).
2. The quality of the service you received was lower than you could reasonably expect: confusing messages about whether or not you would make your flight; lack of on-board facilities on the flight to Gatwick; delay and confusion about arranging onward transport to Heathrow. You might care to put a cash value on the poor service that you received, and invite them to give you this figure as well as the extra fifty pounds that you paid to get home from Heathrow. However, unlike the compensation for point 1 this would purely be at their discretion, rather than a legal right, so you would have to ask nicely.

Why were you not on BA? Any saving on the fare will have been wiped out many times over by the value of the time that was lost. Third-world airlines are for students whose time has no value: even thinking about using such a carrier shows a lack of professional judgement on the part of any business traveller.

Tozer

Voyager2002 wrote: »

The letter rambles, and at the beginning you seem to complain that no transport was provided to Heathrow, although at the end it is clear that this was provided.

Two issues need to stand out:
1. You eventually reached Heathrow much later than timetabled. Depending on how late you were, you should be due some compensation under EU rules (check your rights).
2. The quality of the service you received was lower than you could reasonably expect: confusing messages about whether or not you would make your flight; lack of on-board facilities on the flight to Gatwick; delay and confusion about arranging onward transport to Heathrow. You might care to put a cash value on the poor service that you received, and invite them to give you this figure as well as the extra fifty pounds that you paid to get home from Heathrow. However, unlike the compensation for point 1 this would purely be at their discretion, rather than a legal right, so you would have to ask nicely.

Why were you not on BA? Any saving on the fare will have been wiped out many times over by the value of the time that was lost. Third-world airlines are for students whose time has no value: even thinking about using such a carrier shows a lack of professional judgement on the part of any business traveller.

Bit harsh. NWA is hardly a "third world airline". Its actually the world's fourth biggest airline. Not a very good one admittedly.

Sometimes schedules dictate which carrier you should take. As every business traveller should know...

uktim29

shoey79 wrote: »

I would like NWA to look into this and tell me what you can do as a company to meet my needs as a customer.

I would lose that bit. Your home now. You're asking for a refund for any expenses. The above quote just sounds far too arrogant anyway.

shoey79 wrote: »

Please also note, as an internet user, I regularly submit reviews on Customer Services provided by companies, I’m sure many other users would be very interested to hear the outcome of this situation.

You're going into the blackmail area now. You won't be the first to do this. People who deal with complaints will have very think skin to this sort of thing. It won't be doing you any favors.

If you're complaining you need to get the person you're complaining to on side. The above two sentences will achieve the opposite.

Voyager2002

Tozer wrote: »

Bit harsh. NWA is hardly a "third world airline". Its actually the world's fourth biggest airline. Not a very good one admittedly.

Sometimes schedules dictate which carrier you should take. As every business traveller should know...

Large it may be, but very few third world countries have airlines as bad as NWA.

Schedules are important, but since the OP flew to Florida via Detroit (!) I cannot believe that this ticket was bought on the basis of the schedule.

Tozer

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Large it may be, but very few third world countries have airlines as bad as NWA.

Schedules are important, but since the OP flew to Florida via Detroit (!) I cannot believe that this ticket was bought on the basis of the schedule.

Done it myself. a) cost; b) regional airport availability; c) schedule...

By the way, what third world countries do you think have better airlines? And please include safety in this respect.

Voyager2002

Tozer wrote: »

By the way, what third world countries do you think have better airlines? And please include safety in this respect.

Interesting question. When I typed that I was thinking of Vietnam, which has an outstanding airline (better than Cathay Pacific).

If you regard Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as third world, their airlines can certainly be added to the list. Perhaps even Gulf Air. And most Chinese airlines (my wife is Chinese and has experienced most of them, and was appalled by her experiences on NWA: apparently they couldn't even manage to show the safety video).

My experience of the following is out of date, and there are questions about their safety record, but my passenger experience was of a high standard on Avianca (Colombia); Air Madagascar (although their flights were operated by Air France); Ethiopian Airlines (their safety record was good until a terrorist attack).

Thai have a good reputation, although I have never used them.