Tried & Tested

Northwest Airlines A320SR business class domestic

18 May 2009 by Mark Caswell

BACKGROUND Since the completion of the merger between Delta Air Lines and Skyteam partner Northwest Airlines at the end of last year, Delta’s livery, uniforms, in-flight entertainment and onboard amenities have started to be introduced throughout NWA’s fleet.

Flight schedules are also being merged under the Delta code, and the carriers’ loyalty programmes Delta SkyMiles and Northwest WorldPerks are being consolidated. In January 2010, the new SkyMiles Medallion programme will launch, after the final transition of WorldPerks members into SkyMiles in December.

The incorporation of Northwest into Delta will see the NWA brand disappear from the skies by the end of 2010, making Delta the biggest airline in the world, serving 170 million passengers a year. In the mean time, tickets can still be booked with Northwest Airlines online at nwa.com or indirectly through codeshare partner KLM at klm.com.  

CHECK-IN As this was the return sector of a trip booked through KLM, which codeshares with NWA, part of the journey happened to be operated by Northwest – a domestic flight from San Francisco to Detroit, and then a transatlantic service from Detroit to Amsterdam, where I transited to London with KLM.

I checked in online the day before (connecting to klm.com which then linked me through to nwa.com) for flight NW342 at 1240, and accepted my pre-assigned seat for the SFO-DTW flight, and then changed my seat on the DTW-AMS flight to 2A. There was no option to change the seat I had been assigned on KLM flight KL1017 from Amsterdam to London as I was on nwa.com, but for such a short flight I didn’t perceive this to be much of a problem. There was also no option to print a boarding pass, which has to be done at the airport.

San Francisco International airport is roughly a 50-minute drive away from the centre, and I had to leave my hire car off on level three of the nearby official airport drop-off point for Budget. After I had done so, I took the lift down to level one, then an escalator up one level, before catching the free shuttle train to Terminal 1 for domestic departures.

There was no queue when I arrived at the Northwest check-in area at 1020, and a curt member of staff behind the First (business class) desk instructed me to use the self-service computer terminal attached it. I checked in two pieces of luggage (passengers are allowed two bags totally up to 30kg, free) and printed my boarding pass. I also had the option of printing out an emergency contact form and filling it in – Northwest says it is a requirement – so I did, but no one asked for it at the departure gate and I later realised I had forgotten to give it to anyone.

THE LOUNGE After asking the check-in agent for directions to the lounge, which is landside just before security, I took the lift on the right-hand side towards the far end of the corridor up to level three to the Delta Crown Room Club, five minutes’ walk away.

To the left of reception are three telephone points, a small conference room seating six people, some restrooms, a photocopier, fax and printer. To the right is the main lounge area. It is not huge, but is filled with natural daylight and on this Saturday morning it was almost empty. There are plenty of comfy armchairs with side tables for drinks (not so useful if you need to spread out papers or work on a laptop), a TV viewing area at the far end and a private nook with a printer, and a manned bar with several canteen-style tables and chairs set out in front of it.

As well as offering flyers a good selection of newspapers and magazines including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, American Cinematographer and the US edition of Business Traveller, there was wifi internet access for US$6 per hour or US$9.99 for 24 hours with T-Mobile Hotspot, although I was told that from April 17 this service will be free. A good selection of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks including tea and coffee were available from the bar, but food options were limited to a nuts and dried fruit.

BOARDING The screens in the lounge (and in the terminal) did not indicate at what stage the flight was at (ie “go to gate”, “boarding” etc) except to say whether it was on time or not, so I decided to head for the gate at 1210, as instructed on my boarding pass. There was no fast-track security for business class passengers, but I was through within six minutes (laptops out, shoes and jacket off). When I arrived at Gate 47 at 1220 no one was there, as most people, I soon discovered, had already boarded.

After entering the plane from the front via an airbridge, my first impression of the First cabin was that it felt rather dark and cramped as the seats were quite close together. There was one male member of cabin crew, dressed in Northwest’s high-necked black uniform (which at first glance looked a little like a priest’s cassock) who was attending to those in business class, and once I was seated he passed me a bottle of water and then called from the front of the cabin to ask if I wanted anything else to drink before take-off.

THE SEAT On board this 148-seat narrow-bodied A320SR, I was sitting in window seat 4A, which is the last row in First and it is separated from economy by a small curtain. First seats are configured 2-2 (A-B, C-D) with economy in a 3-3 (A-B-C, D-E-F) layout.

First seats, upholstered in worn navy blue nylon fabric, have a width of 21-21.5 inches (53-54.5cm), a pitch of 36 inches (91.5cm). Although the width was adequate, when the person in front of me pushed his seat back fully it felt as if he had really encroached into my personal space, which felt somewhat claustrophobic.

The seat was also quite deep, and with no footrest, this could be slightly uncomfortable, especially for someone of shorter stature. There is no in-flight entertainment or in-seat power on domestic Northwest flights, but a thin, dark blue blanket and a pillow were provided.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? It is probably best to opt for the standard bulkhead seats in row one because even though there isn’t much more in the way of legroom and no under-seat storage, you at least avoid having someone reclining their seat into your space.

THE FLIGHT The safety demonstration took place as we started taxiing at about 1240 and take-off was shortly after at 1250. The pilot came on to inform us that the flight to Detroit should take four hours and one minute and that in economy, alcohol and food would be available to buy (beer US$5, spirits US$7, cocktails US$7, trail mix/Pringles US$3, M&Ms US$2) although soft drinks such as Pepsi, Canada Dry, Mtn Dew, juice and coffee, would be free.

At 1320, hot towels were handed round and the food service began soon after. A tray of apples, bananas, cookies, pretzels, peanuts and chocolate were offered first, as well as a round of drinks. I had a Bombay gin with a large can of tonic water. When it came to the main meal at 1420, I was told that Northwest did not have my pre-ordered vegetarian option as “NWA have not had any meat-free meals in First on transition flights operated with Delta since the merger”. The purser advised me to check with the agent in Detroit that there would be a vegetarian meal on board my connecting flight with NWA to Amsterdam when I landed.

Luckily, it turned out that there was a spare vegetarian meal in economy, so I was given that instead. Served with a glass of white wine, the meal came in a plastic box with metal cutlery and consisted of: a packet of grissini sticks; a cold orzo pasta salad with onion, mushroom and cheese, some olives, lettuce and a pitta bread; a small fruit salad and a chocolate chip cookie. The main was actually quite tasty, if a little oily, and the leaves were crisp and fresh. And even being an economy class meal, I thought it looked as though it stood up quite well against the First options of a hot toasted sandwich or chicken salad. (I am later told my dish was a Delta meal that is starting to be introduced on board NWA flights.)

ARRIVAL A bumpy descent began at 1615, and the plane landed at Detroit Metro airport at 1652 (1952 local time). First passengers disembarked via an airbridge promptly and I checked with a member of staff upon exiting which gate my connecting flight with Northwest was departing from.

It turned out to be from Gate A34, an eight-minute walk away, which was just as well as boarding began shortly after I arrived, at 2020. As advised, I confirmed that I had a vegetarian meal on board, and was told that as my boarding pass indicated, I did, so there should be one on board. (For the full business class flight from Detroit to Amsterdam with Northwest Airlines, click here.)

VERDICT Although there were a few down-points in terms of the amount of space you get in the First cabin and the fact that my vegetarian option wasn’t on board, the flight was punctual, the cabin crew professional, and my meat-free economy meal a perfectly decent back-up. Hopefully, once the practical aspects of the merger with Delta have been completed at the end of next year, the inconsistencies will have been smoothed out.

PRICE Return KLM/NWA business class flights from London Heathrow to San Francisco via Detroit in May started from £1,669 online at klm.com.

CONTACT nwa.com, klm.com, delta.com

By Jenny Southan

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