I would have titled this entry Northworst, but the -worst suffix is still reserved for America Worst Airlines. Anyhow, I flew home yesterday -- yesterday AND the day before that, actually -- on Northwest Airlines. I purchased my ticket to fly out of the Mid-Delta Regional Airport.

Although it was more expensive, I wouldn't have to drive to and park in Memphis. Well, perhaps that wasn't such a good calculation on my part. Upon arriving an hour and a half early for my flight, my room mate Chris and I were informed that the flight had been delayed for "mechanical problems." At first we were told it would only be delayed about 45 minutes. That was good, because it gave me hopes for catching my connecting flight to LAX. Three hours later those hopes were dashed. I was told to get on the plane anyhow, because the morning flight was overbooked and I could very well be bumped then. I probably would have been a lot more pissed at the time, but the staff was pretty nice about it and I was with 3 TFA teachers. When the plane finally got there, one of the staff ran outside yelling, "De plane! De plane!" And, as we were taking off, the captain dryly joked, "It looks like we're number one for take-off." There are only three commercial flights per day.

Once we got to Memphis we got in line to get whatever they were going to give us. When I got up there I asked if I could be re-routed through Dallas or Las Vegas. The lady said I couldn't. I then argued for a free flight. I said that I could have driven up to Memphis, caught my connecting flight, and paid less. Instead, I was paying more to have 12 hours of my life wasted. I thought I deserved a free flight. Not so, according to the lady behind the counter. She informed me that free flights were only given out when passengers were denied boarding. I asked to speak with a manager and she told me she was, in fact, the manager. I did get a comped hotel room and buffet meal out of it. Other people who didn't complain managed to get two free meals. Hmmm...

The next morning Chris made another shot at getting a comped flight. He spoke with a Mr. Pinkston the following morning and was told that the Greenville flight was down for scheduled maintenence and that there was nothing he could do. That's kind of odd, because I think that if an aircraft was going to have scheduled maintenence, flights wouldn't be sold during the maintenence.

I figure the company response policy is crafted this way so that they can shut people up and get them home quickly. Then, they'll forget about their travel problems because they're home. I figure if I continue to make a big deal about it with letters to them, various travel magazines, the Better Business Bureau, etc., I might be able to get that comped flight.

Also, I'm not alone on this one.