June 12, 2005
Northwest 194
Airbus A320
MSP Departure Gate G2
Seat 22-C
The day started out with an attempt to do the NWA web check-in from home, but for some unknown reason the web check-in did not recognize my confirmation number or any other information required for web check-in. When I arrived at the airport and attempted to do the check-in at the NWA kiosk, I ran into the same problem again that I experienced with the web check-in. I then decided that I needed to have a live person do the check-in for me, but the NWA agents kept attempting to direct me back to the kiosks and didn't seem to listen to my explanation about the check-in problems. Finally I did get a person to do the check-in, although reluctantly. After check-in I went through security with only a few minutes wait and had time to get a sandwich for lunch and do some plane spotting.
These are a few pictures that I took at MSP.




Boarding and departure from gate G2 was on time. We got in the line-up for takeoff from runway 30L. When we got to the front of the line-up, we did a left turn away from the runway for some unknown reason and then taxied back to the back of the line-up again. The crew never explained what happened and there was much speculation as to the reason for this. Although the weather on the ground was calm and the sky was only scattered clouds, we had considerable turbulence until we got above about 10,000 feet. The flight attendants on this flight were all older flight attendants who looked close to retirement age. The flight attendants were friendly and I would rate their service as good, but I did not like the new NWA policy of only giving out free beverages and having to pay $3 for a a bag of what was free in the past. It looked like the majority of passengers also were not willing to pay the $3.
The flight to RDU was mostly smooth, other than a few minutes of stormy clouds and turbulence over Milwaukee. Our flight altitude was 35,000 feet.
This was taken during the flight.

While in North Carolina I had the opportunity to visit the shop for the Bill Davis NASCAR racing team. http://www.billdavisracing.com/
These are a couple pictures of the Toyota Tundra trucks that are used in some races


The race team also has a number of Dodge cars


June 15, 2005
Northwest 275
Airbus A320
RDU Departure Gate A5
Seat 17-C
Since I had the check-in problems on Sunday, I decided to call NWA reservations on Wednesday morning to see if I could get the problem cleared up. When I called NWA reservations, I was told that my reservations had been cancelled. After further investigation, I learned that the information was not accurate and I did still have my reservation for the return flight but still did not get the confirmation number issue resolved. Fortunately when I arrived at RDU Wednesday afternoon the agent there was much more willing to do the check-in.
When going through the RDU security, I forgot to take off my belt and set off the metal detector alarm. This resulted in a long and thorough hand pat-down and search.
While waiting at the gate I took a couple of pictures.


Boarding and departure from gate A5 was on time and the flight back to MSP was smooth, although we flew above clouds for most of the flight. The flight attendants on this flight were all much younger than on the earlier flight and again they were friendly and the service was good.
This picture was taken of the St Croix River where it meets the Mississippi River, a little east of MSP.
Northwest 194
Airbus A320
MSP Departure Gate G2
Seat 22-C
The day started out with an attempt to do the NWA web check-in from home, but for some unknown reason the web check-in did not recognize my confirmation number or any other information required for web check-in. When I arrived at the airport and attempted to do the check-in at the NWA kiosk, I ran into the same problem again that I experienced with the web check-in. I then decided that I needed to have a live person do the check-in for me, but the NWA agents kept attempting to direct me back to the kiosks and didn't seem to listen to my explanation about the check-in problems. Finally I did get a person to do the check-in, although reluctantly. After check-in I went through security with only a few minutes wait and had time to get a sandwich for lunch and do some plane spotting.
These are a few pictures that I took at MSP.
Boarding and departure from gate G2 was on time. We got in the line-up for takeoff from runway 30L. When we got to the front of the line-up, we did a left turn away from the runway for some unknown reason and then taxied back to the back of the line-up again. The crew never explained what happened and there was much speculation as to the reason for this. Although the weather on the ground was calm and the sky was only scattered clouds, we had considerable turbulence until we got above about 10,000 feet. The flight attendants on this flight were all older flight attendants who looked close to retirement age. The flight attendants were friendly and I would rate their service as good, but I did not like the new NWA policy of only giving out free beverages and having to pay $3 for a a bag of what was free in the past. It looked like the majority of passengers also were not willing to pay the $3.
The flight to RDU was mostly smooth, other than a few minutes of stormy clouds and turbulence over Milwaukee. Our flight altitude was 35,000 feet.
This was taken during the flight.
While in North Carolina I had the opportunity to visit the shop for the Bill Davis NASCAR racing team. http://www.billdavisracing.com/
These are a couple pictures of the Toyota Tundra trucks that are used in some races
The race team also has a number of Dodge cars
June 15, 2005
Northwest 275
Airbus A320
RDU Departure Gate A5
Seat 17-C
Since I had the check-in problems on Sunday, I decided to call NWA reservations on Wednesday morning to see if I could get the problem cleared up. When I called NWA reservations, I was told that my reservations had been cancelled. After further investigation, I learned that the information was not accurate and I did still have my reservation for the return flight but still did not get the confirmation number issue resolved. Fortunately when I arrived at RDU Wednesday afternoon the agent there was much more willing to do the check-in.
When going through the RDU security, I forgot to take off my belt and set off the metal detector alarm. This resulted in a long and thorough hand pat-down and search.
While waiting at the gate I took a couple of pictures.
Boarding and departure from gate A5 was on time and the flight back to MSP was smooth, although we flew above clouds for most of the flight. The flight attendants on this flight were all much younger than on the earlier flight and again they were friendly and the service was good.
This picture was taken of the St Croix River where it meets the Mississippi River, a little east of MSP.
Comment