Business History Books » Business Consultant » Northwest Airlines: Computer Software Bugs or A Monkey Business?
Northwest Airlines: Computer Software Bugs or A Monkey Business?
Question:
> >I presented her my driver’s license (Young Kim) and my NW ‘Worldperks’ card >(959 821 586) to establish my identity. > Never give this out, as one can now book things via the website with this > number. Don’t be suprised if your Worldperks account is now empty.
Well, considering Dr. Kim only has 17,249 miles in his account, there’s not much mileage that can be redeemed for an award yet. ;-) Moral of the Story: NW WorldPerks requires no PIN for account access; keep the number to yourself! –Rolando
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> >I presented her my driver’s license (Young Kim) and my NW > ‘Worldperks’ card > >(959 821 586) to establish my identity. > Never give this out, as one can now book things via the website with > this > number. Don’t be suprised if your Worldperks account is now empty. > Well, considering Dr. Kim only has 17,249 miles in his account, > there’s > not much mileage that can be redeemed for an award yet. ;-) > Moral of the Story: NW WorldPerks requires no PIN for account access; > keep the number to yourself! > –Rolando
When I checked just after he posted his number, he still had 1,677,249 miles. 
Sjoerd
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > >I presented her my driver’s license (Young Kim) and my NW > ‘Worldperks’ card > > >(959 821 586) to establish my identity. > > Never give this out, as one can now book things via the website with > this > > number. Don’t be suprised if your Worldperks account is now empty. > Well, considering Dr. Kim only has 17,249 miles in his account, > there’s > not much mileage that can be redeemed for an award yet. ;-) > Moral of the Story: NW WorldPerks requires no PIN for account access; > keep the number to yourself! > –Rolando > When I checked just after he posted his number, he still had > 1,677,249 miles. > Sjoerd
"Dr. Kim"? "He"? Wait a sec…I thought "Young Kim" was a female rapper from da ‘hood. Guess I’m thinking of "Li’l Kim." Close… 
Mike Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.
Response:
>I travel all the time on e-tickets and I have >never been subjected to this kind of shit! What’s the hell is the problem?
If you talked like this to me, I’d "lose" your reservation too. >The captain said that a radar unit at Boston was knocked out of action by a >lightning. I wanted to know why there was no backup radar system. Even >Sadam Hussein has a fault-tolerant radar networks in place — why not Uncle >Sam?
Umm, because you don’t pay (in ticket taxes) nearly what it costs to run and equip the USA’s ATC system?? > A flight attendant of NW 367 >assured me, after looking up a NW flight schedule book, that there was a >later flight to Columbus. He was sure that I would be on it and that a NW >rep would meet me at the gate upon our arrival. >Well, there was no NW rep at the gate and, more critically, there was no >later flight to Columbus.
With all the travelling you seem to do, that you do not carry a copy of your prefferred airline’s schedule book (free at most counters) and know not how to read it is mind-boggling. You might even consider subcribing to the OAG pocket edition. > After some 40 min of standing in line, I got to talk >to a sullen NW employee.
Ever heard of that new-fangled invention called "the telephone"? >I presented her my driver’s license (Young Kim) and my NW ‘Worldperks’ card >(959 821 586) to establish my identity.
Never give this out, as one can now book things via the website with this number. Don’t be suprised if your Worldperks account is now empty.
Response:
Northwest Airlines: Computer Software Bugs or A Monkey Business? It seems the airline industry is the seller’s market these days. There are more passengers hitting the airways than air line seats and most airlines over-book their flights on purpose at the expense of their captive clients. The government agencies that are empowered by the people to safeguard the traveler’ rights seem to work for the airlines or totally incompetent. As a software consultant, I jet around the globe and encounter all types of airline monkey business – computer glitches, power failures, foul weather, radar problems, ‘mechanical’ problems, crew work slowdown or no shows, etc., etc.,, ad nausea. It seems that things are getting worse. Below is a brief on my most recent encounter with an airline monkey business. (1) 06/26/1999 – From Seattle to Memphis on NW #8: I arrived at the NW ticket counters at the Seattle/Tacoma airport about 90 min prior to the scheduled departure time (12:20). I told the ticket agent that I had an e-ticket for Memphis, TN. NW: What’s your last name? Me: Kim — Kei Ei Em — Kim NW: Sorry — I have no e-ticket for you. Me: Here is the confirmation # (producing a piece of paper from my travel agent – actually a web). NW: Oh, it’s under Young – Yes, you do have an e-ticket. How would like to pay for it? Me: It is prepaid – it says right here (pointing at the paper again) NW: Can I see the credit card used for this ticket? Me: No, I don’t have it. It’s our company credit card. Hey, I don’t know what the problem is here. I travel all the time on e-tickets and I have never been subjected to this kind of shit! What’s the hell is the problem? NW: No problem, sir. Do you carry any firearms? Me: No! NW: (scowling) Here is your boarding pass. Me: Look here (pointing at my name on the confirmation letter) – see this? My name is spelled correctly here. Why the hell does your computer have my name wrong? The NW agent ignored me and looked the other way. He motioned the next passenger in line to come forward. My encounter with this agent was over. A fellow passenger later told me that the NW reservation system automatically (mis)identifies passengers’ first and last names and that he has been fighting the wrong-name-no-ticket battle for some time himself. He also noted that the NW computer software cannot correct wrong names. My plane NW #8 departed more or less on time and arrived at Memphis on time, too. I devoured a 30oz steak at the Butcher Shop and enjoyed this city of Elvis Presley. (2) 06/28/1999: Memphis (TN) to Newark (NJ) – NW #883 Me: I have an e-ticket under ‘Young’ – wai-oh-yu-en-gee – going to Newark. NW: Yes, sir. Are you checking in one bag to Newark? Me: Yes. After asking me the standard (and meaningless) Yes and No questions about my bags; NW: Here is your boarding pass. Enjoy your flight. My plane was scheduled to leave Memphis at 8:05 pm and to land at Newark at 11:39 pm. To make a long story short, it was late by more than five hours. It was 4:40 am by the time I checked into my hotel at Staten Island. It costed me one day of business work hours and $$$$. (3) 07/02/1999: Newark (NJ) to Detroit (MI) – NW 367 I got my boarding pass without any hassle and boarded the plane. The plane was pushed off the gate a few min behind schedule. So far so good. No sooner than the plane was out of the gate area, the captain announced that there would be a ’short’ delay — which turned out to be about 130 min! The captain said that a radar unit at Boston was knocked out of action by a lightning. I wanted to know why there was no backup radar system. Even Sadam Hussein has a fault-tolerant radar networks in place — why not Uncle Sam? One of my fellow travelers wanted to get off the plane. The only reason why he was on the plane was to attend a business meeting at 8 pm in Detroit that evening, and since he knew that he could not attend it, there was no reason for him to fly. He was understandably upset and got agitated when he was told that the plane could not go back to the gate. There was no way he could get off the plane. The captain must have known of the delay, but he loaded and locked up his captive passengers anyway, presumabley not to lose any load and money – what a shameless fellow this captain is! NW 367 arrived at Detroit about 2.5 hours behind schedule and I missed my connecting flight NW 1884 to Columbus (OH). A flight attendant of NW 367 assured me, after looking up a NW flight schedule book, that there was a later flight to Columbus. He was sure that I would be on it and that a NW rep would meet me at the gate upon our arrival. Well, there was no NW rep at the gate and, more critically, there was no later flight to Columbus. The flight I missed was the last one for the day and I was about to miss one of the most important event of my life in Columbus — a dinner date with my 3.5 year old grand daughter. I flagged down a NW employee and told her about my predicament. She was not the least interested in my welfare and directed me to the NW ticket counters in the main terminal some distance away. She said that someone there may be able to help me. I ran as fast as my tired old legs could manage – still believing that there must be a ‘later’ flight and that if I did not run, I would miss getting on it. After an arduous run and gallons of sweats, I made it to the main ticket area. Lo and behold – I could not believe my eyes. There was a long line of people – at least 100 of them — but there were only 5 NW employees manning the counters. After some 40 min of standing in line, I got to talk to a sullen NW employee. He claimed that my Newark plane was delayed due to the weather (actually it was due to a radar problem) and he booked me on the first flight (NW 3093) to Columbus next day. I asked for a written confirmation or a boarding pass. He refused to issue me a boarding pass saying that it was against a federal law, but he did give me a computer printout of my new flight schedule and circled my Columbus flight in red for me. I asked him where I was supposed to stay for the night and he scornfully told me to find me a hotel or spend the night at the airport. It was not his problem. Well, I paid the full fare (nearly $2,000) and I was not about to take this kind of negativity from any NW employee. I demanded to see a supervisor. He threw a small piece of paper at me that directed me to fill out a complaint form on the web (www.nwa.com), but I insisted on seeing a supervisor in person now. He told me that a NW customer service person may be at the G-Concourse. I ran to the supervisor station which happened to be at the last G-gate – still hoping that there was a flight leaving for Columbus for me. There was indeed an elderly woman manning a "customer relations" desk. She was sympathetic and spent several minutes searching for the mystery flight mentioned by my flight attendant and firmly announced that there was no flight to Columbus – period. She gave me ‘generous’ vouchers for hotel and food ($8) for the night, saying that there was nothing else she could do for me. She rearranged my flight schedule so that I could spend an extra day in Columbus en route to my final destination – Seattle. The hotel was nice and the food was not bad. (4) 07/03/1999: Detroit (MI) to Columbus (OH) — NW #3093 (trial run). I woke up at 4:00 am and got to the airport at 5:30 am as it is my long-standing practice against the Murphy’s Laws – I normally get to the airport at least 90 min ahead of the posted departure time. Naturally, I was the first to arrive at the gate. I waited for at least 45 min for the gate keeper to show up. I presented my old boarding pass and the computer printout showing my new flight schedule to Columbus. To my utmost horror, she claimed that she could not find my reservation (neither under Kim nor Young) and demanded to know who gave me the printout. I was about to explode on her but I recovered my senses and decided that the poor gate keeper was only doing her job. She was not worth my wrath. I left the gate counter to plan my next move. At this point a fellow passenger who was in the same predicament as I was told me the ‘true’ story. He said: When a plane is delayed, a computer software automatically rebooks connecting passengers to the next scheduled flight. This gibed with what the NW agent told me the night before and his computer printout proved it. But then why this woman could not find my ticket for NW 3093? The wise man: A few hour prior to the scheduled departure time, someone or something (another software) deletes names if the flight is over-booked. The dumb dumb (Me): Why? The wise man: Well, if a flight is over-booked, the airline has to issue free tickets to all passengers it cannot accommodate. Missing connection ‘reroutes’ are dropped from the list in order to save money. Perfectly legal. The dumb dumb (Me): What a scam! There got to be a law against this sort of thing. I could read on the wise man’s face that he did not wish to waste any more of his time on this stupid old guy (me). Thus armed with the inside intelligence, I went back to do battle with the hapless gate keeper. Then I noticed that she was several months pregnant and my father instinct took over the control. There was no way I could do any thing to hurt her baby – no sir. Me (smiling now): Hi, it’s me again. Will you please check my record again? NW woman: Ok, let me see that printout again. I handed her the piece of paper and she finally found my record and offered to put me on standby on NW 3093 and a confirmed seat with a boarding pass for NW #1117 to Columbus leaving at 8:50 am. She kindly pointed out that NW 3093 was a prop whereas #1117 was a jet. She said I would be more comfortable on a jet. I gladly accepted her offer. After thanking her profusely — as if she saved my life or something — I rushed to Gate C1 (from G7 … read more »