Hi there...

here is another trip report from me again! I embarked on this trip of mine in Jul 01 with Northwest Airlines and I had a ball (not the plane ride!). My journey was basically SIN-NRT-SFO, SFO-MSP-ORD, ORD-DTW-NRT-SIN (Phew!...). So I had quite a trip as you can see.

Well, here's the report!

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NW 20, SIN-NRT 6hrs 30mins, 747-200, Y Class
NW 28, NRT-SFO 9hrs 15mins, 747-200, Y Class
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My Northwest flight departed at 0630H. It's a God-forsaken hour where most of the island is still asleep and here I am making to airport at 0400H. All the American airlines that fly to Singapore leave and arrive at such wierd hours (UA and NW)!

Check in was quick because there was hardly anyone at all! Changi Airport Terminal One, where NW departs from, is deserted at this time. Proceeding through immigration, the departure hall is dead - devoid of human movement! The only people milling around was the pax departing on my flight. Shops were still closed, I do not remember hearing any piped music as well! This is my first time flying NW to the US, I previously flew JAL and they left at a more humane hour, so I found my whole quiet terminal experience rather surreal. It's normally so busy! Looking outside at the tarmac, a TG A330, and a UA 747-200 sat silently in the dark.

Proceeding to my departure gate, which was the only holding area filled with people, I found the flight pretty full. Peering outside, I realised that this was the first time I was staring at a NW 747-200 here in Singapore! What's more I am so close to its nose! I nevr had the opportunity to spot them due to their early departures - and I am still snoring in my bed!

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Photo © Andrew Hunt

The sky outside was still dark when we boarded. Walking past the World Business Class on my way to my seat, I saw that the only plus point for that cabin was space. Seats were pretty normal and there was no winged headrests or lumbar support.

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Photo © Sanjiv Kapoor

I took my window seat 21A, which was the first row of Y Class cabin - more legroom! Yeah! The cabin was configured like a standard 747's 3 x 4 x 3. Seats were upholstered in dark blue fabric like World Business Class.

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Photo © Sanjiv Kapoor

None of the footrest for Y Class like those found on SQ or MH are found on NW. No seatback PTV as well! Sigh, I guess I have been very spoilt. Looking aft, I found the seats very crammed. The leg to Tokyo/NRT was only 6.5hrs, but I was more concerned abt the NRT-SFO sector. the thought of being crammed for so long didn't appeal to me at all!

A blue tinge filled the sky as we taxied for takeoff, which was surprisingly smooth. I guess I was expecting a few bumps on this old 747-200 which I am sure its more that 15yrs old! Weather en route to Tokyo/NRT was smooth all the way. Breakfast consisted of an omelette with sausages and a small serving of Japanese udon. Green tea accompanied the meal. I must say despite my misconceptions about NW, the food was pretty good so far! The Singapore based cabin crew was cheerful and friendly. The in-flt supervisor for this flight was a Japanese female purser, neatly bunned up hair and immaculately made up, she looked very much like a doll! Faultless service on this sector which was a good start on Northwest! Unfortunately, is was to be the last sector I experienced service...  

Sitting in the first row of Y Class, I had the pleasure of having the TV monitor mounted on the wall in front of me. I did not watch the movie but tried to catch some sleep instead.

I dozed off and awoke some 4 hrs later and saw that the cabin was busy with cabin crew serving some snack before landing. Fried noodles was served this time and I hungrily gobbled it all up - yum!  

Narita was cloudy that afternoon. the tarmac was busy with a myriad of a/c taking off and landing. Thumping down on the runway at 1305H, I immediately caught sight of many NW tails and sombre looking UA jets. A smalttering of JAL 747-400s were scattered throughout the vast area while two distinctive silver AA 777-200 parked side by side at the terminal. We taxied to the vicinity of Satellite 4 but parked at a remote stand. I guess this is the NW terminal because we were surrounded by countless NW 747-200s and -400s.

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Photo © Edward Lai

I had a two-hour layover so that gave me a chance to explore the terminal. Walking out of the aircraft down the stairs, I was hit in the face by the stifling and humid Japanese summer. I never knew that it could be so warm! My previous trips to Tokyo was in winter. I simply love walking down the stairs next to an aircraft... simply awesome! The two giant engines 1 and 2 hung lowly from the massive wing with the blades still turning slowly. A distinctive whine still filled the surrounding despite having shut donw the engines some 5mins ago.

A bus took us to the terminal. Nothing to report here because all I saw was construction and many more NW 747s. Security checks before entering the terminal was done by personnel donning gloves - its so Japanese!   A pretty normal terminal, it looked newly renovated within. I remembered Narita looking drab and metallic, but this portion was actually rather cozy! Settling down at the viewing gallery, I saw an ANA 747-400 take off. Several JAL 747-400s landed followed by 2 UA 747-400 and -200. Hmm... where are the JAL MD11s? Food and shopping is expensive so I gave that a miss.

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Photo © Ian Lim

It was time to board at 1500H so I made my way to the gate on the ground floor - wow... another remote parking bay! Must be my day, huh? Another scenic bus ride brought me to NW28. Surprise, surprise! It was the same 747-200 that flew from Singapore!

Walking up the stairs towards Door 2L, I absorbed all the sights, smells and sounds with much pleasure before stepping into the cabin of the 747-200. A frumpy and plump flt attendant stood at the door. She didn't bother with greetings because she just stood there ... didn't even take my boarding pass too! She was basically just... there   Oh no, this is what they call service on NW? I found my seat 22A easily, i was just a row behind my earlier seat! Squeezing into my seat, I found the legroom slightly less that the row in front. There wasn't a lot of space between my knees and the seat in front, and I am not that tall! Sigh... take it easy... I had a long way to go!

The same smooth take off brought us into the cloudy skies and out into the Pacific Ocean. Dinner was served which consisted of seafood rice, I think. A drop in the standard of service was blatantly obvious with this batch of American cabin crew. No smiles, jusy plonking of trays in front of you and moving on. After the meal service, I never saw the cabin crew anymore until before breakfast. The sun soon set in the horizon behind me. I put my knapsack under the seat in front of me and that acted as my footrest. Trying to catch some sleep to adjust to the timezome, I could not get into a comfortable position and felt claustrophobic several times. Going to the toilet was out of the question because my two neighbours were sound asleep - even snoring!

The sun rose a short while after we crossed the international dateline, and breakfast (same omelette and sausages) was served. Looking around, I could see that the cabin was filled to the max. I used this opportunity to squeeze myself out into the aisle for a quick toilet trip. After breakfast, we began our descend into San Francisco Int'l (SFO).

Looking outside, I saw that it was overcast with a solid cloud cover. The bright sun illuminated the bed of cotton beneath me. Descend into the cluds seem to take forever and then I heard the flaps deploy. Huh? But we are still way way above the clouds! Looking carefully outside, I saw several hills poking through the clouds and could clearly see walking tracks on them! Looking at the airshow on the TV monitor ahead indicated that we were at 2500ft and descending. And we were still high above the cloud cover! Amazing...

We finally entered the clouds as we were established on a final approach. Buffeting through the clouds suddenly made the cabin darker. Looking outside, I could faintly make out the wing. The clouds soon thinned and a misty coastline appeared close to the aircraft! The runway threshold and piano keys flashed past a few seconds later and touchdown! The cloud base in SFO that morning must have been only a few hundred feet...

With reverse thrust deployed, we roared down the runway and I saw that the terminal was very quiet this time of the morning. 2 AA 767-300 and a NW DC10 were visible from where I was. Several United Shuttle 737s were scuttling around the tarmac. Taxiing for disembarkation at the international terminal was quick and we were parked next to an ATA L1011 Tristar. The same frumpy flt attendant stood at the door and she didn't even say "thank you"  . In fact, come to think of it, I don't think I heard any member of the cabin crew mutter anything at all! During meal service, all the said was "whatwouldyouliketodrinkgreenteateacoffee? whatwouldyouliketodrinkgreenteateacoffee?" in quick successions...

SFO international terminal was opened a few years back. the concept mirror a few new airports with lots of natural lightings through glass panels and ceiling windows (KLIA, Hongkong, Incheon, Pudong). Immigration was slow as usual for US airport international arrivals but my bags were at the carousel as soon as I cleared passport control.

Northwest Airlines is surely a cheap way to fly from Asia to US - their domestic connections are very convenient as well. Unfortunately, the cabin service leaves much to be desired and they lag far behind major international carriers. Service was especially poor on trans-Pacific sectors to and from Japan. It just shows the kind of mentality the American crew work with because service was far better from SIN-NRT with the Singaporean and Japanese crew.

My onward journey with NW from SFO-MSP-ORD, and ORD-DTW-NRT was horrendous. Once again, looking at the condition of cabin service in US, I realise that we are indeed pretty spoilt here in Singapore. SQ is really not that bad after all compared to NW (no comparison - some might say!) but I hear that United is a better US airline to fly with. So I might just check them out next time!