nwa.com/sucks

Let me rant for a minute about how much I hate the nwa.com website.  I preface all my comments with this disclaimer - if you know exactly when and where you want to go, price is no option and you are ready to buy on the spot, then nwa.com is the best airline site I have visited.  If there is any possible variation in your travel plans which could be dependent on any of those items, however, it is the worst.

For instance, I was searching for a flight to Detroit.  After realizing I don't want to spent over $1000 for a ticket, I try frequent flyer options.  I thought I was being pretty direct in my request when I click on the "Award Flight" tab, but no.  I still get options for $1000+ for Detroit.  It would not give options for Award Travel, despite the fact I clicked on this tab.  And mind you, I was already logged in to the site, so it knew it was me and that I had miles available.  Frickin' moronic.

I had to search for some very specific time options; I am coordinating this trip to meet up with my Dad, and he already got his tickets.  So, I knew when I need to be there, yet, nwa.com insists on pushing options that are 10+ hours away from when I need to arrive.  They do this with other destinations all the time, especially Vegas.  For some reason, the frickin site interprets my request to depart Las Vegas in the "Afternoon" as the 1:15 AM redeye flight.  In whose fricken f-up world is 1:15AM the Afternoon?  F-ing morons!

Then, when I did get my flights with frequent flyer miles, I supposedly saved these flights in an itinerary.  I wanted to check with my Dad once more just to make sure he didn't give me the wrong times (this would not be the first time).  I got a "helpful" eMail that told me:

"This itinerary has been stored under Saved Itineraries in My Booking Info"

I defy anyone to find the "My Booking Info" section on the home page of nwa.com.  Let me save you the time and aggravation - it doesn't exist.  In fact, the word "My" appears four times, "Info" appears twice and "Booking" appears zero.  I used their site search to find "My Booking Info".  The top result for that search - the home page.  F-ing booger eating morons!!

I wouldn't have minded it not being on the front page had they provided a link in the eMail they sent me, but that apparently would have cost too much ink or something.  Another one of nwa's cost cutting moves or some brilliance like that, I guess.

The frightening thing is, I think nwa and the nwa.com web site rank currently rank in the top for both airline service and web site design.  I had to fly a lot of other carriers this last month:  United, Delta and US Air, and sadly, NWA and nwa.com kicked the s#it out of all of them... and that is really sad.  

Someday, somehow, someone will do something to improve the situation.  Someone from outside the industry who has to search for tickets, fly and suffer like the rest of us - plus someone who has a lot of money and can use it to improve the sorry lot of airlines that we must patronage today.  

Sir Richard Branson, your table is ready.