'It Happens To Other Airlines As Well'

The next time you're stuck at the airport for a few hours due to a delayed aircraft, you can at least be grateful you weren't on Northwest Airlines Flight 19 last week. The B747-400 scheduled to leave Minneapolis Thursday afternoon finally left on its flight to Tokyo's Narita Airport Saturday morning -- almost two days late.

Mechanical problems (emphatically NOT related to the ongoing mechanics strike, according to a NWA spokesperson) and then crew availability issues kept the jumbo jet grounded at Minneapolis, missing its planned 3 pm departure Thursday.

"Northwest experienced mechanical issues prior to the strike, and we continue to experience them today," said airline spokeswoman Jennifer Bagdade on the incident, according to media reports. "So this isn’t new."

That came as little comfort to the 365 passengers originally booked on the flight, who were not allowed back into the terminal for as many as nine hours the first day due to US Customs regulations.

The flight was originally cancelled at 7 pm Thursday, and rescheduled for a Friday morning departure -- only to be cancelled again Friday afternoon. The third time was the charm, though, and the flight finally left Saturday at 8:30 am, with approximately 100 fewer passengers aboard.

The airline attempted to rebook passengers onto other flights, said Bagdade, but most flights were already full. Those passengers who stuck it out were given food and room vouchers for the two nights spent in Minneapolis, said NWA spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch, and they will each receive $700 in travel certificates for their trouble.

"It's certainly an unfortunate delay," Ebenhoch said. "We regret the inconvenience; we apologize. We work hard to avoid this. It happens to other airlines as well."

FMI: www.nwa.com