So... Northwest has declared bankruptcy. And I am currently holding a NWA ticket for my trip home over Thanksgiving. Have I made a 500-dollar mistake?
What are the ramifications of bankruptcy, exactly? My understanding of what it does to individuals is that it wreaks havoc on your credit rating but in effect absolves you from your debts. (Is that way off?) What is bankruptcy for a corporation? Does this mean they don't owe me a flight anymore?
How does bankruptcy look in the practical sense? Clearly NWA and its many machines and employees won't just cease to exist. I remember other airlines declaring bankruptcy and then simply continuing to go about their merry airlining ways. Can I still expect my NWA flight to take place on November 23, or am I SOL? What is their responsibility to me?
I bought travel insurance for this trip, which appears to cover "financial default of a tour operator," which I assume includes this current snafu. Do I have to do something about this now?
Anyone know more than I do here?
Friday, September 16, 2005
The Not-So-Friendly Skies
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Jen -
No worries dude. They filed Chapter 11 - which is basically a get out of debt free card. So there should be no affect to us.
BTW - I just paid $1600 to fly NWA, so don't feel bad if you do get jipped someway! :-)
They don't plan on it affecting their flight schedule. Chapter 11 basically allows them to reorganize, renegotiate the contracts with their various unions and probably get out of paying their pension plans. Eventually, there will be changes in the way the company runs flights -- almost all of the major carriers are likely to pare down the number of flights and the places where they fly to, but that's long-term stuff. You should be fine. (Just don't forget to doublecheck your flight time a day or so in advance.) :-)
Thanks for the reassurance, you guys. I will definitely call and confirm in advance!
:-)
Already basically covered, but here's a more-or-less relevant article.
Post a Comment