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Strike throwing wrench in travel plans?

Experts: Book, arrive early for Northwest flights

(CNN) -- Are you holding a Northwest Airlines ticket and wondering how the mechanics strike will affect your travel plans?

In the near term, delays and cancellations are likely, airline experts say.

"I wouldn't worry about actually getting where I'm going, but I would count on there being a fairly high probability of my getting there later than anticipated," said Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com.

Terry Trippler, who follows the airline industry for Cheapseats.com, agrees.

"Would I buy a ticket on Northwest if I absolutely, positively had to be there? Yes, I would -- I might buy it to travel a day early until I was really assured that things were getting down to normal."

Northwest Airlines has not released details about on-time performance since the strike began August 20. Its most recent update on operations, posted on its Web site Friday, said that on Tuesday 99.5 percent of confirmed passengers completed travel to their destinations.

The airline, the nation's No. 4 carrier, is using about 1,200 replacement workers, at least 300 management personnel and outside contractors to keep flying close to its normal schedule.

Joe Brancatelli, editor and publisher of business travel site Joe Sent Me.com, has been conducting a survey of 99 Northwest flights each day since the strike started, and has seen an average on-time performance rate of 55 percent, with 46.5 percent of sampled flights arriving on time the day the strike started and 66.5 percent arriving on time Thursday.

Few people are traveling on refundable tickets these days, so a ticket holder's best strategy is checking on flight status regularly and getting to the airport early, Winship said.

Check flight information on Northwest's Web site (at http://www.nwa.com) or call the flight information line at (800) 441-1818. Passengers may provide the airline with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses so that they can be contacted with flight changes, the airline's site says.

Standbys offer options

Standing by for an earlier or later same-day flight at no charge is a good option for travelers who are particularly concerned about arriving on time, Trippler said.

"If you've got a 2 o'clock flight and you can be ready at 8, find out if Northwest has a flight earlier than 2 and go out to the airport and stand by for that flight," he advised.

Booking or standing by early in the day is the best bet for on-time arrival in most situations, Trippler said, because delays tend to mount up on all airlines as the day progresses.

Northwest will allow passengers to be confirmed on a standby flight within three hours of departure for a $25 fee, Trippler said.

For the $100 change fee, passengers might want to consider having their tickets rewritten to another Northwest flight operated by airlines such as Continental, Delta or KLM under a "code-sharing" agreement.

What passengers should expect as the labor situation unfolds is uncertain.

Winship said he expects the situation to get worse before it gets better, but he sees a light at the end of the tunnel.

"At some point the new labor force will get up to speed and will be able to kind of truly replace the labor that has been lost through this strike," Winship said. "But that's probably a couple of months out."

Trippler said he is waiting another week to gauge the accuracy of union leaders' assertions that service will start to break down after seven to 10 days.

Right now, Trippler is seeing a trend toward normal operation.

"Of course, we don't know how long that will be, but the trend is going in the right direction," he said.

Weigh your options and give yourself some leeway, Trippler said.

"I think that's wise advice for anybody in today's air travel atmosphere. It's just the way it is."

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