NW cheated

Those who have tier status with airlines usually know how to approach such situation ... the peons like us are left to fend for ourselves ... bottom line, always keep Rule 240 in mind, and when things do not look good, approach the agent and mention about this Rule - Agents KNOW, and they would accommodate you ahead of others who do not know the existence of such rule ...

I were you, I would write a polite, yet firm, letter to NW frequent flyer CS dept, explained what had happened, (especially this was mechanical delay to the worst) and commented that you hope they would handle things better - such as get another plane, instead of trying to replace the engine !!! (not sure if that is the case - replace the engine at the airport ?)

The result usually is a 10K miles compensation ...

Me, being the mileage hog, I would definitely do that should I come accross such with AA ... Knock on wood, haven't happened so far.

Our daughter once flew back to Houston from London, with a stop at DFW - I did not remember what was the problem - but the plane was held at the Tarmac for almost 4 hours before they got to the gate ... Few days after she got home, she received an email from AA to apologize such and informed her AA would credit 8K miles to her AAdvantage account ... She had no status with AA, just a very infrequent flyer ...