Planes wait at the gates outside a Detroit airport terminal on New Year's Eve, 2004. I flew from Montana to Michigan on the 31st, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. I felt lucky for that, since Northwest frequently cancels flights between Detroit and the little airport that was my final destination. The little picture at right shows rural Michigan from the air as we went in for a landing at MBS (Midland, Bay City, Saginaw).