In its customer service guide, Northwest Airlines has promised to provide compensation to passengers when it is responsible for a delay or cancellation — not that you would expect any delays from an airline headquartered in tropical Minneapolis.

For delays of two hours or more or in the event of a canceled flight, domestic passengers will receive a five-minute calling card and their choice of 500 WorldPerks miles, a $5 meal voucher or a drink and audio headset on the next available plane, in addition to a certificate toward the purchase of a future ticket. For delays of four hours or more, the miles increase to 1,000 and the meal voucher to $10. Elite-level passengers may be entitled to even more.

In addition, in the case of delays of four hours or more that are caused by weather or other factors beyond the airline’s control, Northwest may still provide customers with a calling card, miles and other goodies.

For details, read Northwest’s customer service plan and contract of carriage online at http://www.nwa.com/plan/guide.html.