Delta Airline vent

[DLgal]

The weather is the weather in the Southeast, especially in the spring, summer and hurricane season - not sure where else they can go tbh ... for the most part ... I have more difficulty out of EWR (Newark) when there is a drizzle tbh ...

My point is that the hubs can be in cities not prone to such severe weather.

Delta uses Salt Lake City and Minneapolis as hubs. Neither are prone to severe weather in the peak travel time of summer.

Atlanta is probably the worst place to have a hub. NYC I understand, just from a logistical perspective of travelers moving through there. There should be more hubs in the west, honestly.

 

[john7994]

My point is that the hubs can be in cities not prone to such severe weather.

Delta uses Salt Lake City and Minneapolis as hubs. Neither are prone to severe weather in the peak travel time of summer.

Atlanta is probably the worst place to have a hub. NYC I understand, just from a logistical perspective of travelers moving through there. There should be more hubs in the west, honestly.

I get it, but the region and geography in flight routes are likely very logistically important. Interesting article on the "why"
https://simpleflying.com/atlanta-worlds-busiest-airport/

 

[fly girl]

It seems like some of these airlines should consider moving their hubs away from these locations prone to such constant severe weather.

Wishful thinking.

NYC has always been a pain, but never this bad. ATC shutting down to this level is unprecedented.

ATL is pretty good at working through the storms as best as they can. But lightening is going to shut down the ramp and that is where the delays can add up fast.

My point is that the hubs can be in cities not prone to such severe weather.

Delta uses Salt Lake City and Minneapolis as hubs. Neither are prone to severe weather in the peak travel time of summer.

Atlanta is probably the worst place to have a hub. NYC I understand, just from a logistical perspective of travelers moving through there. There should be more hubs in the west, honestly.

ATL is the largest airport in the world. My best advice for those traveling in the summer in and out of ATL, is go in the morning. Avoid the afternoon/evening thunderstorms.

LAX, SEA, PHX, SLC, DEN are all large hubs in the west. One of the most logical reasons the west wasn't the chosen spot to set up a hub with legacy carriers back in the day is because it takes more fuel, specific long haul aircraft, and more money to go from west coast to the European market. SEA is good for those because you have the polar route.

 

[john7994]

Wishful thinking.

NYC has always been a pain, but never this bad. ATC shutting down to this level is unprecedented.

ATL is pretty good at working through the storms as best as they can. But lightening is going to shut down the ramp and that is where the delays can add up fast.

ATL is the largest airport in the world. My best advice for those traveling in the summer in and out of ATL, is go in the morning. Avoid the afternoon/evening thunderstorms.

Agree and Agree -
Atlanta maintains a hub status (per that article) largely because it is within 2 hours flight time of 80% of the US Population - it is the main reason I remain in Atlanta to this day ...

 

[Babs Johnson]

One word: ATLANTA. Atlanta is Delta's home base. When home base has issues (yesterday, weather), it trickles throughout the system quickly.

I read not all that long ago that something like 65% of Delta’s planes pass through Atlanta daily. So yeah, when ATL has problems, your MSP to LAX flight might be delayed or cancelled, even if the weather is perfect in Minnesota and California.

My daughter’s flight yesterday from Nashville to Baltimore on Southwest was delayed yesterday due to Atlanta weather.

 

[DLgal]

I read not all that long ago that something like 65% of Delta’s planes pass through Atlanta daily. So yeah, when ATL has problems, your MSP to LAX flight might be delayed or cancelled, even if the weather is perfect in Minnesota and California.

My daughter’s flight yesterday from Nashville to Baltimore on Southwest was delayed yesterday due to Atlanta weather.

Sure, that happens sometimes. Our Delta flights between SNA and SLC and SLC and MCO seemed to be "shuttles" that just went back and forth between those 2 airports. I think that's how most hubs work. I think Southwest operates more multi stop itineraries than most airlines.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

A few years ago we flew Delta, it is sufficient to say the next time we flew, we chose a different airline.

With Delta, due to weather AND mechanical issues, we ended up with an "extended vacation". We had turned in the rental car, so we had to find a hotel and Uber back and forth from the airport. We ended up finally securing another rental car for the two extra days we spent. With all the "Ubering", food, 2 extra nights in a hotel with 2 rooms (there were 5 of us in our party), the expenses were really piling up. We were reimbursed, and they threw in some gift cards to boot, but at the time it was extremely upsetting and I had more than one meltdown.

 

[kdonnel]

A few years ago we flew Delta, it is sufficient to say the next time we flew, we chose a different airline.

With Delta, due to weather AND mechanical issues, we ended up with an "extended vacation". We had turned in the rental car, so we had to find a hotel and Uber back and forth from the airport. We ended up finally securing another rental car for the two extra days we spent. With all the "Ubering", food, 2 extra nights in a hotel with 2 rooms (there were 5 of us in our party), the expenses were really piling up. We were reimbursed, and they threw in some gift cards to boot, but at the time it was extremely upsetting and I had more than one meltdown.

What you experienced can happen with any airline. Hopefully it does not happen to you again.

 

[sam_gordon]

A few years ago we flew Delta, it is sufficient to say the next time we flew, we chose a different airline.

With Delta, due to weather AND mechanical issues, we ended up with an "extended vacation". We had turned in the rental car, so we had to find a hotel and Uber back and forth from the airport. We ended up finally securing another rental car for the two extra days we spent. With all the "Ubering", food, 2 extra nights in a hotel with 2 rooms (there were 5 of us in our party), the expenses were really piling up. We were reimbursed, and they threw in some gift cards to boot, but at the time it was extremely upsetting and I had more than one meltdown.

What to look for in an airline is how they handle things when there are issues as there will inevitably be. Airlines can't control the weather. You say you were reimbursed and got some GC. What else should the airline have done?

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

What to look for in an airline is how they handle things when there are issues as there will inevitably be. Airlines can't control the weather. You say you were reimbursed and got some GC. What else should the airline have done?

They did all they could do. At the time I was freaking out. I had no idea what was going to happen next. All I knew was that we were stranded a long way from home and the expenses were adding up at a very fast rate. I had to take a personal day from work on Monday because we did not even get home until about 11pm on Monday night. (we were scheduled to leave on Saturday afternoon and return home Saturday evening).

Yes, in retrospect they did "make us whole", but at the time I was having a complete breakdown.

 

[brockash]

What to look for in an airline is how they handle things when there are issues as there will inevitably be. Airlines can't control the weather. You say you were reimbursed and got some GC. What else should the airline have done?

I very much agree about how they handle it that counts the most. We've had some pretty bad "luck" the last 2 yrs or so in flying. Once with American, once United and once on SW. SW and American handled things very well, made things as hassle free as possible for us and made things right so to speak. United was TERRIBLE and basically did nothing and just didn't care at all. We have no plans to return to United and have paid more to avoid them since our horrible experience. I've booked American a few times since and will with SW (just happened a few weeks ago.)

 

[kdonnel]

The only thing I don't like about flying out of ATL is the lack of competition which keeps the fares higher. ValuJet/AirTran was the last airline that actually forced Delta to compete on price out of ATL. After Southwest purchased ValuJet/AirTran prices rose dramatically.

Otherwise the airport is easy to navigate, has lots of amenities, never gets dumpy as it is always improving, and has lots of point to point flights. I don't think I have ever had a domestic flight out of Atlanta on Delta that had a connection.

As for summer in ATL, on average, summer storms disrupt the airport less days than winter does for more northern airports.

 

[Moliphino]

I went to college in Atlanta from MA, so I've been through that airport a lot. Haven't had too many issues. I did have to sleep on the floor there once. I was on a work trip and had a connection in ATL. The connecting flight was delayed about 10 hours, from around 9pm to 7am. They kept pushing it back until after midnight, when they let us know it wouldn't leave until 7am. At that point it was too late to bother trying to get a hotel, so everyone tried to make themselves comfortable at the gate. Delta did give us snacks, drinks, and toiletry kits. It was miserable, though. There are arm rests between all seats, so you couldn't lay down on the seats.

 

[DLgal]

I hadn't flown Delta in over 20 years probably until last week. I had been flying primarily Southwest, Jet Blue, and United.

Delta was the ONLY one where my tailbone didn’t start aching an hour into the flight. The seats were exceptionally comfortable.

For that, and that alone, Delta has earned my repeat business.

No joke, I literally bring on an inflatable donut pillow because this is a chronic problem for me on flights. I didn't need to ever use it. Sold!

 

[sam_gordon]

I hadn't flown Delta in over 20 years probably until last week. I had been flying primarily Southwest, Jet Blue, and United.

Delta was the ONLY one where my tailbone didn’t start aching an hour into the flight. The seats were exceptionally comfortable.

For that, and that alone, Delta had earned my repeat business.

No joke, I literally bring on an inflatable donut pillow because this is a chronic problem for me on flights. I didn't need to ever use it. Sold!

Just to clarify, were you in Main Cabin (aka "Economy"), Comfort+, First Class?

 

[DLgal]

Just to clarify, were you in Main Cabin (aka "Economy"), Comfort+, First Class?

I flew 4 legs:

Main Cabin (1.5 hr flight)
Comfort + (4.5 hr flight)
Main Cabin (4.5 hr flight)
Main Cabin (1.5 hr flight)

All seats were equally comfortable. Comfort+ had more leg room but the seat cushioning felt the same as Main Cabin. I had zero tailbone pain.

 

[sam_gordon]

I flew 4 legs:

Main Cabin (1.5 hr flight)
Comfort + (4.5 hr flight)
Main Cabin (4.5 hr flight)
Main Cabin (1.5 hr flight)

All seats were equally comfortable. Comfort+ had more leg room but the seat cushioning felt the same as Main Cabin. I had zero tailbone pain.

Anything over 3 hours and I'll upgrade to C+. I'm now getting some status where about 2/3 of my flights I get free upgrades to C+. Waiting on that free upgrade to FC!

 

[DLgal]

Anything over 3 hours and I'll upgrade to C+. I'm now getting some status where about 2/3 of my flights I get free upgrades to C+. Waiting on that free upgrade to FC!

Yeah, I used miles to upgrade for one of the long legs as a trial, since I hadn't flown Delta in so long and wasn't familiar with their seats. I got 90,000 bonus miles and a $400 credit towards my flights by signing up for the Platinum Skymiles Amex. I liked the earlier boarding of C+ and the better position towards the front for exiting the plane faster, but overall didn't feel the upgrade was worth the cost differential when paying cash. It was a cheap upgrade using miles at the last minute. I am a small person so the leg room is lost on me, but my taller, long legged teens appreciated the extra room on that one C+ leg. Unfortunately. I had a raging headache and couldn't take advantage of the free booze.

 

[goofyernmost]

The flight they changed him to was having him on standby. He was able to get on his first flight with no problem. The connecting flight was going to be delayed 4 hours giving him an almost 8 hour layover. He was able to get on another flight that was about ready to leave. So he will be getting here 15 minutes earlier than he originally was scheduled.

I’m exhausted!

I was going to ask if he was standby. Sometimes that works well, other times it doesn't.

 

[DLgal]

I was going to ask if he was standby. Sometimes that works well, other times it doesn't.

It works great when all you have is carryon bags. Not so much when you checked luggage.