Delta is terrible.

[Poorman]

I just got off the phone with Delta. I posted before that Delta would not give me a credit towards future flight based on internet fares.

I booked online in April,then the fares started coming down. I booked for $175 rt,now the price is $125 rt. This is times 6.

The reason is there system does not allow for them to cerdit online. So because there system is inadiquate it is costing me $300.00.

Meaning if you book online and try to change for any reason,you can't do it. Unlike SWA,and Jet blue.

I will not fly Delta again for any reason. This is the last straw, it probably will be a mute point because they will be out of business soon.

Just venting. Prices for the same trip on SWA is at this moment $115.00 pp out of PVD.

 

[safetymom]

Poorman, before Southwest and Jet Blue you didn't have any choices. That doesn't mean it that is right but lots of folks are in the same boat as you. I like to think of buying my ticket as I got the best price at that time. Watching the fares go up and down can drive a person crazy. Find an airline that will issue credits the way you want them to and book all your travel through them.

I doubt that Delta will be going out of business. They are going through a rough time but I think they will survive. I am sure the city of Atlanta will step in if they have to.

 

[Poorman]

If I were going to use Delta again,highly unlikely, I wouldn't book online. To not be able to give a credit when you book online is absurd. Was it a fair price,yes, would I be happier with a credit, yes, would I still use them if they gave me a credit,yes again, why wouldn't I, I would need to use the credit.

My point is ,if every other airline is giving credits,why can't Delta?

 

[CarolA]

Guess what. Delta is no worse the AA, United, USAir etc...

Personally if you wanted the SW flexibility you should have booked with SW.

They probably won't go out of business, but if they do it will be because they are selling tickets at $125. They can't even board you for that price and make money, much less take off and fly! Losing passengers that are only paying $125 to $175 a ticket is not going to hurt Delta. (Losing passengers like me who fly on full fare business tickets would hurt!)

 

[Poorman]

How do you know they can't board people for $125.00? I do believe SWA is making money, in fact I believe they are very profitable. And Jetblue is supposed to be about as profitable.

CarolA ,when you go somewhere that your business isn't paying, do you payfull fare? Do you just give these airlines your money?

If you do you make a lot more money than I do.

 

[CarolA]

Actually, I do know that the majors lose money on you at $125 per flight. I come from a family of airline employees. The hope is that these fares will cover some of the fixed costs and idiots like me will give them the profit. The problem is my company is one of the last dumb ones. (My last company practically NEVER bought a ticket with less then 21 days notice for example).

Just to give you an idea I recently read that Delta needs about $25 from each ticket just to pay the pilot. (NOTE: I don't audit Delta so I can't attest to the accuracy of that statement.)

If the old "major" airlines could make a profit at $125 then none of them would be either in bankruptcy or flirting with it, because the planes are FULL lately.


SW is able to make money due to a much lower cost structure starting with airports that charge lower landing fees (PVD vs. Boston) and dramatically lower wage expenses.

No, I don't pay full fare on my personal travel. I also don't expect the same flexiblity I have on the fulll fare tickets. I have had to pay the $100 change fee several times due to work conflicts.

I don't really care if you don't like Delta. My theory is that the majors are all pretty much alike. If you want the flexiblity then you go with some of the other carriers like SW. They have thier own set of drawbacks (unassigned seating for SW, limited flight routes for Jet Blue etc.)

My experience is that lots of leisure travelers on this board book Delta, USAir, AA etc... just for the security of assigned seating. I am not saying that the OP did that, but there is a trade off for that "security"

 

[Miss Jasmine]

OMG $125, there is no way Delta is making money off that price.

I work in the aviation industry. People expect cheaper and cheaper ticket prices, and for some reason the Airlines keep giving in to them. That is why we are seeing such high losses now. It is not because people aren't flying, they are, but for ridiculously cheap prices. Southwest's formula will not work for all airlines, especially major carriers like Delta which is also responsible for its wholly owned subsidiaries. Delta has WAY MORE flights nationally and internationally than SWA, and so the cost centers are going to be different. Yes Delta is trying with Song, but again that is just another wholly owned subsidiary and the parent company is responsible for the bottom line.

 

[gapere]

Poorman,

Sorry to hear about your experience with Delta. My DW booked our September trip online three days before all the fares dropped. What a bummer that was She called Delta figuring what the heck, it's worth a shot. Well, we must have lucked out because we were issued travel credits for the difference. We are flying Song but I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Perhaps you got a cranky agent that day? I would definately try calling again. If they give you the same song and dance, ask what their official policy is on this.

Good Luck

 

[pokeysmom]

I feel your pain except my problem is with Southwest. I booked over the phone and then their rates went down for internet only, and because it was a roundtrip fare and I cant get our flight down I cant rebook for the lower fare, so I am losing $33/ticket x 5. So I will never book over the phone with Southwest. I guess the best we can do is learn from our experience and warn others.

 

[Snoozan]

Poorman - I would try calling Delta back. I know when I booked some flights online for my sister this spring for a Song flight, when the fares came down, they issued her credit for the difference. She called them and they issued her the credit slips online to her email address. I know in the past I've booked Delta and also got the credit - but thru the mail, even though I booked online. This was several years ago.

I say call Delta again and ask to talk to a supervisor if the rep can't help you.

 

[clkelley]

This must be something new, because I always book online with Delta and when the fare has gone down online, I call the toll free # and if the "offline" fare is lower, they give me a credit.

I have done this about 4 times over the years.

Carol

 

[Poorman]

Originally posted by gapere
Poorman,

Sorry to hear about your experience with Delta. My DW booked our September trip online three days before all the fares dropped. What a bummer that was She called Delta figuring what the heck, it's worth a shot. Well, we must have lucked out because we were issued travel credits for the difference. We are flying Song but I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Perhaps you got a cranky agent that day? I would definately try calling again. If they give you the same song and dance, ask what their official policy is on this.

Good Luck

This was the second time I called. Both agents said the same thing and then the supervisor confirmed,they have no way to correct the credit problem. I guess the agent your DW talked to could bend the rule wearas mine couldn't. I also am flying Song.

I didn't hold a gun to Delta's head and say, "lower you prices or else" they did it on their own,and I believe they should compensate people that booked early. Others obviously have a different view. To each their own.

 

[safetymom]

I disagree about they should compensate if you booked early. I look at it as I locked in a price the day I bought the ticket. It can't go higher and if it goes lower then I booked too early.

I do think they should simplify the rules so everyone can understand them.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I had to make a change to my October plans. I was VERY happy with Song charging me only $25 to do this. Delta and many others charge $100. (Jet Blue is also $25, I think).

This must be a new (?) Delta policy, because I seem to remember getting credit years ago when prices droppes, and I always seem to book online. (Mind is fuzzy over the details)

 

[Jen D]

I'm sorry this happened Poorman. I don't really understand it, either-- I booked Song online, and when the price dropped (later that morning!) I was issued a credit by the agent on the phone. The only caveat was that it was the difference from the telephone reservation price, not the online price (there was a five dollar difference.)

 

[dvc guy]

Agents at Delta, AA, United, ETC don't have access to the on-line fares, so the only credit they can give you is what appears on the screen.

As put very well by OP's the airlines can't make money at the prices they charge, BTW do you think that Jetblue selling seats at 49 is a money making venture. I think not. Bottom line is if the airlines are going to prices tickets this low no sane person is giong to offer to pay more. In the next few years as the majors go under the cost of tickets will go up so the remaining carrier( major & minor alike )will be able to survive.

 

[Poorman]

Then how did a some of the posters get credits???

 

[prncess674]

Originally posted by Poorman
...I will not fly Delta again for any reason. This is the last straw, it probably will be a mute point because they will be out of business soon...

I believe you meant to say moot.

Just because an airline will not issue a credit doesn't make them terrible. You had a choice of carriers and price when you booked and at that time you decided that the fare was acceptable to you so you booked it. Stop beating yourself up by continuing to look at the fares. It's a sunk cost of the trip at this point.

 

[clkelley]

We got a credit when the "off-line" fare was less than the online fare we originally paid.

For example last December, I booked online for 195.00 RT.

I would check every day for that flight. One day it showed up $159 online fare.

I called up Delta and requested a price quote on those flights. I was given a price of $165 over the phone. I then requested and got a credit voucher for the difference between $195 and $165 or $30.00. This voucher was mailed to me through regular mail. They could not see the "online" price and therefore couldn't give me the additional $6 credit.

I hope this helps.

Carol

 

[mousebrat]

Everybody has their own experiences with different airlines, so arguing which is best probably won't get us anywhere. Personally, I don't like SW, but that's neither here nor there.

Our upcoming trip is booked with Delta. I booked way back in January, right before fares started going up. They have since gone back down below the rate I booked at. I looked into getting vouchers for the difference ($57.50 x 2). I have a tendency to read the fine print when I book - hey, I'm an attorney, what can I say? The particular fare I booked is one that is non-refundable but allows changes for the $100 fee. I noticed that certain fares, denominated as "internet-only specials" cannot be changed and would not be eligible for vouchers in the event of a fare decrease. Poorman, this may be what happened to you.

I was able to get my vouchers and then made a change to our flight schedule. Happily, I was able to use the vouchers towards the change fee. I can't say I have any complaint with Delta, but somebody should be doing a better job explaining to you what the problem is.