Delta is the worst ever!!!

[crillis]

Just came back from the airport. Delta cancelled our flight and tried to put us on a bus! I absolutly hate Delta!!! They said the flight was cancelled due to it not being full and then told another person the aircraft was broke. We are now rescheduled for later today. My 3 y/o is devastated. After all the build-up, we woke him at 4am to go to the airport and fly on a big plane to see Mickey, only to head back home.

Delta also sent is an email yesterday confirming our flight but they never bothered to email us about the cancellation.

My advice to anyone would be to avoid Delta at all cost. Pay more if you have to, it's well well worth it. I have seen Delta do this on numerous occasions so it's a normal business practice for them.

Yes, I'm beyond mad. We could have arrived at disney 2 hours sooner if we had driven our own car.

 

[Subi WRX]

Just came back from the airport. Delta cancelled our flight and tried to put us on a bus! I absolutly hate Delta!!! They said the flight was cancelled due to it not being full and then told another person the aircraft was broke. We are now rescheduled for later today. My 3 y/o is devastated. After all the build-up, we woke him at 4am to go to the airport and fly on a big plane to see Mickey, only to head back home.

Delta also sent is an email yesterday confirming our flight but they never bothered to email us about the cancellation.

My advice to anyone would be to avoid Delta at all cost. Pay more if you have to, it's well well worth it. I have seen Delta do this on numerous occasions so it's a normal business practice for them.

Yes, I'm beyond mad. We could have arrived at disney 2 hours sooner if we had driven our own car.

Sorry for you. You know what they say:

Don't
Ever
Leave
The
Airport

 

[bicker]

And tomorrow, watch for the "AirTran is the worst ever!!!" thread. With all due respect to the OP, almost all the airlines are operating this way, and pretty soon it is likely that all of them will.

 

[goofy4tink]

There are still people commenting on the runway incident with JetBlue a few years ago...saying they are the worst possible airline. Every single airline out there, all of them, yes even SW, will have it's naysayers. There are those who adore SW because of the way they load, while there are those who hate SW, for....the way they load!!!

You will be hard pressed to find any airline that has 100% customer satisfaction. I fly Delta a fair amount. I have had all my flights changed, sometimes cancelled. Delta does not inform you until just before the flight. If there is a mechanical issue, there is no way to alert you beforehand. I got stranded at Newark with mechanical failure...took forever to get out of there and back to Providence. Almost rented a car.

It is now the customer's responsibility to check, and then double and triple check, on their itineraries..no matter the airline. Flights do change.

 

[deelam]

Just came back from the airport. Delta cancelled our flight and tried to put us on a bus!

This may be a sign of things to come with all airlines.

The days of easy air travel may be gone. But, I do think sticking you on a bus is crossing the line. That is awful! I hope you had a wonderful trip anyway.

 

[CarolA]

And tomorrow, watch for the "AirTran is the worst ever!!!" thread. With all due respect to the OP, almost all the airlines are operating this way, and pretty soon it is likely that all of them will.

Followed by the MidWest and Spirit threads!

(There's already one on here trashing United this week)



Now as to the OP. Generally when they "bus" you they are just trying to get you to your connecting airport and it's not far. So you decided not to do that. That's what delayed your trip by a day. Been there, done that. Had you gotten on the bus you would have evenutally gotten to see Mickey! (I was suppose to land in Spokane one day this winter. Two hours late we landed in SEATTLE and they were going to bus us to Spokane. I got a hotel room and drove the next day, but most everyone else just got on the bus. There was "freezing fog" in Spoakane.

 

[safetymom]

I have found through my travels that Delta is one of the best. Travelers need to learn to not sweat the small stuff. You may have gotten there late but you would have been there.

 

[DebbieB]

They wanted to put you on a bus? Where were you flying from?

 

[ntsammy5]

And tomorrow, watch for the "AirTran is the worst ever!!!" thread. .

Correctomundo!


To paraphrase: "If I can't be with the one I hate, I'll hate the one I'm with!"

 

[carolina_yankee]

Something similar happened on a US Airways flight the day I returned to PHL from SFO last month. The leg to BWI had been canceled, so passegers had to collect their baggage and board buses to BWI. I don't know if the issue was a weather diversion (there were severe storms in the area, or if a connecting flight had been canceled.)

It's upsetting that happened to the OP, but Delta was trying to get their family to their destination.

Dirk

 

[jlewisinsyr]

On a flight back from LHR we landed in LGA. We all boarded the plane from LGA to SYR and unfortunately it was a prop and one of the props wouldn't start.

As this was the second to the last flight of the day, there was no way everyone was going to be placed on the next flight. Based on the distance (about a 4 - 5 hour drive), the airline decided to place all but 3 passengers (those that were selected - most likely based on status with the airline) who flew the last flight, on a bus back to Syracuse.

It was annoying, yes, but we got home safe. In the end, it happens, and most likely the individual at the gate check had conflicting information at some point in time and may not have known exactly why the plane was not departing, it happens.

I would have at the time, agreed to the bus, it would have gotten you where you were going and as other posters mentioned, probably just was to get you to another airport for a connection (which by taking the bus, I would think they confirmed you would have made that flight instead).

 

[seashoreCM]

>>> ... watch for the "Airtran is ...
>>> ... happened on a US Airways ...

I remember from pre-Epcot days when US Airways was referred to as "All Agony Airlines". (PM me for the real name)

Generally I would not mind being bussed the rest of the way somewhere.

Once I took a connecting itinerary (on United) BOS-SJC connecting in SFO and the second leg was openly advertised as "on a bus". By the way, San Fran. to San Jose is about the distance between Nashua (which has a tiny airport) and Boston.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[bavaria]

I said this on another thread yesterday - so many of the complaints that we read here are due to people not understanding irregular operations, how airlines function, or from having unrealistic expectations.

Obviously if Delta is bussing passengers (and if the flight was not advertised as such - Lufthansa does air/rail segments) it is a case of irregular operations.

For all that people here think that airlines cancel flights at the last minute because they are not full, that rarely if ever happens. The aircraft needs to be at the next destination to transport passengers.

This sounds like a case of irregular ops, with a traveller who didn't do enough research at the airport to find out other options.

Like Safetymom said, 'stuff happens'. But ultimately it is all about how passengers choose to deal with things when they go wrong. We don't have enough details here, but I suspect that the traveller did have options, but didn't know how to deal with the situation, and didn't take control of the situation or take Delta up on the option of being transported to another airport.

 

[QT Pooh]

Yes, airplanes break down. If all the lights don't come on correctly when they do a systems check, the plane doesn't move. It costs the airlines a lot of money when they can't get their planes off the ground. They don't do it to spite you...or because the airplane is not full...it just happens...and thank God it does! Can you imagine if it didn't? Angry customers are better than dead customers.

They tried to make a concession when their plan A didn't work out. That's what really matters. I have usually had really good experiences with Delta...but have on occassion been bussed from Cincinnati to Columbus to catch another plane on another airline because the Delta plane wasn't going...or to travel to Boston rather than Manchester and ride a bus to Manchester to get home. Stuff happens...you gotta learn how to roll with the punches...

 

[frannn]

Our Jetblue flight in just under 2 months is not even half full. Luckily we chose the earliest flight at 6 AM, but even the one at about 7:15 AM is wide open. I understand the chances are high that our flight may be combined with another, and I understand why. I just hope that if we get bumped its only to the next flight, and not two slots later, so we don't miss our 12 PM lunch ADR. We have a somewhat early dinner at Ohana (5:45), so if we miss our lunch, we'll probably just get a light snack before dinner. It's the uncertainty thats making me nervous. I would hate to rush to the airport by 5-5:30 AM only to find out we're not going till 9:30, especially since we are paying for transportation to the airport & will be stuck there (to eat, etc). I will be sure to have books, toys, games, etc for everyone just in case.

 

[ameraumi]

Delta is not the only one doing this. One of my daycare moms was stranded at the airport last night (not sure which airport) because AIRTRAN also canceled flights at the last minute and could not get them on another flight. I am waiting to hear what exactly happened.

 

[deelam]

I just hope with all the airline cut backs, that safety is a top priority.

 

[OzFan]

Please cut the OP some slack. She is upset. I'm sure this is not how she pictured her vacation starting off. She came here wanting some empathy, some one to say, "that really stinks." And quite frankly it does stink. I'm sorry that this happened, and I hope the rest of your vacation will be "magical". I'm sending some pixie dust your way for extra luck........

 

[aurorafan]

Does anyone remember back in the day, before airlines had all these problems (heck, before they were deregulated) you were still always advised to call the day before to check on your flight? My parents *always* called a day or two before to make sure everything was okay, and depending on when the flight left they called that same day to check also. I always did (and still do) the same, but now it's much easier with the internet . I guess maybe if people haven't flown before they might not think to do this, but it just seems like common sense to me

To the OP--I'm sorry your flight was cancelled and I hope you get there on the new flight and have a wonderful trip

 

[castlegazer]

I pay attention to these posts to see how the airline treats the customer when these things happen.

In this case, I think delta was trying.

I had a similar incident sooo many years ago with Continental due to weather and the way they treated me after cancelling the flights made me stay far away from them from then on - not the hassle of a cancelled flight due to weather or mechanical difficulties. I was stranded with no help from the airline at all - I was young too, so I was not savvy on how to fight. I was simply turned away from the desk and told to make my own way back home - 1,000 miles away.