Don't fly DELTA!

[TruBlu]

For several reasons...
-They canceled our flight and put us on an earlier one (which ruined our last day in the parks - we had already made plans and bought tickets ).

-The new flight was on a smaller plane that was completely packed. They put us in the last row, in seats that would not recline. I had purchased my tickets months before based on the flight time and chosen seats at the front of the plane.

-They CRUSHED my suitcase and refused to do anything about it. The very rude person that I spoke with at RDU said that I could fill out a report but she would deny it. She repeated this several times. I asked why I should bother to waste my time filling it out and she said so that they could track the number of suitcases they damaged. When I complained, she sarcastically smiled and said "It is what it is".

-This one was my own fault, but they could have been nice about it...
We checked our luggage at the hotel then went shopping at Disney before we left. DS bought a pirate (toy) gun. These have to be checked. I asked at the check-in counter at the airport. The girl behind the counter said that I would have to check it as an extra luggage ($25), but I couldn't check it in a shopping bag. She was very unfriendly, not helpful at all, and not even the least bit sympathetic. She could have at least said that she was sorry that I was going to have to throw away my son's new toy.

I have NEVER had a good experience with Delta. I've had canceled flights, emergency landings, lost luggage, etc. I'm done with them.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Although I can appreciate your emotions, the flight changes are bound to happen, whether it is with Delta or another carrier. The airlines are looking to make the best use of their planes and if your flight was underbooked, it made sense to cancel it and rebook you on another flight.

Would you rather they just cancelled your flight and didn't rebook you?

Regarding your crushed luggage, although I'm sure the airline representative was not as emphathetic as you would have liked, you have to understand that although it was ultimately a problem with the service you had with Delta, it was not directly her fault. She is under a lot of pressure right now and I think giving some of the airline personnel some slack is probably a good idea because a lot of them don't even know if they have a job tomorrow. Do I think she could have handled it better, absolutely, but I can also look past some of the attitude. Remember its better to kill them with kindness then it is to argue your point.

Again, I'm not trying to discount your emotions, but some of it is just the nature of the beast that the airlines are right now. Be happy that you made it there and back safely, you were able to spend time in one of the most magical places in the world.

Consider that if this was the biggest problem you faced, that in the end you're more fortunate then 99% of the people in this world.

I've learned to deal with change, it happens. You do the best to avoid it, but even with the best made plans, things sometimes mess up. I want the most for the money I spend, just like the next person, but sometimes, even the best spent money doesn't go as far as it should.

 

[hercamore]

Too bad you've had such a frustrating time with Delta.

Well, I live in a small town...only two airlines here Northwest/Delta and AA.

So, I'm about to see what Delta is like since I pretty much have to fly NW/Delta. AA doesn't fly into Pensacola where my DD lives. .

herc.

 

[DVC Sadie]

Although I can appreciate your emotions, the flight changes are bound to happen, whether it is with Delta or another carrier. The airlines are looking to make the best use of their planes and if your flight was underbooked, it made sense to cancel it and rebook you on another flight.

Would you rather they just cancelled your flight and didn't rebook you?

Regarding your crushed luggage, although I'm sure the airline representative was not as emphathetic as you would have liked, you have to understand that although it was ultimately a problem with the service you had with Delta, it was not directly her fault. She is under a lot of pressure right now and I think giving some of the airline personnel some slack is probably a good idea because a lot of them don't even know if they have a job tomorrow. Do I think she could have handled it better, absolutely, but I can also look past some of the attitude. Remember its better to kill them with kindness then it is to argue your point.

Again, I'm not trying to discount your emotions, but some of it is just the nature of the beast that the airlines are right now. Be happy that you made it there and back safely, you were able to spend time in one of the most magical places in the world.

Consider that if this was the biggest problem you faced, that in the end you're more fortunate then 99% of the people in this world.

I've learned to deal with change, it happens. You do the best to avoid it, but even with the best made plans, things sometimes mess up. I want the most for the money I spend, just like the next person, but sometimes, even the best spent money doesn't go as far as it should.

What a great post and I could not offer anything else to the above.

 

[TruBlu]

Actually, I don't understand. I paid them for a service. I also paid Southwest for the same service on the flight down. With Southwest I was actually treated like a customer that they would like to return. With Delta I was treated poorly. I work very hard for my money. I chose to spend it with their company. I should be treated with respect. Southwest didn't cancel my flight or crush my luggage. I didn't fly home with them because I wanted a flight time they didn't offer. I will not make that mistake again.

It should not be OK to destroy someone's property or treat them with disrespect - especially while charging them to do it.

 

[TruBlu]

Too bad you've had such a frustrating time with Delta.

Well, I live in a small town...only two airlines here Northwest/Delta and AA.

So, I'm about to see what Delta is like since I pretty much have to fly NW/Delta. AA doesn't fly into Pensacola where my DD lives. .

herc.

A few years back, as we were sitting in the airport after yet another Delta canceled flight... I was talking to a lady on our flight. She said that she flew Delta a lot and had started saying that the name Delta meant "Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport". Hopefully your experience will be better than mine. (That same flight they lost our luggage. We were going on a ski trip and had no warm clothes, coats, etc. for 3 days.)
Good luck!

 

[TruBlu]

Would you rather they just cancelled your flight and didn't rebook you?

Honestly, YES. A refund would have been nice, then I could have flown with a company with decent customer service.

She is under a lot of pressure right now and I think giving some of the airline personnel some slack is probably a good idea because a lot of them don't even know if they have a job tomorrow. Do I think she could have handled it better, absolutely, but I can also look past some of the attitude. Remember its better to kill them with kindness then it is to argue your point.

Are any of us sure we will have a job tomorrow? That isn't a good reason to be rude to a customer. I was very nice to her. She was rude to me. And it doesn't change the fact that my suitcase was crushed in 50% on one side. Property damage is property damage. It should never be OK.

 

[uva185]

Honestly, YES. A refund would have been nice, then I could have flown with a company with decent customer service.

You could have asked for a refund for the schedule change. They would have given it to you. That said if flights were already as full as you say you probably would have paid several hundred dollars more per ticket to rebook on another airline.

Did you ask for different flights since the one they put you on was too early?

 

[bavaria]

I understand that you are upset, but this could have happened on XYZ airline, not just Delta.

Flight time changes, change of aircraft, damaged baggage (most of which is not covered by the airline), and extra checked baggage fees are common in the industry. They are just the reality of flying. I'm sorry that they occured on your flights, but they do happen, and to every airline.

A few times I asked for a large plastic bag to place around my checked bag which had a sudden tear; in Canada and in France they looked at me like I was crazy. I know that in America they often use those for car seats, but they don't hand them out elsewhere. I just dealt with it. Now, Lufthansa does have very sturdy handy boxes which they do hand out at the check in counter if one needs to pack some checked items at the last minute.

 

[ls1222]

I agree with the OP. There is never an excuse to treat someone rudely. We usually fly continental and they broke our stroller but did offer to give us another "used" one.

 

[TruBlu]

You could have asked for a refund for the schedule change. They would have given it to you. That said if flights were already as full as you say you probably would have paid several hundred dollars more per ticket to rebook on another airline.

Did you ask for different flights since the one they put you on was too early?

I had non-refundable tickets. I called right away to complain when I noticed that my flight was canceled. (I found out by checking the web-site. Delta didn't let me know until MUCH later. They eventually sent me an email.) When I called they never mentioned that I could get a refund. I would have definitely done that. (Southwest still had a very late flight at a great price.) When I finally got the email from Delta, I saw where our new seats were. I called again to try and move. That is when they told me that they couldn't move me but I could get a refund if I wanted it. By then it was too late. The SW price had gone up.

 

[uva185]

I had non-refundable tickets. I called right away to complain when I noticed that my flight was canceled. (I found out by checking the web-site. Delta didn't let me know until MUCH later. They eventually sent me an email.) When I called they never mentioned that I could get a refund. I would have definitely done that. (Southwest still had a very late flight at a great price.) When I finally got the email from Delta, I saw where our new seats were. I called again to try and move. That is when they told me that they couldn't move me but I could get a refund if I wanted it. By then it was too late. The SW price had gone up.

Yeah, for future reference whenever there is a schedule change you can get a full refund. I have been able to get a refund for changes as little as 30 minutes but others have posted they don't get refunds for changes under 2-4 hours. Once you officially accept the change you cannot go back and change your mind about the change.

 

[TruBlu]

I understand that you are upset, but this could have happened on XYZ airline, not just Delta.

Flight time changes, change of aircraft, damaged baggage (most of which is not covered by the airline), and extra checked baggage fees are common in the industry. They are just the reality of flying. I'm sorry that they occured on your flights, but they do happen, and to every airline.

I know that these things happen. The problem is that it seems to be the NORM for Delta. I have only flown with them 3 times. ALL 3 flights have been canceled and we have been combined with another flight to fill the plane to capacity. One flight lost an engine and we had an emergency landing, once they lost our luggage for 3 days, twice my suitcase has been damaged, and I have been treated poorly by more than one employee.

I choose not to be treated like this again. I just wanted to give others a heads-up. Perhaps if they loose customers they will start to treat people better.

 

[TruBlu]

Yeah, for future reference whenever there is a schedule change you can get a full refund. I have been able to get a refund for changes as little as 30 minutes but others have posted they don't get refunds for changes under 2-4 hours. Once you officially accept the change you cannot go back and change your mind about the change.

Thanks! That is good to know.

 

[bavaria]

The problem is that it seems to be the NORM for Delta

Thousands of people fly Delta every day and they have a loyal following, so those things are not the norm for most travellers.

Again, sorry that you had bad luck with them. I fly Delta very infrequently, perhaps a few times a year, but cannot recall one bad experience with them. I can however recall a few times when the FAs treated me with kindness and personal attention even though I have no status on Delta and have never had status with them.

All airlines have mishaps, and most travellers have bad days. You may have had more than your fair share of them, but what you list doesn't sound that out of the ordinarary to me.

Things happen when we travel (whether by car, train, or airplane). I doubt that anything that we post here will change your opinion of Delta, but perhaps we can help some other readers to understand that Delta is really no better or no worse than almost any other US carrier.

 

[1GR8DISNEYFAN]

I guess that since the airlines are suffering so much, we, the paying customers, shoud be expected to accept any abuse they hand out. And, just feel fortunate that we reach our detination.

 

[crashbb]

I don't think that I've flown Delta in about 12 years (living in Canada they don't fly most places I want to go), but friend's are flying Delta on our way to the DL Half Marathon at the end of August.

I just got off of the phone with one of them, and was very impressed with Delta's notification system. My friend got a 'change of flight information' email for her flight on 28-August (she actually got the email a couple of weeks ago, she just mentioned it today). She couldn't work it out, since the departure and arrival times were the same. I looked at it and realised that it was an equipment change. I was most impressed that Delta send out an email, over 2 months before the flight, to announce a change of equipment - I don't think I've ever received a change of equipment email (though Air Canada has sent me emails for changes of only a couple of minutes).

Funny how I can read/hear about two such different experiences with Delta within a few minutes - and I'm sure you could hear about both types of experiences on any airline.

 

[sluggozmom]

And here I am trying to decide if I should jump on $627 for all 3 of us, nonstop from bos to mco. 330 days out.

Talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place! Surely this rate won't still be available in January when SW opens up for May. And what oh what will the fares be then? Will SW still be offerning $64 dings? and do I want to be married to my laptop waiting for it?

$209 rt is hard to turn down!

Talk about a dillema

 

[TruBlu]

All airlines have mishaps, and most travellers have bad days. You may have had more than your fair share of them, but what you list doesn't sound that out of the ordinarary to me.

So far, I'm at 100% canceled flights with Delta (3 out of 3), and 0% with other airlines. I do only fly once or twice a year, but that adds up over the years. I've had problems with other airlines, but Delta is the only one that has been consistently BAD.

 

[bavaria]

So far, I'm at 100% canceled flights with Delta (3 out of 3), and 0% with other airlines. I do only fly once or twice a year, but that adds up over the years. I've had problems with other airlines, but Delta is the only one that has been consistently BAD.

Are you speaking of schedule changes, or cancelled flights ie cancelled on the day of departure? Based on what you said earlier in your discussion with uva185, I thought that you were referring to schedule changes, not flight cancellations.