Grrrrrrr.....Mad at Delta Airlines

[DISNEYFOS]

Has anyone attempted to get an infant/child fare thru Delta recently? (or any airline??)

I'm so annoyed right now. I've been watching fares to purchase tickets for our trip to WDW in Oct 07. I'm buying for Me, DH, DD3 and our soon to be DD who will be approx 3 months old for the trip.

Normally I do things online..no need to be on hold for ever. Well on Delta's website they state special fares, i.e. child, bereavement etc are not currently available on delta.com you need to call reservations... AH Well.. In the past, we've paid 50% less for our daughter when she was under 1 so its worthwhile to call.

I'm on hold for 30 mins..listening to static hold music..interrupted by loud delta ads to be told by someone with a very heavy accent...
her: We don't offer infant fares.
me: HUH? You have in the past.
her: No we don't...
me: umm when did this change, because your website states you offer child fares just not online.
her: no
me: Okay, maybe you are confused...Can we double check with your manager?
her: we don't offer them
me: How bout we get your supervisor, I'd like to speak to your supervisor.

The supervisor then tells me that they "Sometimes" offer them. Never domestically.
ME: okay, you should change your website to reflect this information.
Supervisor: It does.
ME: no it doesn't say that its only international, it says to call delta reservations for child fares.

Well, then she says, well on "some" domestic flights its offered. HUH?? then how do you know it won't be on the flight I'm requesting!!!??! Well we haven't gotten that far. AGHGHGHGHGH

So I ended up purchasing the tickets on delta.com..all the same fare..and the other thing I'm not sure about (which I was going to ask the agent before she annoyed the heck out of me) is we don't have a name for the new baby. I purchased the ticket using "Infant" as the first name with our last name. Do you think this will be okay?


Thanks for letting me vent!!!

 

[Vickie46]

I think you will be fine.. the thing with Delta that has drove me crazy recently.. is getting a phone call that is pre-recorded saying they have changed our flight times.. and if I would like to know the info.. press one! Oh my goodness.. I was so mad.. atleast it was for our return flight.. another thing that drives me crazy is when once I buy the tickets I get an email saying they can't gtd the seats.. ok.. I have a little one.. I have to sit by her.. or my husband does... one of us has to be with her... oh Delta does drive me crazy.

 

[deedeetoo]

We fly Delta all the time and I've never heard of them offering a child fare. I wouldn't be mad at them. I'm not sure what you saw on the website but it seems like you must have misunderstood.

 

[all4fun]

I heard a while ago that Delta wasn't offering infant fares any more. I do think it's stupid that they haven't updated their website though. Sorry you had to deal with that hassle.

If its any consolation we always bought tickets for our ds from 13mos and up and we always found the regular internet deals to be better anyway.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

See:

http://daddytypes.com/2007/02/01/airlines_eliminating_infant_fares.php

http://www.delta.com/planning_reser...s/services_for_children/child_fares/index.jsp

Discounted fares for infants and children are sometimes offered but not yet at delta.com. You'll need to contact Reservation Sales for those.

Sounds like the rep you spoke with was uninformed.

The "Infant" as a name on the ticket should be fine.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

We fly Delta all the time and I've never heard of them offering a child fare. I wouldn't be mad at them. I'm not sure what you saw on the website but it seems like you must have misunderstood.

My DD is 3 and on all her flights prior to 1 year old, we paid 50% fare for her seat. All the flights were Delta. All Domestic. Not imagining things

Here is the statement on their website:

Special Fares & Discounts
Certain discounts or companion fares may apply to the selected itinerary, such as bereavement fares, child fares, international adoption fares, military and government fares, or senior discounts, but are not available at delta.com. Contact Reservations to check availability for these fares.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

See:

http://daddytypes.com/2007/02/01/airlines_eliminating_infant_fares.php

http://www.delta.com/planning_reser...s/services_for_children/child_fares/index.jsp

Discounted fares for infants and children are sometimes offered but not yet at delta.com. You'll need to contact Reservation Sales for those.

Sounds like the rep you spoke with was uninformed.

The "Infant" as a name on the ticket should be fine.

Thanks Lost in Cyberspace. I knew I wasn't crazy. We've done this in the past. If they eliminated it..thats fine, but i didn't need to spend 30 mins on hold this morning for someone to tell me that...just update your website, saying its no longer offered...jeeezzz

 

[Ellester]

We fly Delta all the time and I've never heard of them offering a child fare. I wouldn't be mad at them. I'm not sure what you saw on the website but it seems like you must have misunderstood.

Many airlines used to offer a lower fare if you purchased a ticket for a baby who could fly free on a lap. I believe it was to encourage people to purchase a seat for their baby to fly more safely in a car seat instead of on a lap. When my oldest was a baby we used the child fare several times (Delta and NWA for sure). It would be too bad if they discontinued it, but times have changed.

 

[NotUrsula]

Most of the major US carriers have quietly phased out the old 1/2 fares for under-2's on domestic routes over the last year or so, and they are beginning to disappear on int'l routes, too.

They don't want to make a big announcement because of the negative PR it would generate, but the word has gotten out. There is a thread over on Flyertalk about this issue.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thanks Lost in Cyberspace. I knew I wasn't crazy. We've done this in the past. If they eliminated it..thats fine, but i didn't need to spend 30 mins on hold this morning for someone to tell me that...just update your website, saying its no longer offered...jeeezzz

But it's not "no longer" offered. Infant fares are sometimes available. That means sometimes they're not. In addition, afaik, when infant fares are offered, they generally cost more than a regular ticket - because they're calculated on a higher fare class. You couldn't, for example, pay $100 for a round trip ticket for you and $50 for a seat for your infant. More likely, you'd be paying more for the so-called discounted ticket because of its base fare.

 

[deedeetoo]

This is interesting. We always bought seats for my kids when they were young so we could use the car seats, and I think it was mostly on Delta. I can't remember ever getting a child fare. Either my memory is shot (which is a real possibility) or we overpaid.