Mousesavers.com info about Delta possible strike and what to do.

[dudspizza]

http://www.mousesavers.com/delta.html

Duds

 

[fakereadhed]

Scary. Makes me want to wait until the last minute to book our flight. Lots of other airlines are in trouble also.

 

[sheryl0521]

Great article - thanks for posting. I am not even going to try to buy my December tickets on Delta after reading that.

Perhaps if they are still in business come August when Southwest opens up their fares, I may reconsider.

 

[dpayne1969]

hello,
i have a question,if they go on strike can i go down to the airport asap and get my tickets changed over to another airline even though i dont leave till May 21??

 

[dudspizza]

I apologize that this is a duplicate post. Mary from Mousesavers already posted this info herself here. He screenname is foodlover.

There is lots of good discussion on that thread.

Duds

 

[CarolA]

hello,
i have a question,if they go on strike can i go down to the airport asap and get my tickets changed over to another airline even though i dont leave till May 21??

No, they will want to wait and see if the strike is over. I went thur this with AA several years ago.. They basically rebook in 24 or 48 hour increments.

 

[dpayne1969]

ok so if they strike i have to wait at least 24 hrs before i start calling for another flight?Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[CarolA]

ok so if they strike i have to wait at least 24 hrs before i start calling for another flight?Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

Guess I didn't explain that well. You have to wait until a few days BEFORE your flight. If they strike on 4/17 and you aren't flying until May they won't rebook you until VERY close to your flight on the "assumption" that they will get this worked out. Basically they have to PAY the other airlines to fly you and they don't want to do that!

They will rebook for the upcoming 24 to 48 hour periods in blocks. So on 4/18 they book 4/19, it it's not settled on 4/19 they rebook flights scheduled for 4/20 etc....

 

[dpayne1969]

oh my that is awful,i would not want to wait 24 hrs to know which airline we was flying,oh lordy that is just bad, bad, bad.Thank you for clearing it up though as i thought i could rebook 24 hrs after the strike or whatever.Wow that makes the situation even worse for me now.LOL.Thanks for the heads up
i am on the ball trying to have a back up plan just in case.

 

[Kath2003]

OK now I'm worried...flying Delta MCO-BOS on August 14th - what if they're not running by then? Do I get my money back, do I get to fly with someone else, do I have to rebook my ticket?? I absolutely CANNOT afford to be on standby for more than 24-hours, so...do I do this?

5. If you have a major investment in a cruise, tour, business arrangements, etc. that you would lose if your flights were substantially delayed (for example, if you had to stand by for several days before space was available on another airline) consider limiting your losses by buying alternate tickets now on another airline that isn't bankrupt, while seats on alternate airlines are still available.

 

[dpayne1969]

Kath2003_i am with ya,but what if we rebook with say southwest then Delta does not strike we are out that money that we used for Soutwest as well right?Or we sit & wait to see if they strike then im afraid the other airlines that are available now will be sold out or the prices will be so ridiculous we cant afford to rebook.So it is very frustrating and nerve racking to say the least.I was gonna rent a car in Ok,then drop it off in Orlando then just fly home.The rental car itself is running 600+ for this arrangement.So i dont know what to do i wish they would just get it over with & give their paying customers some reassurance!!

 

[Kath2003]

Kath2003_i am with ya,but what if we rebook with say southwest then Delta does not strike we are out that money that we used for Soutwest as well right?Or we sit & wait to see if they strike then im afraid the other airlines that are available now will be sold out or the prices will be so ridiculous we cant afford to rebook.So it is very frustrating and nerve racking to say the least.I was gonna rent a car in Ok,then drop it off in Orlando then just fly home.The rental car itself is running 600+ for this arrangement.So i dont know what to do i wish they would just get it over with & give their paying customers some reassurance!!

Ya exactly. We paid $160 for two tickets with Delta which is not a lot but because of course they were so cheap they're also non-refundable. We can fly the same route with another carrier on the same day, at a later time, but it's another $240 for two extra tickets, so that's $200 EACH for a one-way flight! There's no way we can rent a car, and we only have a few days in Boston so we really need to get there on time

 

[CarolA]

Everyone take a deep breath!

If you aren't flying until Aug/Sept/Oct/Nov etc (Heck even all summer) there is LOTS of time.

IF DL does go under the other airlines are going to want to fill that void. (The Atlanta airport is BIG and has LOTS AND LOTS of passengers) I would expect that as the voids are filled deals will be made for those passengers out there. USAir and SW both did this type of thing of thing for Independence.

Also, your CC company may still refund you the money. I KNOW that when Indepence and TMA went under CC companies waived the 60 day rule. From what has been reproted in the papers here, the CC companies are paying DL very slowly to keep the money in case they do have to do refunds.

Now before you race out to buy tickets know the rules on your new tickets. Chances are they will be non refundable so when DL is still flying you are stuck with TWO sets of tickets and no way to get money back on any of them. Also, if DL is ONLY on strike you can't assume that you will get a refund. They can and will try to rebook you on other airlines first.

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

I have a question, why is the rule for credit cards only? We used are visa check card, so if something happens we are sol? Also since we bought everything through Disney we don't have an individual receipt from Delta. I am getting very confused on our possible options.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

wdwfamilyinIL, I believe it's because credit cards offer more buyer protection than do check and debit cards. You may have to check with your bank about that.

Here's a question that occurred to me last night. Let's assume the worse case scenario comes to pass -- the pilots and management can't reach an agreement, the pilots strike, and Delta dies a fast and painful death. I know that the other airlines would do what they could to pick up the slack in terms of passenger service, but how soon could an airline be approved to serve an airport? For example, Southwest does not fly into ATL. Would that be a long approval process, or would it depend on the particular airport?

I know that RIC officials have been trying to woo Southwest for years and new service might happen pretty fast here. I have no idea, though, if SW and ATL have been in discussions or if that would start from scratch.

 

[bicker]

Keep in mind that Carol is being optimistic and supportive. Keeping it real, the picture may or may not be as rosy as she outlines. Please do not hang your hopes on the best case scenario so much that you fail to take prudent measures now to protect yourselves, and please do not hang your hopes on the best case scenario so much that you are distressed and upset if any aspect of the best case scenario doesn't come to pass.

Independence was a small airline. It is impossible to know how other airlines and credit card companies will act if Delta was to cease operations.

Some airlines would increase their own capacity a small amount, but it is extremely unlikley that they will replace Delta's previous capacity completely. Industry experts know that the problem with the industry is too much capacity, so it would be irresponsible for an airline to increase their own capacity so much as to fully cover the gap left by Delta if it ceases operations.

There is no question that many banks will treat their customers better than the law allows, but do keep in mind that many banks probably won't. Hope, surely, that your bank is one of the generous ones, but please be prepared for the alternative.

The real good candidate for a source of optimism in this situation, IMHO, isn't relying on other airlines to replace Delta or relying on the generosity of credit card companies, but rather to rely on the fact that the pilots won't strike against the airline.

 

[CarolA]

Actually there was an ariticle in the Atlanta paper just today talking about other airlines who would move in on DL's routes......I think it's a real possiblity. (Now if you are flying out of Atlanta I don't expect any "sweetheart" deals.. .there are just too many of us)

 

[goofy4tink]

Actually there was an ariticle in the Atlanta paper just today talking about other airlines who would move in on DL's routes......I think it's a real possiblity. (Now if you are flying out of Atlanta I don't expect any "sweetheart" deals.. .there are just too many of us)

I have to say that I, for one, appreciate your optimism CarolA!!! I just can't worry about all those worst case scenarios at the moment. There is nothing we can do, other than just book other flights. I prefer to just sit tight and see how it shakes out. Call me a Pollyanna, but I'm hoping that all parties involved can get their collective acts together and save this airline...too many people will be affected by it's shutting down. Yes, my travel plans would be in turmoil, but that's nothing compared to someones loosing their job, be it a pilot, a baggage handler, a CS rep, a FA....doesn't matter. I can only hope that 2 months from now, we are all laughing at all this turmoil...one can only hope!!!

 

[CarolA]

Here's a question that occurred to me last night. Let's assume the worse case scenario comes to pass -- the pilots and management can't reach an agreement, the pilots strike, and Delta dies a fast and painful death. I know that the other airlines would do what they could to pick up the slack in terms of passenger service, but how soon could an airline be approved to serve an airport? For example, Southwest does not fly into ATL. Would that be a long approval process, or would it depend on the particular airport?

I know that RIC officials have been trying to woo Southwest for years and new service might happen pretty fast here. I have no idea, though, if SW and ATL have been in discussions or if that would start from scratch.

The biggest issue is probably gate leases. If RIC for example has "open" gates then it's pretty easy. Atlanta has NO open gates.... So somehow the airport has to void the DL leases....

 

[Lewisc]

Some airlines would increase their own capacity a small amount, but it is extremely unlikley that they will replace Delta's previous capacity completely. Industry experts know that the problem with the industry is too much capacity, so it would be irresponsible for an airline to increase their own capacity so much as to fully cover the gap left by Delta if it ceases operations.

Exactly, even LCC, can't survive with high jet fuel costs and deeply discounted fares. Other airlines will replace some of Delta's flights but I'd expect to see capacity reduced and fares higher.

SW gives full credit if you don't take your flight. If I had a Delta flight in the near future I'd consider booking a flight as a backup.

I wouldn't count on the $50 standby rule helping much. Airlines might offer a confirmed reservation for something greater than $50 but less than full fare. Those passengers might take most of the available seats. SW could even offer DING fares to help fill the planes rather than just accept $50.