My DELTA Flying Experience from ... Hell-o everyone!!

[seashoreCM]

During the NE snowstorm this winter they extorted $800 in change fees and fare increases for changing my flight even though there was a blizzard warning the next day for my flight (it was canceled and the airport shut down most of the day). .

Did you change your reservations over the phone, or did you simply show up at the airport for an earlier flight?

If you rebook in advance you will probably be charged all of the applicable fees. If you simply show up puncutually at the airport for an earlier flight AND you refuse to pay any more money AND the plane you want departs without you and empty seats AND your assigned flight is ultimately and foreseeably cancelled, weather included, you may well be entitled to compensation.

 

[georgina]

First, as others have said it started with the TSA snafu. I won't go on my rant about the TSA but just know it is the most incompetant agency ever created.

Second, I experienced a Delta run-around in Ireland. It was a horrific mess that started with a mechanical (which I know was not Delta's fault) and went DOWNHILL from there. When we got home, I wrote a letter to customer care and mailed it (did not email it). I calmly and rationally explained everything that we experienced. Delta nicely compensated us with double skymiles for that portion of the trip and two $250 vouchers. We used those vouchers to go to Disneyland.

Don't give up on Delta just yet.

Wow, they only gave us 5 $50 vouchers after I wrote to them about our Delta ordeal ($50 per passenger). They went unused because I won't fly Delta anymore. I agree the problem is not always things thay can control, but their customer service was awful to us and we just missed a connection too in the early morning after being delayed for a full day in LAX. (Even the red eye left LAX 2 hours late!)

 

[goofy4tink]

I don't have too much to add, except I'm sorry you had such a horrific travel experience. What a huge pain. I would have thought, that with computers nowadays, that Delta could have figured out that 'x' number of people had a connection to make, and very quickly. They should have been able to hold that departing plane for those people coming in. They should have been able to see who needed to get off that plane. I know that when I have flown into Denver, and needed to make a connection quickly due to a late departure due to thunderstorms, that the FA knew there were a number of people who would have a really fast connection. So, they held the other plane for a bit, while we were told to hurry off the plane. And nicely enough, no one else moved from their seats!!! Just the 12 of us who ran!! Made the connection and were in the air within 15 minutes!
You had too many factors coming into play here. One would have been enough to put me over the edge, but with the number you had, I'm surprised you can even talk about it!!!
This is one reason I try to avoid Atlanta at all costs...and sometimes those costs are high. And I think, getting higher!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have flown extensively in my 29 years on the earth, domesticly and Internationally and have never experienced the chaos and "sorry about your luck" attitude that did last night and this morning.

What happened to you frankly sucks, but if this is the first really bad experience you have had flying and you fly as often as you say you do, then you have been extremely fortunate in the past because these types of snafus happen EVERY day with EVERY airline.

but I am literally scarred for the rest of my days..

If you let what really was just a minor blip in your life "scar" you forever, that's a real problem. You have 2 young kids with another on the way - I can assure you that many more serious issues are facing you in the future. You and your husband need to learn to roll with the punches a bit better.

 

[philaround]

I'm sorry you had so much trouble with Delta. Your experience only reinforces my decision of 25 years ago never to fly Delta again. We decided that Delta needed to change their name to "We Are Very Sorry Air." Our 2 1/2 hour flight from Hartford to Orlando, with the dredded change in Atlanta, took nearly 6 hours. The only thing that went right on that flight was that we were told that all connecting flights were being held and they were.

 

[pezpam]

I've been traveling for decades and all I can say is that if I wrote off every airline which has given me a nightmare experience, there wouldn't be anyone left except the discount lines. Northwest and US Airways (we just call them US Scareways...) have been the worst in my experience and I have to say that I'm happy that Southwest has a big presence here and usually has the best/easiest schedule for most of our trips.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I've been traveling for decades and all I can say is that if I wrote off every airline which has given me a nightmare experience, there wouldn't be anyone left except the discount lines

You are absolutely right, except the discount airlines have troubles too. I have had some terrible experiences on JetBlue (including an aborted takeoff for equipment failure at JFK) and just ask the passengers who were on SWA Flight #1248 from BWI to MDW on 9 Dec 2005 if flying SWA is problem free.

Anyone who refuses to fly on an airline because they experienced a travel delay or inept flight attendant or lost their seat assignment, etc. is naive if they think this isn't going to happen again to them on another airline.

 

[pezpam]

You are absolutely right, except the discount airlines have troubles too. I have had some terrible experiences on JetBlue (including an aborted takeoff for equipment failure at JFK) and just ask the passengers who were on SWA Flight #1248 from BWI to MDW on 9 Dec 2005 if flying SWA is problem free.

Anyone who refuses to fly on an airline because they experienced a travel delay or inept flight attendant or lost their seat assignment, etc. is naive if they think this isn't going to happen again to them on another airline.

True. I didn't mean to imply that the discount places are problem-free, just that I personally haven't hit that *yet* with them. My main point was the same as yours - writing off an airline for a bad experience will just put you on another airline where the same thing can happen. I haven't found an airline yet that *somebody* can't tell a horror story about.

 

[castleri]

Delta is at the top of my won't fly list also. A number of years ago we missed our flight from Orlando because the time had been changed from when we purchased the tickets and when we flew. The ticket agent going out of Hartford did not mention this, the ticket agent in Orlando did not mention it either just said your flight leaves from gate XX- did not mention time. These were paper tickets that clearly had the wrong time stamped on them. We were at the airport 2 hours early and this was before all the security we have now. We stopped to eat and then proceeded to the gate only to be told the flight had left. The gate agent did a good though surly job of getting us home but when I addressed the issue with customer service by mail I was told it was our fault because we had booked through a travel agent instead of directly through Delta.
We also let the travel agent know that when she said she had checked our itinerary and tickets she had apparently only looked up what was in her computer not checking with the airline. We didn't even get the "we're sorry" routine from any of them. I now know that it is my sole responsibility to check that times have remained the same. The second time I had an issue with them was when we had non stop flights booked six months in advance from Providence to Orlando and they quit flying non stop from there. I found out about it from someone else and finally called and asked if it was true. Oh yes we no longer have non stop flights from there. - When were you going to let us know about this? OH somtime closer to your travel time - Fortunately I did call and also fortunately they refunded all my money when I told them I refused to go to Boston to fly (they had non stop flights from there) and that I would not fly any connecting flights. We ended up on SWA and have been loyal customers ever since. It is Delta's lack of customer communication that bothers me most and since SWA is flying to just about anywhere I want to go I guess I won't even worry about it. Hope you get rested up and that your next trips whenever they may be, are much smoother and less eventful.

 

[Grendalynn]

If you let what really was just a minor blip in your life "scar" you forever, that's a real problem. You have 2 young kids with another on the way - I can assure you that many more serious issues are facing you in the future. You and your husband need to learn to roll with the punches a bit better.

I am well aware of the whole "rolling with the punches" outlook in life. I offen us the motto, "its only a big deal if you make it a big deal." And to me this was a big deal. Not huge or life threatening, but somethings that was far from enjoyable and could have easily been avoided. I told my husband many times when he and I started to get heated with each other and at the situation that night, that it would do us no good to get all p'ed off - as it wouldnt get us home any quicker. We are very layed back people but when somethings happens that could have been simply avoided, it erks (sp?) me!

I am "scarred" in the sence that I will do my damnedest to avoid Atlanta for the rest of my days, I will do my best to book non-stop flights and I wont hesistate to look for an answer that I think may be a better one or more accurate one higher in the chain. Maybe if I had demanded more info from the rude stewardess and asked to speak with the head stewardess, things may have been different. I guess being Mrs. Nice-guy and not being rude or demanding, won us a night at the aiport. That is what "scarred" me and I have chalked it up to a life lesson - I know to avoid those things now for future travel.

 

[PatMcDuck]

We were stuck with 4 kids in Atlanta years ago, probably thru Delta. I was annoyed that before we left Orlando, it was obvious we would be stranded there, but nonetheless we had to go there and sit for 5-6 hours with the 4 kids in tow. (I would have rather used those hours in WDW)

It was some sort of bad weather all shutting down the northeast airports in our case.

We said no more connections after that, esp with the kids. I am lucky, we can do that, we live close enough to so many airports (NYC, Newark, AC, Philly)

 

[PolyPal]

To the OP, please do not expect any response from Delta. If you do get an e-mail back, it will most likely say, "Thank you for contacting Delta."

I am in their FF Program and have "Medallion" status. I have found Delta's service to be much less than it used to be. I always remind myself that the airline industry is the ONLY industry where the federal government had to step in to establish guidelines for customer service. Not safety standards or human rights / EEO issues, but CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Our family, wife and sons (7 & 13)and I got stranded in Atlanta on Thursday night. Due to sever weather the Atlanta airport closed and we were diverted to Augusta, GA. When we landed in Augusta, called Medallion Special Member Services on my cell and was actually suprised to get an agent who was NOT in India. She re-booked our family on the last flight to Hartford at 10:40 pm but we missed that flight by 20 minutes. The "Delta Representative greeting this flight" in Atlanta was absolutely no help at all. We deplaned in Atlanta and looked up at the electronic departures/connections screen but saw no flight listed to Hartford despite the Delta crew's reassurance that "everyone is in the same boat and all flights will be delayed." I asked the Delta agent if she was just reading the board when people asked her questions. Her answer "yes". Ther was no help finding hotels for the night. Just a shouted announcement to go to baggage claim and get on the courtesy phones to see if you can find a room. No consideration to my FF status or the fact that I was travelling with children. Just a "so what" attitude. Delta has an employee expense problem. They need to cut positions where they have people standing around reading boards that even my second grader could figure out.

Good luck OP! If you do get a voucher out of Delta, I'm not sure how much it will mean coming from a bankrupt airline.

 

[maxiesmom]

When the airlines know that 90% of their passengers book flights based on the lowest fare, and that no mater what CS they give they'll lose you as a customer the next time the other airline beats their price, they have ZERO incentive to keep you.

This is the problem! Given a choice, most people will choose the cheaper option over a higher priced one, even if the higher priced option is of better quality. Remeber when AA took out seats to give us more legroom but raised the ticket prices? That didn't last for long. People wanted more room but were not willing to pay for it. Untill we are willing to pay for better service we won't get it.