Our Unhappy Delta Saga

[AlexandNessa]

We flew Delta R/T from ABE to MCO, with a connection in ATL each way. Can I just tell you that Delta had two mechanical and one "your plane is late arriving so you'll be late departing" delays? This made them late for 3 out of 4 legs of our trip.

The first flight was delayed due to not having enough hydraulic fluid (first flight of the day). Delta contracts out mtce in ABE, and the pilot had us stay put and sit on this tiny commuter plane on the runway for 1 hour and 40 minutes before take off. As someone who gets a little claustrophobic, this was a bit unsettling.

Then, the line at the service center was wicked long once we finally arrived at ATL, and we had no idea what new flight Delta put us on. We wound up calling Delta to figure out what flight they had rebooked us on. Ever try telling the voice recognition lady your confirmation number? I must have been on the phone with voice recognition lady for 10 minutes before she finally gave up on me and transfered me to an agent who told us what flight we were on. So we made our way to the gate of our departing flight, where we had some crabby lady assign us crummy seats.

Coming home was just as bad. There was some door hinge that was loose and it took them about an hour and a half to fix that. They kept changing the departure time too. They had a half hour delay posted at the gate, but when I again had to call Delta to figure out what new flight we'd be on from ATL to ABE, the phone agent said it was more of an hour and ten minute delay. But, they just started boarding the plane after an hour and ten minutes.

Finally, we get to ATL, and we try to get seats for our rebooked flight. We stood at the counter for 10 minutes with no one in front of us, when finally the gate agent asked if he could help us. We explained we just needed seat assignments as our previous flight was delayed and we missed our connection. Shlephead gives us two seats, not together, on opposite sides of the plane. We didn't realize it at first and sat down. When I pulled out the tickets again, I realized they weren't together and had to wait in line again for a seat reassignment. They had us in rows in the back of the plane. We were able to get 2 seats together in row 4. Why would they do that if a couple was traveling on the same confirmation # with the same address? They did this to another husband and wife who didn't realize the situation, and then had to play musical chairs on the plane to sit together.

Then, our flight from ATL to ABE was delayed 25 minutes because our plane had not arrived into ATL to make our departure on time.

There were no smiling employees or apologies for the delays.

Did they just go through some more pay cuts? I have a feeling air travel will only get worse.
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[safetymom]

Sorry to hear you had problems. You were on the right track by having the phone number for Delta. Next time have the reservations number for Delta and speak to them about changing your flight when you miss one.

 

[Disney Ella]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I'm sure after experiencing that going down, you expected the flight home to be no problem. IMHO, the airlines need to realize that if people have a pleasant experience, they're going to be more likely to fly that airline again. But most airlines don't seem to care about this basic fact. I'm aware that most airlines are in financial difficulty, but if they don't improve their customer service, there are going to be no customers to pay those fares.

 

[Pollyann]

Now I'm worried. I have Delta from ABE to MCo through ATL for May. I hope I do not have to go through what Alexandnessa did.

 

[denisenh]

Now I'm worried. I have Delta from ABE to MCo through ATL for May. I hope I do not have to go through what Alexandnessa did.

Me too, for February. Ugh. I always use Southwest. I can deal with problems, but my DH gets crabby sometimes.

 

[georgina]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

After out horrible Delta experience last summer trying to get home from LAX, I will never fly Delta again. I hope US Air survives because the discount airlines won't be flying to some of the smaller places we go, like Gainesville.

 

[CarolA]

We all have horror stories on every airline. I just got a free night in Atlanta due to weather (which is hard to control, but I saw people blaming the airline)

My worst horror stories were on AA...

I find these "I will never fly XYZ" statements a little limiting. Some of you may have to drive LOL!

One thing to keep in mind is that you are guanteed A SEAT, not the seat you want!