What do you think of Delta airlines?

[disneyfan67]

I have a chance to book airfare from Chicago (ORD) to (MCO) for my WDW trip in July and was wondering what you think of Delta. Orbitz just emailed me and I can get round trip for a 100 dollars per person. It does have a hour and half lay over in Alanta but that doesn't concern me too much. I figure my family can get some lunch while waiting for the flight to MCO. For 400 dollars plus taxes, I can live with a layover. Can anyone give me any info on what Delta is like?


Thanks!

 

[maxiesmom]

I like Delta! I have only had one delay with them, and they were very quick to get us on our way. Instead of making us sit and wait, they switched us to another plane.

So you know, an hour and a half is not a huge amount of time for a layover in Atlanta. It is a massive airport, and depending on where you need to go, you could be using a good chunk of time going to your next plane. We fly in there from a small airport, and it seems like we taxi for at least 20 minutes before we get to the terminal.

 

[DawnCt1]

I LOVE Delta. I try to stick with them as long as the price is right. Our family of 6 have flown to Hawaii 4 times from the east coast on Delta's frequent flyer miles, DH and I first class. How could I not love them?

 

[bigbabyblues]

I've flown on Delta twice, the only times I've flown. We didn't have any problems that were Delta's fault. The flight home from MCO was delayed because of a snowstorm in Cincinnati, which there is nothing Delta could help. We also ended up sitting at the gate for about an hour while maintenance was checking an oil leak in one of the engines. They pilot and attendants kept us as informed as the could; we were offered drinks (sodas and water) and the same snacks as during the flight while we waited. The flight ended up being canceled and rescheduled for later on a different plane that wasn't leaking oil. That was fine with me.

 

[disneyfan67]

I like Delta! I have only had one delay with them, and they were very quick to get us on our way. Instead of making us sit and wait, they switched us to another plane.

So you know, an hour and a half is not a huge amount of time for a layover in Atlanta. It is a massive airport, and depending on where you need to go, you could be using a good chunk of time going to your next plane. We fly in there from a small airport, and it seems like we taxi for at least 20 minutes before we get to the terminal.

Thanks, I didn't even think about how much time it would take to switch planes. I figure for the price I can do a swift walk to get to my next flight. I hope at least there's time to get a snack for my two boys, they're going to be bears having to catch a 7am flight out of O'Hare.

 

[disneyfan67]

I LOVE Delta. I try to stick with them as long as the price is right. Our family of 6 have flown to Hawaii 4 times from the east coast on Delta's frequent flyer miles, DH and I first class. How could I not love them?

Thanks Dawn! I just checked Orbitz and it's $117 per person, round trip. I think when the wife gets home, I'm going to book it.

 

[englishteacha]

How do you get Orbitz to email you deals?

 

[safetymom]

I haven't had any problems with Delta.

 

[bavaria]

as with any airline, pose the question here and you will hear 'I love XYZ', 'I never had a problem with XYZ', 'I hate XYZ', and 'I'LL NEVER FLY XYZ AGAIN!!!!!!!!!'

So long as an airline gets you from point A to point B for a reasonable fare at reasonable times, and you are not motivated by things like airline miles, there is no reason not to book.

 

[CarolA]

On any given day any airline can have a BAD day or a GOOD day. If you are looking for 100% love you aren't going to find it in an airline. (JetBlue was doing really well until this past 7 days, SW has the seating issue, USAir the luggage issue and so on!)

I will say that I think DL has made a big effort to improve customer service. I think as part of the 'fight' to run off USAir DL actually discovered that they are a team.

 

[Pixeldust Fairy]

We flew Delta for part of our flight last year and I personally loved it. I had issues with the Continental portion of our flight. Delta was great. I am just disappointed that I could not get the same airfare as last year. From where we are at Delta has trippled since last year.As for the flight Delta was great.

 

[disneyfan67]

How do you get Orbitz to email you deals?

You sign up and become a member. It takes 5 minutes to sign up and it's free. I get all kind of deals. They just emailed me for a about a Vegas trip that included airfare and a 3 night stay at the Luxor for 274 per person. I think that sounds pretty good, but I didn't catch the travel dates and was just skimming over the email. Give the site a try.

 

[disneyfan67]

I want to thank everyone who posted and I just got done booking my trip. The total came to $656.00 (including all fees and taxes) for all 4 of us to fly round trip. Everyone including Southwest was at least $800 dollars or more. American and United were over $1200 dollars and that was on their own websites. Expedia and Travelocity were about 200 dollars higher than Orbitz. I've been playing around with this all day and I think I got a good deal. Wish me luck!


Tikifest 2007 at the Polynesian, here I come!

 

[kda]

We fly Delta frequently and will continue to do so, if the price is right. They do change flight schedules every 3-4 months (as do many of the other airlines), so it's important to periodically check your reservation. When this happens, it may appear that you've lost your seat assignment, but a phone call has always fixed everything for us. Sometimes the schedule changes several times. We have never personally had it change more than 20 minutes, but it's a possibility (as with other airlines).

That sounds like an excellent deal. SWA may come up with a sale or a Ding special which might or might not be a little less. Now you don't have to worry about it and you have seats assigned.

I agree that it's great to have an hour and a half between flights in Atlanta. O'hare and Atlanta are two of the busiest airports. If the flight leaves a little late, you'll be glad you have that much time. It takes awhile taxing to and from the gate in both airports and since Atlanta is a Delta hub, you could be walking a big distance (just like United flights in O'hare).

Just an FYI --- it sounds like you booked through Orbitz. I use them to get an idea of prices and flight times and then book directly through the airline itself. (the same price is almost always available, although sometimes it isn't) This eliminates the "middle man" if there's any need to cancel or rebook. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Armadillo4]

I just flew DL over Presidents Weekend and had no problems, even with full flights. They did overbook, but on a holiday weekend, it wasn't surprising. I don't think they had any problems finding volunteers to be bumped.

Make sure you go to Delta's site and sign up for flight notifications. This way, you can be alerted if they make any changes to your flights. You may need to sign up for the SkyMiles program in order to get flight notifications, but it's free.

 

[clkelley]

I fly Delta quite frequently for work and used to fly with them quite frequently for trips to WDW. However, they have moved the direct flights to/from MCO to late morning and early afternoon. When I'm on vacation I prefer late night flights. (Why burn daylight traveling on vacation!!) So for trips to WDW we use SW out of Nashville. They have a late night flight from BNA to MCO that we can leave work at normal time (no time off work) and still make the flight, then a late flight from MCO to BNA. That gives us a full day at WDW on our last day. That makes quick weekend trips possible for us. It is impossible with Delta from our home airport.

 

[disneyfan67]

I fly Delta quite frequently for work and used to fly with them quite frequently for trips to WDW. However, they have moved the direct flights to/from MCO to late morning and early afternoon. When I'm on vacation I prefer late night flights. (Why burn daylight traveling on vacation!!) So for trips to WDW we use SW out of Nashville. They have a late night flight from BNA to MCO that we can leave work at normal time (no time off work) and still make the flight, then a late flight from MCO to BNA. That gives us a full day at WDW on our last day. That makes quick weekend trips possible for us. It is impossible with Delta from our home airport.

I ended up booking a flight that leaves a day earlier than I planned, but it saved me 250 dollars by doing so. I'm leaving on a Thursday instead of Friday, but that just gives me a little more time on vaction. I never realised what a price difference it was by leaving on a Friday. Every site I went to it seemed to be more money when you fly out on a Friday or Saturday, but it makes sense I guess. The weekends are when people want to travel.

I don't like the thought of catching a 7:15 am flight out of O'Hare and my two 10 year old boys are probably going to be monsters I'm hoping the energy of going to Disney will keep us going and my boys will be half way decent. I'm wondering what time I should be at O'Hare on Thursday morning and thinking I better be there by 5am. The flight will probably be changed a couple of times before July 26th, so I'll worry about it then.

 

[Tink Fans]

Nice to hear positive experiences with Delta.

Our family is flying Delta next month. We've had flights booked since last year and they've changed a few times (4 total -- all within 1/2 time frame). With the last change at Christmas time I didn't call right away for seat assignments and now the four of us are split up with my 8 year old sitting alone. When I did call they told me flight was full and couldn't make change BUT to bring it to attention when we check in at airport and it should be resolved w/o any issue. Has anyone had this experience and did it work out once you checked in? As long as she is sitting near one adult I will be happy.

Thanks,

 

[clkelley]

I ended up booking a flight that leaves a day earlier than I planned, but it saved me 250 dollars by doing so. I'm leaving on a Thursday instead of Friday, but that just gives me a little more time on vaction.

Vacation time is a much more precious commodity to us than the few dollars extra for flying on the days and times we want. If I were to change my trips to leave Thursday night instead of Friday night, that is 8 hours of vacation time that comes off the books.

Like I said, I hate to burn daylight and vacation time for traveling. So if I can get a late night flight on Friday night, that does not use up either of those, and also a late night flight on Sunday night (either a week later for our true vacation trips, or that Sunday for our quick weekends, then I'm willing to pay a few bucks more). (We can sleep on the plane and the ME bus )

Now let me clarify, we are almost empty nesters with college aged children, so we don't have to worry about little one's schedules or stamina and we always make it a point to go on a late lunch together the day we leave on vacation (about 2pm), that way we know we have a good meal in us that day, then we can get a light snack at the airport before leaving, then straight to bed when we get to the resort.