What happens if Delta strikes?

[snickerboo]

Hi Carol. I'm also reading today that because Delta might ask for a restraining order against a strike and the union is saying that they won't hold an illegal strike if there's a restraining order in place.

Forgot to add, on one of the links posted here yesterday (on one of the now many Delta threads) I read that if they bump you in any way you can refuse and they have to refund your money, refundable ticket or not. So if your flight has been changed in any way and you don't want to chance your Delta tickets, call and raise h-e-double-hockey-sticks!

I was supposed to be taking a vacation to get away from stress not to add more! LOL

 

[CarolA]

Hi Carol. I'm also reading today that because Delta might ask for a restraining order against a strike and the union is saying that they won't hold an illegal strike if there's a restraining order in place.

Forgot to add, on one of the links posted here yesterday (on one of the now many Delta threads) I read that if they bump you in any way you can refuse and they have to refund your money, refundable ticket or not. So if your flight has been changed in any way and you don't want to chance your Delta tickets, call and raise h-e-double-hockey-sticks!

I was supposed to be taking a vacation to get away from stress not to add more! LOL

Delta will IMMEDIATELY ask for a restaining order. They have already claimed that a strike is illegal under the "railroad" act (which I don't pretend to understand)

It's not exactly true that any change triggers the refund. In the contract of carriage that you basically agree to when you fly they have parameters. I agree with Anne that I would be seeing what I can do on the 15 minute connection. That isn't going to work! And of course if you are flying next week what does it help if DL gives you your money back. A new ticket is going to cost a LOT more then the DL ticket did way back when.

Another suggestion... don't call and raise " h-e-double-hockey-sticks" Those phone agents have very tough skins. I find that I get dramatically better results by being nice and understanding that the man/woman on the phone really had nothing to do with the mess. If that doesn't work then you can escalte, but strating off being mean just gets them mean back.

 

[RevBob]

I was supposed to be taking a vacation to get away from stress not to add more! LOL

AMEN to that!

 

[dpayne1969]

Wow i just checked rates for my May trip and the cost of tickets is almost $400 per person RT.There is no way i could swing the difference in cost for 4 people.Has anyone or is anyone out there cancelling or are you all just waiting to see what happens?I would hate to be on standby w/3 kids.My 2 teens would probably be ok flying by themselves but my 10 year old will NOT fly by herself on standby.I guess we just say an extra prayer tonite for all of us in this situation.I am kicking myself for not booking southwest back in Jan!!

 

[ducklite]

Also, we are flying out of Calgary to Detroit with a change over in Salt Lake City.

I"m really confused because I just noticed you are from Ontario. Maybe you could fly back to Ontario and cross the boarder into the US via car, and fly out of either DET on NW or US or BUF on US or Jetblue?

I've had some pretty good luck booking fairly reasonable last minute fares on US lately.

Anne

 

[chasbos]

I"m really confused because I just noticed you are from Ontario. Maybe you could fly back to Ontario and cross the boarder into the US via car, and fly out of either DET on NW or US or BUF on US or Jetblue?

Our trip is a little confusing!

We are flying out of Detroit into Seattle on SWA - then we are taking the Amtrak into Vancouver - renting a car and driving to Calgary - and then we have to return to Detroit to pick up our vehicle!

I am still wondering if they will let me cancel because of the 15 minute connection time - I am going to give them a call.

*Just got off the phone with Delta and because they could not get me on a flight that was even close to my original flight (I told them I was concerned about the 15 minute connection time - what were they thinking?) they let me cancel my reservation and I should have my money back within 5-7 days.

That is a huge load off of my shoulders. I could handle be stuck in an airport with DH but not with our 4 kids!

 

[bicker]

If DL shuts down as a result of a strike you have a few more options. Under the law other airlines are required to honor your ticket on a standby basis for a nominal fee ($50) There are problems with this, standby means just that so no you and your five kids won't get to sit together etc. (You will be doing good to get on a plane together)

That's a critical point. Availability will be so limited that it is unlikey more than a portion of the folks holding tickets on Delta will be accommodated.

Bicker says the law hasn't been used, but it did kick in on the Indpendence bankruptcy earlier this year.

I wasn't aware of that. Still, Independence was a very small drop-in-the-bucket as compared to Delta.

Do you know how much the airlines charged? When the law was passed, the airlines maitnained that they were going to charge $100 despite the law.

If you live in someplace like Atlanta or Cinn. the standby option is especially horrid as there is NO way anyone can pick up that slack overnight.

And very little incentive to pick up the slack long-term, as the problem in the industry is over-capacity. With reduced capacity, fares can go up to a reasonable level.

If you can't get a flight out, will hotels refund days you have missed because of the events?

Some very generous hotels might, but they're under no obligation to do so.

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

CarolA,

Thanks for the positive note! I'm going to hang in there and keep the faith!

 

[FoodLover]

I've done extensive research on what will happen to ticket holders if Delta shuts down. I just created a new thread summarizing what I've learned. It includes links to the actual DOT rulings:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1077226

I didn't see this thread or I would have posted the info to it, sorry.

This same info is on my web site and will be updated as necessary.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Thanks for sharing all of this info everybody. We have e-tickets for May 5th with a return of May 13th for 5 of us. We are on pins and needles also.

Nothing to do but keep throwing that pixie dust.