Delta Airlines

[Montanalo]

Back in the early 2000s, I was flying out of BWI, back home. Was in Maryland working for a couple weeks and was trying to beat a storm home. So anyway, had a 6 O'Clock flight out. Long story short, engine gave up the ghost on take off and we were very lucky to have a great pilot because I'd be dead now if he hadn't been able to get us down. Very, very lucky is all I can say. Anyhow, deployed the emergency Evac slides and we all got off the plan at the arse end of nowhere on an airstrip and eventually got transported back to the hanger area. From there, they sent us back to the terminal and put us in an area that wasn't being used, at the time. It's interesting because there were no chairs, nobody around. They just lined us up and had us stand there. Hours went by and nobody offered us coffee, water, nothing. Nobody came and talked to us, nothing at all. There were no representatives, nobody said anything to us. Just made us stand and wait for like 4 hours. That was Delta. I've never flown them since and I probably won't ever gain. If they are having money issues, it's not because of Corona. It's because that airline sucks out loud IMO.

I am sure that, at one time or another, we have all had a regrettable and forgettable airline experience. Here is mine:

Many years ago we were returning to the states from Nigeria. We stopped for several days in London to complete our annual medical exams and, well, just decompress from the past year in West Africa. We flew from London to Atlanta via Delta (yes, a Delta story). We (wife, two kids and I) were booked in business class. The way the cabin was configured, our daughter, age 6 a the time, was seated by herself. I noticed the flight attendant spent a lot of time with my daughter -- I thought, "how nice". When we landed, the pilot instructed everyone to remain seated and allow us to exit first. We were met in the jet way by EMS in hazmat suits and they wisked us away to a medical clinic.

So, what happened? During her visit with the flight attendant, my daughter showed her the red mark on her arm from the recent TB test. The flight attendant reported the conversation to the pilot who, in turn alerted the medical authorities at Hartsfield Airport. At no time on the flight did anyone speak to me or my wife about our daughter's comments. I guess they just assumed our daughter was infected with TB. As it turns out, our daughter had a false positive skin test and, of course, had the blood test to confirm she did not have TB. But no one asked us.

At the medical clinic, I showed the attending physician our daughter's test results. We found our own way from the clinic back to the airport where I demanded, and received, a meeting with Delta's top official at Hartsfield. We had a lengthy conversation in which he simply stated his crew was doing their job... no explanation was offered why someone didn't have the common sense to speak to the parents, nor was any apology offered from Delta, nor did they offer to re-book our on-going flights. I have never flown Delta since

 

[roughneck266]

I do not fly Delta anymore. Ever. Never had good luck with them.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I used to only fly American (heck I lived in DFW) Though they went into the dumps and ended up flying Delta after that. (not to mention I had a AMEX Skymiles card)

Thus far, I have had pretty good luck with Delta. Clearly that isn't true for everyone.

I dumped the AMEX card in 2015 and have only flown very little the last few years. (maybe 10 trips in 4 years) So no idea what it's really like these days.

 

[Miller]

Sorry about your money but airlines are in trouble...but they have been waiving change fees. The airlines is a big part of my life. My wife has been involved for 20 years snd I have a BIL that is a top exec at one. It’s interesting to hear stories. We travel a lot..or did until recently. Delta is rated highest among US Airlines. Run well. United is improving again. American is horrible but we use them because I’m 15 min door to door to DFW

 

[Doomsday]

Sorry about your money but airlines are in trouble...but they have been waiving change fees. The airlines is a big part of my life. My wife has been involved for 20 years snd I have a BIL that is a top exec at one. It’s interesting to hear stories. We travel a lot..or did until recently. Delta is rated highest among US Airlines. Run well. United is improving again. American is horrible but we use them because I’m 15 min door to door to DFW

I get what you are saying but here is my big issue with it. They are only willing to issue vouchers because they know a large percentage of people will NOT be able to use it by December so it turns into free money for them. We are all going to take a financial hit because of this, them keeping people's money is sickening to me.

Like I said under normal circumstances, I would accept the no-cancellation policy, but this is a National Emergency and people shouldn't be flying unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Miller]

I get what you are saying but here is my big issue with it. They are only willing to issue vouchers because they know a large percentage of people will NOT be able to use it by December so it turns into free money for them. We are all going to take a financial hit because of this, them keeping people's money is sickening to me.

Like I said under normal circumstances, I would accept the no-cancellation policy, but this is a National Emergency and people shouldn't be flying unless absolutely necessary.

I get it and like I said they are trying. I know many execs are taking up to a 50% pay cut etc to try and keep things afloat and 1000s of employees using voluntary leave. Just tough throughout. Hopefully the change vouchers can be used by December. Maybe with a govt bailout they can get some more Substantial plans

 

[aria]

Nothing against the people who work for the airlines (pilots, flight attendants, etc) but I despise all airlines and have zero sympathy for any of them just like they have zero sympathy for my legs, extra baggage fees, exit row fees, flights being cancelled with no compensation, etc. Screw ‘em!

 

[nobody]

Nothing against the people who work for the airlines (pilots, flight attendants, etc) but I despise all airlines and have zero sympathy for any of them just like they have zero sympathy for my legs, extra baggage fees, exit row fees, flights being cancelled with no compensation, etc. Screw ‘em!

of all the airlines I've ever flown, the best experiences have always been with Jetblue.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

That sucks. I always book all my travel with my American Express card. If you have to cancel for any reason AMEX will refund you 100%. I've done this several different times.

I’m an AMEX Platinum member. I’ve been calling to cancel a flight for weeks now. At first it provided an option for a callback, but it never called me back. Now that option is gone, and I can hear them hanging up the phone after I wait on hold for a half hour. There’sa chat on their website but they just tell me to call the number. The flight is tomorrow morning and I still haven’t been able to cancel it.

 

[Miller]

Nothing against the people who work for the airlines (pilots, flight attendants, etc) but I despise all airlines and have zero sympathy for any of them just like they have zero sympathy for my legs, extra baggage fees, exit row fees, flights being cancelled with no compensation, etc. Screw ‘em!

Like any business they have to make money. In the past they didn’t have as many complaints because they let planes go out half full, would return money and let people just upgrade for nothing. They also went bankrupt a lot and thus the mergers. To become profitable they added seats, cut flights, added fees for baggage etc. Part of the game. You’d be surprised what customers used to try and get away with. Just saying..many businesses seem to face ire from customers but businesses also need to make money.

 

[aria]

Like any business they have to make money. In the past they didn’t have as many complaints because they let planes go out half full, would return money and let people just upgrade for nothing. They also went bankrupt a lot and thus the mergers. To become profitable they added seats, cut flights, added fees for baggage etc. Part of the game. You’d be surprised what customers used to try and get away with. Just saying..many businesses seem to face ire from customers but businesses also need to make money.

So profitable they’re able to buy back their own stocks. Cramming someone my size or larger into a seat where my knees are literally jamming into the seat in front of me without that person reclining is inhumane. I’m not asking for first class but trying to maximize literally every inch when they’re already making svwral hundred million dollars, if not billions, is crap not to mention unsafe.

Also, the customer should be entitled to some sort of compensation when a flight is cancelled for no good reason or due to maintenance which is on them. It blows my mind that there is no accountability, I wish I had that option with my job (although I would never not hold myself accountable). It’s a bunch of corporate greed which is rampant but between the time, inconvenience, and safety issues for some people I think airlines should be held to a higher standard.

 

[Tabascocat]

I’m an AMEX Platinum member. I’ve been calling to cancel a flight for weeks now. At first it provided an option for a callback, but it never called me back. Now that option is gone, and I can hear them hanging up the phone after I wait on hold for a half hour. There’sa chat on their website but they just tell me to call the number. The flight is tomorrow morning and I still haven’t been able to cancel it.

I have the platinum too. If you bought the tickets with that card, they will take care of it even if you can’t get in touch with the airline but call Amex before the flight leaves.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I have the platinum too. If you bought the tickets with that card, they will take care of it even if you can’t get in touch with the airline but call Amex before the flight leaves.

I've been calling Amex for a month. I've been on hold for hours. Recently I can hear them pick up and immediately hang up. The chat just tells me to call the number. Infinite loop.

 

[Tabascocat]

I've been calling Amex for a month. I've been on hold for hours. Recently I can hear them pick up and immediately hang up. The chat just tells me to call the number. Infinite loop.

Weird, I called them a few days ago for something else. It was a quick call. Maybe google other AMEX numbers instead of calling the one on the card.

 

[Miller]

So profitable they’re able to buy back their own stocks. Cramming someone my size or larger into a seat where my knees are literally jamming into the seat in front of me without that person reclining is inhumane. I’m not asking for first class but trying to maximize literally every inch when they’re already making svwral hundred million dollars, if not billions, is crap not to mention unsafe.

Also, the customer should be entitled to some sort of compensation when a flight is cancelled for no good reason or due to maintenance which is on them. It blows my mind that there is no accountability, I wish I had that option with my job (although I would never not hold myself accountable). It’s a bunch of corporate greed which is rampant but between the time, inconvenience, and safety issues for some people I think airlines should be held to a higher standard.

I get it..especially compensation for things not in your control..but as I said above I’ve seen it from the other side too and not all of it is greed etc. People are working hard to try and make it profitable but good for the consumer. Unless they go back to making flying a luxury I think many things people do in the travel industry ..and where it’s customer heavy..will always have unhappy people. I’m not saying it’s perfect but the industry has to toe the line vs where they wasted money on fuel and empty flights.

 

[Doomsday]

I've been calling Amex for a month. I've been on hold for hours. Recently I can hear them pick up and immediately hang up. The chat just tells me to call the number. Infinite loop.

I bought mine tickets with Amex as well. The first night I tried to call and cancel, the same thing happened to me. I would be on hold for over a half an hour, the background music would stop, I would hear someone breathing on the other end, then they would hang up. It happened 3 times before I gave up for the night.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I bought mine tickets with Amex as well. The first night I tried to call and cancel, the same thing happened to me. I would be on hold for over a half an hour, the background music would stop, I would hear someone breathing on the other end, then they would hang up. It happened 3 times before I gave up for the night.

They used to give you an option where you can select for them to call you back. I selected that option many times. They never called me back. A few weeks later, I saw a missed call from them and they never called me back after that. The next day, they no longer provided the option to call you back. It just says "if you're not traveling within the next 72 hours, please call back at a later time." But they still hang up on you whether you're traveling in the next 72 hours or not. It's a mess. My flight took off this morning. Maybe I'll try to get my money back after things go back to normal. I'm not holding out hope though. It was only a $200 flight (one way), so it could've been worse.

 

[nightrain]

The airlines all suck, in good and bad times, though flying wouldn be bad if there were no other

Gotta vent, I am a bit ticked off right now.

I had to cancel my golf trip to Myrtle Beach today due to bar, restaurant and golf course closings for a few weeks.

I had no issue getting a full refund from the hotel, car rental, golf courses or from United Airlines for the flight there.

However, Delta Airlines is sticking to their cancellation policy and basically keeping my money for the return flight. All $642 of it! If it was a normal circumstance I would get it, but considering we are basically in a crisis and entire towns are basically shutdown it makes me really angry that they are treating people this way.

The best part is knowing that my tax dollars will be used to bail them out when this is over as well.

I am thinking about booking Delta to Hilton Head in July. I anticipate using their posted cancellation policy in case we decide it's not worth going. At least I will get a credit toward future travel. I am out the $300+ reservation fee for the house we booked if we decide to cancel.

 

[SlammedZero]

I have a Delta story too!!

I was flying from Boise to Huntsville, Alabama with a stop in Salt Lake City and then Atlanta. Boise to SLC was quick and easy. We load up on the next plane heading to Atlanta, and just as everybody is seated and getting ready to pull out of the gate, you hear this BOOM and the entire plane shakes. Everybody is looking around at each other like, what the heck was that? Finally, after about 20 minutes, they announce to us that the stewardess accidentally deployed the emergency slide on the front of the airplane and that it is against FAA regulation to fly without one. Oh, and the nearest one was in Dallas, Texas. To add to the fun, because she deployed it at the main entrance door, we couldn't dock back up to the gate and we had to wait on the plane the entire time. So, we had to sit there and wait for a slide to fly from Dallas and then get installed on the airplane. Needless to say it sucked and all they did was serve us dinner on the plane. I was supposed to get into Atlanta at like 6pm that night and ended up finally flying in at 3am only to have to be back at the airport at 6:30am to catch another plane to Huntsville.

Haha it suuuuucked. Luckily I was in my early 20s at the time so little sleep was nothing to me.

 

[Jammer]

S

Also, the customer should be entitled to some sort of compensation when a flight is cancelled for no good reason or due to maintenance which is on them. .

I'm a million miler on Delta, and most years I get to be a Platinum or Diamond medallion member and I'm also on some kind of flying program with American, Southwest, and United. So I fly a lot (or used to). I have never been denied compensation when it has been their fault. Ever. If it's an "act of God" then all bets are off. But when it's their fault they scramble to make it right as much as they can. I've been put up in hotels with food vouchers, given gifts cards, and other things.