Delta Declines to Compensate Platinum FF Member for $2K in Costs for Cancelled Flight
 

Delta cancelled a segment of an international round trip flight itinerary less than two weeks prior to departure. Four tickets were part of the reservation. The tickets were purchased seven months in advance by my wife, who is a Platinum Medallion member.

Delta's sudden cancellation cost us more than $1,800 in work-around arrangements -- over and above the amount Delta agreed to refund for the cancelled flight. I faxed Delta customer service and emailed them from their website asking for additional financial consideration; either to pick up all or part of our extra cost or to provide vouchers good for future travel on Delta. I know they are not obligated to do this (just to issue refunds), but my wife and I have been loyal Delta customers for 30+ years, and we are the injured party through no fault of our own.

Delta replied via email saying they are not going to do anything for us beyond issuing the required refund. The closing paragraph of the email stated, "We realize this is a disappointment, and trust you will understand our position. We hope you will continue to make Delta your airline of choice."

Understand their position?? They chose not to understand ours, and have the ability to compensate us for this sizable, unexpected expense. That they chose not to means that we will only fly Delta again if there are no other alternatives. What shabby treatment!:mad:

I would use up your miles and then find another carrier. Delta has lost touch with it's customers and until it faces the consequences will continue to treat its customers this way.

I completly agree Jim. Also with the DL/NW take over, NW will go right down the tubes with DL.

May I ask just what were these additional expenses for which you were seeking compensation? Non-refundable hotel accommodations? Cruise tickets? If you purchased the airline tickets with a credit card it is very likely the credit card company has automatic travel insurance. I'm assuming Delta refunded the cost of the tickets to the original form of payment so any losses such as the ones I mentioned would be easy to prove to the credit card company since they will see the refund on your statement. I'm surprised none of the Delta representatives you spoke to or corresponded with recommended that you check into this. Then again, perhaps they aren't allowed to.

It is more likely that re-booking alternative flights cost $1,800 considering it was booked 9 months before... but whatever it is, Delta is treating it's customers shabbily.

If it is indeed the cost of new tickets vs. old then I'd say tho OP has a solid case to present for compensation via the credit card insurance. I hope they used the same credit card to purchase the new tickets as it would probably br easier just to issue a miscellaneous credit against that purchase. (And hopefully charge back the difference to Delta!)

Since the OP didn't post any details of the trip (origin and destination, routing, etc.) we can't know why Delta canceled the segment. Perhaps they no longer serve that destination and couldn't issue tickets on an airline that still does. Not every airline has ticketing agreements with each other which is one of the reasons I rarely fly Southwest.