As this was a mechanical delay, you should request compensation. Have you tried contacting Delta about this issue or are you just going to vote with your feet and walk? If you decide to contact Delta I would recommend a written letter (snail mail) that is to the point, factual (which your post is) and free from emotion, opinion, and extraneous detail. Tell them that their service fell short of your expectations and ask them what they are willing o do to possibly win your business back. I would suggest omitting the fact that you are the president of your company and the potential loss of business due to that fact. After all as the president of your company wouldn't you agree that if given a choice between Delta and a competitor where all other factors (departure/arrival time, total travel time, etc) were relatively equal and Delta had a lower fare would you not choose Delta? After all, the bottom line is the bottom line and although mechanical delays do occur they are, percentage wise, not a common occurrence.
You mentioned in your post that you've been traveling for 37 years. Was this the first significant delay you've ever experienced? If so, you should count yourself extremely lucky! I have been traveling all of my life but more so in the past 10 years and have experienced several mechanical delays and cancellations. You accused the Delta mechanics of being inept and stated they did not know what they were doing. How could you know this for sure? Are you a trained A&P mechanic? Do you hold FAA certification? I'm not trying to be accusatory. I too have been an "armchair mechanic" in your situation.
I remember once on Continental (yes, one of the carriers you singled out as superior to Delta and I do share your opinion) as the aircraft was nearly boarded we got the "good afternoon ladies and gentlemen" announcement from the flight deck. Sure enough they found something during the pre-flight check that needed replacing. "No problem, we just need to plug a new one in. It's a modular unit and we have them in stores here so we should be underway and will probably make up the delay in flight." After the third unit of whatever it was failed, the captain anounced we would be deplaning because we now had to wait for a replacement part to be flown in from Seattle. We were in Phoenix. I knew after their first attempt when the new unit failed that there was probably some underlying cause for the malfunction. After all when a light bulb blows out and you replace it only to have the replacement blow too wouldn't a reasonable person suspect some sort of electrical problem with the fixture or wiring? However, I'm not a mechanic nor have I ever portrayed one on TV (10 points for anyone who recognizes that reference) and I figure as long as the issue is fixed before we get in the air they can take as long as they need.
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