[msgroner]

My son, a US Marine, graduated from Combat Engineering school on Nov 17 at Camp Lejeune, NC. He booked his one way flight through Expedia to Houston to pick up his car and then drive to his new assignment at Camp Pendleton, CA. His ticket costs $170, but when checking in they asked for a credit card and proceeded to charge $325 for his military bags. He has flown Continental and US Air and has NEVER been charged for his bags. This is disgraceful and needs to be exposed. A serviceman was charged 20% of his monthly salary to bring his mandatory equipment home. Upon calling Delta customer service we were told "sorry, this is our policy" UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please help me complain or give advice on what can be done. I am livid!

[ChrisH]

I am not sure if this will help, but I found this on Delta's web-site:

"Will the first or second bag policy apply to active U.S. Military personnel checking bags?

No. U.S. Military personnel on active duty with travel orders may check in 3 bags in Economy Class and up to 4 checked bags in First/Business on Delta aircraft or Delta Connection® carriers, at no additional charge. Each bag has a maximum weight of 70 lbs (32 kg) and size of 80 linear inches (203 cm)."

It sounds like they may only waive the fees for military personnel actually traveling on orders. The airlines I used to work for would waive bag fees if you showed a military I.D., whether on orders or not, however, Delta may not have that policy. If they do not, I do not know that there is much that you can do about it, except maybe continue to complain to them about it, as they are not obligated to waive bag fees for anyone. If you complain enough, you may eventually reach someone who will do something for you.

[msgroner]

Thank you Chris, I just received this message from Delta and I am not done with them yet. I plan on exposing this outrageous and pathetic policy to as many news organizations as possible. Stay tuned. I am NOW on a mission. Delta Airlines you have irritated the wrong person.

"Dear Mr. Groner,

Re: Case number 1978739.

Thank you for your correspondence requesting a refund of your son's
checked baggage fee. On behalf of Delta, I sincerely apologize for the
inconvenience you encountered.

I am truly sorry for your disappointment with our checked baggage fee.
We appreciate the time you took to write. Since the fee charged for
your son's baggage was correct, respectfully a refund would not be due.
I do want you to know your comments are important to us, and I will be
forwarding them to our Corporate Marketing leadership team.

Prior to your next trip, we invite you to visit the web site of your
operating carrier for the most up-to-date information on checked
luggage.

Mr. Groner, we value the time you have taken to bring your concerns to
our attention. As a valued Delta member, be assured, we will make every
attempt to serve you well; we are focused on the future and look forward
to our continued business relationship.

Sincerely,

Vinnie M. Miller
Coordinator, Customer Care
Delta Air Lines/KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Original Message Follows: ------------------------

Delta Air Lines Baggage Form


Title:
First Name: Matthew
Last Name: Groner
Airline Program:
Frequent Flyer Number:
Reply-To Email Address: msgroner@aol.com
Address:
Address Line 2:
City:
State/Province: TX
Postal Code/Zip:
Country: US
Flight Date: 11/17/2010
Flight Number: DL5004
Origin City: OAJ
Destination City:
Confirmation Number:
Ticket Number:
File Reference Number:
Date Filed:
Last Name on File: Groner
Message: My Son is a US Marine and defends this country. He was charged
$325 for his sea bags and has NEVER EVER paid for his bags with ANY
other airline in the past. I find this disgraceful and I am very
offended by your airlines policy. I will be contacting as many news
organizations as possible unless he is reimbursed for this unbelievable
fee!

[DazedNadConfused]

As this was a PCS move (permanent change of station) he should be able to submit the receipt to Finance and Accounting when he arrives at his duty assignment.

He should notify his squad leader/Platoon Sgt (if he is enlisted) for assistance. He will have a weight allowance on his orders for his belongings as well.

[ChrisH]

As is typical, it seems that you received a stock response from Delta. This was discussed in another thread, when someone wrote in an e-mail complaint to another airline. They do not even ackowledge the actual issue, that your son is in the military and was charges over $300 for his bags. They just simply sent a stock response to a complaint about baggage charges.

In the case of this other poster, they were able to finally get their complaint heard and received a refund. Their issue was not baggage, but I encourage you to continue following up with this, with Delta. Sometimes it takes just getting the right person who cares.

*** With it being the travel season, the news agencies will focus on air travel, especially with the recent issues regarding the full body scanners. Now might truly be a good time to bring this story to a news agency, both local and national. You never know, one of them may pick the story up and tell it.

[msgroner]

Thanks for all the responses. They helped get Delta to realize that my son indeed flew under their military baggage guidelines. They will be refunding his $325. We still have a very bad taste in our mouths about Delta and will not fly them.