[c00lman]

Saint Louis to Mumbai with just $2, Thank you Delta: Our Ordeal with Delta, 2 years running

I write this with great regret and anger to let everyone over there know how these so called “Global Airlines Operate”. Delta, who proudly displays their tagline “You’ll love the way we fly.” should be ashamed of themselves and the unprofessional attitude of their staff.
Let me start with a short description of what happened to us when we traveled to Mumbai, India from Saint Louis, MO (USA) in 2009. We were scheduled to be on a flight to Atlanta from Saint Louis. Where we would board a direct flight to Mumbai. On checking in at Saint Louis, we were informed that our flight to Atlanta was delayed by more than 3 hours due to weather conditions in Atlanta. So we promptly called our family in Atlanta tofind out and ofcourse the weather in Atlanta was a pleasant 55 degrees and no weather issues. Helpless, my wife and I waited patiently at the airport praying that we would have enough time to catch the connecting flight to Mumbai, but that wasn’t to be.

On reaching Atlanta, we were informed that we were routed to Mumbai via Dubai. Partially happy that we would atleast reach India albeit 6 hours late we boarded for Dubai. Not knowing the horrors that awaited us.
On boarding the flight, we were seated and promptly my wife and I noticed a stinging smell coming right from where we were seated. On closer inspection, we found that someone had thrown up right under our seats and it smelled like hell. So, we asked the flight attendents for either reseating us or cleaning it up. All they could come up with was a air freshner can that would mask the odor for a few minutes. Eventually, we decided to bear the brunt of the smell by covering up our noses all through the 10 hours of the journey.

We reached Dubai to board an Emirates Airlines flight as informed by Delta. On reaching the boarding area, we were informed by the Emirates Staff that Delta has sent no ticketing details to them, so they could not issue us a boarding pass. This was 45 minutes before boarding. One of the Emirates staff member went looking for Delta associate to figure out the issue. After anxious 50 minutes and everyone else was boarded and ready to go, they finally received something from Delta to let us board. Emirates staff and flights, I must say are the best I have experienced in my last 7-8 years of flying. But our nightmare was still not over, on reaching Mumbai, we waited for our bags and ofcourse Delta never routed our bags to the right destination. So, we had to spend more than 24 hours in Mumbai with out any cloths or belongings. On asking for compensation, all we got was a run around between Delta and Emirates, each airlines saying the other was responsible for the baggage delay. So, we finally gave up on pursuing the case.

Now, fast forward about 1 year, we are now proud parent of the 4 month old girl. Since none of our families had seen our new born daughter, my wife decided to travel back to India with her Parents (Both in their late 60s). So, I book their tickets on Northwest Airlines. Just a few days later, this was changed to Delta Itinerary due to the merger and I got a sickening feeling in my stomach.
I called a few days later to ask about Bassinet reservation for my baby. I was told that I would need a ticket for the infant, since this was our first experience flying with an infant internationally, I did not know this, so I asked them to add the infant onto my wife’s ticket. They asked me for my daughter’s birthday, exact age, weight, length etc. and I gave them my credit card number. The representative told me that I would be charged 120$ and some change for the ticket. A few days later I went online to see the reservation and it said “Infant in Arms” for domestic leg and “basinet” for the International leg. And I assumed I was set. (I did not check my Credit card statement but, did not think I needed to as the reservation seemed to have been updated)

Assuming we were all set to travel, (17th February, 2010), We prepared to check in at the Saint Louis Lambert Intl. Airport with one infant and 2 seniors. The process was fairly smooth. The agent printed out my wife’s boarding pass and also gave us one baggage allowance for the infant (Ticketed infants get 1 bag to check in for International Travel). The boarding pass said “Infant in arms/basinet” so I asked the agent “Do I get a boarding pass for the baby?” And he replied “No Sir, your wife’s tickets have the infant marked on it so you are set to go.”

So, my wife travels to Minneapolis, MN for a connecting flight to Amsterdam. On reaching Minneapolis, she went to the gate to ask about the basinet seating and stroller check in. The flight time was 3.25PM, she was at the gate at 2.15PM inquiring about this. At this time the Gate agent tells her that we never paid for the tickets so they can not let them board with an infant. Shocked; she calls me at around 2.30PM. So, I get on the phone with Delta reservations and explain my situation. The representative says since they did not charge my credit card, its better if my wife pays for the tickets at the gate and gets on the flight. I asked her how much would it be, and she said, it should be 120$ and some change. So, I called my wife (who wasn’t carrying any credit card as she was traveling internationally) and asked her to pay the gate agent and get done with it. My In-laws had some cash so I figured they would be ok.
So, my wife asked the gate agent at around 2.45PM to just take cash and give us the ticket. The gate agent did not know how to issue a ticket. They went looking for the only person who knows how to, it’s around 3.10 and people are boarding. No Sign of the ticketing agent and my wife and her parents are really nervous; (Both her parents suffer from Blood Pressure issues and other health issues.) I was on the phone with her trying to see what was going on. The agents at the gate were on the phone with someone else all this time. Finally at 3.15PM the ticketing agent showed up and he said the ticket cost would be $210.90, which of course was considerably higher than the price they told me on the phone, and I did not know if they would have $200 in cash. Finally, they came up with $213. (with some dollar bills and quarters in all) Which they promptly handed over to the agent, all I could hear in the background was my daughter crying with hunger and last call for boarding. Even after paying the amount, they could not figure out how to issue a ticket, and only after my wife almost burst out crying, they boarded my family with out the tickets.( And no proof that they paid $210 to the gate agent.)
Finally, they were issued tickets at the Amsterdam. My family spent those 9 hours in utter anxiousness and stress and with just $2. At Amsterdam, they did not have any money left to buy food for themselves or the baby (bottled water for formula) let alone call me to say that they are OK. The turmoil and stress that Delta put us through in those 24 hours is completely unacceptable. Especially when you consider they have done this to us twice in two years.

I want Delta to take responsibility for the mess they created by not issuing us the tickets for the infant on the first place and then by employing unprofessional/untrained staff who do not know the rules or the procedures about ticketing and travel. I also want them to reimburse us appropriately for what they put 5 individuals through. Not to mention the fact that they only had $2 on their way to India. God Forbid in case of an emergency, I can not imagine what might have happened.

I want everyone to know how Delta operates and how they treat their customers. I have traveled with NW, KLM, Emirates, AA, Southwest and United. By far Delta seems to be the worst when it comes to customer service and flight issues. Please stay away. I surely will.

[The_Judge]

I will agree that Delta is the bottom of the barrel. Aircraft smelling like used food, staff unhelpful and not knowledgable in certain areas, passing the problem onto other airlines. Very typical of this company. If at all possible, use foreign carriers for trans-oceanic flights.

What I don't think Delta has blame for is your wife traveling with 2 dollars. I understand she had an unforeseen problem at the gate but a credit card is strongly advised. To be honest, cash isn't supposed to be accepted at the gates for the exact reason you spoke of. No receipt was given to you. I'm surprised they allowed it and also surprised AMS issued the tickets with no receipt showing it was paid.

I don't want to get off-track though, Delta is a sub-par airline and should be avoided at all costs. I hope the return flight went well or will go well if it hasn't happened yet.

[jimworcs]

Spot on Judge... when travelling to or from the US, it is almost always a better choice to select the foreign based airline. The standards of service in US airlines have dropped dramatically.. and they think because they are "all the same" it doesn't matter. However, international routes are a different matter, and it is clearly obvious the difference now when you travel. There is a forum called Skytrax which is the largest consumer rating system for airlines. There you can see the effect of the constant drop in standards. There are no longer ANY large international US airlines in the top echelon of air carriers. It may sometimes require a change versus going direct, but to be honest it is worth it. You are far more likely to get treated with some respect and decency at non US airlines.

[c00lman]

Yes, I tend to agree that she should have carried a CC, but honestly, in my last 7 years, I have never used the CC overseas, we have an overseas bank account and withdraw from there as soon as we land in India. I am angry because the staff at Saint Louis, or Minneapolis didnot know the procedure. If they would have alerted us at Saint Louis, we would have sorted out the issues right there and none of this would have happened.

I have filed a BBB complaint to see what they will do. Will keep you posted.