[yuxuxin]

Hi, dear all, I am posting my true experience with Delta here. I am trying to write in clear details so that everyone who read this thread will know how to use caution when flying with Delta, or, best of all, avoid flying with Delta if possible.

On Oct 14, 2010, my wife and I arrived at ATL airport to take a connecting flight to Washington-Dulles airport. The flight to ATL landed late so we got only 20 minutes (from 7:10am to 7:30am) to rush from one boarding gate to another.

When we were still in the airplane, we asked a flight attendant which boarding gate we should run to and if she can let us get off earlier than others. She told me that she didn’t know the gate number and we should be fine catching the flight.

So, as soon as we got off, we ask the Delta employee who came to provide gate numbers about the gate number to Washington (how did we know that this flight was also connected to a flight to Washington-Regan airport?). Without asking which Washington airport we were going, the Delta employee gave us the gate number to Washington-Regan airport.

Without knowing that the gate number was wrong, my wife and I ran as fast as we could to the gate. When we arrived at the gate, it was 7:28am, meaning that Delta still have time to call the flight to Washington-Dulles to hold on for us to board. However, without even taking a look at our boarding passes, the Delta employee at the gate just coldly asked us to go to the next gate to change the boarding passes to the next flight on 8: ## am.

As we exhaustedly ran to the next gate, another Delta employee looked at our boarding passes and said “you made a mistake, this is not your gate, you should to go back to gate B# (which is a long way back to where we ran from) to change the boarding passes for a 9:## am flight to Washing-Dulles airport”, in a very cold, careless, and blaming way.

I think everyone at this moment will raise his/her voice. However, I managed to speak low before I raised the volume. I said “this is not our fault. It is your Delta employee who gave us the misinformation.” However, without apology or showing his care, that Delta employee just coldly and lifelessly repeated what he just said, just like my time isn’t valuable and they are not responsible to what their employees said.
Then, I got no choice but to repeat what I said in a higher volume (and maybe pushing away my baggage at the same time, which I didn’t quite remember).

At this time another Delta employee came over and I tried to tell her what had happened. Although she wasn’t showing any better attitude, I decided to move on. I ask her to take us to the right gate and also allow me to speak to a supervisor if possible. Meanwhile, two passengers came to me to ask me “not to yell”. I thought they are trying to conciliate so I told them that I was not yelling and I already decided to move on to the right gate to take the flight on 9:## am.
However, after a while these two passengers showed their police badges and asked us for IDs and start writing something. I thought they were neutral and just wanted to take some records. Unfortunately, this was just my wishful thinking.

They started to threat that they could lock me up even though they were also in a trip. Then, I had to repeat that I already decided to go to the right gate to take the next flight and I was not yelling any more, if I was a few minutes ago. However, no matter what I said and how low I said, they kept saying that I still yelling and not listening to them.

Finally, a Delta manager came but just like that two policemen -- as long as I opened my month to say anything, she claimed that I was yelling. Then I recognize that they just want to set me up so that I decided to keep silent as they took us to the manager’s office.

Even if we kept silent, the manager still didn’t want to let it go. She decided to deny carrying us but promise a full refund. When she said so, we thought that, disregarding all the inconvenient, we would be able to use the refund to fly with another airline to save our dignity as a human being.

However, as we walked out to a Delta ticket counter, the Delta manager claimed that she found that our tickets were booked through Expedia so that we have to go through Expedia to get our refund. I was about to say something but the policemen faces turned unfriendly again thereby we understood that we don’t have any human right at the moment but to walk out a.s.a.p.

By the way, when we were in the manager’s office, two airport police came. They didn’t say too much and turned out to be the friendliest persons in the group. I guess this was either because they saw that I wasn’t as crazy as they described on the phone or because they have seen Delta took advantage on upset customers for many times already, or both.

Worse than the worst, when Expedia contacted Delta later on, Delta denied to refund the tickets.

It cost us almost $400 to purchase tickets from another airline to fly to Baltimore and $100 to pay a friend to give us a ride from Baltimore to our home at Herndon, VA. It was almost midnight when we finally got home. Therefore, even if we could get the refund, it would cover only a fraction of our loss.

Two comments we would like to make at the end of this message:

1. “Loud complaints” or the so-called “yelling”

I don’t know if the two policemen on the trip had some discrimination on us or not (we are Asian). Anyway, if they didn’t discriminate, then they were pretending naive. Yes, they never have to yell. Because as policemen, they can just lock up people or threat to lock up people. Airline employees don’t have to yell either, because they can delay you, stop serving you, and even deny to carry you. But as an ordinary air traveler, what weapons do you have? Nothing. When the airline is not doing the right thing or not having good attitude, what an ordinary air traveler can do? All that they can do is to complain. What if their complaints are not being heard or taken care of? Then they will have to complain louder… Therefore, if I were to understand the two policemen’s lack of sympathy on a dissatisfied civilian air traveler, I would say that it is because they were spoiled by the power they have.

2. The right for airlines to deny carrying customers

I think this is a very bad law. Think about it, if airline employees can deny carrying anyone they don’t like (Need an excuse? Super easy. They can easily catch your loud voice, frustrated body movements, or even the angry eyes…as a so-called “security threat”), then air travelers become a piece of meat on a cutting-board, they have to carefully not to do anything that may make airline employees unhappy. Sounds odds? Yes! Because we previously believe that we are the customers to be severed and pleased! We don’t like the Communist’s dictatorship, but from the perspective of airline and airport services, China is way much better than the States. In China airports, you can see dissatisfied travelers complaining and protesting airlines services from time to time. As long as there is no violence, police will not arrest anyone; neither can airlines deny carrying anyone just because they were complained, yelled, or even name-called. Therefore, if the States would like to accuse China’s human right record with more confidence, please fix the airports and airlines problems first. We wish our voice could be heard by the law makers. We hope that they can restrict the airlines from exercising the right to deny carrying customers. For example, they can only deny those who initiate body contact or CONTINUOUSLY yelling or terrorist suspects with evidence. And we also hope that they can consider the possibility of allowing dissatisfied air travelers to switch from one airline’s flight to another airline’s flight at airports at no cost to the travelers (just let airlines bill each for the switches). These regulations will largely motivate airlines to treat their customers nicely.

[jimworcs]

Anyone who has read my posts on this board will know. I hate Delta airlines with a passion. However, one read through of your complaint sets off my "lacking in insight" antenna. If I had to bet who was in the wrong here.... I would not be betting on the policemen!!!

[yuxuxin]

No. I didn't say that the policemen were wrong all the way. Actually, i appreciated that they came to remind me "not to yell" so that i was able to control my anger and not yell again. However, they continued to give us a hard time even when we were talking (not "yelling") about going to the right gate and speaking to a supervisor if possible...and they even continued to give us a hard time when we were silent...therefore, again, i said they lack of sympathy and understanding on unsatisfied air travelers (again, they never have to raise they voice in they lives because they can away lock people up or threat to lock people up). They may still be legally right to do so, though. That is why i suggest to modify the law so that people don't have to travel at the airlines' mercy. For example, if people can choose airlines by feet in airports, then they don't even need to speak with the wrong-doing airline.