[never]

My husband's plane was scheduled 5:54 AM when he arrived at the check-in counter at 4:45. there was three lines of passengers for the same flight. He took the shortest line waiting to be checked-in. When it was his turn, the agent told him that he needed an online transit visa for passing by the U.S. My husband took out his laptop to do it and was suggested to do it "sit over there to complete it" and "will get back to you". He did it in a couple of minutes and then sit there waiting someone to get back to him. amazingly, right in front of his eyes, the lines all finished checking in and the counter was closed.

He ran for help. and a lady talked to him and was told that the flight was overbooked, now, the seats were all gone and thus, no need for agents to wait at the counter.

If this was what happened, I would not come here for complaint. Maybe some overbooked passenger was desperately in need of this seat, maybe it was just that the agent made a mistake to give out his seat. But what happened next was outrageous.

With the help of an agent of a neighbor counter who kindly called Delta, an agent and a supposedly supervisor appeared. my husband told the agent of what happened (at that time, it was still not yet the boarding time) and asked agent whether she could arrange a rebook. The agent was kind enough to check for next flight etc, and the supervisor cut in and said no. "because it was your fault! You should be here at least 2 hours before departure".

True, if my husband could have come earlier, it might be easier for both sides. But, the case is, our city is a very small town with only a few flights to the U.S. Everyday, and U.S. Departure has a separate security check which is not crowded as regular security check. So. almost no one comes 2 hours before the departure. that is why when my husband arrived at the airport, he found three lines of passenger checking in for the same flight. So, the issue here is not that he came in at that time or not, the issue is, he listened to the agent to wait for his turn while the agent gave his seat to a standby overbooked passenger.

This is not the worst situation here. when we called the ticketing agent to complain and seeking other possibilities. We found that the airline canceled the whole package: not only the part my husband missed by the check-in counter, but also the returning flights. so, even if we purchase a one-way ticket, we are still not able to use the returning part of our previous bought ticket. the booking agent connected us to the delta complaint center, and the agent, a very nice, polite lady told me because that ticket was non-concealable, she was unable to help. i double checked the ticket, there was no print (not even fine print) saying this ticket was non-concealable. the airline canceled my husband's ticket right in front of his eyes and gave the seat to an overbooked passenger, and now they tell us that his ticket is non-concealable! what a joke.

Because of this trip was so important, we had to pay an extra $2300 to get a complete new ticket. but this time, we fly with Lufthansa.

My friend told me that sometimes, airlines make easy money. but i never expect that delta made such an easy one: for the service they mis-provided, and for the service they canceled. If an airline does not stop such unprofessional activities as overbooking flights, giving seat to overbooked passengers at the presence of the original seat holder, and closing counter before cut-off time, I would suggest everyone to avoid this airline.

(by the way, anyone has trouble posting complaints, i did so many times yesterday, and luckily, got on today. ^_^)