[Max Fuhrmann]

Some three months ago, I booked international tickets for my wife and 4yr old daughter to fly from Australia to USA, I used the online service of EXPEDIA.COM.AU to purchase my tickets and book the desired seats so that the two can sit together. The flight leaves this Sunday 22 Nov, 09.

By accident last week, I have found out that EXPEDIA did not process the seat request and now the two are seperated.

My wife has complained to Delta to only receive a non comital, and what I would describe as a standard "cut & paste" reply. Delta Airlines get back to her and say that it is a first in, first come basis. OH DER, we all know that & that is why we booked the tickets & seats together. Delta has the attitude that we only wanted to book our seats last week although they could see that a request was put in earlier.

There is ABSOLUTELY no commitment to customer service to "go that extra mile" to help my distraught wife who knows what is coming up on this flight and my soon to be distraught 4yr old daughter when she finds out when it comes up ! I only hope that common sense pervails with nearby passengers where a quick resuffle can be done BECAUSE sure as hell, common sense is not forthcoming with Delta Airlines.

May I suggest that those responsible at Delta Customer Service only remain with the Airline and don't transfer jobs to another airline and ruin their Customer Service.

Yes, Delta Airlines may be the biggest Airline in the World, which obviously shows that it is too big for their own Customer Service Employee's boots.

I only wish that I found this website b4 I booked the flight because I can see here that we are not alone here with our frustrations and it is obviously a waste of time to complain because they take no action anyway.

HOW CAN AN AIRLINE PROVIDER ETHICALLY LET A 4 YEAR OLD TRAVEL SEPERATED FROM HER PARENT ON THE SAME FLIGHT. God only help them if the unimaginal ever happens to my daughter while on Delta Airlines.

We too, will NEVER choose to fly Delta Airlines ANYWHERE in the world, they may as well go bankrupt again - no skin off our nose !

[Gromit801]

While I agree, Delta is way down on my list of airlines to fly, this whole thing falls directly in the lap of Expedia. They screwed up and are responsible. Delta is telling you they can't do anything (debatable) mainly because you didn't buy a ticket from them. You bought it from Expedia.

Since this flight hasn't happened yet. When you check in, explain what happened to the agents at the counter, they can make seating adjustments on the spot. Get there very early before most other passengers check in.

[justme]

Originally Posted by Max Fuhrmann

Some three months ago, I booked international tickets for my wife and 4yr old daughter to fly from Australia to USA, I used the online service of EXPEDIA.COM.AU to purchase my tickets and book the desired seats so that the two can sit together. The flight leaves this Sunday 22 Nov, 09.

By accident last week, I have found out that EXPEDIA did not process the seat request and now the two are seperated.

You used Expedia.com to book your ticket and seat, they failed to pass your seat request on to Delta. Delta has done nothing wrong to cause this mess. I admit, we could be trying harder to change your seats, but I'm not sure how all that ticketing and seating works since you didn't book directly with us. The airplane could be completely full, which means in order to change your seat, potentially several others would need to be changed as well. Why should they be forced to change seats because Expedia didn't follow thru with their side of the deal and book the proper seats? My advice at this point, get to the airport early and ask the ticket counter or gate agent if they can change your seats.

[Max Fuhrmann]

Thank you both for your timely reply and advise, yes I will kick the family out of bed extra early to get to the airport earlier than originally planned .

To Justme, as Expedia are an AGENT for Delta, does Delta not in some way shape or form feel a little responsible for this messup. I agree that Delta has done nothing wrong to cause this mess, and you agree that Delta could lift their game, this is where we rely on Customer Service. Remember this little bit of COMMON SENSE advise, "You are only as good as your weakest link" Where does the Customer Service come in ????

[Miriam Fuhrmann]

To Justme - I am actually the one flying this weekend and have tried to get answers from Expedia as well as Delta. Of course, no one will accept "blame" - I am not interested in anyone doing that, what I had hoped for was that someone would actually toe the line and assist. I can assure you that the flight will be very unpleasant for the other passengers if we do not get to sit together. Also, on their website it states that children of a certain age need to be accompanied by an adult, either a staff member (which incurs a fee) or their guardian. Now, technically, my daughter will be travelling alone if she has to sit by herself - after all, what good is a guardian if they can't assist at all times? It makes no sense to me at all and you could say what you wish, I feel the customer service is appalling, I actually had one customer service officer shouting at me today which was absolutely great, I can tell you. I actually know quite a lot about best practice customer service and this is the complete opposite. I wish you well working for Delta, I couldn't do that with a clear conscience myself, and I shall make sure that this trip will be the first and last with them.

[Gromit801]

Expedia is no more an agent of Delta, or any other airline, as a travel agent would be. Better yet, think of them like the place you go to buy concert tickets from. If they mess up, it's not the bands fault.

[justme]

Originally Posted by Miriam Fuhrmann

I wish you well working for Delta, I couldn't do that with a clear conscience myself

I can do so because when I am presented with a situation similar to this (even though I do not deal with ticketing or gates) I do my absolute level best to produce the best result for the customer. I, unlike everyone that works for my airline, do realize that it is the customer that keeps our heads above water and our paychecks funded. I thank you for your feedback about this situation, it is the very reason I read and reply to these posts. So that I can take the plight of those who post here and try to better our airline.

[Silent Bob]

To Justme - I am actually the one flying this weekend and have tried to get answers from Expedia as well as Delta. Of course, no one will accept "blame"

There's no blame to accept, since you bought your tickets from expedia, usually purchasing through them as opposed to the airline, you won't always be guaranteed a seat, regardless of when you booked it. (I use them often and enjoy the protection they offer if things should go wrong). Right now as it stands you don't have seats with your child, Your best bet would be to use online check in 24 hours in advance to try and get seats together. If that doesn't work, speak with the gate agents to see if they can get you and your child seats together. I'm sure they'll be able to help, no problem. No one would wanna sit next to a kid that's not of their charge, I'm sure.

[Miriam Fuhrmann]

To SilentBob - thanks for your reply, however, as I said, I am not looking for someone to accept "blame" - I am looking for someone to help which is obviously beyond the capacity of either company. A sad affair to be sure but one that has caused nothing but anxiety!

[justme]

Originally Posted by justme

I can do so because when I am presented with a situation similar to this (even though I do not deal with ticketing or gates) I do my absolute level best to produce the best result for the customer. I, unlike everyone that works for my airline, do realize that it is the customer that keeps our heads above water and our paychecks funded. I thank you for your feedback about this situation, it is the very reason I read and reply to these posts. So that I can take the plight of those who post here and try to better our airline.

I was just re-reading my post and realized it didn't sound quite the way I meant it. What I meant to convey is that not everyone, unfortunately, is quite as keen as I am to go the extra mile or put forward just a bit more effort to rectify a customres problem. Whether or not it was caused by the airline, a ticket website; aka: the devil (Expedia in this case), or the customer, we as employees should be doing our best to fix the problem and keep the customers happy. It is them after all who give us a reason to come to work everyday. And by everyday, yes, I do mean to say that I work eight days a week!

[cortney]

just get to the airport 2-3 hours early as you should, explain to the agents the situation. im sure they can put the 2 together. when i flew delta with my coworkers we were all separated (by choice btw) but when we checked in they saw we were all traveling together and seated us all together (which we did not want) lol.

[mars6423]

it is expedia's fault in this situation

however, delta should be able to easily fix it, its not heart surgery, just a little switch which will only satisfy their customers

so do what others are suggesting, get to the airport early if you cant check in online and do their seat assignments from there (i know that with tickets from expedia on Virgin Atlantic your still able to do seat assignments) and i am sure that something will be done, i doubt any airline would want to seperate a toddler from its mother/father/guardian, as it can be bad publicity and it will be frowned upon and will cause them to lose passangers

however saying that, my neighbors who flew delta were all split up, even though they were booked together and there were open seats, the FA said they had to sit in their assigned seats (stating balance and weight distribution) they allowed the toddler to sit a row in front of them so it wasnt so bad, as the toddler had 3 seats to himself


however, i wouldn't go about it to the other passengers, they didn't do anything wrong and shouldn't be put in that situation, they have no idea that you were in that situation, for all they know they could be sitting next to big foot, seat assignments online dont allow you to see who your sitting next to, and if you are going to make it unpleasant for other passangers than that is just a little selfish, and rude......and if it creates a problem then Delta can say that your causing a disturbance and get you kicked off before take off or have people waiting when you land


worst comes to worst, just ask the person next to you before they sit down if they wouldnt mind switching with your child, i am sure they will be understanding

[The_Judge]

This situation has been discussed before. Not the OP's fault as this is not a site where you search beforehand. As I stated before in previous threads, if it can't be dealt with at check-in at the counter, it will be handled at the gate by the agents. Just tell them the situation and they will take care of it. The way we did it was by taking the boarding passes at the gate and holding them and as people came up to just confirm or whatever, we would ask them to switch if they were in a position to help and 99 times out of 100, they would. This is not a problem to complain about. It's really not even a problem. Contrary to what some here believe, even a DL agent won't purposely separate a child and parent. And yes, I agree with the others that DL didn't cause this problem but they have obviously been blamed and will have to react to Expedia's foul up.

[PHXFlyer]

Delta has seats which it will not assign, and as a matter of fact telephone agents cannot assign, until the day of departure. There are also a number of seats which are reserved for elite members which are made available to anyone when the 24 hour online check-in window opens. Because of the fact that you are Australian nationals originating in Australia I'm not sure if online check-in will be an option for you but at exactly 24 hours before the flight it can't hurt to try. Otherwise do as others have said and arrive at the airport extra early. Those seat blocks for airport assignment are done so with this very scenario in mind.

Sometimes travel agencies and resellers who sell large blocks of seats aren't even allowed to submit seat requests until the entire block is sold and the passenger list is finalized. This may be what happened with Expedia.au since they do have access to some of these "bulk" fares and perhaps you bought one of these unknowingly. If you shopped around and Expedia was selling tickets for less than what was available for the same flights directly through Delta it was probably a bulk fare. Expedia's explanation of why the seat assignments were not transmitted to Delta was therefore flawed. It may not have been an error but that the seat requests for the entire block they sold were transmitted at the same time and you and your daughter were separated at that point. Expedia could have done a better job of explaining that to you however when you talk to a call center you don't know who you are talking to or where.

Finally just this advice. In your original post you talked of booking your tickets and seats. Actually you book your tickets but seats assignments are a request and not guaranteed. Most of the time they do not change but there are situations, such as aircraft substitutions, when they do. It's a good idea, especially if you book far in advance, to check your reservation online periodically to ensure that your flight times and/or seat assignments haven't changed. I'm traveling next week on a three-segment itinerary booked about 5 months ago. United substituted the aircraft on the first of the three segments and there is no longer a first-class cabin. The flight is just under an hour so it's really not a huge deal that I'm no longer in first class but when the change happened I was randomly assigned a new seat which was a window which was not my preference so I was able to change my seat to an aisle before all of the other aisle seats were assigned. Remember in the end you a buying a seat from point A to point B but not a specific seat on the aircraft that get you there.

[PHXFlyer]

I've done a bit of research for you and on the 777LR, the aircraft they use from SYD-LAX, Delta seems to block 41 ABC, 41 GHJ, 42 DEF, and all of rows 56 and 57 from pre-assignment. That accounts for a total of 23 seats which will be available at the airport on a first-come first-served basis. Actually row 56 and 57 may be ideal for you traveling with your child since it's a 2-3-2 configuration rather than the normal 3-3-3 because of the narrowing of the aircraft towards the tail.

Something just occurred to me as well. Are you just taking the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles or are you continuing on to Atlanta? There may indeed be two seats together that can be pre-assigned just not the same seats for both legs of the flight. If this is indeed the case it can't hurt to call Delta again and ask them if they can give you separate seat assignments from SYD-LAX and then LAX-ATL. You'll have t deplane to go through customs and immigration at LAX anyway so changing seats won't be a hassle at all.

[jimworcs]

Ok, here we go:

First, if I buy a Sony TV from Best Buy and it breaks down, I can certainly look to Best Buy to fix it. However, I can also go to Sony.. and guess what? They will stand behind their product. I know that, because I have done it. Do you get the analogy Delta? Regardless of what any of the posters on here say, Expedia (as with any Travel Agent) us acting on behalf of Delta. That is what the word agent means. Delta need to stand behind their service, no matter who the agent was. If an insurance agent mishandles a claim, do you really think the insurance company can just say sorry not our fault? It is a ridiculous argument.

Instead of trying to help, this is the type of reply a Delta customer receives:

Delta Airlines get back to her and say that it is a first in, first come basis.

I feel the customer service is appalling, I actually had one customer service officer shouting at me today

The airplane could be completely full, which means in order to change your seat, potentially several others would need to be changed as well. Why should they be forced to change seats because Expedia didn't follow thru with their side of the deal and book the proper seats?

What is wrong with you people? Have you lost touch with basic human decency? The child is 4 YEARS OLD!!! It makes no difference who made the mistake. The customer has asked both Expedia and Delta to sort this out. Neither has stepped up to the plate. In the end, it is Delta who are providing the service and are the only people who can provide a solution. Instead, they have left a mother dreading what is to come, anxious and upset. To what purpose? There is a callous disregard which comes from the arrogance of a massive monolith airline which is protected from the consequences of their appalling customer service and financial mis-management.

Justme to answer your breathtaking question of why should other customers should be forced to change seats… the answers are

This customer is 4 years old. She is vulnerable and her needs should take priority over others, just as the needs of a disabled customer might be prioritized, or your fatcat management team. She also needs a parent during the flight for emotional support and because it is wrong and immoral for Delta to force other customers to sit next to her and become her de-facto carers. Because the customer you sit this 4 year old girl next to could be a paedophile. Because, in the event of an emergency decompression, it is wrong to ask strangers to take responsibility for the safety of someone else’s child. Because in the event of an emergency evacuation, there are at least two potential dangers. First, the mother would impede the egress of others trying to find her child and second, place strangers in the position of having to take responsibility for a child. Because the strangers would not be able to help the child to go to the toilet, ensure that she doesn’t eat something which she is allergic too, offer comfort and reassurance on a long journey, wipe her nose and her tears because she is being forcibly separated from her mother.

Ok, so now the answers come.. well of course, we won’t actually do it, we will help her at the airport. Except that Delta have not offered that reassurance, they have pointedly refused to do so. Even Justme has indicated that they would not “force other customers to change seats”.

It is really is scandalous. It could so easily have been resolved with a bit of care… even if they couldn’t give the customer actual booked seats. Just to help you out Justme, here is my

Guide to good customer service, 101

Consider it my gift to you:

Mrs. Fuhrmann, we are so sorry that Expedia have let you down this way. Unfortunately, all our seats for advance booking have now been reserved, and we are unable to book two seats at this stage for you. However, Delta would never separate you from your 4 year old child on such a long flight. In fact, we set aside a number of seats which cannot be reserved for precisely this kind of situation. These seats are allocated at the airport. I will put a note on your reservation explaining the problem, and we will ensure that you are seated together. Please arrive at the airport early to give the agents time to make the arrangements. Thank you for choosing Delta and we are sorry you have had this difficulty. I hope that has put your mind at rest.

Instead, she got a “why should we” attitude.. it’s not our fault, it’s there fault… and at one point was shouted at. Even though I have low expectations of Delta, it takes my breath away!!

[Gromit801]

All but one offered the solution to help the family, and make things work.

See, that's the key. Work the solution about what HAS happened. Not what should have happened.

And BTW? Expedia is NOT in any way, an agent. They are no more than a ticket reseller. Same applies to all of them, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc.

[jimworcs]

A ticket reseller is acting as an agent for the airline. Expedia will NOT provide the service and will transfer the money paid by the customer to the airline. That is acting as an agent. The service was purchased from Expedia but delivered by Delta. But, if you read my post, that is irrelevant. Only Delta could have solved this problem.. and they FAILED miserably.

[Gromit801]

They haven't failed in anything yet Jim. Sheesh. There hasn't even been a flight yet, and there is still a solution to be had on the day of the flight.

What should have happened is irrelevant at this point because the past cannot be changed to suit your brand of outrage.

IF Delta drops the ball at check in, and still doesn't seat the family together, and I seriously doubt they will allow that, THEN we all have some honest moral outrage to cast.

Give your blood pressure a break, and let's see what happens shall we?

[jimworcs]

They failed to reassure the mother and chose instead to poke her with a stick.... what happens at check in is irrelevant. They have already provided the Delta experience regardless of the outcome

[justme]

Whether or not it was caused by the airline, a ticket website; aka: the devil (Expedia in this case), or the customer, we as employees should be doing our best to fix the problem and keep the customers happy.

These are my exact words from an earlier post. I agree with you that Delta should be doing everything in their power to change her seats so that they will be together, but I still stand by the FACT that it is not Delta's fault she is in this predicament. Expedia, agent or not, sold the ticket and took the request for seat preference/request. THEY did not pass that along to Delta. I also stand by my idea of "why should others be moved out of seats they chose, and potentially paid extra for, because the agent that booked the ticket messed up?" It's no more their fault than it is the OPs. The blame in this mess lands solely on Expedia, but the responsibility for a solution lands solely on Delta. I have absolute faith and confidence that they will be moved to sit together, for all of the reasons you, Jim, pointed out and probably some others.

PHX, quick side question... where did you get your info that said it was a 777 from SYD to LAX? Unless they've changed something that I failed to catch, I thought it was a 747 that makes that flight.

[jimworcs]

Justme
You are pre-occupied and locked into the blame culture, which I recognise is a strongly held value at Delta, but you just can't see the wood for the trees. It is not the OP's fault, nor her 4 year old daughter. Instead of offering reassurance, Delta have made the situation worse and sought to blame others. This is the antithesis of good customer service. Own the problem and fix it - it makes no difference if the problem was caused by Expedia - they can't fix it and you CAN.

I still find it amazing that you are willing to say this.. and you think there is nothing wrong with your position:

I also stand by my idea of "why should others be moved out of seats they chose, and potentially paid extra for, because the agent that booked the ticket messed up?" It's no more their fault than it is the OPs.

She is 4. It is unbelieveable that you are preoccupied with fault and the price would have to be paid by a 4 year old. Let me be clear:

Even if the OP was to blame, and then got the airport so late, all the seating had been allocated. I would still argue that Delta has a responsibility to the 4 year old child to ensure her well being and safety. The ONLY way they could do that would be to seat her with her guardian, in this case her mother.

I find it astonishing that you would prioritise the needs of other passengers who had booked a seat, or potentially paid for them, over the safety and well being of a 4 year old.

Soulless and heartless doesn't cover it.

[PHXFlyer]

Jim, I think you, and the OP, are making way more of this than is necessary. However I'd like to emphasize one statement from the OP:

Originally Posted by Miriam Fuhrmann

To Justme - I am actually the one flying this weekend and have tried to get answers from Expedia as well as Delta. Of course, no one will accept "blame" - I am not interested in anyone doing that, what I had hoped for was that someone would actually toe the line and assist. I can assure you that the flight will be very unpleasant for the other passengers if we do not get to sit together.

It seems to me the OPs have the mindset that the only assistance would be to provide them with adjoining seat assignments now rather than wait until 24 hour online check-in or at the airport. It seems this was explained to them (possibly not in the most customer-friendly manner, but remember we're hearing this from the parties who aren't "getting their way") several times by at least a couple of phone agents and supervisors. Although there is no excuse for a customer service employee to resort to shouting, one must wonder what was happening on the customer's side of the conversation as well. Was a higher volume necessary to be heard over the customer's own "shouting"? Remember we almost never hear the other side of the story and people do tend to sanitize their version of events because they know that. One very similar story comes to mind and since that person was traveling out of Phoenix on Continental I was able to actually hear their side of the story. It was essentially the same from a factual standpoint yet the OP left out many details about her own behavior which led to her removal from that flight and her daughter's "post-traumatic stress" over the whole experience. From what I heard the mother probably caused that girl's PTSD, as well as her "motion sickness" disorder long before they flew that day!

In this case, Jim, Delta isn't going to allow a four year old to sit apart from the only person traveling with her on the plane. That is just absurd. It's a long flight and it's just not going to happen. I don't know why the OP doesn't realize this too.

[jimworcs]

I remember that thread well Phx..but I think you will find that my response was somewhat different. In that case, this was my response

However, I strongly suspect that whilst you may think your actions were entirely reasonable and did not justify Continentals behaviour, you presented to them in a very different way to the way in which you perceive you presented yourself. I base this on your post. You may think this post outlines how reasonable you were and how unreasonable Continental were. In fact, your post presents you as neurotic and unreasonable... you should reconsider if you think it is in your child's best interests to present this "drama" and a crisis of such proportion that she is in need of Post Traumatic Stress counselling. Vietnam, 911, Iraq.. are events of this magnitude. Being asked to leave a flight because a Flight Attendent was upset with you is not, I am afraid, of the same magnitude and your suggestion that it is, is franky ridiculous.

I still maintain that an airline has a responsibility to the child, if they accept them as a passenger, however, I think my response to the previous complaint that you cite, illustrates that I can differentiate. In this case, what the OP was asking for is entirely reasonable, and a little reassurance would have gone a long way. Even Justme.. who in general is (by Delta standards) at least, partially customer friendly, took a line which is indefensible. They clearly do not see the child as a customer, and are prepared to see the child suffer, but blame Expedia. I think my suggested response was perfectly fine, but offered a guarantee that the child would not be left with strangers. Not one of the Delta people, even Justme, were willing to offer that reassurance.

As for this...

It seems to me the OPs have the mindset that the only assistance would be to provide them with adjoining seat assignments now rather than wait

I don't get that from the post... not sure how you have arrived at that conclusion. I am sure if Delta had given the mother a guarantee she would not be separated from her child, that would have sufficed.

[wkharris2001]

Originally Posted by justme

PHX, quick side question... where did you get your info that said it was a 777 from SYD to LAX? Unless they've changed something that I failed to catch, I thought it was a 747 that makes that flight.

nope, it's a 77L.

I have the same answer that most everyone else has said. try to check in 24 hours prior to departure, or change your seats at the kiosk at check in. if that doesn't work, talk to the gate agent. the gate agent is the only one that has control over the blocked seats.