[alice.l89]

Below is a letter that I have submitted to Delta Customer service complaining about an ridiculous airport experience I had on December 20, 2008.

To Whom It May Concern:

This complaint is spurred by the experience I had with Delta’s Flight DL6821, originally scheduled to fly from NYC-JFK airport to Houston-Bush Intercontinental on December 20, 2008. It was without a doubt the worst flying experience I have ever been through.

About one hour prior to boarding time, I checked in at JFK and learned that the flight was scheduled to leave on time. However, shortly after arriving at my gate, I discovered that the flight had just been delayed—from 7:20 PM to 11:00 PM.

Granted, I understand that with weather conditions, flights can be delayed or cancelled with little to no notice. However, I have never seen the situation handled as poorly as it was.

Eventually, the departure gate of Flight DL6821 was moved from Gate 18 to Gate 19. No one at the counter bothered to announce this gate change. I happened to glance up at the flight status display behind the counter and noticed that Flight 6821 to Houston was no longer listed on the display. I went up to the Delta staff at Gate 18 to ask where my flight had been transferred to. Without even looking up to acknowledge my existence, the woman pointed rudely to the departures screen without actually answering my question.

The entire time, the Delta staff at Gate 18 never announced the status of delays and gate changes to the passengers at that gate. A thing to point out is that my father back home, who was receiving text message updates from Delta, knew the status of my flight sooner than I, who was actually waiting at the airport gate, did.

Once all the passengers of the Houston flight were moved to Gate 19, we were confronted with more discourteous Delta staff. A particular attendant—initials S.D.—was entirely unhelpful and snapped whenever a passenger ventured up to the counter to ask a question. Nowhere on Gate 19’s flight status display did it actually state that Flight 6821 was indeed departing from that gate. However, the departures screens at JFK assured us that we were in the right place. Furthermore, according to the departures screens, the Houston flight was still scheduled to depart at 11:00 PM at that point.

Therefore, imagine my surprise when Flight DL6821 began boarding at 9:50 PM. I thought, “Well this is way earlier than announced but hey, at least I’m finally getting home.”

S.D at the counter announced boarding for first class and business members as well as passengers seated in Zone 4. At this time, the flight status display still did not indicate that the Houston flight is at this gate, nor does it announce that the Houston flight is currently boarding.

Finally, S.D. announced boarding for passengers seated in all zones. Halfway through boarding the remaining passengers, however, we were abruptly told to stop and move aside while they began boarding another flight. No explanation was given. When another passenger tried to ask S.D. what was going on and why we were no longer boarding, she simply dodged the question by saying, "Boarding for that flight has ended," without explaining why half the passengers weren't on the plane. The other passengers and I were very put off by the S.D.'s demeanor toward us.

After making us wait for about thirty minutes without any updates or explanations whatsoever, another Delta attendant came out and informed the remaining Houston passengers that Flight 6821 had already departed without us. Half of the passengers were left stranded at JFK. One passenger attempted to ask S.D. what was going on and why our plane had left, and she simply put up her hand, refusing even to look at him, and said, “Sir, I can’t help you.”

I have been on delayed/cancelled flights before, and we always received updates as they were available, so we at least had an idea of what was happening and why our flight was delayed. I have also been on overbooked/oversold flights before, where vouchers were offered to passengers who were willing to delay their flight until a later date. I have never been through a flight where the passengers were kept in the dark for hours, and ultimately tens of passengers, some of whom bought their tickets months in advance, were arbitrarily ejected from the flight without any justification or explanation whatsoever. It wasn't until almost two hours after the fact that I found out why half of us had been left behind: The loaded luggage was too heavy, so they left passengers behind. I, and I'm sure many others, would have been more than happy to wait a few days to receive my luggage if it meant that I could arrive at my destination tonight. But I wasn't given that option. I wasn't given any options.

Not only that—the luggage on the plane included the luggage of the passengers who had been left behind. Delta decided that it was apparently more important to transport our luggage than to transport us. So not only were we stuck in New York, but we only had whatever possessions we had fortunately stored in carry-ons, for however long it would take to put us on a different flight.

To make matters worse, the earliest available flight for rescheduling was days later, on Tuesday, December 23rd. Since I had no place to stay in the city, I was forced to book a flight on another carrier for the morning of Sunday, December 21st, paying more than double my original air fare on account of short notice. These are issues that could have been addressed if Delta had consulted with passengers instead of unilaterally deciding that half of them would be allowed to fly and the other half would not—based on nothing more than boarding zones.

I had a chance to talk to some of the passengers that had been left behind. Some were first-class passengers who, believing that Flight DL6821 still departed at 11:00 PM (as the departures screen and Delta’s website still indicated), were absent when Delta’s staff surreptitiously began boarding passengers at 9:50 PM. Another was a woman whose daughter was scheduled for surgery on Monday, December 22. She couldn’t get a flight out until Tuesday.

I booked my flight with Delta in September for convenience and price, but due to the irresponsible actions taken by Delta and its staff, I was severely inconvenienced and paid significantly higher air fare. In all my years of flying, I have never been treated as poorly as I was on this occasion. Delta’s staff was reprehensibly rude to its customers and the entire situation was carried out with the organizational abilities of a five-year-old.

I’ve related this story to a number of people, and all of them have told me that they have never heard of an airline doing something so irresponsible and reprehensible. Delta staff has no right to decide to ship a passenger’s luggage but leave a passenger behind, and definitely has no right to arbitrarily decide that some confirmed, paid customers should be allowed to fly and others should not. It’s one thing when an entire flight is cancelled, or when passengers are on standby, or when passengers are compensated or accommodated for giving up their confirmed seat. But to desert confirmed passengers and ship their luggage instead without notice goes beyond mere bad business and publicity.

And of course, to put the icing on the cake, when I finally arrived in Houston, at a different airport, on a different carrier, I went to pick up my luggage from Delta at Houston-Bush Intercontinental, and of course—one of my bags had gone missing.

I am not sure how much of the blame should be allocated between Delta Airlines and JFK Airport. What I am sure of is that I no longer trust Delta to handle my flights efficiently and respectfully. I do not plan to ever make future travel accommodations with Delta, and I intend to advise my friends to do the same.

Sincerely,

Alice

[ChrisH]

Unfortunately, and to my honest disliking, as an airline employee, the policy of most airlines, is luggage, before passengers. I don't understand it, either. My station manager, at the airport I work at, tells us to take bags off, and send passengers, if a flight will be overweight, but most managers/supervisors will not go against the policy.

If you guys were removed from the flight, due to the flight being overweight, that is considered denied boarding, and you are supposed to receive a voucher, and be rebooked on another flight. You need to call Delta about this incident, if you haven't

[jimworcs]

Write to the DOT, and to Delta and tell them you intend to take legal action unless they remedy your situation immediately. Delta are the worst, and if you read other postings you will discover you are not alone in being treated so outrageously. You must follow up on this and demand restitution, which should be all your additional costs in getting home, compensation for the inconvenience and you should report them to the DOT.

[countrynewsman]

I have read similar posts about Delta and it seems they have HORRIBLE passenger service. I can understand weather problems and why a flight may have to go without some passengers, but to treat people the way they did is unreal. I guess the agents feel that since it was weather, they can do whatever they feel like doing. I agree with jimworcs...contact the DOT and Delta.

[alice.l89]

Here is Delta Customer Service's response to my email. They refused to reimburse the money I spent for an earlier flight home on Jetblue:


Dear Alice,

Thank you for your e-mail describing the inconvenience you experienced
due to flight irregularities when traveling with our Delta Connection
partner, Comair. We apologize for the difficulties you encountered.

Let me address the various concerns mentioned in your correspondence.
Your time is valuable, and operating on schedule is equally important to
us. When a flight is delayed or canceled due to weather, as was the case
with your flight, it is being done for the safety of all passengers.
Since these disruptions are beyond our control, we do not provide
compensation or amenities, such as meals or lodging.

We are sorry to learn you weren’t happy with the alternate flight
arrangements we provided. During irregular operations, we try to put you
on the first available Delta or Delta Connection flight. If you decide
not to fly, the unused portion of your Delta ticket may be eligible for
refund. If your ticket can be endorsed to another carrier, we must
handle the rebooking and reissue it for the new itinerary. Otherwise, if
you deal directly with another airline or travel agency to buy a new
ticket, we do not reimburse any additional airfare.

We regret the inconvenience caused when there was an unexpected gate
change. We make every effort to minimize disruptions like this, but some
gate changes are necessary due to equipment irregularities. In those
instances, we are not being deceptive but simply do not have timely
information. Your comments have been recorded and taken very seriously.
We will make every effort to better handle similar situations in the
future.

As our customer, you are in the best position to point out areas that
need attention. Our goal is to provide consistent and accurate
information to our passengers at all time. After reading your remarks, I
certainly understand why you wanted to bring this matter to our
attention. I am sorry that in this instance you did not receive the
service you expected and should have received from our airport employee,
as we expect our employees to be helpful and professional at all times.
Please know I will be sharing your comments with our Customer Service
and Airport Operations leadership team for internal follow up.

I understand the inconvenience you were caused. Like you, we certainly
wish that instances of mishandled luggage never occurred. Please know
that I will be sharing your comments with our Customer Service and
Airport Operations leadership team for internal follow up.

Delta’s boarding procedures are designed to be orderly, efficient, and
convenient for our customers. Passengers are boarded by zones, and our
agents have received thorough instructions in managing this process.
While there is no pre-boarding announcement, passengers with special
needs such as a disability, children traveling alone, and the elderly
are normally boarded first. Our Medallion level members are boarded in
one of the first three zones.

I regret we did not meet your expectations on this occasion, and I can
understand your frustration and disappointment. However, we hope you
will understand that we do not reimburse the expenses you mentioned and
must respectfully decline your request. I am truly sorry to disappoint
you, as I am sure this is not the answer you expected.

Our goal at Delta is to surpass your expectations in each and every way.
We expect our employees to provide helpful, courteous service at all
times. When we fail to do so, we will work even harder to make it right
for you. We recognize that quality customer service is essential to the
continued success of our company. Your feelings are important to us, and
I have shared your comments with the responsible Customer Service
leadership teams.

I realize this is a disappointment, and trust you will understand our
position. We hope you will continue to make Delta your airline of
choice.

Sincerely,

Alice M. Sanders
Manager
Customer Care

[countrynewsman]

I quickly scanned the reply and note a couple of things. I'm sure I missed a few.

1. At the beginning of the letter, she made sure you knew it was Comair and not Delta (Not us...it was THEM!). Funny...the plane says "Delta" just like Colgan Air in Texas (I guess other locales as well) says, "Continental Connection" and has Continental's logo on the tail. Ergo..it is DELTA as far as the passenger is concerned.

2. She states they regret their alternate flight arrangements. Right. Three days later. Gee...camp out in the airport and wait. No problem.

3. The flight boarded without you and you were at the gate. Maybe I'm missing something, but shouldn't you get denied boarding compensation? Maybe it was due to the weight problem they associated with weather. I plea dumb on this one.