[Chrissy]

I purchased two round trip tickets from Toronto, Ontario (YYZ) to Georgetown, Guyana (GEO) with a stopover at New York (JFK). The purchase was made through a Delta Telephone Agent over the phone for my mother and I. From Toronto, we were to leave at 4:00 p.m. on Dec.1st to JFK and then board another Delta flight to Guyana and depart at 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 2nd.

Here is what happened on December 1st. When attempting to check-in at 2:30 p.m. at YYZ, the check-in clerk asked for the Visa card used to purchase the plane tickets. I did not have that Visa card as we were not told by Delta staff at the time of booking that this was required at check-in (nor is it stated on their web site). The check-in clerk advised us that she would have her supervisor see us in order for us to check in. We waited until 3:30 p.m. for the supervisor who did not show up. When we approached counter staff again to find out the whereabouts of their supervisor, our questions were not answered with the exception of telling us that we missed the required check in time, and therefore would not be allowed to board the flight to JFK even if the supervisor came.

We were then advised the next flight to JFK was scheduled for the following morning. This was not an option as we could have missed our connection flight to GEO. Had that supervisor shown up promptly the whole ensuing fiasco could have been avoided.

At this point, I took a taxi home at 4:00 p.m. to retrieve my Visa card and to book another flight going to JFK (with American Airlines) to catch my connection flight to Guyana (GEO).

After taking another taxi back to the airport and checking in at 5 p.m. with American Airlines, we were told by Delta staff that our connecting Delta flight to GEO was cancelled as we missed our original flight to JFK, and would therefore have to pay a fee to rebook the connection flight. Since our flight was leaving shortly, I did not dispute the fee and provided my Visa card to the Delta check-in staff to process the charges while the American Airlines flight waited on us.

After half an hour, we were still at the Delta check-in counter waiting on the fees to be processed by Delta. As a result, the American Airlines flight could no longer wait for us seeing that we had already missed their required check-in time, and our reservation with their flight was cancelled. American Airlines graciously voided our Visa charge seeing our situation. At this point, the supervisor finally came (6 p.m.) and booked us with a Continental Airlines flight going to Newark (EWR). This flight happened to have been delayed a few hours, and this was the only reason we were able to make it to New York to catch our connecting flight to GEO.

Upon arrival at Newark Airport at 9:44 p.m., we claimed our baggage and took the hour-long ride by taxi to John F. Kennedy Airport where our connection flight to Georgetown, Guyana (GEO) was departing from at 1:10 a.m. (check in time was 11:10 p.m.)--which we barely made it in time for.

This entire situation could have been avoided had our issue been simply dealt with right away instead of being told to wait for a supervisor who did not show up until it was too late. My mother and I are both deeply disappointed with how we were treated by Delta staff. Needless to say, the cost of purchasing extra plane tickets and taking taxis while trying to catch out flight to GEO is ridiculous, and the amount of stress caused by that whole fiasco should never be placed on any passenger. Below are all the extra costs I faced because of Delta staff:

1. Taxi to go home and retrieve Visa card to purchase another flight - $60
2. Delta’s flight cancellation charges – $608.10
3. Continental Airlines flight to EWR – $469.82
4. Extra baggage charge from Continental Airlines since their baggage allowance was less than Delta – $40
5. Taxi to John F. Kennedy Airport from Newark Airport – $120



I am currently attempting to get Delta to reimburse me for these extra charges, and I only can hope they improve the training of their check-in staff.

[azstar]

I've never heard of any airline requiring a credit card to check in, unless you check in using an automated kiosk. You should simply have to present the required identification, usually passport, plus a visa, if Guyana requires that of Canadian citizens.

[Suga00]

I'm not sure why you weren't told at booking that the card would be required, but it is stated on the website that the card may have to be shown at check-in. The best advise I could give you or anyone traveling internationally is always carry the card with you or if someone else is purchasing the ticket please have them go to the nearest airport/ticket office to have the card verified. Without verification many airlines computer systems will NOT allow the agent to check you in. Also with the high rate of fraud happening its a hassle but it is the best way to keep people from using fake card numbers to travel, and trust me it does happen almost daily that a person is caught for fraudulent card use. I'm not sure if delta will reimburse you for your expenses since you weren't told over the phone, but here is what it says on their website:

Credit Card Presentation

To safeguard against credit card fraud, the purchaser may have to show us the credit card along with a valid photo ID. The time varies based on the billing address of the credit card or the country of travel. If the purchaser is not traveling, they can show us their credit card and ID at an airport ticket counter or another ticket office location, whichever is most convenient.
http://www.delta.com/planning_reserv...ions/index.jsp