ATLANTA GEOTGIA -- The following letter that I sent, complaining to Delta, will explain our problem: Please pardon my having to contact you directly, but no one else at Delta (at least so far) has gotten back to my issue. We have a young Scottish boy who is the Delta ticket holder, ticket # **) who came to visit our church (he's 19 years old and will soon be the new choir director at our church ) and when he came into the U.S., the Immigration Dept. only allowed him 30 days to visit, and yet his pre-paid return ticket was for 90 days later. This naturally necessitated his having to change his ticket.
The travel agent in London changed his departure date and charged him $561.00 which obviously being young he simply didn't have this extra money, so I got the money together for him, and subsequently when the time for his departure came, we took him to the Knoxville, TN airport. He arrived at the air port at 4:20 on 3/24/2014 and went to check in. While he was in-line at 4:300, someone of your staff came to him and said that he would have to take another flight as that one was leaving early.
We later found out that what they had really done was to insinuate that he had something that they would only call “questionable in his pocket without saying exactly what it was that he had in his pocket (I would respectfully remind you: WITHOUT STATING EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS THAT HE WAS ALLEGED TO HAVE IN HIS POCKET). Of course, it turned out to only be some American coins that he had forgotten were in his pocket.
If you yourself were to see this fine young man then you would know (common sense would tell you) that this is not the sort of person who would intentionally carry something “questionable” on a plane. It is obvious to anyone who should meet ** that he is a very clean-cut, honorable young lad.
So being the very polite and humble young man that he is, he simply "Thanked" them, thinking that they would put him on a later flight (remember, he was told nothing except that he would have to take a later flight). He then called me when I was in-route to my home in Knoxville, TN, and he told me what happened.
Now, today when we contacted the travel agent in London to book his alternative flight they tell the poor boy (I mean "poor" literally as in orphan) that he may have to pay for a new ticket. I called the British Embassy and told them what happened, and they suggested that I contact you folks directly, for as of 3/26/2014 his thirty day stay approval by customs is cancelled, and he will be in violation of U.S. law. I hope you folks still have a heart and can do something to help this young man get home, after all he not only bought a ticket but paid an $561.00 extension as well. He simply has no money with which to purchase another expensive ticket.
Anyway, it was very arbitrary and clearly unfair in the way that your personnel handled this matter at the airport. I mean, if he truly had something “questionable” in his pocket, then why it was not specified in order to be documented as to exactly what it was that he had. They simply told the travel agent that it was “questionable,” whatever that might mean. If he did indeed have some thing “questionable” then why was he not arrested and detained.
I should think something really “questionable” would be important enough especially if you are going to take some one's money for a ticket then deny him the right to that ticket that you would have to document for legal purposes exactly what it was that he had that should cause you to deny his constitutional rights. I think any reasonable person would agree with this as being truly a mistake on Delta's part.
The way to correct that mistake and end this matter is to give him the ticket which he has legally paid for. I hope that you who are reading this email can see the mistake that has been made here and will rectify the situation without delay. Again, this matter has forced him to violate U.S. Immigration law. Please, he needs his ticket immediately so that he can get back home to Scotland.
Also, Delta has sent his bags, which were already loaded, to Detroit. I just hope Delta will do the tight thing here so that this matter can be resolved and this fine young minister can get home, as well as preventing us from pursuing other, more constitutionally legal courses of action. Thank you.
Upon our arrival in Miami we had to check in with Delta and we noticed the purposeful slow response of the ticket agents. It seemed like they didn't care if people made their flight our not, but more interested on the daily gossip. Oh well, every company has those mindless, useless people that companies can't seem to get rid of. We obtained our boarding passes and proceeded to fly to Atlanta.
After our layover in Atlanta we boarded the plane to Wichita. Luckily I was seated at the very back of the plane and got to experience the wonderful handling of everyone's bags onto the plane. Front of the suitcase down to the ramp and no less thrown on. Hey, but I did see my bags get on the plane & for that I was happy.
Then, to my dismay, I saw the conveyor reverse and ALL of the passengers baggage including mine being emptied from the cargo hold, unceremoniously dumped onto the concrete face first & all the bags tossed, or should I say thrown, onto the existing pile on the concrete with my bags being on the bottom.
They were not handled with the slightest ease or care, but extremely rough and abnormally abusive. (I have seen other bags being loaded into cargo before & I have never seen this kind of treatment to baggage). When I realized that our bags were NOT going to be returned to our plane I leapt from my seat & went to the front of the plane to discuss this with the stewardess. She instructed me to return to my seat and she would speak to the pilot.
About the time that it took me to walk from the front to the very rear of the plane & buckle up, the pilot announced overhead that he was sorry for the delay (45 minutes) but due to last minute paperwork and catering we were now ready to depart. Shortly after that announcement the stewardess came back to me and stated the pilot was sorry about my baggage but that I was more than welcome to leave the plane.
Now I'm steamed. Not only was I lied to, but the entire plane, whose bags got manhandled onto the concrete were lied to and they didn't even know it yet. If our bags were unloaded due to a weight issue and safety factor just tell me the truth. Don't treat me like I'm a 6 year old who can't handle the real world. When you go to the Doctor or your Attorney you expect the truth out of those professionals, right? Why should I not expect the truth out of a pilot? I could live without my bags for a couple of days to save my life.
So we arrive in Wichita and the Pilot announces we can all pick up our bags at the baggage claim area. I started to laugh. Oh goody, another lie. The stewardess tries to apologize to me one more time as I deplane stating to me to talk to an agent. What agent? There's not an agent in site! Thank god there were a few other smart passengers on that flight. The minute they saw me go up to the stewardess before take off, they knew something was wrong & immediately contacted security upon arrival at the Wichita terminal and told security to get Delta personnel down to the counter.
That took 30 minutes for a cargo technician to arrive and take care of our descriptions and instructions for delivery of our baggage upon arrival to Wichita. Wow, 14 rows of passengers to deal with. Thank goodness I was at the front of the line and only wasted an hour of my sleep. (Flight landed at 10:00 - I finally left the airport at 11:15). Some of these poor people I'm sure did not get a good nights sleep due to leaving the airport well past midnight.
Now wait, this gets even better. My husband requested he be contacted by phone to make the necessary arrangements for delivery of our luggage the following day due to us both having to work and not being home. We did not want our $8,000.00 scuba equipment dumped on the porch to be stolen not to mention our other bags. Did he get a call? We'll of course he did.
When the delivery person was on our porch and “oh too bad, but I'm here and I can't put it back on the delivery van”. My husband did not receive a phone call prior to delivery as instructed because our baggage arrived damaged! And when my husband called to make a claim, Delta stated he had to bring the bag in for Delta to inspect as to whether or not it could be fixed or repaired.
This is a brand new $300.00 suitcase! And the portion that was ripped totally off from the luggage held my brand new regulator and octopus along with my transmitter that is connected to that equipment that regulates whether or not I have air. A safety feature I rely on! Now, I can't trust my equipment due to your companies lies and total disregard for others property.
Seems to me that Delta may not only be purchasing a new bag for me, but after I have the regulator, octopus and transmitter tested and if any damage is detected Delta will be buying me a $500.00 regulator, a $300.00 octopus and a $1,000.00 transmitter-computer. Wow, that's a $2,100.00 bill just for being lied to, being personally mistreated, not to mention my baggage ripped to shreds and being just plain outright rude!
What a way to end what was a wonderful vacation. Now, all the relaxation and stress relieving properties of a wonderful vacation have been thrown three sheets to the wind. My back, shoulders and neck are in knots due to being so rudely mistreated for two days in a row and with such a lackadaisical attitude! I'd like to thank you for adding several more errands to my list that should not be there, thanks to the piss-poor way your company conducts business.
You know, after all this occurred and I got on the internet to obtain your address, I ran across several websites regarding complaints against Delta. Your company is fast gaining a bad reputation. Between the people you have already mistreated and whom they have spoken to regarding your treatment of them, the passengers of the plane and I that just landed whom I'm sure will spread the word regarding your despicable operations, not only have you lost the customers who have traveled with you but you have lost possible travelers who won't touch your airline with a ten foot pole due to what they have heard from word of mouth.
I feel very sorry for the way you run your company. I'll be flying with American, Continental or United from now on and if the only possible way I can reach my destination is by Delta, I won't be going. An extremely unhappy passenger.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA -- During my flight back home after a long trip the flight attendant had a breakdown and start crying in the seat behind me. She was telling the story to people in the plane and she was very loud and using inappropriate words. Her issue wasn't a real tragedy like a family member dying, she was crying over something irrelevant and it was really really upsetting for the people that were around her.
The very next day I contacted Delta customer service to complain about their poor quality and lack of oversight on their employees (someone in the crew could have asked her to stop or take her to the back - away from the customers). But all they had to said was. "I'm sorry that happened". I was really disappointed of their poor customer service and vague apology.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Got stranded in LGA due to made-up "weather reasons" on June 19 (weather was fine and planes still taking off at my flight's scheduled time of 15:30). 90-minute line in 90° heat (no AA) to get to an agent. Delta employees at the terminal barely speak English. Rude employee reschedules my flight for Tuesday morning, uses "weather" lie to deny me an hotel. Delta employees won't even provide a phone or any facilities to book an hotel. I'm on my own, with my last cellphone battery find a nasty, overpriced hotel that I have to pay for myself (as well as taxi to/from hotels, meals, etc.). Now I find out that, despite fine weather on Tuesday, Delta delayed my flight yet again to the early afternoon, to the same time I have scheduled a consulting telecon.
Don't fly Delta. I would have got home way earlier and more comfortably if I had driven the 500 miles to my destination. And without having to deal with rude morons.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Several years ago, when I was on a flight from Atlanta GA, to PDX, I was suffering from a severe case of the flu. A flight attendant was going out of her way to see if there was anything she could get me. When I was cold, she gave me blankets to keep me warm, and gave me soft drinks. I feel grateful that all of the flight attendants went out of their way to check on me, and I'm thankful for their concern.
After the flight landed at PDX, the flight attendant waited until all of the other passengers had exited the plane, then assisted me, and ordered a wheelchair for me, since I was too weak to walk on my own. Because of this, Delta is one of my favorite airlines, and want to share my gratitude to the friendly and helpful personnel who looked out for me when I was sick.
NEW YORK -- I had to change the dates of two tickets purchased through Expedia with Delta. The first time I called I kept getting transferred from one Chinese customer service representative to another. After nearly 40 minutes someone told me it would cost over $800 dollars to make the change. To make a change would cost more than the original price!!! After nearly an hour and an incredibly frustrating experience I told the representative I would call back.
A few days later when I called back and over an hour on the phone, Delta thoroughly ripped me off by making me over $600 for a date change. And I have to pay an additional $50 dollars at the airport for "baggage fees". Awful airline and customer service. Never again!
MINNESOTA -- Larger Airports have poor service. My checked in luggage was obviously searched. The handle on the luggage was also damaged. My trip started at a small airport where the personnel were actually caring, but my trip required transfers to other flights. Minneapolis is such a large airport and San Francisco is also large. I noticed most the personnel were in a rushed mode and treated people as if they were products on a conveyor belt. Since Delta gobbled up other airlines the staff also increased in numbers along with the passenger count.
It was almost impossible to get a telephone number without punching in numbers to speak directly to a human and once I got connected I was told that it would be too much trouble to find my lost suitcase. Apparently a lot of other people had to speak to the luggage department as there was a long queue of people who needed to ask for help pertaining to their luggage. Only 2 people were behind the desk and their mood showed that they were overwhelmed with servicing the passengers need. BTW: Two items were missing from my baggage when I retrieved it.
ATLANTA, RHODE ISLAND -- I have been traveling to Europe every year for several years now. Delta has been my airline of choice. I always fly business class and have never been disappointed...except for DL131 on 21 Mar. I had a special diabetic meal request on file with them. Not only was it perfect on the outbound flight...it was in fact commendable. But the return was different. My diabetic meal request was ignored. I decided it was no big deal so ordered the chicken with beans and vegetables with the "Dine and Rest" option.
My Dine and Rest option was ignored (evidently it didn't get passed to the serving attendant.) And...my chicken arrived cold...vegetable beans and all. It was not edible. I never complained to the flight attendants because I know their hands are full and there was nothing they could do at this point. I didn't want any of the food. My intention was to contact them via FB and Twitter but I decided to give them opportunity to respond first. I sent an email on 3/27 and all I've received to date is an automatic reply. I'm checking other airlines for subsequent trips.
Our Delta Nightmare. On March 24th, 2010 my wife, and son, were traveling from Orlando, Florida to Moscow, Russia on Delta airlines. They had connecting flights in Atlanta and New York city (JFK). Below is a chronological list of what transpired that day that culminated in an aborted trip, a berated wife, and a traumatized family.
At 8:00 am on 3/24/10 my family departed Orlando for Atlanta aboard flight #1304. At 10:00 am they arrived in Atlanta safely and made their way to the proper gate for the connecting flight to New York (JFK). At 11:30 am Delta personnel informed my wife and son that flight #166 had been canceled and that they would not be able to fly to JFK in time to catch flight #30 and that they would have to fly to LaGuardia (New York) and take a taxi (courtesy of Delta) to JFK (they assured us that they would make it to JFK in plenty of time to make flight #30 to Moscow).
At 11:40 am they departed Atlanta aboard flight #1778 to LaGuardia. At approximately 3:00 pm they arrived at LaGuardia (I was in constant contact with my wife and I informed her to go to the baggage area to claim her bags for the taxi ride. She did not locate her bags). I informed my wife to go to the nearest Delta personnel in the baggage area and report her bags missing. She did so, and they informed her to go to JFK in a taxi and not to worry about the bags.
They left for JFK via taxi. At 3:30 pm they arrived at JFK. At approximately 3:50 pm they arrived at terminal 3 gate 7. I informed my wife to speak with Delta personnel at the gate ** and report that her bags had not been located due to a Delta mix-up. ** informs my wife to wait until 5:05 pm and come back to speak with her about her bags. My wife informed me of that via cell phone. I immediately called Delta customer service 800-212-1212 and spoke with a ** about our predicament. (my family could not risk continuing to Moscow without baggage)
At 5:00 pm I was on my home phone with Delta customer service and my wife via my cell phone when ** informed my wife that she could not locate her bags. Delta personnel informed me to tell my wife to speak with a Delta manager and to get the name of the Delta person at the gate. My wife informed ** of the request ** became agitated (I was listening in horror) and said, “If you want my name, I'll give it to you”. She could not locate the baggage still.
At approximately 5:20 pm Delta manager ** (we know his first name only) came to assist my wife regarding locating the bags. He could not locate them either. (I was still speaking with customer service on my home phone). At 5:25 pm flight #30 departed JFK en route to Moscow without my wife and son on board. Delta still had no idea where their bags were.
My wife and son were charged for a ticket back to Orlando and Delta refused to refund our money. I immediately called Delta customer service back to inquire about a refund and a flight back to Orlando courtesy of Delta. While in the process, Delta personnel (unnamed) provided my wife with two (2) vouchers for $649.62. I was informed of that fact at a later time and was infuriated as Delta should have refunded the entire amount of the trip ($1,726) and flown my family home. I informed Delta customer service that I would NEVER fly Delta again and that the vouchers were useless to me, and that I wanted a full refund.
They basically told me that I was out of luck. Over the next two days I attempted to speak with Delta customer service and Corporate Delta customer service. I have a list of the names and numbers of the people that I spoke with. However, this information is irrelevant as they all stated the same thing, “no full refund”. Remember, my bags were still missing as of March 25 midday.
As of April 7th, 2010, I spoke with ** at Delta Corporate customer service, I was unable to obtain a any cash refund from Delta. All that I was able to obtain were the aforementioned vouchers that are worthless to me. Parenthetically, my bags were located and returned to me 3 ½ days (Saturday March 27th, 2010) afterwards for the first one, and 6 days for the second one (Tuesday March 30th, 2010) for the second one.
This is proof positive that Delta had no idea where our bags were and that they caused my wife to miss her flight to Russia. Remember, my wife and son were not traveling to Moscow as a final destination and that they could not continue and wait in Moscow for their bags to be located. They were traveling to another city (about 1000 miles north east of Moscow) and had a train ticket for this travel already in hand.