One of our two checked bags of a flight from BZN to BTR on Tuesday September 14, 2010 did not arrive at our final destination. It is now Friday the 17th and I have received no word about the bag. It was scanned at BZN, but has not been heard of since. There were two RJs arriving at BTR at the same time with fewer than 100 total passengers combined. There were only two baggage handlers to unload and load both planes. It took over 30 minutes for the bags to arrive at baggage claim. One of our bags was not among them. After waiting to file a lost baggage claim we took a taxi home in rush hour traffic for a $50.00 taxi fare that usually is under $30.00. I check frequently on the Delta website for the bag with the same "Sorry" message. I even called and was on hold for 18 minutes and the person answering said that she would email MSP to see if they could locate the bag. I asked her to call, but she said that they do not answer the phone. If I have no news about the bag on the 19th I will file a claim for over $750.00 and it will take 6 to 8 weeks to be processed. As a Medallion level flyer I think I deserve better service than that.

After delayed flight from SFO caused rebooking to a later flight to Duluth, my checked bag did not arrive in Duluth despite a nearly 2 hour lay over.

I was told the bag was still in Minneapolis and would arrive on the first flight at 11 am the next morning, it did not, nor did it arrive on the next 3 successive opportunities and I was then told it would not arrive until 9 pm that night because "that's how Minneapolis operates"

Customer Service was non responsive and unable to contact a manager directly to look into the problem.

When asked why it kept missing the flights I was told they may have 'weight restrictions', really??, at some point isn't the airline responsible to be able to have a plane that can meet it's capacity needs? Moreover, apparently I was being told my bag was a second class citizen to others in the "raffle" as to what bags were put on the regional carrier.

Customer service was inept and impotent to solve the problem and no more valuable than the web site that never changed the status.

To say Delta Minneapolis operations management and those "hardworking" baghandlers were incompetent in performing this basic service is beyond an understatement

I fly over 100K miles a year with American and United and while they have their issues from time to time I have never seen an airline with employees less interested and empowered to solve a problem than delta.

I am a "Platinum Medallion" member at Delta. I purchased some SkyMiles by mistake and Delta now says there is no way possible for me to cancel the transaction under any circumstances whatsoever.

Trying to resolve the issue with Customer "Service" was a complete waste of time. According to a post by one of their customer service reps on the Delta blog about reversing initial decisions made by their reps, "Unless we made a mistake on the initial review of your complaint the decision in most cases stands." (http://blog.delta.com/2008/05/19/ten-tips-for-resolving-a-travel-complaint/)

Perfect description of how to stick to your principles, never give in...and lose customers.

So, I'll start traveling on other carriers now. Funny that they would give up $50k-$60k/year for my lousy $300 bucks but hey, if they want to lose $200 for every $1 of mine that they keep, I can see why they filed for bankruptcy.

Dear Delta Customer Service,
 
I write to you with a number of concerns with our Delta flights on a recent family vacation where we flew from San Diego to Green Bay, WI.  We have made this trip many times before (when we flew Northwest) and have never had any issues.  This recent trip, unfortunately was a travel nightmare for my family.
 
As SkyMiles members, and the only family on our flights with with 3 small children ages 5 and under, we felt the level of service we received was outlandishly poor and I write to communicate our issues in hopes of avoiding such a terrible experience again (for my family and other families that fly with Delta).
 
It is possible that the crux of some of these issues lie with the customer service received in Green Bay, an airport I doubt would be functioning at all without the business derived from the Packer team travel and Packer fan travel (my guess is the issues we had don’t occur during football season).
 
I request that our trip be refunded/repayed in full, including the price of the car seats ($225), $20 taxi fee to and from the hotel due to lack of shuttle space, and travel vouchers for my entire family and nanny (all 6 of us) for a future flight, hopefully one that is more enjoyable, to a destination of our choice for vacation.  I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Here is my contact information:
 
Name, Mary Wohlford
Mailing Address
SkyMiles #
Phone number where it is best to reach me
 
Below are the details of concern from our trip.
 
 
Issue #1
Delta Flight 3167:  Detroit to Green Bay (5:25 PM, Friday, July 23)
• 5:25 Flight cancelled due to mechanical problems
The plane had no power (no AC) so passengers were told to get off and that we could reboard when problem was fixed.  As we got off the plane, the boards showed that our flight was cancelled, but we had never been informed of this.
• Next available flight was at 7:25 PM.  That flight was delayed 2 hours and 20 mins.
• We were made to fly standby behind 12 other customers because of the “size of our party” (6).
1. We were made to walk 10 gates to find a Delta agent to assist us in rebooking and then had to wait 30 mins. before that agent would confirm that we were even on standby.
 
2. After securing our standby tickets, we finally landed in Green Bay at 10:45 PM, 5 hours later than scheduled.
 
• Nothing was offered to us for our delay or cancellation.  We were not issued any vouchers for flight or food.  No apologies were issued.
 
 
Issue #2
Delta Flight 2974:  Green Bay to Detroit (4:10 PM, Saturday, July 31)
• 3 hours before the scheduled take off, our flight was delayed 30 mins. due to mechanical problems.
• Flight was delayed 3 times due to mechanical problems: 1) 3 hours before the scheduled take off, 2) again after the scheduled take off time, and 3) as we were finally (we thought) being checked in for boarding and waiting on the gangplank.
• Flight was cancelled at 7PM, 3 hours after the scheduled take off.
• Offered $6 meal vouchers, but not one restaurant was open in the airport.
• Complete mishandling of rebooking for our party:
1. We were unable to book any other flights because we were still showing up as “seated” on the Green Bay to Detroit flight. (Everyone else around us was able to rebook.)
2. We were told that we were “no-shows” on our Detroit connection to San Diego, even though we were not able to make the flight in question due to the mechanical problems in Green Bay.
3. After being disconnected from Delta multiple times on different phones, an agent at the gate (Daniel G.) told us to just get off the phone and that someone would help us to rebook tomorrow (Sunday).
4. We were told that the only way we would get home before Tuesday (three days later) would be to split our family of six up and to send two parties of three on two separate flights.
a. Agent would not disclose the flight times being considered for this split nor which passengers were to make up the two parties of three.  (This was vital information as three of the six passengers in our party were children under 5 years old!)
b. Agent was on a personal cell call as he was arranging our alternative flights, and was unable to answer our questions or hear our concerns.
c. After finishing his personal call, the agent informed us that the two parties would be 1) Mary (mother), Aimee (babysitter) and Gracie (5 yrs) and 2) Burnet (father), Burnet, Jr. (5 yrs) and Liam (3 years).  I (Mary) asked if the tickets could be switched so that I could be with the two young boys and my husband could be with our daughter and our babysitter.  I was told “No”, even though no flights had been booked and no tickets had been printed.  We were forced to fly in these two groups, despite my pleas to swap two of the tickets.
 
• Transportation (shuttle) was full from the airport to the Delta arranged Ramada, so we had to take a cab. ($20)
• Ramada split our family as well, putting us on two different floors.
• We were appalled by the Delta arranged accommodations: no working television, no working AC, and a cockroach on the ground in the room.
• $60 hotel vouchers did not cover the entire cost of the room.
 
 
Issue #3
Delta Flight # ______ : REBOOKED FLIGHT- Wohlford Group 1
Green Bay to Minneapolis (9:15, Sunday, Aug. 1)
• 7 hour layover in airport (with 5 year old)
 
Issue #4
Delta Flight#_____: REBOOKED FLIGHT- Wohlford Group 1
Minneapolis  to San Diego (5:10, Sunday, Aug. 1)
• We had no luggage upon arrival.  Suitcases and car seats were still in Green Bay.  Without luggage and car seats, to avoid legal ramifications and appease my own safety concerns, I was thereby forced to purchase a car seat.  (I later had to purchase another 2, as our luggage and car seats did not arrive with my husband and sons a day later)  Total cost for 3 car seats= $225
 
 
Issue #5
Delta Flight # 2919:  REBOOKED FLIGHT- Wohlford Group 2
Green Bay to MSP (5PM, Sunday, Aug. 1)
• Party of three Wohlfords (father and two sons) were told to come at least one hour early to ensure they would get seats together.  They were the first to arrive at the gate at 3:30 PM, but were told this was too early and they would have to wait.
• Flight was delayed.  But while this was showing up on the boards in Minneapolis, the passengers in Green Bay had never been informed of the delay.
• Flight was canceled due to mechanical problems, 1 hour before scheduled take off.
• No travel vouchers offered, no rebooked flights confirmed, and no attempt to even get them onto another airline or rental car to another airport.
• Forced to stay in Green Bay another night.  
1. No luggage for the night- all was booked with first Wohlford party
2. No car seats for the night- all were booked with first Wohlford party
 
 
Issue #6
Delta Flight #_______: REBOOKED, REBOOKED FLIGHT- Wohlford Group 2
Green Bay to MSP
• No accommodations were made by Delta to seat my husband with our two sons despite repeated requests and attempts.  Individual passengers felt sorry for the situation and the three were finally able to sit together.
 
 
Issue #7
Delta Flight #_____:  REBOOKED FLIGHT- Wohlford Group 2
MSP to San Diego
• Again, no accommodations were made by Delta to seat my husband with our two young sons despite repeated requests and attempts.  My husband was finally able to secure a seat with our youngest (3 years old) but our 5 year old was forced to sit by himself.
• Meal vouchers (issued by Delta) were denied by Delta airline attendants when my husband attempted to purchase snack boxes for the boys in flight.
 
 
 
 
 

I tried booking a flight for my mom to go see her grandkids. We got the information filled out, entered my credit card information, and the transaction was blocked by something called "verified by Visa", an "extra level of security" as they call it.

Ok, so I am given a customer service number to call for Visa. I call them, they try to help, but it keeps blocking it. They tell me they will be calling me back some time today and they can get it unblocked. They call me at 8:30 this morning, a very nice lady, and we try to rebook the flight. THE TICKET PRICE HAS GONE UP OVER 180 DOLLARS IN A FEW HOURS FOR THE SAME FLIGHT!!!

So me and the Visa rep call Delta and they say nothing can be done. We explain that their system, verified by visa, blocked the transaction at the old price and I have the Visa rep on the phone to verify that I tried to book these flights at the old price. Delta stays steadfast on them not being able to give it to us at the old price because we didn't call them yesterday. The ****ING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SCREEN SAID TO CALL A 1 888 NUMBER THAT WAS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER FOR VISA, NOT DELTA!! We followed the instructions to the letter and delta says we messed up because we didn't call them last night. **** them! That's not what the instructions said to do!! We put in a call to corporate headquarters and do not get a call back. I get transferred to someone with Chase bank, who is with my Visa card company, and he is VERY concerned that I still don't have a flight booked. He said, "Let's get that done first." So, we call Delta and book the flight that way. The total is $441, the original flight total was $261.60 last night at 9pm when we originally tried to book it. The visa guy said, "Look buddy, you've been great about this and you're a fantastic customer. We will reimburse you for the difference." Now keep in mind, "verified by Visa" is connected with Delta, not visa. Visa is NOT at fault for the transaction not going through, Delta is, yet Visa sucked up the 180 dollar cost.

How about that for fantastic customer service? The lady I spoke with this morning, the guy I got transferred to (both wonderful AMERICANS) got the job done. My mom was trying to book a flight to go visit her grandkids and isn't comfy putting her CC info up on the internet so I used my card for her. Throughout the ordeal she was almost in tears, if not in tears, behind me listening to me get told nothing could be done, and working with these people for 2 hours. When I finally got the guy to tell us he'd reimburse us, my mom told him, "God bless you!"

Visa came through for us. I am VERY IMPRESSED with how I was treated! Thanks Brett!

I would AVOID delta airlines at all costs. They set up a card verification system that doesn't work and if you follow the on screen instructions you get ****ed in the ***.