I think Delta has a major issue with late flights and changing gates without proper notice. For myself last month I made a trip to Missouri. The flight to start out with was delayed because of maintenance issues. I asked several times if I was going to be late for my connecting flight and was told No that we were going to leave within 30 minutes. Well 30 minutes turned into several hours and once they put us on another flight I did indeed miss my connection. Worse part was there were no more planes leaving that night at all so I was stuck in a terminal and they never offered me anything for a hotel or meals. I finally went to their desk and 3 women behind this courtesy desk were not courteous at all. I had to insist that they do something for me for the night. It was 11:00pm and I was tired since I had been at the airport since 2:00. They finally gave me a voucher for a cheap hotel with no food vouchers at all.

My husband flew out the following week and as he was waiting to leave for his destination they changed the gates and he had no idea of it until he asked someone when was the flight to leave. They told him rather coldly well you missed your flight. They treated him very rude and acted like they didn't want to help him get another flight. He does not fly often so it is not fun when you don't know what to do. Anyway, Delta used to be the only airline I would fly but they have just lost our business as well as all my family and friends. Their customer service reps are arrogant and act like your bothering them. What happened to good manners and service??

Delta needs to remember your not the only airline and looking at the other complaints on here I would be concerned and would listen to what is being said. I don't expect anything from you but you need to appreciate your customers a little more.

I am writing to you because of a very bad experience my son and I just endured because of negligence on your company's inability to help us out.

We flew out of Elmira NY on Flight 3867 on June 3rd. The flight was supposed to leave Elmira NY at 5:18 p.m.est. When we arrived to the airport we noticed on the board that the flight was going to be late and not departing until 5:55 p.m. We asked the people at YOUR DELTA desk if we would make the connecting flight. Originally the flight was to leave at 5:18 which gave us 45 min or so at Detroit to catch our main flight to LAX which was due to leave at 7:20.

Here is where it all went wrong, the clerk at the desk told us that he guaranteed us that we would make the main flight. We asked 3 times and everytime we were told we would have no trouble.The flight 3867 was due to leave they told us at 5:40 instead of 5:55 plenty of time to make the next flight they told us.

Well our flught 3867 did not leave the ground until 6:02 p.m. est.from Elmira, N.Y. We missed our main flight by 5 minutes. Several people on this flight missed their flights also because of this. We ran to the gate from the connecting flight to our main flight I am over 50 years old and just had a major operation, and my son is just 10. We ran as fast as we could and still missedthe flight. We had to wait in a very long line to try to get help.

We finally were able to get to the help desk and to our dismay the only other flight to lAX was just leaving. Again we just missed another flight. By the time we got everything figured out we were at the airport for over 3 hours. We were put up in a Hotel which was not that great and gave food vouchers for 24 dollars which was to cover dinner and breakfast. I am sure that two people can eat at a hotel two times for 24 dollars!!! try it sometime maybe you could get toast and a glass of water!!! Also we did not have any hygene things as we were going to get that kind of thing when we arrived at LAX. No toothbrushes or toothpaste and hotel shampoo and soap...

By the time we got to the hotel we were both exhausted and very hungry it was by this time almost 11:30 great time for dinner for a 10 year old!!!

We were booked on a flight the next day which wwe had to get up at 4 am to get ready to be there on time. That flight took us to Miniapolis which we then had to change planes for our flight to lAX.

I had very little time to spend with my kids and Dad in California as it was and thanks to your great airline I was robbed almost a day and a half. Not only did it cause us grief but the people who took time off work to pick us up at the original time. Not to mention my son was a total crank all day Friday because he was so tired...thanks

When we did come back when we landed in Detroit we were waiting at the gate that we were supposed to be at. I noticed that our flight was not on the tv screen anywhere. I asked a person at the desk where is our flight and they told us that the gate had changed it was 1/4 MILE AWAY and there was not one announcement made. Thanks for the extra walk like I didnt have enough confusion on this whole trip. At that time we only had 20 minutes to get to the new gate. Not much time almost missed that flight as well. Thanks again.

This could have all been avoided if when we asked at Elmira if we were going to make that flight they could have booked us on the later flight at Detroit to LAX and with little inconvience we would have still made LAX just a couple hours later than originally planned.

We spoke with the supervisor at Elmira when we returned and she said she would address the people at fault. She agreed that we should have been booked on the later flight.

My husband spoke that evening that this all happened June 3 to the desk at Elmira. The gentleman he spoke with was the person who was responsible to prep the plane for takeoff. He said that it was documented that the plane was indeed rready at 5:35 or so. He said the pilot was the one to blame as he took his time in entering the plane to ***. My husband sat at the end of the runway and documented that the plane indeed took off at 6:03 p.m.

Someone owes us something, I know that you get thousands of these kind of letters but something must be done. Noone else would do anything at the time and we were told to write this letter to you at this site.

My son was terrified and I was visibly upset. We are from a small town and do not travel much. We saved a long time to take this trip and 20 minutes into it everything went wrong. I hold the Elmira NY office responsible and the Supewrvisor agreed with us but she said she could do nothing but have me write here. I cannot express enough how much this trip meant to me visiting my children who I have not seen in a few years along with my DAD who is over 80.

I was originally supposed to fly out of MSP on flight 2051 on 6/17/2010.

Unfortunately, you downgraded that flight and left 27 people stranded.

I flew out instead to LAX. The person who originally handled the flight

change screwed it up entirely. I only learned this when I went to

double-check to see if my bag had been transferred. It was then I

learned that the first individual had not bothered to actually put me

onto the new flight, which of course, meant my bag was on it's merry way

to Las Vegas. Caesar and Charles managed to get this problem fixed and

were complete gentlemen throughout. They remain the only good

experience I have had with Delta's customer service.

I flew into LAX, which would not normally have been a problem, except

because Delta, the ground crew, and the Flight Tower couldn't get their

acts together, we sat on the tarmac prior to takeoff for 45 minutes. We

then repeated that at our destination, 'waiting' for a gate to clear

that all of us on the left side of the plane were very aware had been

clear when we landed and remained clear until we docked. With a 3 hour

flight being an hour and a half late, I had to arrange new

transportation which cost me an additional $40. Fortunately, I had

managed to get my luggage picked up in Las Vegas and brought to me,

preventing it from being lost as other people's luggage apparently was

in dealing with that same flight fiasco.

Which takes us to yesterday. Because the paperwork was not in order

(according to the announcement the Captain made) we took off late,

getting in at 11:20PM instead of at 10PM. This meant that once again, I

had no ride home, as my ride had to leave for work at 11PM. I asked the

ticket desk to arrange a ride home for me and was told that it wasn't

possible for 'liability' reasons, which you as well as I know is BS.

The supervisor was flat out dismissive to me and when I stated I would

just sleep in the airport until a ride became available, threatened to

call the police to have me removed from the building. I had my three

year old son with me.

It cost me $121 to get a cab home at that point. I do not want vouchers

from you, it's already been made very clear to me that Delta has no

intention of honoring anything it has stated about it's travel vouchers.

For instance, I was told that I could use them to pay baggage fees. I

want a check or money order sent to pay the additional $161 Delta cost

me in transportation due to it's inability to get it's act together. I

stayed in MSP an additional 5 hours waiting for the flight to LAX and

did not see a single Delta flight take off on time. I also saw

additional people bumped from flights because Delta can't get it's act

together.

This is an email that I just sent to Delta after being awake for over 24 hours and receiving terrible service by incompetent Delta employees. This is the abbreviated version:

My husband and I missed our flight to from JFK to Bradley International Airport, due to taxiing for an hour and lack of direction and failure on the part of Delta to provide connection flight information I might add. No one offered us any information regarding local hotels or rental cars all we were told is that another flight would not be available until the following evening. When we inquired about our luggage we received several different answers. The first attendant informed us that our luggage was still at JFK when we questioned why that would be the case when we would have been onboard the flight to Hartford, CT she stated that she didn’t know and didn’t attempt to offer an explanation. She then told us that her computer doesn’t give her all of the information and sent us to the Baggage Services Department. When we arrived there we waited five minutes before our presence was even acknowledged. We were then told three different things by the same Delta employee. First we were told that our luggage was still in JFK. When we asked why our luggage was still there when we were supposed to be on our way to Hartford and how would we have known that our luggage wasn’t arriving with us, she shrugged her shoulders. She then looked again and said that our luggage was on its way to Burlington…as in Burlington, VT?! She then stated that her computer stated BDL, we had to enlighten the Delta employee that BDL stood for Bradley International Airport, the airport in Hartford, CT. We asked her if she would call baggage in Hartford to assure that our baggage would be held for us, as someone was coming to pick us up and we would arrive in Hartford in approximately 4 hours. She told us no she wouldn’t call but we could call the 1-800 number. WHAT!! Is this what Delta considers customer service? We arrived home at approximately 2:15 am and proceeded to drive to Bradley International Airport getting there shortly after 3:00. Baggage services was closed and we were told to come back at 4:00 am when the airport opens. The airport actually opened at 4:30 and after camping out in our car we were now approaching 24 hours of no sleep. To attempt to shorten this, our luggage was not in Hartford. After looking into it we were told that my husband’s luggage was in DETROIT and they did not know where my luggage was. Apparently it was never scanned in NY so the last time they tracked my bag was in Miami. We asked the Delta attendant if she would call baggage in NY to see if it was still there unclaimed. She told us no she couldn’t call baggage services. WHY NOT! Why are we paying $25 each for luggage that is not traveling with us, not being tracked and that no one can help us locate! As if airfare is not high enough you have now made it mandatory to pay these fees and for what-no one will even offer basic customer service to assure that our property is being delivered to us. We were told by the Delta attendant that these things happen. WHAT HAPPENS, you lose people’s property and fail to do your job of tracking where people’s luggage will be. I guess we should have expected this much. If you can mix up two children and send them to each other’s destinations then of course you can fail to track luggage! I want compensation for the baggage fees that I paid and courteous service and information regarding where my luggage is as, forgive me for not being a millionaire, I cannot afford in this recession to re-buy all of the clothing, jewelry, shoes, toiletries etc…that is in that luggage. The new passenger protection rules require baggage fees to be prominently displayed and fully disclosed, and passengers be eligible for refunds of those fees when bags are not delivered on time. You made sure to “prominently display” the cost to ship the luggage because it benefits your airline, however no one has attempted to compensate me for the aggravation and inconvenience I have suffered for my luggage not only not being delivered on time but being lost and untrackable!

I don't want this to be one of those insanely long unreadable posts. Here is the tip...DO NOY FLY DELTA. Here are the facts:

1) Called to get seat assignments night before Delta/KLM flight to Amsterdam from DTW. Agent cancelled entire confirmed ticket. Found out next morning and at airport where we got it reinstated after a long wait and 3 confirmation numbers.

2) Baggage lost. No one knows where it is and it's 7 days later. They give you numbers to call to a central baggage center where all they can do is email airports requests and never hear back. They give you a website link which is never updated. And when you call their toll free number to get an agent tell you "I'm sorry for your inconvenience but there is nothing I can do" you are on hold average of 35 minutes first...

Oh, and they also give you numbers at the other airports (ie. Amsterdam, Capetown) where you are travelling and tell YOU to call them and then you learn the numbers are non-working ones. Great! Thanks for nothing.

This is all for a $1679 coach ticket-- not a $250 one. Oh, and did I mention one agent told me that Delta had two baggage tag numbers listed on different systems. Another told me luggage had moved from one city to another. The next agent told me that never happened-- it was likely (not confirmed) sent to Atlanta to a central depot. NOBODY REALLY KNOWS and they cannot call in directly to where bags are kept.

My bag has a personal permanent luggage tag on it-- it is highly recognizable with easy to confirm contents. Needless to say, DELTA is off the charts and out of touch with customer service, systems, communications, processes, everything. Hello Continental!