On January 28th, 2011 (Japan) I tried to book a roundtrip flight from NRT (Tokyo Narita) to SEA (Seattle Tacoma) departing March 22nd and returning April 5th on the Delta.com website to visit my family. The total fee for the booking came out to 89, 350JPY. When I tried to pay for the ticket with my VISA credit card, I got an error message about my credit card. At first I thought that I input the wrong card number, so I re-input the card number and got the same message. After getting the second error message, I immediately called my credit card company (VIEW CARD) to find out my balance and the most recent charges.

They told me that the first charge for 89, 350JPY to Delta Airlines was approved, but the second charge was declined. Soon after the phone call, I checked my e-mail, but got NO flight confirmation message from Delta.

I then called Delta Airlines (+81 476318000). The staff told me that there was no record of any ticket purchase under my name. I explained the situation to the staff and she asked me twice for my confirmation number. I repeated back to her that I only got error messages from the Delta.com website and then she asked me for my credit card number, which I gave her and put me on hold. While on hold, the call was disconnected. Then I called Delta again and spoke with Viana (another staff) and explained the situation again. Viana also told me that there is no flight reservation under my name and that if there is a hold on my credit card for 89, 350JPY, I need to get the credit card approval code and fax it to Delta at +65 63392575.

I called back my credit card company (VIEW CARD, telephone number +81 366940100) and spoke with Mr Nakajima and he explained to me that their company policy requires me to contact the merchant and try to resolve the disputed charge and that they cannot release the charged amount from Delta unless they are contacted by Delta Airlines directly to release the charged amount. If I am unable to resolve the disputed charge, I would need to prove that I didn't receive the goods/services and then VIEW CARD will investigate the claim. However, that wouldn't happen until after the departure date of March 22, 2011.

I e-mailed Delta Airlines and Alicia Smith of Delta's Online Customer Support Desk e-mailed me back, telling me to call them INTERNATIONALLY (+1 888-750-3284) to discuss the situation because they were unable to contact me. I had no missed calls on my home phone nor my cell phone caller ID, but only an e-mail from Alicia Smith the following morning (January 29th, 2011 - Japan time).

What kind of a company is Delta Airlines, telling their customers to call them internationally, when they'll probably put you on hold for who knows how long? Also, how many other people are checking to see if their credit card was charged, when their online ticket purchase website says that the charge wasn't approved?