6/29 DL 2160 diverted due to smoke - my experience + IRROPS headache
Jul 1, 2015, 9:46 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Budapest
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 178
6/29 DL 2160 diverted due to smoke - my experience + IRROPS headache
Just a note about an experience I had Monday night.
I was supposed to fly MIA - ATL - RDU.
About half an hour into MIA-ATL, an acrid, burning, metallic smell filled the cabin and a haze filled the cabin air. The flight attendants discontinued their service immediately and started literally running throughout the plane, trying to figure out if/where there was a fire aisle by aisle and checking the bathrooms. The pilot got on the horn asking people to turn off their overhead lights immediately and to stay in their seats. It got eerily quiet and then the pilot came back on saying that the plane was fully functional, they were having no issues upfront whatsoever but that occasionally some sort of gas builds up in some valve and that he thinks in this case it ejected into the plane. Even though the pilots were having no issues flying the plane, out of an abundance of caution they announced that we were diverting to Jacksonville, FL and we were on the ground in literally about 12 minutes. They didn't play around. We were met by emergency equipment in JAX.
We deplaned and were asked to stay in the gate area. The JAX agents were professional and had water and some snacks set up for us nearby. They said that they had another MD-88 coming in which would normally spend the night there but instead, we'd continue on that plane to Atlanta and they would leave our original plane there to be serviced. If anyone wanted to spend the night in JAX and continue on the next morning instead, that was possible but it seemed to me that only a handful of passengers did so. They did go out of their way to help rebook passengers connecting to international flights.
By the time all our luggage was transferred and paperwork was completed I would estimate that we had been in JAX a good 90 minutes or so so the delay wasn't unbearable.
However, when we got to Atlanta, Delta kind of dropped the ball. I would estimate 90% of the plane was transferring onward and thus needed hotels and rebooking assistance and were directed to a station across from B-19. Well, when we arrived there, there were only 2 dour, tired, uninterested employees shrieking at customers. Actually, there was a third agent sitting, talking on her phone, laughing, and having a gay ‘ole time. She wasn’t helping any customers and wasn’t typing on her computer or anything. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was on break.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them, that they had no control over what hotel the computer gave them (unsure if this is true or not, I think they have some control for Medallions for example). Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers. I don’t really care but the whole lack of planning/concern on the part of arriving to Atlanta several hours late + subsequent rebooking really left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t see why non-status passengers would have gotten vouchers when Medallions didn’t.
Delta emailed me nearly immediately saying they knew what happened and that 12,500 miles would deposited into my account for the diversion + inconvenience.
One thing I am curious about is that I always thought planes had to dump fuel before a landing like that but I don't think we did. Could somebody clear this up for me?
Anyway, that’s my story about burning fumes + diversions Monday evening. If anybody is curious about anything or would like me to clarify, just ask...
I was supposed to fly MIA - ATL - RDU.
About half an hour into MIA-ATL, an acrid, burning, metallic smell filled the cabin and a haze filled the cabin air. The flight attendants discontinued their service immediately and started literally running throughout the plane, trying to figure out if/where there was a fire aisle by aisle and checking the bathrooms. The pilot got on the horn asking people to turn off their overhead lights immediately and to stay in their seats. It got eerily quiet and then the pilot came back on saying that the plane was fully functional, they were having no issues upfront whatsoever but that occasionally some sort of gas builds up in some valve and that he thinks in this case it ejected into the plane. Even though the pilots were having no issues flying the plane, out of an abundance of caution they announced that we were diverting to Jacksonville, FL and we were on the ground in literally about 12 minutes. They didn't play around. We were met by emergency equipment in JAX.
We deplaned and were asked to stay in the gate area. The JAX agents were professional and had water and some snacks set up for us nearby. They said that they had another MD-88 coming in which would normally spend the night there but instead, we'd continue on that plane to Atlanta and they would leave our original plane there to be serviced. If anyone wanted to spend the night in JAX and continue on the next morning instead, that was possible but it seemed to me that only a handful of passengers did so. They did go out of their way to help rebook passengers connecting to international flights.
By the time all our luggage was transferred and paperwork was completed I would estimate that we had been in JAX a good 90 minutes or so so the delay wasn't unbearable.
However, when we got to Atlanta, Delta kind of dropped the ball. I would estimate 90% of the plane was transferring onward and thus needed hotels and rebooking assistance and were directed to a station across from B-19. Well, when we arrived there, there were only 2 dour, tired, uninterested employees shrieking at customers. Actually, there was a third agent sitting, talking on her phone, laughing, and having a gay ‘ole time. She wasn’t helping any customers and wasn’t typing on her computer or anything. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was on break.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them, that they had no control over what hotel the computer gave them (unsure if this is true or not, I think they have some control for Medallions for example). Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers. I don’t really care but the whole lack of planning/concern on the part of arriving to Atlanta several hours late + subsequent rebooking really left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t see why non-status passengers would have gotten vouchers when Medallions didn’t.
Delta emailed me nearly immediately saying they knew what happened and that 12,500 miles would deposited into my account for the diversion + inconvenience.
One thing I am curious about is that I always thought planes had to dump fuel before a landing like that but I don't think we did. Could somebody clear this up for me?
Anyway, that’s my story about burning fumes + diversions Monday evening. If anybody is curious about anything or would like me to clarify, just ask...
Jul 1, 2015, 9:53 pm
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Orlando, FL Area
Programs: Delta SkySponge ExtraAbsorbent, SPG Gold
Posts: 29,988
After Swissair 111 it became standard procedure to get on the ground as soon as possible in an onboard fire situation. No wasting precious time dumping fuel or worrying about an overweight landing
Jul 1, 2015, 10:11 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
IRROPS are why belonging to the SkyClub matters.
I was flying the last connnection of the day MIA-ATL-IAD recently; the layover at ATL was scheduled for close to 2 hours. The inbound 757 making up our MIA-ATL equipment was delayed by 2 hours, and I ended up missing my onward connection to IAD by 5 minutes or so.
I ducked into the C concourse SkyClub, and was assisted by a lovely woman named Althea. She actually got me a choice of hotels, the Crowne Plaza or the Staybridge Suites (we drove by Spondivits on the way to this hotel). As I had never stayed at a Staybridge before, I chose that one, and had a pleasant 7 hours or so there.
I've been bailed out numerous times over 30+ years by a professional concierge in one of the clubs.
I was flying the last connnection of the day MIA-ATL-IAD recently; the layover at ATL was scheduled for close to 2 hours. The inbound 757 making up our MIA-ATL equipment was delayed by 2 hours, and I ended up missing my onward connection to IAD by 5 minutes or so.
I ducked into the C concourse SkyClub, and was assisted by a lovely woman named Althea. She actually got me a choice of hotels, the Crowne Plaza or the Staybridge Suites (we drove by Spondivits on the way to this hotel). As I had never stayed at a Staybridge before, I chose that one, and had a pleasant 7 hours or so there.
I've been bailed out numerous times over 30+ years by a professional concierge in one of the clubs.
Jul 1, 2015, 10:24 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 246
Just a note about an experience I had Monday night.
I was supposed to fly MIA - ATL - RDU.
About half an hour into MIA-ATL, an acrid, burning, metallic smell filled the cabin and a haze filled the cabin air. The flight attendants discontinued their service immediately and started literally running throughout the plane, trying to figure out if/where there was a fire aisle by aisle and checking the bathrooms. The pilot got on the horn asking people to turn off their overhead lights immediately and to stay in their seats. It got eerily quiet and then the pilot came back on saying that the plane was fully functional, they were having no issues upfront whatsoever but that occasionally some sort of gas builds up in some valve and that he thinks in this case it ejected into the plane. Even though the pilots were having no issues flying the plane, out of an abundance of caution they announced that we were diverting to Jacksonville, FL and we were on the ground in literally about 12 minutes. They didn't play around. We were met by emergency equipment in JAX.
We deplaned and were asked to stay in the gate area. The JAX agents were professional and had water and some snacks set up for us nearby. They said that they had another MD-88 coming in which would normally spend the night there but instead, we'd continue on that plane to Atlanta and they would leave our original plane there to be serviced. If anyone wanted to spend the night in JAX and continue on the next morning instead, that was possible but it seemed to me that only a handful of passengers did so. They did go out of their way to help rebook passengers connecting to international flights.
By the time all our luggage was transferred and paperwork was completed I would estimate that we had been in JAX a good 90 minutes or so so the delay wasn't unbearable.
However, when we got to Atlanta, Delta kind of dropped the ball. I would estimate 90% of the plane was transferring onward and thus needed hotels and rebooking assistance and were directed to a station across from B-19. Well, when we arrived there, there were only 2 dour, tired, uninterested employees shrieking at customers. Actually, there was a third agent sitting, talking on her phone, laughing, and having a gay ‘ole time. She wasn’t helping any customers and wasn’t typing on her computer or anything. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was on break.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them, that they had no control over what hotel the computer gave them (unsure if this is true or not, I think they have some control for Medallions for example). Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers. I don’t really care but the whole lack of planning/concern on the part of arriving to Atlanta several hours late + subsequent rebooking really left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t see why non-status passengers would have gotten vouchers when Medallions didn’t.
Delta emailed me nearly immediately saying they knew what happened and that 12,500 miles would deposited into my account for the diversion + inconvenience.
One thing I am curious about is that I always thought planes had to dump fuel before a landing like that but I don't think we did. Could somebody clear this up for me?
Anyway, that’s my story about burning fumes + diversions Monday evening. If anybody is curious about anything or would like me to clarify, just ask...
I was supposed to fly MIA - ATL - RDU.
About half an hour into MIA-ATL, an acrid, burning, metallic smell filled the cabin and a haze filled the cabin air. The flight attendants discontinued their service immediately and started literally running throughout the plane, trying to figure out if/where there was a fire aisle by aisle and checking the bathrooms. The pilot got on the horn asking people to turn off their overhead lights immediately and to stay in their seats. It got eerily quiet and then the pilot came back on saying that the plane was fully functional, they were having no issues upfront whatsoever but that occasionally some sort of gas builds up in some valve and that he thinks in this case it ejected into the plane. Even though the pilots were having no issues flying the plane, out of an abundance of caution they announced that we were diverting to Jacksonville, FL and we were on the ground in literally about 12 minutes. They didn't play around. We were met by emergency equipment in JAX.
We deplaned and were asked to stay in the gate area. The JAX agents were professional and had water and some snacks set up for us nearby. They said that they had another MD-88 coming in which would normally spend the night there but instead, we'd continue on that plane to Atlanta and they would leave our original plane there to be serviced. If anyone wanted to spend the night in JAX and continue on the next morning instead, that was possible but it seemed to me that only a handful of passengers did so. They did go out of their way to help rebook passengers connecting to international flights.
By the time all our luggage was transferred and paperwork was completed I would estimate that we had been in JAX a good 90 minutes or so so the delay wasn't unbearable.
However, when we got to Atlanta, Delta kind of dropped the ball. I would estimate 90% of the plane was transferring onward and thus needed hotels and rebooking assistance and were directed to a station across from B-19. Well, when we arrived there, there were only 2 dour, tired, uninterested employees shrieking at customers. Actually, there was a third agent sitting, talking on her phone, laughing, and having a gay ‘ole time. She wasn’t helping any customers and wasn’t typing on her computer or anything. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was on break.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them, that they had no control over what hotel the computer gave them (unsure if this is true or not, I think they have some control for Medallions for example). Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers. I don’t really care but the whole lack of planning/concern on the part of arriving to Atlanta several hours late + subsequent rebooking really left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t see why non-status passengers would have gotten vouchers when Medallions didn’t.
Delta emailed me nearly immediately saying they knew what happened and that 12,500 miles would deposited into my account for the diversion + inconvenience.
One thing I am curious about is that I always thought planes had to dump fuel before a landing like that but I don't think we did. Could somebody clear this up for me?
Anyway, that’s my story about burning fumes + diversions Monday evening. If anybody is curious about anything or would like me to clarify, just ask...
the other thing is MIA to ATL is a pretty short flight, the flown distance is only ~1/4 of the maximum distance at MTOW
highly suspect the plane actually carry much fuel anyways ....
Jul 2, 2015, 4:40 am
#5
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Dallas
Programs: DL DM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 97
Sounds like a crummy ending to what started off as a well handled irregular operation. Had nearly identical handling in ATL after we had a medical diversion to DFW on a PHX-ATL last year. It was a mess.
As far as fuel dumping - 88s can't dump fuel. Many planes can't. During an emergency / mechanical type landing the crew will decide whether or not to land overweight. For smoke, get on the ground asap, had it been a blown tire on take off and you were turning around to you origin, they may circle to burn off enough fuel to get under max structural landing weight. On many shorter legs, the flight is already under max structural landing weight upon departure from the origin.
As far as fuel dumping - 88s can't dump fuel. Many planes can't. During an emergency / mechanical type landing the crew will decide whether or not to land overweight. For smoke, get on the ground asap, had it been a blown tire on take off and you were turning around to you origin, they may circle to burn off enough fuel to get under max structural landing weight. On many shorter legs, the flight is already under max structural landing weight upon departure from the origin.
Jul 2, 2015, 5:51 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,193
Sounds like it was one of those cases where some of the engine fumes got introduced into the bleed air path due to a aging seal or valve. Glad they got on the ground quickly, but yeah sure sounds like they dropped the ball in ATL.
Oh and regarding the SC, yes it can help, but you can get bad/unhelpful agents in there as well. Had that happen back in Feb when my connecting flight got canceled and the agent I was talking with basically refused to help or even try to get us back that evening on other routing or even an early flight in the morning.
I waited until she left a few min later, then spoke with another agent who was great and grabbed seats on the first flight in the morning, had luggage rerouted, hotel, and meal vouchers.
Oh and regarding the SC, yes it can help, but you can get bad/unhelpful agents in there as well. Had that happen back in Feb when my connecting flight got canceled and the agent I was talking with basically refused to help or even try to get us back that evening on other routing or even an early flight in the morning.
I waited until she left a few min later, then spoke with another agent who was great and grabbed seats on the first flight in the morning, had luggage rerouted, hotel, and meal vouchers.
Jul 2, 2015, 6:10 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, DL GM, Marriott LTP
Posts: 563
Thanks for sharing and sorry you had to go through such an ordeal. Glad everything turned out safely in the end.
Fuel dump capability is typically only available on widebody aircraft (even then it's an optional feature in some cases), so no fuel dump option on your aircraft. If there is a potential fire/electrical issue on board, you land as soon as possible no matter how heavy you are, otherwise, pilots will circle to burn off the fuel necessary to land at or under weight.
Fuel dump capability is typically only available on widebody aircraft (even then it's an optional feature in some cases), so no fuel dump option on your aircraft. If there is a potential fire/electrical issue on board, you land as soon as possible no matter how heavy you are, otherwise, pilots will circle to burn off the fuel necessary to land at or under weight.
Jul 2, 2015, 6:12 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, DL GM, Marriott LTP
Posts: 563
Seems a bit odd to me
Jul 2, 2015, 6:37 am
#9
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Programs: DL DM 1.929MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, IHG Platinum, Avis CHM, Marriott Titanium (lifetime gold)
Posts: 7,859
Jul 2, 2015, 7:09 am
#10
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,679
However, when we got to Atlanta, Delta kind of dropped the ball. I would estimate 90% of the plane was transferring onward and thus needed hotels and rebooking assistance and were directed to a station across from B-19. Well, when we arrived there, there were only 2 dour, tired, uninterested employees shrieking at customers. Actually, there was a third agent sitting, talking on her phone, laughing, and having a gay ‘ole time. She wasn’t helping any customers and wasn’t typing on her computer or anything. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was on break.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
Anyway, a group of gate agents were finishing up nearby and I walked over to them and asked them to call a redcoat and said that there were 150 IRROP passengers (not an exaggeration) needing assistance and that they needed to get people up there. I was told that the redcoats were in their nightly meeting and that they wouldn’t disturb them, no redcoat was available. The whole thing just really deteriorated and was kind of a zoo. Eventually other agents showed up but the whole scene was very chaotic with a lot of shouting and not very much patience on the part of the people working there. I’m sure they wanted to go home and not deal with us and didn’t try to hide that fact.
ATL has a reputation for IROPS and it's well deserved. It's a big airport and I'm sure handles so many IROPS on a daily basis that apathy has sunk in.
Jul 2, 2015, 7:23 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta 1MM, Delta SM, United Silver, Amx Plat, Delta Amx Plat, Six-T Plat, IHG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 590
DAV,
First of all, sorry about your experience. Given how promising DL's "recovery" started off in JAX, I can see how your experience was disappointing. If you travel enough, these things certainly happen. It sounds like the experience could have been better, but I wanted to point out a couple of things:
1) sour/dour agents just don't help a situation but you did admit in your own posting that other agents DID show up. Sounds like they were not there as immediately as you'd hoped.
2) you wrote "Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them"
It sounds like the party in question WAS helped in that they were given hotels, right? The fact that they were split up wasn't the end of the world. It's like being two traveling friends being accommodated on a sold out flight then frustrated that there are only two middle seats left 10 rows apart. It's midnight, who cares what hotel it is??? Also - and I'm not saying it's true or not -but MAYBE DL took the last room at one hotel and had to split the party up OR MAYBE they were co-workers traveling together and didn't want to be together at that point. Both of these sound unlikely but all I'm saying is that you (and me, and others), don't know the TOTAL PICTURE in terms of how these decisions are made. Just be grateful everyone got a hotel, and heck for 7 hours, Best Western is good with me. Perhaps others feel differently...
3) Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers.
you said yourself that you never requested vouchers but maybe the other non status person did request vouchers. Maybe THAT was the difference? yes, DL SHOULD be more proactive about offering vouchers but it's also up to the pax to be their best advocate.
Again, I'm sorry about your experience but all you have to do is read FT posts to know that more egregiously worse experiences have been encountered during IRROPS. and a final note: I thought it was an UN-STATED rule for Medallions that during IRROPS you don't actually go to a GA, you call the DL medallion line, they re-book you then you go to the interrupted travel kiosk and get all your materials. That's what I do and I've had great success doing that - at least it saves a ton of time - and might that have mitigated some lost time as well?
First of all, sorry about your experience. Given how promising DL's "recovery" started off in JAX, I can see how your experience was disappointing. If you travel enough, these things certainly happen. It sounds like the experience could have been better, but I wanted to point out a couple of things:
1) sour/dour agents just don't help a situation but you did admit in your own posting that other agents DID show up. Sounds like they were not there as immediately as you'd hoped.
2) you wrote "Also, while the hotel I got (Sheraton Gateway) didn’t really matter to me a great deal, other parties were split up - aka one girl got the Sheraton, her friend got the Doubletree - and they wouldn’t really help them"
It sounds like the party in question WAS helped in that they were given hotels, right? The fact that they were split up wasn't the end of the world. It's like being two traveling friends being accommodated on a sold out flight then frustrated that there are only two middle seats left 10 rows apart. It's midnight, who cares what hotel it is??? Also - and I'm not saying it's true or not -but MAYBE DL took the last room at one hotel and had to split the party up OR MAYBE they were co-workers traveling together and didn't want to be together at that point. Both of these sound unlikely but all I'm saying is that you (and me, and others), don't know the TOTAL PICTURE in terms of how these decisions are made. Just be grateful everyone got a hotel, and heck for 7 hours, Best Western is good with me. Perhaps others feel differently...
3) Also, I was never offered meal vouchers and was tired and irritated at this point and didn’t request them but the next morning on the shuttle back to ATL, I learned from some non-status passengers I recognized from the flight that they had somehow gotten breakfast vouchers.
you said yourself that you never requested vouchers but maybe the other non status person did request vouchers. Maybe THAT was the difference? yes, DL SHOULD be more proactive about offering vouchers but it's also up to the pax to be their best advocate.
Again, I'm sorry about your experience but all you have to do is read FT posts to know that more egregiously worse experiences have been encountered during IRROPS. and a final note: I thought it was an UN-STATED rule for Medallions that during IRROPS you don't actually go to a GA, you call the DL medallion line, they re-book you then you go to the interrupted travel kiosk and get all your materials. That's what I do and I've had great success doing that - at least it saves a ton of time - and might that have mitigated some lost time as well?
Jul 2, 2015, 7:44 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Programs: DL DM, Bonvoy LTT, HH Diam, UA Silver, USAF million miler ;)
Posts: 1,596
Reps should know that 150 people are in a situation that makes them very nervous (well except for the well-traveled) and act accordingly. Announcements that more people are coming, everyone will get a hotel, etc. go a long way. No sense of urgency (yapping on the phone) is just going to alienate a planeload of people. Just because you (the rep) do this every day doesn't mean your customers aren't anxious.
I'm with OP. Good tips on how to escape the crowd, but his complaint is valid.
I'm with OP. Good tips on how to escape the crowd, but his complaint is valid.
Jul 2, 2015, 7:49 am
#13
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM. 1MM
Posts: 2,045
and a final note: I thought it was an UN-STATED rule for Medallions that during IRROPS you don't actually go to a GA, you call the DL medallion line, they re-book you then you go to the interrupted travel kiosk and get all your materials. That's what I do and I've had great success doing that - at least it saves a ton of time - and might that have mitigated some lost time as well?
Jul 2, 2015, 7:50 am
#14
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Diego
Programs: IHG Spire Amb, HH Diamond, DL Diamond and 1MM
Posts: 3,610
Swissair
It was not so much as just dumping fuel. The Swissair flight crew went meticulously through a very long landing checklist with a fire burning near the cockpit. The flight may have been doomed regardless, but not landing immediately sealed their fate.
Jul 2, 2015, 8:27 am
#15
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,620
I have found SkyClub agents to be a mixed bag when it comes to helping passengers during irregular operations, some are willing to help, others and it seems to be a larger amount are less willing to help.
I have heard everything from the Gate has control of your record and there is nothing I can do, to I am way too busy checking in passengers to assist you, to my personal favorite, you will have to wait in line at the Gate like everyone else.
Oddly, it seems that smaller stations are more willing to help than mega hubs like ATL, but my worst experience ever was at MSY, so go figure.
My last major mechanical was ex-EWR and the agents at the SkyClub were awesome, they announced that those on the canceled flight come to the Front Desk with their boarding passes and then grab a drink or a snack, take a seat and relax and will re-book you and call your name out when we are finished.
Which was a great way to handle it as the passengers were calm, relaxed and comfortable and it felt like we were getting extra Special Service commensurate with the price of admission.
I have heard everything from the Gate has control of your record and there is nothing I can do, to I am way too busy checking in passengers to assist you, to my personal favorite, you will have to wait in line at the Gate like everyone else.
Oddly, it seems that smaller stations are more willing to help than mega hubs like ATL, but my worst experience ever was at MSY, so go figure.
My last major mechanical was ex-EWR and the agents at the SkyClub were awesome, they announced that those on the canceled flight come to the Front Desk with their boarding passes and then grab a drink or a snack, take a seat and relax and will re-book you and call your name out when we are finished.
Which was a great way to handle it as the passengers were calm, relaxed and comfortable and it felt like we were getting extra Special Service commensurate with the price of admission.