sethb

The luggage was likely checked before the downgrade, and Delta isn't going to ask for the cost after that.

SDQBound

We had a similar situation a month ago. Our flight was severely delayed, and the new arrival time was after the last flight to CDG departed. The agents at our departure airport didn't care about the passengers who were missing their connections at JFK, so we decided to take a look at the Delta App and it offered to rebook us the next day, still in Business. The app showed the new flights with the confirmed seats

Fast forward, we went to the gate agents to let them know we managed the rebooking ourselves since they were not doing anything about it, and also to ask for our luggage to be offloaded. When they printed out our new itinerary, it had me in Business but my wife downgraded to coach. There was one seat available in Business but they refused to assign it to her, arguing that they needed to keep it open for irrops (I thought this was an irrop). The only thing they could do was to place her in the upgrade list, and as she was rebooked in Y, she was at the top.

The next day, during check-in, we were informed that there was still a seat open, but there were passengers with higher status in the flight even though she was at the top of the list, and they felt like the medallions with higher status deserved the upgrade more than her. It took a half an hour argument to finally have her upgraded.

In the end, she flew Business not because Delta rebooked her, but because she was upgraded. Many will argue that she received the product she paid for, which we agree, on the other hand, if there is a seat available from the beginning, I don't see why we had to beg and complain in order to get what we paid for.

ijgordon

No, it doesn't.

sethb

It will. It shouldn't. Those of us who know the rules will have them apply, others will lose to agents who don't know the rules either.

sethb

You shouldn't have had to. What did Delta say when you reported the issue and asked them to train their agents better?

CalVol

Got an email today acknowledging I should have been re-booked in first class.

I was promised the issue would be brought to the attention of the Airport Customer Service team. I hope they actually do this.

And, as a "goodwill gesture" 15k sm were added to my account.

While a 2-3 hundred dollar voucher would have been a more accurate reflection of the actual price difference, I'm not offended by their offer.

I'm actually more peeved at the language used to characterize it.

I believe compensation in this case is not a "goodwill gesture" but a contractual obligation.

Thoughts?

sethb

I agree.

I wonder where all the "WFBF" apologists are. I've said before, "WFBFSICA" (Want First, Buy First, Sit In Coach Anyway).

MSPeconomist

The 15,000 miles were the apology, but you should *also* get the refund of the difference between coach at the time your ticket was purchased and what you paid for FC. If DL doesn't want to pay up, you could file a complaint with DOT.

SDQBound

Delta didn't say anything. We sent an email and didn't receive a response. The main issue is that our messages to Delta are redirected to AFKL, and their agents always have a canned response + 4,500 bonus miles as a gesture.

As far as training their agents better, this has been a consistent issue at SDQ, where agents work like machines and they don't seem to have any knowledge outside of what their little screen tells them, especially during IRROPS.

krlcomm

That's what I would do!

Seattlite

Other than the DOT, if you have not already done so I would contact Delta Corporate at 800-455-2720. Be prepared to provide them the case# assigned during your initial contact via "Contact Us."

If corporate refuses to grant you the price difference, definitely take it to DOT. I've found that when DL screws up and you can prove it, you're likely to be compensated justly only when you continue to push for fair compensation.