Rock72

I probably did a few things wrong here to cause this situation and I don't really know Delta but here's what happened. I'll try to include more details that maybe necessary because last time I assumed way too much and people got all over me for leaving info out (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...our-seats.html). After that last experience, I wasn't feeling too good about Delta but I had already booked this ticket many months ago so I couldn't get out of it. I also had everything on a single reservation this time (lucky since i booked this before flying last time).

I plan early and I planned a trip to PVR last year (around June iirc) and bought a one way ticket for my family + grandma + friend from SEA to PVR. I bought a return ticket on another airline (Alaska) because the return flight was more convenient for us at the time. I eventually bought a return ticket on Delta as our plans changed but that was more or less uneventful (well sorta but that's another story that i'll allude to at the end).

There were 7 of us on this flight (me, wife, kid #1 (10), kid #2 (2), kid #3 (1), grandma, my adult friend). However, kid #3 was on an infant ticket and did not have her own seat (lap child).

There is no way that I can see to purchase a lap child ticket (pay taxes, etc.) online. I added the lap child online in the special requests section so Delta had a record of this. I also read everything here: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_.../children.html but didn't see anything else that I needed to do. I called Delta on the phone as well just to make sure everything was good.

On 2/13/2016 we all went to the airport. The day before, I tried to print boarding passes and all were printed except for my wife since she also had the infant attached to her. It said that we had to take care of this at the airport.

Our flight had changed a few times over the course of the few months and at this point it was an 8am flight (was originally 8:50am or something like that). We got to the airport at 5:30am to check in 1 bag (planned to pay $25 to check it in) + get the boarding pass for my wife and infant.

I got in line at the baggage line where you drop off bags and the lady there said that they can't process infant boarding passes there so we have to go to the "special services" line. We went there and there were around 5 groups ahead of us. We initially though "ok, we still have about 2 hours at 15 minutes to flight time so we should be ok."

However, there were only 2 agents working that line at that hour and the line was simply not moving. The 2 agents were helping customers re-book flights and it was literally taking 30+ minutes per customer.

Each customer would get to the front of the line, the agent would say "you are within 1 hour of your flight time so the computer is not letting me print out a boarding pass for you because you will not make your flight on time through security. I am canceling your ticket and will re-book you...(and then proceed to discuss rebooking options later that day, the next day, etc.).

Obviously each customer was extremely angry so there was a lot of yelling, cussing, etc. Eventually the customer gives up and says "ok, get me on that (rebooked) flight" and then from that point on it was 20-40 minutes of the agent typing away on the computer, calling and being on hold, etc. I have no idea what they are doing or why it takes so long.

There was no one assisting customers already in line, trying to get customers with flights done quickly to prevent missing flights, etc.

Needless to say, it was extremely frustrating and by the time we got to the front of the line to an actual agent it was 7:10am. As expected, the agent said "your flight is leaving at 8am and it's 7:10am so it's too late, your seats are going to be canceled, we have to rebook you, etc...."

After trying to talk nicely for awhile and getting nowhere, our seats were canceled. At first the agent said "the earlier we can get you there is on the red eye in 2 days via MSP and you'll arrive 2 days late." Not acceptable. We tried alternatives like trying to get to LAX today and leaving from there tomorrow but they had no seats available for our group. I said it's ok to split us up as long as we can have 1 adult with 1 child (don't want children to travel alone) but she still couldn't do it. She said that she found a flight on Alaska but can't do it "since you guys missing this flight is not our fault." At that point my wife almost lost it saying "what do you mean it's not our fault? we've been in line since 5:45am and you only have 2 people working here in this line. everyone here is here on time but because of this long line by the time they get to the front of the line they are missing their flights." at which point she backed down a bit and said "let me check with my supervisor if she'll approve you guys to fly on Alaska"...and then she came back 20 minutes later, got on the phone, and miraculously found seats (agent said "she's a miracle worker!") on the same red eye flight that was to get us there 2 days later but would leave tonight and get us there 1 day late.

I was on my phone checking for seats and found availability on that flight within 2 minutes and told her but she said that her system is different...but in the end, she booked us on that flight. I don't know why their systems seem to be much worse than what I see online on google flight search, etc. Other customers were doing the same thing basically instructing the agent on available flights sooner than their suggestions and the agent would say "wow, thanks for letting me know"...

Once we agreed, it took another 40 minutes or so to get us all rebooked on the new flight. Then the agent said "for the infant seat, can you just take care of it later tonight? come back to the airport a little early since you have a 1am flight and just come at like 10pm and take care of it then" and i explained that the last thing i wanted to do was come back here and stand in this same line again and go through this again so i said that i'd like to take care of the infant seat now as well...that took another 45 minutes of her mostly on hold, etc.

we finally got out of there with that agent at 9am. Yes, it was almost 2 hours with that agent with her spending 30 minutes trying to find us a new flight, 45 minutes to rebook us on that flight, and another 45 minutes to get an infant boarding pass printed (with me giving her my credit card to pay for whatever taxes i need to pay for for the infant ticket). The agent was actually friendly and I don't know if I should even blame her (since all agents were doing the same thing) but I think it's more of a systemic issue.

we still had 16 hours until our new flight so i got the car back out of the parking lot, went out for breakfast, went home for a few hours, and came back to the airport that night. what was a 4 hour nonstop flight from SEA to PVR became a 3 hour redeye from 1am-6am (2 hour time difference) to MSP and then a 10am-2:30pm (4.5 hour) flight from MSP to PVR. Of course we had to do this with 2 infants, etc.

We also lost around $500 in hotel fees since it was within 24 hours (we couldn't cancel our first night hotel but they were gracious enough to not cancel our entire hotel reservation when I called them).

On the way back, we flew PVR-LAX-SEA and had a long layover in LAX (overnight). It was fine because it gave us an oppty to see some friends in LA and spend the night at their house. We checked in 1 bag again and the agent in PVR said that we'd have to pick up the bag in LAX and pay $25 again to check it in to SEA. Later in LAX we found out that was not the case and didn't have to pay again.

Also, the kiosks wouldn't let us print my wife's boarding pass again in LAX because of the infant and we were directed to the "special services" line again and that line also had 2 people working and it was taking forever (deja vu) but my wife spoke to a guy in the baggage line and he was nice enough to take care of it there so we didn't have to spend time in the special services line. we were about 3 hours early but still...

I filed a complaint with Delta but don't know if they will do anything to make this right. I'm not sure what else I can do other than show up at the airport even earlier (say 4am for an 8am flight - are the gates, etc. even open?). Did I miss something here?

This put me in a really pissy mood for about 2 days or so and then I was able to enjoy the rest of my vacation.

RVD.

Rock72

later when we were at home waiting around for the red eye, we realized that we all could have actually got onto the original flight except for my wife + infant since i had boarding passes already printed out (i'm also global entry / tsa precheck). i don't know if i would have felt good about leaving my wife behind to fly a red eye + another flight by herself with an infant but she was like "yeah you should have just gone ahead with everyone else except me + infant"...

that option was never brought up by the agent and we didn't think of it until we were at home.

keloutwest

Well, this is a tough situation. I always hate when these types of issues happens with DL since they are MUCH better than the other legacy US carriers.

With that said, a few thoughts:

DL won't cover your hotel. It just won't happen. But usually explaining to the hotel that the airline caused a delay will get the night canceled free of charge. Hindsight but I'd still have told the hotel upon arrival.

As for the waiting in line piece. Yes DL was understaffed. But if you overheard the 1 hour issue with other customers, I'd have made a comment with another agent before that hour.

You've done what you can at this point. DL will apologize and send a few miles your direction. If you're not happy with the offer, thank them but ask to escalate to a supervisor, adding (3 sentences or less) your reason why what they're offering isn't acceptable.

Good luck. Please report back the outcome.

Rock72

Oh, I don't expect Delta to do anything about the hotel. I just consider it lost. Just venting a bit on that one.

I guess they'll give me some points and I'll probably be fine with it.

I'd be happier if DL learns sometimes to prevent this in the future. Infant boarding passes should not require a passenger to stand in a line that is full of people who have needs that take a much longer time. It also shouldn't take 30+ minutes to rebook someone or to process an infant boarding pass. It just shouldn't. Invest in the technology to make it so it's not like that. I work in tech and it does bother me when I see things like this (on another note, the initial healthcare.gov debacle annoyed me a lot too).

I have no status with DL (I was gold 15 years ago and that's about it...haven't flown them much since). It's just frustrating when you see massive incompetence that I'm pretty sure results in Delta losing money. It's probably not good for them either to have all of these passengers miss flights. The line got longer and longer and was about 1/2 full of families with infants trying to get boarding passes. It was also the Saturday before President's Day so they should have known that the airports would be busy. They eventually added more staff to that line (6 or 7 ppl were working by the time I got out of there at 9am).

My complaint was filed via twitter and they said that they should get back within 30 days. It's been a week and I haven't heard anything so I'm posting here. I also just got back from this vacation last night and didn't really want to spend my entire vacation going back and forth with them on this.

Rock72

I flew to Korea last April with an infant lap child (via Korean Air) and it was a simple process to get the infant boarding pass and to check in bags.

That's the only other infant experience I have going internationally (since I was going to PVR).

Domestically I have flown on Southwest many times with an infant lap child and I always have to stand in their full service line but it's a single line and it moves relatively quickly (no agent ever spends more than 5-10 minutes or so with a customer...definitely not 30+ minutes). They are sticklers about verifying the infant's age (even a few month old newborn who is obviously <2 years old they want to see a birth certificate, passport, etc.) but it is relatively efficient.

It could be recent sampling error but I only started flying Delta again recently because they came into SEA and added a lot of flights here. But with my last experience of getting our seats moved around last minute and this one of actually missing our flight causing massive inconvenience...I think I'm just going to stick to Alaska. I don't have any more outstanding flights with Delta books although I think I have some gift certificates so we'll see what I decide to do.

Rock72

funny enough I just got a response back from the Delta team. Bottom line is that since even I admit that I got there about 2.5 hours early, it was not 3 hours early so it's my fault. Lesson learned. I don't think I've ever taken a flight to Mexico (or anywhere intl) at 8am so a 5am arrival didn't occur to me but I guess I should have known better.

Their response:

Hello (name),

RE: Case Number (bleh)

Thank you for contacting our Delta Social Media team about your
experience on February 13 when you were traveling from Seattle (SEA) to
Puerto Vallarta (PVR). I understand you had difficulty getting your
infant checked in online. I’m sorry you weren’t aware that infants need
to be checked in at the ticket counter and that as a result of waiting
for assistance at the special services counter you missed your flight.

Within 24 hours of your flight departure, you can check in from your
computer or mobile device in just a few steps. That said, each passenger
traveling with an infant is still required to check-in at the counter.
As a point of information and not to lessen your experience, the
recommended arrival time at the airport prior to departure of
international flights is 3 hours. When traveling to/from a destination
outside the United States, you must be checked in at least 60 minutes
before your scheduled departure time and it is required that originating
passengers be at the gate and ready to board at least 45 minutes before
your scheduled departure time. This minimum requirement applies to all
customers checking-in, with or without baggage. Customers who fail to
complete check-in within our requirements or they are at risk of having
their reservation cancelled.

I’m sorry to learn you’re disappointed with how your flight was
rebooked. We always try to route our passengers to their destinations as
quickly, and with as little disruption, as possible. I was glad however
that they rebooked you without a fee. Your feedback is important and I
will share it with our SEA Airport Customer Service Leadership team.

Lastly, I am sorry to learn you incurred fees due to your delayed
arrival in PVR. Due to the many variables involved in air travel,
schedules cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, our liability in any
situation does not extend to pre-paid hotel expenses or fees. While we
deeply regret the inconvenience we caused you, respectfully, we are
unable to provide compensation or reimbursement in this instance.

In closing, I’m sorry your family’s experience wasn’t what you expected.
We hope to have the opportunity to restore your confidence on a future
flight.

Regards,

(name)

FlyingNone

Why didn't you ask for a red coat (lead or supervisor) when you realized how much time was being given to groups of people ahead of you ? That's what these people are there for.

Rock72

1) I didn't know what a red coat was at the time but the lady wearing the red coat was not around very much. She did come by at around 7am to say "anyone with a flight 8am or later, please come up to the front" and we were right there in the front of the line so I went up to the front. We were already next in line though and the agent said "why are you here, she was supposed to say anyone with a flight that they won't miss" and I just said "she looked at my reservation printed out and since it said 8am she told me to come here."

2) Once she was there, another guy in a blue shirt who had one of the agents for the past 1 hour working on his situation got really mad and went to the red coat lady and said a lot of things to her and she went to a desk and helped him for the next hour.

cappilot

Did you pay for the infant ticket and receive the paper ticket in the mail? Ticketing an international lap child ticket is a manual process. You would have needed to ensure the child's name, DOB, your CC number, and address were in the SSR. If you waited to do this at the airport the request for ticketing goes to GTS and then takes time to actually confirm.

Rock72

I did not pay and receive the infant ticket over the mail. I realize now (after they told me) that it's a manual process where they have a call a central phone number, etc.

As far as I can tell, there is no way for me to do it online and there's no mention of any process to do it ahead of time in their help pages or in the screens where to add an infant on the website when you edit/add info to your ticket.

I realize that it takes a long time but I still question why it needs to take so long in this day and age.

MSPeconomist

When did the requirement to be at the gate and ready to board an international flight go from 30 to 45 minutes? And when did the DL recommendation on when to arrive at the airport change from 2 to 3 hours for an international flight? However, I agree that more than 2 hours should have been allowed in the OP's situation of not being able to complete OLCI for all passengers and especially needing to purchase and have the infant ticket issued at the airport.

flyerCO

Some airports have higher cutoffs. I know the last time I flew from SEA, they where one of the airports to have such requirements. Mainly due to security and then need to take tram out to terminal. Of course this has been two or three years, I normally only transit SEA and then only if I can't avoid it.

MSPGabe

Searching Infant on Delta.com, right under Children's Fares and Ticketing:

Travel Between Countries
You may find discounted child fares when traveling outside the U.S. or when traveling between certain countries. The price of the ticket will depend on the age of the child. Taxes & fees may also apply to infants held in the adult's lap.

For assistance with your discounted child fare or infant ticket please call Delta Reservations Office. For infant tickets please have your confirmation code available or allow extra time and purchase at the airport.


2 hours before departure for international flights is fine if traveling alone, or with seasoned travelers. With such a large group including small children, 3 is a no brainer, IMO.

PayItForward

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...uirements.html

Rock72

Well, definitely a lesson learned for me on this one. I traveled a few times (so somewhat limited experience) with infants on international flights and I never went 3 hours early (usually around 2.5 hours or so early was more than enough time). I tend to be the type that goes early too so it's a bit surprising to me even though it looks like they state that in their guidelines.

For personal travel when it's just me, I usually get to the airport about 1-1.5 hours early for a domestic flight with no bags to check in (usually results in me waiting around the gate for 45 min - 1 hour) and for international I usually get to the airport around 2 hours early and even then end up waiting around a lot. I do have tsa precheck though so security rarely takes more than 10 minutes (although I've waited as long as around 30 minutes). I used to also have Clear when I lived in another city and that made security pretty quick. Most of my co-workers get to the airport about 30 min or so before the flight departs and I get nervous when I'm with them.

I have also had a few experiences in the past where I got to the airport really early only to find nobody at airport check-in counters so I had to wait around for them to show up.

Sounds like at 5am this place would have been bustling. I am still not sure I would have made it since it also took 45 minutes for them to process payment for the infant so even if I had gotten there 30 minutes sooner, it would have been really tight (probably too late) for me to make it after the wait but I guess it's neither here nor there at this point.

I'm not sure if it's a normal day but in the time I was in that line, I would guess that around 100 people missed their flights due to the same situation as us. At least for me, I had never seen that before.

And yes, I will definitely get to the airport much earlier in the future. On the way back from PVR, my flight was at 5:30 and I got to the airport at 2:30 after this experience. We got our infant boarding pass and checked in our bag and we were at the gate at 3pm so we had a pretty long wait to kill time at that gate but oh well...better safe than sorry I guess.