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April 5, 2017: Delta cancels 300 flights due to thunderstorm

Old Apr 8, 2017, 1:28 pm
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Last edit by: Renes Points
Great explanation about Crew Tracking & Scheduling and what went wrong: Post #590

[Feel free to edit / add to the timeline of DL events.]

First waver ATL only and only 5-7 and by 11th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170406...perations.html

Second waver "all" hubs and 5-9 and by 16th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170407...perations.html

April 6th COO Gil West apology and blames "unprecedented" ( 5 hour ) storm / weather: http://news.delta.com/chief-operatin...cedented-storm

April 7 & 8 Five things to know list: http://news.delta.com/5-things-custo...tions-saturday

April 7th In midst of service fail Delta devalues SkyMiles with partners: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...000-miles.html

April 8th updates on operations: http://news.delta.com/operational-re...ontinues-today

April 12th will be $DAL earnings live and should yield more info: http://ir.delta.com/news-and-events/...s/default.aspx

April 9, 11:40 PM (EDT): What appears to be the last cancellation of the meltdown was made for DL2682/10Apr BOS-LGA (717 aircraft)

April 11th - Delta begins to pay out compensation for impacted travelers: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1835970-early-april-operation-disruption-compensation.html

Other coverage of the event:

Pilots board relating to this epic fail: https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/d...-atl-irop.html

Factors compounding delays/cancellations:
  • Weather in ATL April 5
  • DL terminating interline with AA
  • Delta's systems crashing/overloaded
  • DL's crew scheduling system crashed [rumor?]
  • Rumored short-term power outage in ATL A concourse caused by airport construction some time around Tuesday-Wednesday

Current delay statistics: Flightaware's live flight delay and cancellation statistics

News coverage:

BuzzFeedNews: Delta Has Canceled Thousands Of Flights And Everyone Is In Hell - No spring break is safe. (Posted on April 7, 2017, at 11:59 a.m.)

The Southampton Press: Cancelled Flight Dashes Disney Dream For Hampton Bays Marching Band (April 7, 2017 11:30 AM)

USA Today: Thousands of Delta flights canceled days after storms (Published 8:53 a.m. ET April 8, 2017)

CNN - Delta meltdown: Pilots are on hold, too (Updated 6:52 PM ET, Sat April 8, 2017)

The Wall Street Journal - Delta Struggles to Recover From Last Weeks Storms (April 9, 2017 12:23 p.m. ET)

AJC.com: Delta woes stretch into Sunday with more cancellations (11:57 a.m. Sunday, April 9, 2017)

AJC.com: Why one day of thunderstorms turned into a five-day Delta meltdown (12:01 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)

Detroit Free Press: Headaches continue for Delta fliers in Detroit (Published 2:26 p.m. ET April 9, 2017 Updated 5:54 p.m. ET April 9, 2017)

CNN - Delta tries to 'normalize' as flight cancellations continue (Updated 4:06 PM ET, Sun April 9, 2017)

New York Times: Storms, Though Over, Still Disrupt Delta Flights (APRIL 9, 2017)

NewsChannel5.com - Nashville Man's Body Stranded After Delta Flight Chaos (4:24 PM April 9, 2017)

CBS North Carolina: Raleigh parents upset after sons body stranded during Delta flight chaos (April 9, 2017, 8:14 pm Updated: April 10, 2017, 5:35 am)

AJC.com: Delta reassures customers as delays continue through weekend (5:53 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)

AJC.com: Hundreds of stranded bags left at Hartsfield-Jackson in aftermath of Delta flight cancellations (9:29 a.m. Monday, April 10, 2017)

Bloomberg: Delta Delays Drag On, Testing Passengers' Patience (April 9, 2017, 4:10 PM EDT Updated On April 10, 2017, 10:13 AM EDT)

BuzzFeedNews: Delta Suffered "Failure of Crew Tracking Systems" During Cancelled Flight Fiasco - "I feel like we are lost in the system." (Originally posted on April 11, 2017, at 3:28 p.m. Updated on April 12, 2017, at 10:38 a.m. )

Reuters (posted on BusinessInsider): Delta's profit drops 36.3% (Apr. 12, 2017, 7:20 AM)

AJC.com - Accused child rapist caught at airport when flight is delayed (7:39 p.m Thursday, April 13, 2017)
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April 5, 2017: Delta cancels 300 flights due to thunderstorm

Old Apr 8, 2017, 8:42 am
  #406  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: ATL
Posts: 1,906
Originally Posted by Justin026
There are only so many miles to go around in this world, and you will be taking them from someone more in need. How can you live with yourself?
I'm a horrible person

Originally Posted by EZE
Uhm yes....saw offfers as high as $1,300 per person Amex Gift Card plus hotel yesterday
Looks like I'm making the 10 minute drive to the airport tonight!! Heck, may even take advantage of the SC for the flight I'm not taking!
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 8:53 am
  #407  
 
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Originally Posted by nichelle
Well, well, well.. .what an interesting read.
Originally Posted by EZE
Uhm yes....saw offfers as high as $1,300 per person Amex Gift Card plus hotel yesterday
I'm actually hoping that my ATL-SNA needs volunteers or similar. I don't really need to go home yet as I don't travel for 2 weeks. So nice to get something.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:00 am
  #408  
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Originally Posted by WWads
Sounds like Delta needs to suck it up and start sending people to any airline that they can, interline or not. Some people are still in ATL, having been there since Thursday (or even Wednesday, God help them).
What are the procedures rebook on other airlines with which they don't have an interline agreement? Can they issue FIMs and have the receiving carrier bill the sending carrier full fare, or is the process absolutely and 100% completely detached and Delta literally has to whip out the corporate credit card and enter it into AA.com or something?
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:04 am
  #409  
 
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Anybody in ATL to report what it's like today? I'm supposed to fly through ATL to LHR tonight, and have no idea if it's ridiculous to believe my flight in or out of ATL will actually happen. Seems like trying to get in and out of there today still seems relatively improbable...

That said, the odds of being able to call and get it changed to go through JFK or something seem slim if the phone wait times are hours. And is that even any better?
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:04 am
  #410  
 
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Originally Posted by jackal
What are the procedures rebook on other airlines with which they don't have an interline agreement? Can they issue FIMs and have the receiving carrier bill the sending carrier full fare, or is the process absolutely and 100% completely detached and Delta literally has to whip out the corporate credit card and enter it into AA.com or something?
You don't/can't book them.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:11 am
  #411  
 
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Originally Posted by laxrdu
Anybody in ATL to report what it's like today? I'm supposed to fly through ATL to LHR tonight, and have no idea if it's ridiculous to believe my flight in or out of ATL will actually happen. Seems like trying to get in and out of there today still seems relatively improbable...

That said, the odds of being able to call and get it changed to go through JFK or something seem slim if the phone wait times are hours. And is that even any better?
ATL-LHR should be fine. The international flights are usually the first priority during IRROPS, and none were cancelled yesterday. Getting to ATL might be tricky, but things are a little better today than yesterday. As long as your XXX-ATL flight isn't cancelled, you should hopefully be Ok.

Originally Posted by OHDL1
You don't/can't book them.
Delta could in theory just pay the full walkup fare, right? That's what they should be doing at this point.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:27 am
  #412  
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Originally Posted by OHDL1
You don't/can't book them.
Huh.

Found a couple of fun, juicy quotes in this article: https://skift.com/2016/08/11/deltas-...ival-airlines/

In an interview with the Associated Press, Delta CEO Ed Bastian downplayed the interline issue, saying it probably only affected passengers in isolated situations.
In a blog post written after Delta canceled its agreement with American, airline industry analyst Brett Snyder predicted Delta eventually might regret its decision.
I guess this qualifies as "an isolated situation," ha. Maybe this week is the week Delta finally regrets its decision to cancel the interline agreement...
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:37 am
  #413  
 
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When exactly did all of this begin? I spent a good 9 or 8 hours at JFK on Tuesday, 4/4, as well as many others due to delays across the board. Flight was scheduled to leave around 5pm and wasn't in the air until after midnight. Basically any DL flight that wasn't TATL or to another East Coast destination appeared to be delayed and the gate agents swore that they didn't know anything. There was a weather waiver in affect for NYC, but nothing ever materialized while I was still there. Taking a look at FlightRadar24 and it appeared that several inbounds had been delayed 3-4 hours as far as 2 or 3 flights back. I was eventually rebooked, got to the gate and that flight was then delayed 4 or so hours because the inbound from BOS had arrived in BOS from MSP 3 hours late which has me questioning why they waited so late to post the delay if the flight was behind schedule 2 or more legs back. There was also another flight that had been significantly delayed, "waiting for flight attendants" according to the gate agent, only to find they had no pilots.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:45 am
  #414  
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Below is a screen shot of a bulletin posted to Delta.com at 8:40 AM Saturday, April 8 -- the third item begins "If you are traveling Friday"....
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:46 am
  #415  
 
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How long do you think this can last? I'm starting to wonder if I'll have risk to my travel plans for Thursday.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:51 am
  #416  
 
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Delta is definitely covering something up here. (Haven't people learned that the cover-up is always what gets you in the most trouble?) They're clearly having IT/operational issues that have NOTHING to do with the weather, and they are purposely covering it up so that they won't have to issue compensation. (I imagine some executives gleefully rubbing their hands together that these thunderstorms happened by to give them an excuse.) As horrible as this is for all the passengers, the real scandal is at the executive level, I imagine. I hope some muck-raking journalists get hold of this and attack it like a pit-bull.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:55 am
  #417  
 
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Originally Posted by hotturnip
Delta is definitely covering something up here. (Haven't people learned that the cover-up is always what gets you in the most trouble?) They're clearly having IT/operational issues that have NOTHING to do with the weather, and they are purposely covering it up so that they won't have to issue compensation. (I imagine some executives gleefully rubbing their hands together that these thunderstorms happened by to give them an excuse.) As horrible as this is for all the passengers, the real scandal is at the executive level, I imagine. I hope some muck-raking journalists get hold of this and attack it like a pit-bull.
Someone needs to send the pilot forum thread above and this thread to a few news stations.
Somethjng is amiss.
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 9:55 am
  #418  
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Originally Posted by hotturnip
As horrible as this is for all the passengers, the real scandal is at the executive level, I imagine. I hope some muck-raking journalists get hold of this and attack it like a pit-bull.
Delta's next earning call is on Wednesday -- Delta.com: Delta Air Lines Announces Webcast of March Quarter 2017 Financial Results
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 10:04 am
  #419  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Originally Posted by jackal
Found a couple of fun, juicy quotes in this article
Ha, yeah - fun times. As I've said elsewhere - I totally get Delta's calculus when they cancelled the interline. In effect, they thought the "price" they were paying - in the form of disproportionately more IRROP reaccomm's from AA - was too high for what they were getting back in return. But that's the thing about insurance policies - which is, in a sense, what interlines are: you never really know for sure what they're worth. Looking back in hindsight, while it's impossible to ever really know, I'd be curious to know - since last August's IT meltdown - how that whole 5:1 ratio of AA-to-Delta interline reaccomm's would have changed had the interline have still been there. Something tells me it would have come closer to parity.

Now in this case, I totally get that AA's flights - especially in and out of ATL - are probably all full anyway given spring break and Delta flyers self-booking onto AA. But that said, regardless of what the financial analysts at headquarters concluded, I'm quite sure that Delta's operations people - gate and res agents - would love the option of even just a few seats on AA today, especially since, as already stated, the airline that most overlaps Delta in and around ATL in the southeastern U.S. is AA. With thousands of people disrupted, every seat helps.

Last edited by commavia; Apr 8, 2017 at 10:19 am
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Old Apr 8, 2017, 10:10 am
  #420  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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I was scheduled to fly OAK-SLC-TUS today. Staff at OAK are useless. Even though delta.com showed plenty of seats on a 2pm departure today they would only offer the same flight 24 hours later. Would not allow UA out of SFO instead. Trying to phone instead but so far on hold for almost 2 hours.

Via delta.com I managed to get a new OAK-LAX-TUS this afternoon but with a 3hr 50min layover in LAX. Once I get through on the phone, would it be reasonable to ask for a UA flight from LAX to TUS that would cut my layover down to 1hr 55min?
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