Flew on Jun 18 DFW-ATL-DXB in Biz using a 175K award. Seat map showed a 777LR on the ATL-DXB sectors so was really looking forward to trying out the new lie-flat seats. Got to ATL and was told there was going to be an A/C swap resulting in the tired old uncomfortable Biz Elite seats. Then we were told the flight would be delayed 30 mins and of course that turned into an hour delay. Took off and had a nice dinner which was served by an excellent crew. IFE and seats didn't work for an hour but after resetting the system they came back to life. The other pax started to get mad which I can't blame them. Sitting upright for 14 hrs wouldn't be fun. After dinner and a movie I took a tylenol PM to help get some sleep on that uncomfortable seat. Half asleep I heard the captain mention something about JFK and that we wouldn't have enough fuel to make it to DXB because we were consuming more fuel than normal. Sure enough the flight path on the video screen showed we had just made a 180 degree turn. This was 3.5 -4 hrs into the flight.
As we got nearer to JFK I noticed the Time to Destination changed from 45 minutes to 2:15. Captain then announced JFK didn't have a spare plane for us so ATL was our only alternative. Most people were asleep so they couldn't believe the FAs were awakening them on descent and telling them where we were landing. Kinda funny to see the reactions on their faces.
Landed at 6am back in ATL. Was informed the new flight would leave at 9:30am which turned into 10:30am. Got new boarding passes and again no luck on the 777LR. Feeling totally exhausted from lack of sleep and faced with another 14 hours in that same seat and a 3.5 hour wait, I started to mull over the cost/benefits of getting back on the flight. I was only going for 3 nites so now only two. Would arrive at 9am so I would probably have to go to the hotel and sleep a few hours to regain some sanity plus I would miss some of the arrangements my friends had made for me. Feeling less than wonderful I decided to return back to DFW. Agents were most helpful rebooking me and retagging my luggage and I got back to DFW at 11:30am. Of course my bag didn't arrive even though they showed it was retagged. Called today and they still are clueless as to where it is.
Of course I want my 175K in miles back. The DL agent said they would probably calculate what a First DFW-ATL-DFW costs and subtract that from the 175K. Is that normal procedure and is that fair? Plus I booked a non-cancelable rate at the Sheraton and I'm out $205 there. Think I'll be eligible to get that back? Should I ask for anything else?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MileTex
Of course I want my 175K in miles back. The DL agent said they would probably calculate what a First DFW-ATL-DFW costs and subtract that from the 175K. Is that normal procedure and is that fair? Plus I booked a non-cancelable rate at the Sheraton and I'm out $205 there. Think I'll be eligible to get that back? Should I ask for anything else?
Yes it is fair, you did fly a portion of the trip and could have continued to DXB but chose to fly back to DFW.
Yes it is fair, you did fly a portion of the trip and could have continued to DXB but chose to fly back to DFW.
No way you're getting the hotel back.
+1. DL was willing to get you to your destination, albeit a day late, and you chose not to go. You probably would have hard more luck taking the flight and asking for compensation after the fact, explaining what you had to go through.
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What a long story.
They do need to refund you 175k from the ticket and 25k just for ruining your trip.
Hope that if you tell the hotel your side of the story (and give them DL's number so they can cross refrence your story) that you will get a refund from that too.
This is yet another example of the need to standardize the BE cabin on the entire 777 fleet. Now that there are more planes on hand than routes that require/need them, for the love of all things decent I wish DL would convert all of the equipment over so that when these substitutions occur the customer isn't shafted.
If BE to DXB means one thing on one day and another thing on another day, there is no brand identity (other than, "We're haphazard and it shows").
We're talking about a grand total of 8 777E aircraft to convert.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyTLe
Yes it is fair, you did fly a portion of the trip and could have continued to DXB but chose to fly back to DFW.
No way you're getting the hotel back.
Nonsense, this is a classic case of a "trip in vain". The OP should get all his miles back plus sufficient miles or vouchers to compensate for the lost prepaid.
Mechanical issues (excess fuel loss or consumption) are 100% the airlines' liability.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeMpls
Nonsense, this is a classic case of a "trip in vain". The OP should get all his miles back plus sufficient miles or vouchers to compensate for the lost prepaid.
Mechanical issues (excess fuel loss or consumption) are 100% the airlines' liability.
Exactly.. They'd completely refund a "trip in vain" paid ticket. Why wouldn't they refund an award ticket??
From my history, they will refund all the miles, but you are on your own for the prepaid hotel room.
As an SPG plat, I'd explain to hotel manager.. I'd be surprised if they didin't accomodate you in one way or another (letting you credit that $ towards a future stay for ex.)
Sorry to hear your story. Too bad DL can't standardize their products. I'd rather take BA to DXB via LHR than take a chance on being downgraded. At least all of BA's long range fleet has Club World.
I really want to try the DL 777LR but it seems to be hit or miss. Not worth the gamble to me.
Even if you'd completed the trip you should be, per a conversation I've had with a DL rep, entitled for compensation for the downgrade of BE seats.
That would be most surprising, considering that DL refuses to re-credit miles for equipment downgrades to Y-only metal, if part of the trip remains in C or F.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdx
That would be most surprising, considering that DL refuses to re-credit miles for equipment downgrades to Y-only metal, if part of the trip remains in C or F.
I still stand by what I previously said, this was communicated to me in a personal email from someone in a position to comment not the "Contact Delta" email.
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Nonsense, this is a classic case of a "trip in vain". The OP should get all his miles back plus sufficient miles or vouchers to compensate for the lost prepaid.
Mechanical issues (excess fuel loss or consumption) are 100% the airlines' liability.
Agree completely with above. Had a very similar situation on an award ticket on AA. Mechanical delay on DFW-MIA caused overnight misconnect to international flight out of MIA and I decided to just give up and fly home to DFW instead of continuing with int'l trip that would have been cut short by a day. Got all my miles back after calling AA Customer Relations and explaining.
It did, however, take 4 weeks for my checked bag to make it home to DFW and when it did arrive some stuff had been stolen out of it!
Nonsense, this is a classic case of a "trip in vain". The OP should get all his miles back plus sufficient miles or vouchers to compensate for the lost prepaid.
Mechanical issues (excess fuel loss or consumption) are 100% the airlines' liability.
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