Delta charges group of military on orders $2,800 USD to check extra bags - in error.
Someone in the PR group will start the day off in a bad mood. You'd think DL would have learned from the AA debacle a while back, that lead to the change in policy to give free bags to military on orders (upto 4 bags).
Will the first or second bag policy apply to active U.S. Military personnel checking bags?
No. U.S. Military personnel on active duty with travel orders may check in 3 bags in Economy Class and up to 4 checked bags in First/Business on Delta aircraft or Delta Connection® carriers, at no additional charge. Each bag has a maximum weight of 70 lbs (32 kg) and size of 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Judging from the video, they are in Economy Class.
Still, Delta should just refund the money. How many millions of dollars did they make in bag fees last year?
We realize many of you have questions regarding members of the United States Military traveling with us on active duty today from BWI, and we want to take this opportunity to answer some of the recurring questions we’ve been hearing in our social media channels, as well as share some insight into our policies and procedures.
First and foremost we want you, our customers, to know how deeply Delta respects and admires the men and women who fight every day for our country. On a personal level, we as a company have very strong ties to the armed forces, with countless employees, family, friends and loved ones serving actively or on reserve, and many more who are retired from military service. I myself am the proud wife of an Army reservist here in Georgia. We at Delta understand what it takes to travel as an active duty member of the military, which is why we worked hard to ensure our policies allow active duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling with us additional flexibility.
Currently, Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling on orders may check up to 4 bags in First/Business class and 3 bags in Coach for free both domestically and internationally. Additionally, to help with the travel process, we allow each bag to weight an extra 20 pounds over the standard allowance. You can read more on this policy on delta.com.
In the case of today’s situation, we would like to publicly apologize to those service men and women for any miscommunication regarding our current policies as well as any inconvenience we may have caused. We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.
We thank you for your questions and remain happy to answer any additional questions you may have. We’ll also be sharing updates along the way to keep you informed.
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We realize many of you have questions regarding members of the United States Military traveling with us on active duty today from BWI, and we want to take this opportunity to answer some of the recurring questions we’ve been hearing in our social media channels, as well as share some insight into our policies and procedures.
First and foremost we want you, our customers, to know how deeply Delta respects and admires the men and women who fight every day for our country. On a personal level, we as a company have very strong ties to the armed forces, with countless employees, family, friends and loved ones serving actively or on reserve, and many more who are retired from military service. I myself am the proud wife of an Army reservist here in Georgia. We at Delta understand what it takes to travel as an active duty member of the military, which is why we worked hard to ensure our policies allow active duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling with us additional flexibility.
Currently, Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling on orders may check up to 4 bags in First/Business class and 3 bags in Coach for free both domestically and internationally. Additionally, to help with the travel process, we allow each bag to weight an extra 20 pounds over the standard allowance. You can read more on this policy on delta.com.
In the case of today’s situation, we would like to publicly apologize to those service men and women for any miscommunication regarding our current policies as well as any inconvenience we may have caused. We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.
We thank you for your questions and remain happy to answer any additional questions you may have. We’ll also be sharing updates along the way to keep you informed.
Wow - amazing response from DL They really do get social media.
Wow - amazing response from DL They really do get social media.
I actually kind of feel bad for Delta -- the soldiers may have misunderstood the baggage limit and made the video out of frustration, but Delta didn't do anything outside of their policies.
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What is this contract with 4 bags they are saying the Government has with Delta???? Delta's site clearly states 3 bags in Economy and 4 in first class. If there is some sort of contract where Delta is to allow four bags in economy then they have a legit complaint.
I was also under the impression that if someone was travelling on military orders they got reimbursed frmo the government.
The US government should be reimbursing these people for their service. The policy that would make sense would be for Delta to get reimbursed by the government and not have the soldiers involved.
It appears that Southwest only allows three bags for military on orders as does America, so their policies aren't out of line with the competitions.
What would flyertalkers be saying if these guys were not in the armed forces?
Just to play devil's advocate here, why should Delta be subsidizing the military's shipping costs? It used to be, the military would issue a GBAT to cover the cost of shipping military supplies.
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One would think... with BWI being a MAJOR transition point for soldiers on deployment that the Delta employees there would have been more versed in the "rules" for military personnel.
Glad that Delta stepped forward, but jeez something like this could/should have been easily prevented. Talk about a PR nightmare for SMI et al.
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I actually kind of feel bad for Delta -- the soldiers may have misunderstood the baggage limit and made the video out of frustration, but Delta didn't do anything outside of their policies.
exactly, I don't understand, it sounds like Delta followed their policy. They were in economy, they checked 3 bags, they paid for 4th, per Delta policy. I mean if they don't like the policy, that's one thing, but why is Delta apologizing for following their own policy.
exactly, I don't understand, it sounds like Delta followed their policy. They were in economy, they checked 3 bags, they paid for 4th, per Delta policy. I mean if they don't like the policy, that's one thing, but why is Delta apologizing for following their own policy.