Flight returned to ATL mid-atlantic, advice needed
Hello fellow flyertalkers,
I am not usually complaining to Delta, but yesterday (Saturday, Dec 8) I feel that I went through some unusual experience and I would like to see some recognition of this fact from Delta.
Background: I am diamond, flew Dec 8, DL 108 ATL-MAD. After the usual delay in the pushback (about one hour due to some minor mechanical issues) we take-off and about three hours later (over the Atlantic) we are informed by the captain that the plane has several systems failures including autopilot and we will return to Atlanta.
All in all I flew for about 6-7 hours just to return to ATL, wait for two more hours and leave in a new aircraft (with some unusual problems: no headsets, only cold food in the form of a sandwich, etc.).
In the past for significant delays (2-3 hours ) Delta was reasonable and sent an e-mail saying they are sorry for the delay and offered 3-4k miles. That was a nice gesture, but this time nothing is happening, as if this experience is something normal that does not need acknowledgement.
So the question: should I contact Delta about this or I should wait for a few days and see what is happening? What kind of compensation I should expect for this type of problems?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter,
Little
P.S. I asked some of the flight attendants and some said that it never happened to them this type of problem, some said that it happened several (5 or so) years ago.
I'm surprised that they returned all the way to ATL. If the mechanical situation was bad enough, why wouldn't they return to the closest diversion airport? Or if it was safe enough, why wouldn't they return to the closest airport where Delta has a maintenance facility, such as BOS or JFK.
I'd write to Delta, just to get an understanding of what actually happened and why. But I wouldn't complain just yet. Give them a couple of days to see what they offer you first. If you feel that's insufficient, then I'd certainly complain.
But before you complain too much, remember that the actions taken by the crew were done for your safety. Yes, you were inconvenienced. At the same time, you're still alive and didn't crash into the north Atlantic.
Had something similar happen several years ago. Made it close to halfway from ATL to MUC and turned back due to hydraulic system issues. Initially they were going to go back to JFK since it was closer, but decided ATL could handle the issue better. We got back around midnight and they put us up in hotels and rescheduled the flight for the following day. They were only handing out $100 vouchers to people. They gave me a hotel voucher for a hotel that was full and I got additional $200 voucher when I complained about it (I wrote in and asked for reimbursement, but they refused and gave me the voucher instead). This was early in the merger with NW and I was using my NW Worldperks account, so I don't think I ranked as high as a true Delta Medallions at the time.
I'm surprised that they returned all the way to ATL. If the mechanical situation was bad enough, why wouldn't they return to the closest diversion airport? Or if it was safe enough, why wouldn't they return to the closest airport where Delta has a maintenance facility, such as BOS or JFK.
I'd write to Delta, just to get an understanding of what actually happened and why. But I wouldn't complain just yet. Give them a couple of days to see what they offer you first. If you feel that's insufficient, then I'd certainly complain.
But before you complain too much, remember that the actions taken by the crew were done for your safety. Yes, you were inconvenienced. At the same time, you're still alive and didn't crash into the north Atlantic.
Thanks for the fast reply. Being diamond you can imagine that I have flown my share but that announcement by the captain was pretty scary. Even the flight attendants were "concerned", although, being professionals were able to hide it reasonably well.
I totally agree with you: the most important thing is the safety, but in this type of circumstances I would expect an e-mail from Delta describing the problem and acknowledging an unusual situation. So far nothing was sent...
About BOS or JFK: that is a good question: I have no idea why they returned us all the way to ATL. I assume that because it was already late (around midnight probably when we would have reached BOS/JFK) they did not have a crew and/or an airplane ready at that location. The mechanical failures were serious enough that they thankfully swapped the plane rather than try to fix it (and delay for hours and hours the departure).
Had something similar happen several years ago. Made it close to halfway from ATL to MUC and turned back due to hydraulic system issues. Initially they were going to go back to JFK since it was closer, but decided ATL could handle the issue better. We got back around midnight and they put us up in hotels and rescheduled the flight for the following day. They were only handing out $100 vouchers to people. They gave me a hotel voucher for a hotel that was full and I got additional $200 voucher when I complained about it (I wrote in and asked for reimbursement, but they refused and gave me the voucher instead). This was early in the merger with NW and I was using my NW Worldperks account, so I don't think I ranked as high as a true Delta Medallions at the time.
Thanks for your input.
At least in our situation they had an airplane ready to go (one of the previous NWA airplanes)... btw: I was also one of the NWA platinums transferred over Delta a few years ago.
In this case we had the "autopilot system failure with some other systems". The explanation was that without autopilot a plane is not allowed to cross the Atlantic (although my issue was: we were already over the Atlantic, roughly mid-way to the destination, so why return in this situation?).
The explanation was that without autopilot a plane is not allowed to cross the Atlantic (although my issue was: we were already over the Atlantic, roughly mid-way to the destination, so why return in this situation?).
Your flight was not exactly mid way over the Atlantic. Looking at the flight path, it was much closer to the US than to Europe.
Your flight was not exactly mid way over the Atlantic. Looking at the flight path, it was much closer to the US than to Europe.
Yes Pedro, after seeing the flight path from flightaware I now see that we were much closer to the US. This information was not provided in the plane at that time. According to the time-frame we were about 3 hours in the flight when we went back to ATL so I assumed we were much further away...
I am not usually complaining to Delta, but yesterday (Saturday, Dec 8) I feel that I went through some unusual experience and I would like to see some recognition of this fact from Delta.
Background: I am diamond, flew Dec 8, DL 108 ATL-MAD. After the usual delay in the pushback (about one hour due to some minor mechanical issues) we take-off and about three hours later (over the Atlantic) we are informed by the captain that the plane has several systems failures including autopilot and we will return to Atlanta.
All in all I flew for about 6-7 hours just to return to ATL, wait for two more hours and leave in a new aircraft (with some unusual problems: no headsets, only cold food in the form of a sandwich, etc.).
In the past for significant delays (2-3 hours ) Delta was reasonable and sent an e-mail saying they are sorry for the delay and offered 3-4k miles. That was a nice gesture, but this time nothing is happening, as if this experience is something normal that does not need acknowledgement.
So the question: should I contact Delta about this or I should wait for a few days and see what is happening? What kind of compensation I should expect for this type of problems?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter,
Little
P.S. I asked some of the flight attendants and some said that it never happened to them this type of problem, some said that it happened several (5 or so) years ago.
FlightAware is showing that your originating flight was in the air for 5:16 hours, and that it was north of BDA when it turned around.
Your experience was not a normal "delay", but rather a situation where the flight crew, in coordination with DL ops returned you safely to ATL, and then transported you safely to MAD in a reasonably timely fashion. Would you have rather waited for an additional couple of hours in ATL, while the new plane was properly catered and equipped with the standard amenities?
If it were me, I wouldn't be concerned about compensation, but rather would be sending a "Thank You, Delta" e-mail.
FlightAware is showing that your originating flight was in the air for 5:16 hours, and that it was north of BDA when it turned around.
Your experience was not a normal "delay", but rather a situation where the flight crew, in coordination with DL ops returned you safely to ATL, and then transported you safely to MAD in a reasonably timely fashion. Would you have rather waited for an additional couple of hours in ATL, while the new plane was properly catered and equipped with the standard amenities?
If it were me, I wouldn't be concerned about compensation, but rather would be sending a "Thank You, Delta" e-mail.
First of all: I did not care about the catering or other things at that point. I do care about my safety and time. My feeling is that today more and more mechanical issues "just happen" than before when I was flying with NWA.
That being said I had a quite unusual experience (for me) that was not yet acknowledged by Delta.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by little4ce
Thanks for your input.
At least in our situation they had an airplane ready to go (one of the previous NWA airplanes)... btw: I was also one of the NWA platinums transferred over Delta a few years ago.
In this case we had the "autopilot system failure with some other systems". The explanation was that without autopilot a plane is not allowed to cross the Atlantic (although my issue was: we were already over the Atlantic, roughly mid-way to the destination, so why return in this situation?).
Couldn't have been a previous NWA airplane as NW didn't have 767-300ERs. I would assume they decided to go back to ATL because a) it was closer than continuing to MAD, b) is the major Delta hub with mechanics that could fix the plane - MAD is an outstation and wouldn't have the parts and DL mechanics, it would be contract workers, and c) if one of the major systems on the aircraft fails over the Atlantic, what happens if other systems fail?? You were closer to the US coast than Europe --- from the flight path you appeared to still be about 5 hours from MAD and only 2.5-3 hours from ATL - obviously quite a bit closer than that to the US coast where other airports could have been possibilities.
I have been on a 757 that had power issues before flying ATL-GYE where we lost a generator right after takeoff (lights flickered) and then a second one just south of Cuba (all power went out) at which point we had to turn back and go to MIA and then wait for about 6 hours for them to scramble to get a plane. Point being, although extremely rare, these things do happen. Especially when you consider a number of us on this board fly on a weekly basis, it is bound to happen ever once in a while. I would just be happy that you are safe and that they returned to ATL and put you on a new plane right away. A diversion to an outstation would have been a nightmare.....landing somewhere like Gander or Halifax or Bermuda would surely have caused the delay to be 12+ hours whereas ATL caused a 1 hour ground delay and about an 7.5 hour late arrival.
From my experience Delta has never written me a letter explaining why the plane was delayed and what mechanical issue it had. I honestly have never heard of an airline doing that so if you are waiting for an official response like that, I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm sure they will throw a bunch of miles or vouchers to your account for the 8 hour inconvenience though.
