It seems like Delta's DCA operation is really having some problems lately. I had a very hard time checking-in for my flight out of DCA on Sunday. I couldn't check-in online nor at the airport. As I later found out, this was either because I didn't have an assigned seat or because my ticket was on NWA. The full details are below. Anyone have any observations on how Delta could have handled this differently? Does the info the Delta employees gave me sound correct?

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The problems started when I could not check-in at home on Delta.com. When I tried to do so, I got an error message that said my ticket required airport assistance. There was no explanation of what the problem was.

When I arrived DCA, I attempted to use the Delta kiosk to check-in. First, the kiosk wasn’t working properly, freezing up throughout the check-in process. The kiosk then displayed nearly the same error message I received hours before at home on Delta.com, telling me to see a representative for assistance. To make matters worse, the only available agent was unavailable, feverishly working behind the eight kiosks, placing bag tags and checking IDs for the customers who were able to check in. I waited for several minutes—which caused the line behind me to grow—until a representative noticed me. He then directed me to an agent by the name of xxxxx who was in a different area. I went to xxxxx who asked what my destination was. I told him and he told me to go to the counter line.

I then waited in an incredibly slow line. Although there were only about six customers in front of me, the two counter agents were taking an average of 20 minutes per customer. I know this because I waited in line for over an hour. With all the time I had while I was in line, I called Delta reservations and inquired further about the check-in problem. A representative in the Bahamas call center said the check-in problem was the result of not having an assigned seat on one of the flights. That didn’t sound right so I asked to speak to a supervisor. I then spoke with yyyyy at a call center in Canada and got an even worse response. yyyyy told me the only thing she could do was to book me on new flights, which would require my paying for a change in fare and change fee.

Let me pause to highlight what just happened: because of a Delta technical error, I could not check-in for my flight; in response to my request for assistance, the airline wanted to charge more money.

When I finally got to the front of the counter line, an employee by the name of zzzzz assisted me by rerouting me on different flights. This took approximately 20 minutes. He told me the problem was that I was actually on Northwest Airlines—this despite the top of the itinerary reading “Delta Airlines” and the ticket being purchased on Delta stock. zzzzz pointed to a line at the bottom of the itinerary that read “operated by NWA.” I inquired why the Delta kiosk I had just came from started the check-in process with the choice between Delta and NWA. zzzzz said the airline was having problems because the NWA/Delta systems had not merged. To my surprise, he then told me that he was supposed to charge me in order to change my flights. However, if he documented the record with how long I waited in line, then I wouldn’t be charged. I thanked him for his goodwill. Privately, I still didn’t understand the Delta policy of charging customers for an airline error.

Once I was finished at the counter, I went back to xxxxx, the employee who sent me to the Delta counter after I couldn’t check-in at the kiosk. I asked xxxxx why he didn’t send me to NWA. xxxxx said he directed me to the counter based on what my destination was. To his credit, he apologized.

Several years ago, I was a Platinum Medallion with Delta, but now I avoid the airline. This trip is another example of why: the horribly bad service.