Originally Posted by
cptlflyer
The bottom line here is how the itinerary was fared. Using the routing avidflyer did just as an example, my guess is that such a ticket would have been fared as a MHT-SLC r/t. If that were the case, Delta is obligated to get you between MHT-SLC -- the fact that you purposefully made it a double-connect for miles is irrelevent to them, and just bad luck in your case.
It would have fared that way but if the OP went to check-in at an airport counter and if all the flights were same day it would have spit out all the boarding passes. Then the agent would have probably looked a bit confused and asked "are you coming back here today". I agree that it doesn't matter what the reason for travel is but the agent probably would be confused and when they are dealing with emotional and vocal people who actually are going somewhere and needing to be there for something important, the agent will likely try and accomodate the screaming passengers first.....an unfortunate part about the society we live in
I had a same day trip a few times 3 weeks ago in Ecuador when I would commute from GYE-UIO-GYE several times a week. Every morning when I checked in for the 6:25am flight on LAN, the ticket agent was always slightly confused and said "are you coming back today?" just to make sure that was my intent. As a side note, it is quite common that business travelers do this in Ecuador as it is only a 35 minute flight from GYE-UIO and costs like $67 RT. I did it 2-3 times a week since my wife was in GYE....got on the 6:25am or 7:55am flight to Quito and came back on the 5:10 or 6:50pm flight from Quito. Pretty convienent if you ask me.