I appealed to Delta's corporate office. I got compensated in a way that was significantly better than (most of) your advice would have brought me. I accepted it and will move on.

I am NOT a frequent flyer. You guys know airports like the backs of your hands. I've been in enough to know that some have a pretty long hike between gates, especially if you have to change terminals due to different carriers making up the legs. Maybe transfering from AA to Delta at 5 a.m. in LAX would've been a breeze. I didn't know if it would. Nor did the Delta CSR that was offering it. She couldn't tell me anything about how much time it would take to get there. The seat in coach was probably no more uncomfortable than the first class anxiousness over making that connection would have been. That's just me, but I'm the guy who paid for the first class tickets on Delta.

Yes, I read Delta's contract before I pitched my diatribe here. I agree that they lived up to their minimum legal requirements. There are two ways of looking at an agreement, by its letter and by its spirit. Airlines promise the spirit and then deliver the letter. In my view, that is reprehensible because they have an oligopoly on air travel. It's not that often that a newcomer airline changes the industry for the better, like Southwest did a few years back. How many positive trends in service and value have you seen lately?

I appreciate your advice. Though I didn't subcribe to it for the most part, I learned from you and it helped me win my appeal. Fly safe & have fun.

Kona Flyer