Originally Posted by
stylo4444
I was up in NYC recently returning from EWR. Delayed flight, and could not be rerouted due to weather system. Ended up getting into ATL late and staying overnight, was put on the next available flight the following morning back home to MCO.
Going from MCO to CLE via ATL. Overbooked flight resulted in an hour delay leaving MCO, original aircraft from MCO was supposed to be going to CLE which would have been the case had we gotten into ATL on time. Booked on the next and last flight of the day to CLE, quick response and a nice couple hours in the A concourse SkyClub (the new one).
Going to PHX via JFK, with a 2 hour layover in JFK...flight would not depart due to instrument failure which resulted in a lengthy delay. Delta agents doubted I'd be able to catch the connection in JFK (flight got in 45 mins prior to connection in JFK) they offered to rebook through MEM - got in on-time and I appreciated that. They could have told me to just hang in there and we'll see how it goes when you get to JFK, but quick response (and they were already being yelled at by other passengers waiting to catch intl flights from JFK) got me into PHX on time.
And just now, returning from PHX via SLC. Flight from PHX was delayed 2 hours due to late arriving a/c (which actually I noticed changed from a B738 to an A319) and I only had a 59 min connection in SLC - DL offered to book me through MSP and I scrambled to the airport to catch that flight and ended up arriving into MCO the same time as DL1180 rolled in (and a few mins earlier too!).
I've always felt that in difficult situations, and I'm one that tends to get frustrated easily too and it's never easy during travel...but DL has always had my back and done their best. Sure, I've had some bad luck lately, and on-time percentage is well below 50% the last few months but the quick response and professional level of service from DL stands out in these situations.
Like all airlines I find Delta's response to IRROPS to be inconsistent at times. When they want to be helpful Delta will put together some creative routings that otherwise do not usually exist except on unrestricted tickets (i.e. LAX-LAS-JFK) but there are others that do not want to be proactive unless it is guaranteed that you will miss your flight. I had one where the delay would have left under 10 minutes to change terminals in ATL but the gate agent in LAX refused to rebook anyone, saying that he was not allowed to and to do it when we got to Atlanta. Problem is this was Mother's Day and we had a connecting flight to LGA so everything under the sun is fully booked from ATL that day. That was the case even in LA. The gate agent refused to even protect us on later flights. Since our flight from LA was supposed to leave at like 8 AM they had plenty of options through other hubs if they rebooked in LA. Fortunately a really helpful customer service rep in Atlanta squeezed us onto a delayed flight to JFK even if it meant downgrade from first class to coach just so we could get home that evening rather than having to spend the night in Atlanta and being delayed for work the following day (was attending a graduation in LA that had events until too late on Saturday to get the redeye back to NY)