Forgive this long post. I don’t often fly Delta and would like to know what the experienced DL travelers on this board think of a recent experience.

Last Friday the 13th I was scheduled RDU-ATL-YYZ departing at 6.30pm. ATL had a 2 hour ground stop due to pm thunderstorms. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...night-atl.html

DL 1774 RDU-ATL was delayed past 8. There was a huge line as the sole GA struggled to rebook those with connections. They gave out CS numbers for us to call. To DL’s credit I got through right away which was pretty good given the circumstances as I have no status with Delta (I’m AA plat).
The CSA said I would miss my Toronto connection (DL5135) as it was leaving on time at 9:45. As that was the last flight of the day I was given the following options: a 6am via DTW the next day or going on to ATL on 1774 where they would put me up for the night, then the first morning flight to YYZ. I chose the ATL option and they rebooked me on the am ATL-YYZ.

As it turned out that was the wrong decision. We got to ATL at about 10pm. But DL 5135 had been delayed and was still at the gate. I didn’t have checked bags so I went to see if I could get on even though my seat was gone. The flight was oversold and they were asking were volunteers. They were offering $600 in credit, meal and hotel vouchers. I was put on the bottom of the standby list.
Finally, I was the only one left and there were two people wanting to volunteer. Unfortunately, they were a couple. To my dismay the GA said they only needed one (for me) and he wouldn’t take both. They declined.

The irony was that if I hadn’t rebooked with the CSA, I would have gotten on that plane.

So I joined the other 4 volunteers. I was the only person there involuntarily. The GA handed out vouchers (marked Expressjet) and said we would be accommodated at the Comfort Inn North.

And that, folks, was when the nightmare began.

There was a crowd at the airport hotel phone bank. Everyone there - there were even airline personnel – were trying to get rooms without much luck. When we finally got through to the Comfort, they were completely booked. So was every airport hotel as a result of the flight disruptions. We said we had Delta vouchers, they hung up on us. It became clear that when Delta said they were going to put us up for the night, they were just giving out a credit for a specific hotel. They had not made reservations.

I’m SPG plat, so I called Starwood to get a room in the city. They said EVERY starwood property in Atlanta was full due to a convention. The nearest vacancy was in Gwinat (sp?), 45 minutes away.

Back inside, there was nobody from Delta to help us. Most of the counters were closed. I was the only one in our group from the U.S., the others were Canadian. One didn’t even have US money as he was transiting from the Caribbean. We were hosed in a strange city. None of us knew Atlanta – the last time I visited was for the 96 Olympics.

We were reduced to asking taxi drivers if they knew of any vacancies. I kept calling around. Then I found a 3rd party hotel reservation site that had a room at the Springhill suites at College Park “for tonight”. Even better, it was only a short distance away. It was $199 prepaid with no refund/cancelation. The cab driver scammed us by not turning on the meter and charging $14 for a 5 minute ride. But we were so tired and hungry we didn’t care anymore.

When we got there they said our reservation was for Saturday night. What had happened was the clock had ticked past midnight (actually 12:15) when I called and the agent had interpreted “a room for tonight” to mean the following night. They wouldn’t refund based on that. And we were still screwed.

One person went back to Hartsfield & spent the night at the lounge in the Int’l terminal, the only one open 24 hours. But he had DL status, the rest of us were coach and wouldn’t have got in. Another slept on the floor.

More phone calls. At 2.30 we finally found a room at the Staybridge suites in Buckhead. It was 25 mins away and we got in to the room at 3.20. We were up at 6.30 to get back to ATL, which was in a total mess from the previous night’s problems.

The final insult: when we checked in at the Staybridge, the night manager asked if we wanted return transportation to ATL. We said yes. Next morning a car appeared that had no taxi markings and no meter. It was driven by a West African who charged $60 and had the nerve to ask for a tip. The outward (metered) taxi was $44.

Total out of pocket expenses: $184 for room, $110 for taxi and $200 for the wrong night reservation.

I don’t blame Delta for the weather disruptions and the fact that there were no hotel vacancies. I don’t blame the CSA who told me I wouldn’t make the YYZ connection. I can even understand (although I don’t condone) the taxi price-gouging of distressed travelers. I was gouged during the Olympics too – it seems to be in the DNA of a certain type of Atlantan.

But I fault Delta for:


1. The GA at ATL not accepting the couple who volunteered. That would have got me my seat back on the flight I was originally supposed to be on.

2. The accommodation debacle. DL were deceptive: if someone says they are going to “put you up for the night”, that means you are going to give me a room, period. At the very least, they should have made clear that a hotel voucher was not a guarantee of a room. If we had known that, those guys would not have volunteered and I would have taken the DTW routing option. Would it have been so difficult to call and verify there were vacancies at the CI before handing out vouchers?

3. The fact that there was nobody at DL we could turn to for help when we couldn’t find rooms. The counters were empty, Information and Baggage Claim weren’t interested and the GA who gave us the vouchers was behind security. It was past midnight on a chaotic day, but we were essentially left to make our own way in a strange city.



So can I expect compensation? Who should I contact? Specifically, will I get reimbursed for OOP expenses? I'm not interested in a few thousand miles.