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Old Jun 1, 2015, 6:47 pm
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Lefleur
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 139
Cargo > People?!

Anyone else ever had Delta *intentionally* un-load their luggage (plus many others') or bump many people due to some mysterious cargo?

Totally strange series of events that I've never experienced before in 20+ years of flying, on a flight last night.

At gate, prior to boarding, gate agent announces that the flight is "oversold" and they need 10 volunteers, who will each get $400 compensation plus the next flight. What's odd is that the upgrade/standby screen shows there are 20 unassigned seats in coach, but nevermind that at this moment.

10 people volunteer. We start boarding. I am in line to board and then the gate agent announces they need 5 more volunteers "because we are oversold." These folks get $600 each and the next flight. (The tally is now 15 people, if you're playing along at home).

I am among the first to board and have a window seat. Notice a larger-than-I-usually-see crowd of tarmac folks (luggage/tug operators, including a guy with a supervisor vest on) next to the plane, talking into walkie-talkies. Whatevs. A few minutes into boarding, head flight attendant gets on the loudspeaker to announce that "I am not sure if the gate agent told you what is going on, but this is a payload optimized flight. If you cannot fit your carry-on luggage in the overhead bin, unfortunately we cannot put it down below today, and you and your stuff cannot fly today." What a payload optimized flight is is not explained.

I happen to see my checked luggage get loaded into the plane, quit looking outside the window, and start reading my magazine. I keep waiting for people to finish boarding because the plane is 1/3 empty. There are empty overhead bins, empty seats in nearly every row, you name it. They announce they are closing the boarding doors.

We sit on the tarmac. The pilot gets on and says they are waiting some weight readings and a cargo/weight issue. We wait a little more.

They do the safety briefing. They say we are about to take off. We put our devices on airplane mode. We wait a little bit more at the gate, on the tarmac, with the boarding doors closed (etc).

Then they open the boarding doors to the plane. The flight attendant in first class (I am close by in coach) tells a man that "the gate agent has something to say."

Gate agent gets on. Apologizes. Says they need 3 more people to volunteer to take a different flight. Will get on the next flight, plus $800 each (the tally is now 18, by the way). No 'explanation' given other than we all assume it has something to do with this mysterious cargo situation.

I seriously consider it but have to make a work meeting early Monday AM and I also don't want to have to lose my checked luggage temporarily, so I stay aboard. 3 people volunteer. We eventually take off and make it to Boston.

Upon landing after 4+ hours of flying, we all turn our phones on again (no airplane mode) and suddenly the plane fills with dings. Many of us have gotten voicemails and text messages from Delta that our luggage did not make the plane....myself included (even after I watched them load my bag...when I wasn't paying attention, they obviously off-loaded it). We are instructed to go to the baggage handling office to fill out paperwork to get it delivered today.

Go to baggage handling office. There are 42 people in line with me from my flight. Yes. They pulled 42 people's luggage off the plane. Including many Sky Priority (acc. to line chatter). One guy in line with me tells me that there were 6 passenger bags that weren't pulled off the flight that he saw go around the carousel. 6 bags.

So...gold bars? Secret government military tool? Plane repair component for a plane in BOS?

For the amount of money and energy Delta expended to get people and our stuff off that flight....had to be something super-critical, no?
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