Originally Posted by
fassy
Why should anybody be at the plane by 8:30 (time you left) when they have been waiting for spare parts or even a mechanic which would arrive hours later? Most probably they noted the defect the night before during the flight/landing or taxing - not just in the morning. (assuming Oliver's theory is correct).
There is no use in having air crew sitting in a broken plane for hours timing down their service time. Much better use have them sit in the hotel or crew area until they get a proper estimated departure time.
Anyway, 3 hours to get rebooked is nothing new. Hurts if you are in line waiting but that's when a status level and cell phone comes in handy
....but that was my point.....if they knew the night before that a mechanical defect would delay the flight the next morning.....why check-in 2/3 of the passengers in the morning.....instead of starting to look for alternatives. When a delay or cancelation happens on Delta, the system automatically starts protecting customers on alternative flights..... No more need to stand in line....and you can even change these flights/route which the system selected for you right from your app.