This is the letter I wrote. I did get 150 dollar vouchers from the corp. office but belive I should get the full 400. What do you think. Have you ever seen this before? Thanks in advance for your opinions!!!!!!!


Email Pertaining to: Flight_Delay_Cancellation
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Comments:

To whom it may concern:

I am a Silver Medallion with Delta. On January 11, 2008,
I and three friends: had flown from North
Eleuthera to Nassau Bahamas, and then loaded on a plane in Nassau headed
to Atlanta. We loaded on the plane in Nassau on time, which was
scheduled to leave at 2:11 pm. Unfortunately we waited on the plane for
1 passenger for 30 minutes after the scheduled take off time, who had
been held up at Customs. Interesting enough, the wait was in vain as the
passenger never did get on board.

So, we were over fifteen minutes late to our Atlanta destination as they
made up some time in the air. Then when we arrived in Atlanta, to the
dismay of everyone, they did not have an attendant waiting at the gate
for several minutes, as an attendant has to be present to pick up paper
work from an International flight. Even the stewardesses were very
frustrated by that.

After this additional wait, by running through several terminals in the
Atlanta airport, we arrived at our gate in record time, at exactly 5pm,
and our flight was scheduled to leave for Nashville at 5:11pm. To our
dismay, the attendant closed the door to the jet-way despite us wanting
to get on. I noticed on the screens that the flight was oversold and
they were asking for volunteers to be bumped and were giving $400 a
piece in vouchers. I waited until she came back up from the jet -way,
and asked her if the plane was completely full and if people were
sitting in our seats, to which she said yes. She also explained if we
had been four minutes earlier they would have boarded us. She could not
explain however how us boarding could possibly have happened since our
seats were already taken 4 minutes earlier. I am sure that the flight
had even other people that obviously were compensated with $400 in
vouchers. She then referred me to a Delta Help Desk.

I went to the Help Desk fully expecting to get the $400 vouchers since
Delta had oversold our seats. The supervisor ultimately
admitted if our plane had not been so late and had been there 4 minutes
earlier, Delta would be forced to give us our vouchers. My argument is
we were 11 minutes early, and they did not let us on the plane, and he
said they never let people on after the 15 minute cutoff prior to
takeoff. I told him that it’s amazing that the reason we were late is
that Delta waited for a passenger in Nassau for a full 30 minutes after
the scheduled take-off time, which he said Delta doesn’t do. But of
course, as you can tell by the records, they did. He would not give us
any compensation, but said his only obligation was to get us on the next
flight, which was 8:12pm. We went straight to the gate, and the gate
agent said come back at 7:15pm and when we did they were only able to
get 1 of the 4 of us on the plane, which did us no good since we all
needed to be together for a 2 hour drive home once we reached our
Nashville destination. They could also not get any of us on the 10:40pm
flight later that same night as it was oversold!

In the end, Delta did get us a hotel room, and a seven dollar meal
voucher for each member of my party, which was suppose to cover our
dinner and breakfast (we ate like kings J). We did get on the 8am flight
the next morning and I just happened to notice that they let seven
people on the plane after the 15 minute cutoff prior to takeoff which the Help Desk supervisor, said never happens.

I contend the real problem was that there were no seats available on the
airplane headed to Nashville at 5:11pm when we arrived, as the attendant
confirmed. So there was no way to let us on the airplane even if we had
been there 4 minutes earlier, which would have put us there before the
15 minute cutoff time. I called my Silver Medallion phone number and the
two supervisors I talked to, unlike the Help Desk supervisor were very apologetic, sympathetic, and willing to give us $100
vouchers for our troubles to each member of my party . But, both Silver
Medallion supervisors said if I took the $100 vouchers, I would not be
able to get more from the corporate office, and they even agreed that in
this case I should get more. I strongly believe we are entitled to the
$400 vouchers that we would’ve gotten for being bumped, had we
technically been to our gate 4 minutes earlier.

In summary, on January 11, 2008:

Delta was 30 minutes late taking off from Nassau to Atlanta (DL 4229).
This caused us to arrive at our gate in Atlanta 11 minutes prior to
take-off (DL 1986).
We were not allowed to board the plane as it was oversold.
The Delta Help Desk Supervisor, refused to give us any
vouchers and was very unapologetic.
He said we would be on the next flight which was 8:12pm, but it was
oversold. The last flight to Nashville that night was 10:40pm, and it
was oversold too.
We did not get to leave Atlanta until the next morning, having never
received vouchers for our 15 hour delay.

Would you like a reply to your e-mail?:yes

FLIGHT 1:

Flight Number : DL4229
Date : 1/11/08
Departure City : Atlanta
Ticket Number :

FLIGHT 2:

Flight Number :
Date :
Departure City :
Ticket Number :

BAGGAGE:

Baggage concern category:
Baggage Ref. # :

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Street Address :Jan 29, 2008 8:43 AM, Customer Care <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear Mr. Randall,

Thank you for your correspondence describing your recent experience with
Delta and ASA, our Delta Connection partner. We apologize and
appreciate your taking the time to share the details.

We are sorry to learn about the difficulties you and your traveling
companion? experienced with the handling of your flight irregularity and
rescheduling. Our goal is to make your travel experience as smooth and
enjoyable as possible, and we regret you didn?t receive the high level
of service we strive to provide. Our airport representatives are
expected to always be responsive, and offer precise, complete
information. It sounds like that didn?t happen in this case, and we
will continue to make efforts to improve in this area.

Your time is valuable, and operating on schedule is equally important to
us. In the process of providing air service over many different routes
each day, we sometimes encounter mechanical problems, adverse weather,
and other unavoidable interruptions. These are situations faced by all
airlines and no carrier can guarantee that all flights will depart and
arrive as planned. We?re sorry you were inconvenienced.

Also, we regret you missed your flight connection. Delaying a flight
for a confirmed passenger is a difficult situation for the airlines.
Once our gate personnel relinquish control of the airplane to the crew
and operations team, it is considered dispatched even though the
aircraft may still be at the gate. To stop our processes after the crew
is given a takeoff priority may result in a lengthy delay. We are
trying to achieve a balance between reliability and good customer
service.

Additionally, all customers traveling domestically must be checked in at
the gate at least 15 minutes before departure (45 minutes before in
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Our information indicates you
did not meet the check-in requirements and your seats were released as a
result. When this happens, an administrative service charge and/or
additional airfare may be required to reissue the ticket. Federal
regulations require an airline to give compensation to a passenger who
is denied boarding on a flight due to an oversold situation. This
particular rule is not applicable in the event of a flight irregularity
such as a mechanical or weather delay. We regret any misunderstanding.

As a goodwill gesture, we have issued four electronic Transportation
Credits for $150.00 which may be used toward future Delta travel. eTCVs
are valid for one year from the date of issue. They may be redeemed at
delta.com, Delta Reservations or at any Delta city or airport ticket
office. Redemptions at delta.com will not incur a transaction fee.
Fees will apply if voucher is redeemed through any other Delta location.
Please refer to the enclosed terms and conditions of the e-credit for
additional information.

Again, thank you for writing. Your comments have been sent to our Delta
Connection partner for internal review. Please accept our apology for
the poor impression you received and give Delta and our partner an early
opportunity to regain your confidence. Should you need to contact us in
the future, or find information about our service or operations, please
visit us at delta.com.

Sincerely,

Richard Similton
http://www.delta.com

Original Message Follows:
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