buffcoat

DL 1819 DTW-LAX delayed today for 3.5 hours because of a broken overhead bin. Seriously.

The maintenance crew came on after 30 minutes and returned about every 30 minutes. The bin was out of its track and couldn't be closed.

Finally they came up with a solution: duct tape. Seriously.

The pilot came on (about 1:45 at this point) and said that maintenance was giving him a hard time and that he was "going to win" against them because he wasn't flying a plane with a duct-taped bin. He may have been right, but the tough talk didn't make him anyone's hero.

30 minutes later the maintenance guy came on and removed the bin. Took about 15 minutes.

It took about 45 minutes MORE for us to push back. The FA said that it was because of a maintenance shift change.

They told us we were getting vouchers and that they would be credited to our Skymiles accounts (if we had them). I just checked mine and nothing shows up online - where does a voucher show up online? Or do you have to call?

This is going to cost me $50 for a cab because the person picking me up has to work in the morning. Not exactly pleased about the whole situation.

You work so hard to pick the right flight (and I don't work nearly as hard as some of you). There was a Memphis flight that was 1:15 shorter that I didn't take because it was only a 30 minute connection window, for example. Bet I would have been upgraded on that one.

We did all get to watch a free movie on our in-seat AVOD.

Frozentech

SkyMiles->Manage My Account->Manage Profile->Certificates & eCredits

mersk862

For the onboard compensation vouchers, it can take four weeks to hit the SM account...

buffcoat

Thanks. I guess turning an 8 hour trip into an 11 hour trip isn't the worst thing ever. It just sucks while it's happening.

Burj

You should also consider sending in an email to Delta pointing out the inconvenience to yourself and to the person who had planned/set aside time to pick you up, all for naught.

O.K. as an engineer all I can say is...duct tape...really Delta? REALLY!

If it only takes 15 minutes to REMOVE the bin they should have just done that from the outset, stored it on the plane, and then let the over night maintenance crew repair it at LAX!

There is no reason to spend 3.5 hours when removing it takes 15 minutes...

And SERIOUSLY even if it is an o.k. fix...a duct tape solution would look like a$$ and you can bet A LOT of images of it would end up all over the internet!

pitbulllover

I've actually been on a few DL flights with duct tape on the bins or other items. I think once it was the yellow "out of order" tape.

If I was in the OPs situation, I would have just preferred the duct tape to let us leave if it was quicker. That never should have taken 3+ hours.

I agree though...duct tape really doesn't send a good message. Especially if you have an infrequent flier noticing it.

mrapollinax

This happened on a flight for me last month. Bin wouldn't close. Co-Pilot takes a look at it. Maintenance takes a look at it and duct tapes it closed with "Out of Order" tape. Total time after boarding to come to this conclusion? 25 mins. Unfortunately my bag was in that bin and Delta compensated me for my troubles.

buffcoat

I made it, but jeez. The most troubling thing about the whole affair was that nobody was focused on getting the plane out on time. Everyone was focused on doing the least work possible, or on their territory.

Everyone was very apologetic, but no one asked, "Why did we just take 3.5 hours to fix a 1 hour max problem?" At least I assume no one will ask that. But someone should so that it doesn't happen like that again. The passengers were very inconvenienced, but so were the crew and the airline.

The maintenance guys were nice, but they were just sort of working out their shift and didn't care about getting the problem solved, because they were going home anyway even if they had to leave in mid-turn of a screwdriver. Union rules.

I think I will write an email to Delta. Luckily, this is not a really short trip where the few hours ruins everything. There was a family connecting to Sydney, and it ended up costing them a night, which thankfully Delta paid for.

All I'd really like is for someone to focus on fixing the problem next time rather than walking on and off the plane every 45 minutes to try the same things that they or someone else tried before.

buffcoat

So I got a letter from Delta with an apology and 2,500 bonus miles.

Since I recently converted 100,000 AmEx points to 150,000 Delta miles, I have to say I'm rather unimpressed by this compensation. I'd really rather they'd said,

"Stuff happens, we're sorry but we can't give you anything - we can't compensate everyone for everything."

The thing for me is that it was right ahead of my seat. I saw the reason for the delay, which was a) the maintenance crew didn't want to do what they had to to fix the problem b) the maintenance crew and the pilot got into a fight over who was going to "win" the encounter (I use quotes because no one won) and c) we ended up losing an hour to a maintenance shift change.

I'm open to opinions. Would you just let it drop, or would you follow up? And what's fair compensation for a brutally unnecessary 3.5 hour delay (not that this is straight up Delta's responsibility, but it also caused me to have to pay $40 for a cab ride I wouldn't otherwise have had to take).

TTT

2,500 isn't nearly enough, IMO. For every 1.5hr+ delay I have had this year (has been every trip so far ) I have received 3,700 miles.

For one 3hr delay last year I got 15,000 miles without asking.

I would write back and request something more substantial.

MSPeconomist

Compensation depends on the OP's status with DL. This isn't stated or indicated in the OP's profile, but the reference to an upgrade at MEM makes me suspect FO or possibly GM. The 3700 miles for an hour and a half delay applies to DM. This is the reality.

buffcoat

You're right, GM through American Express, even.

Another thing that's interesting is that they told us at the time that they'd be giving us a travel voucher. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but mileage compensation doesn't equal travel voucher to me.

CalVol

We had an over 3 hour delay MSP-SAN last Thursday due to the plastic cover on the overhead "Exit" sign having disappeared. The mechanic came on board with a cover from another MD-90 and it didn't fit. So, we had to swap planes.

Initially they told us we were going to leave at 1200. So the gate agent hands me a lunch voucher and, when I ask, directs me to the nearest Skyclub. I get to the club, having used a 1 Day Pass for entrance. Sit down, send off an email and check the board to see what my new gate will be. They show us leaving at 1100 and status is boarding. I ask the Skyclub agent to call the new gate because I was a bit confused because I had been told not 15 minutes prior that we would be leaving at 1200. No answer at the new gate. She suggests I hustle on down to the new gate, and sure enough, they are boarding. I hear my name just as I arrive and the agent hands me a new seat assignment. Fortunately, I'm still in first. We were wheels up at 1245

We then board and wait an hour for catering and baggage to be loaded. So, I wasted a day pass and wasn't able to use the meal voucher.

I sent a complaint via DL.COM and got a $75 credit. I didn't ask for any compensation. I just stated that all of these elements led up to unacceptable CS. I also praised the Captain and FAs who really went above and beyond to make everyone as comfortable as possible.

Frankly, I don't really know if that is reasonable compensation or not.

In the end I made it home in time to pick my daughter up from school which was a nice ending to a rather weird day.

TTT

I knew they did some compensation tiering but didn't realize it was that much. Thanks for clarifying.

Have you checked your SkyMiles profile for the travel voucher? It may be sitting there.

buffcoat

Good thought, but a) the voucher is not there and b) the 2,500 promised miles are there.


CalVol: I'm going to write things up for Delta.com and see what happens. I feel like $75 would be decent compensation. I don't want anything crazy, but their joint incompetence did cost me a good bit of time and money unnecessarily.