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.

I think you got really lucky. In weather situations Delta would normally not pay for ANYTHING, certainly not for a hotel. When you accepted the rebooking for the next day you accepted to cancel you evening flight, which is entirely your fault. Delta would not take volunteers to accept standbys (which makes sense).
If you write to Delta they will probably give you some miles and in all due respect, I don't think you are due any compensation.

I agree but I think the OP is due a refund from Marriott (Springhill Suites). I would call them up and explain to them how it was their screw up and demand a refund.

I would certainly try'n dispute the $199 hotel charge with your credit card company. If you said "TONIGHT" at 12:10 AM, and they interpreted it as later on that evening, as opposed to "right now / tonight", you may have a case. - - GOOD LUCK!

this is a differnt story and Marriot in SLC might be able to help.
What I don't understand, if you know there is severe weather for several days in a row, why do you chose to fly into that city with a forced overnight? I could have seen myself taking chances and staying on the original connection, but flying into ATL w/o a connection the same night ???
I am sure the flight to YYZ was still on time when the GA checked the connection, but what else did the OP expect? With weather it is rarely known 3-4 hours in advance if a flight will be delayed or not.

I would suggest #1 is not Something DL should be faulted for. At that point you were a standby passenger, not a confirmed one, no way should they pay for two VDBs so one standby passenger could get on the plane. Actually, I'm not sure why they would even VDB one for a standby to get on, as standby is just that.

#2 and #3 might be worth an email. I would not expect DL to pay for expenses, it is rare that you even got a hotel voucher for weather related mishaps. I would expect miles or a tcv, but no out of pocket reimbursement.

I would seek a refund through whoever you booked the hotel with. And yes, it gets much harder to book rooms for that night once the clock rolls past midnight. Even if you find availability through a third party site, I would always call the chain if not the exact hotel just to make sure nothing gets screwed up.

If I were in this situation, I would have just hopped the plane to ATL and dealt with it there. Knowing the next option isn't until the morning, it can be worth risking it. Even if the connecting flight is showing on time, chances are good that it too will be ensnared by the delays, and you would have a chance of making it. If not, you can always rebook onward in ATL.

Something I have learned is that when the airport you are transiting through is in chaos it is best not to fly to it not matter the odds of getting your connecting flight. But that is hind sight. Of course if you do get there then be prepared for the chaos.

IMHO my only suggestion would be to dispute the credit card charge for third-party reservation for the hotel that was a mistake.

The rest unfortunately is an expensive lesson. We have them here and and there in our travels.

BTW the take away for me is this comment regarding lounge access "the rest of us were coach and wouldn’t have got in" at that point I would called it a night gone back to airport and asked for complimentary access. Worst case at that point, while not fun I would have slept on the floor at the airport.

A good friend of mine who used to be a DTW RedCoat told me once, that, she has on occasion VDB'd passengers to get a stand-by DM/HVC on a "last flight of the day". Whether or not it's company policy - I don't know.

Of course, the OP doesn't state his status level.

And, of course, it's not the norm.

It's unlikely the OP had any status. In the beginning of the OP's post he/she stated that he/she seldom flew DL.

Actually he does:

But agree that it's not the norm to VDB for standby unless there are some fairly large other circumstances.

OP: Unfortunately you've just experienced the mess that can be summer thunderstorms in ATL and I definitely feel for you. I've bad weather in ATL (and heavy capacity loads on the following days) where the next flight Delta could confirm me on was 3 days away. Luckily snapped up the last car for a one-way rental and drove the 9 hours home during that experience.

ATL is always difficult with afternoon storms in the summer. I'm always thankful I have family in ATL that I visit all the time. So when I'm visiting family in South Carolina and there's a chance I will get stuck in ATL I just call them up and they drive down.

The worst I've experienced in ATL was on my flight SAN-ATL. It was a late flight into ATL since I left after my last class that day. We landed around 8:15pm and pretty much stopped after vacating the runway. We found out there had been a 4 hour ground stop during our flight and the whole thing was one giant cluster F%&$. By the time we got to a gate it was around 3:30am.... that was a LOOOOOOOONNNGGGG night.

Sorry you had such a hard time. However most if the mistakes were your own. Your only solution is to try to get the first hotel refunded, which I would assume should not be that hard to do, but even in that case you probably added f they had a room available for the night, since it was past midnight in the hotels eyes, they did, it just isnt what you meant.


Good luck, what a mess for you.

Don't be so quick to reach this conclusion about weather-related delays...usually it is very chaotic at an airport when there is a weather problem. It is this chaos that you can point to when seeking compensation...and it often comes down to how you ask.

DL covered my stay at the Four Seasons, including round-trip private transportation, last year in DC on a weather-related overnight.

http://upgrd.com/sitinfirst/successf...her-delay.html

It's the typical bash the OP on here. If Delta puts you up for the night, you should walk away knowing that it will be honored by the hotel. Sure, the OP could have made some different decisions ( I wouldn't have wasted 184 bucks for 2 hours of sleep ) but who am I to judge.

I am surprised that delta would offer that to someone with no status though.