Delta Bumps Passengers for College Basketball Team
Dec 3, 2013, 1:02 pm
#62
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I apologize, but I have no symphathy for these faulty arguments against Delta. I think they made the right call business-wise. As others have said, Delta is a business, out to protect their best clients. If you are Apple and have 1 gold iPhone left, do you give it to the first time buyer, or the corporation who has bought hundreds over the various generations? Your choices are to lose $500 or $500,000. The same concept HAS to apply here. Do we give the plane to people who might shift $1000 of flying each year, or do we alienate a client that spends hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars on various contracts? And again, as others have alluded to, the contracts entered into for charters are much more stringent and have large penalties if not upheld. Keep in mind, the aviation industry is different in that nearly all products are homogeneous - if Delta doesn't fly UofF when they said they would, they can just as easily move their spending to United, American, etc. Consumers do not get extended those benefits - if you don't like it, take it up with your local councilmen/councilwomen to change the laws regarding air carrier contracts. In the meantime, if you want to receive that kind of service, feel free to start chartering your own aircraft.
Dec 3, 2013, 1:20 pm
#63
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Back in the 80's, I had a confirmed upgrade seat in F on AA from LAX - BOS. The night before, the Lakers won game six to force a game seven in BOS. When I checked in for my flight, I was told they had no record of my upgrade to F. I was assigned a coach seat. The whole F section on this DC-10 had Lakers players.
Dec 3, 2013, 1:26 pm
#64
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Sounds like a logisitcal nightmare that also would require lots of time to work the specifics out for (who gets to go on the flight to ATL vs who stays in GVN, bag and equip. loading/unloading, probably plenty of other gov't and airline red tape that would have to be dealt with as well), and it sounded to me like this was something that the agents and the rest of the staff at both DL and XJ had only a short period of time to work out, and that would almost certainly break the CoC of the charter flight.
Last edited by sky303; Dec 3, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Dec 3, 2013, 1:28 pm
#65
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I think it's easy to blast the DL management and local GNV crew, I did myself, but these charters almost always travel with a charter coordinator from the airline, now being XJT, who knows.
Bottom line it probably came down to the charter coordinator, their contacts in operations and the local mx convincing them that the aircraft mx would be a short fix.
Bottom line it probably came down to the charter coordinator, their contacts in operations and the local mx convincing them that the aircraft mx would be a short fix.
Dec 3, 2013, 1:44 pm
#66
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Dec 3, 2013, 1:52 pm
#67
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"They used that aircraft to cover the charter because they were confident they could rectify that mechanical issue and then it's a win-win," Durrant said. "Maybe you take a slight delay on the scheduled side, you protect the charter and everyone is happy. That was the intention behind which that decision was made, but unfortunately the issue with the other aircraft was not rectified and ultimately the delay became a cancelation as a result of the mechanical issues.
Also, "they were confident they could rectify that mx issue"...how'd that work out?
Again, I understand this happens all the time. It's just very unfortunate when the paying customers (the basketball players sure didn't pay for their flight) get straight up lied to.
Dec 3, 2013, 1:52 pm
#68
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The media attention and any outrage over this seems so stupid to me.
Isn't the basketball team paying customers also? Delta didn't fly for them for free did they?
Once AS took our SJC-PDX plane at 5:00pm and gave it to the SJC-SEA flight as their plane went mechanical. We took off 6 hours later at 11:00pm.
It was an operational decision by AS as this one was and although it sucked I didn't feel wronged in any way.
Isn't the basketball team paying customers also? Delta didn't fly for them for free did they?
Once AS took our SJC-PDX plane at 5:00pm and gave it to the SJC-SEA flight as their plane went mechanical. We took off 6 hours later at 11:00pm.
It was an operational decision by AS as this one was and although it sucked I didn't feel wronged in any way.
Dec 3, 2013, 1:53 pm
#69
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My company pays for all my flights. Am I not a paying customer and should those who paid themselves be given priority over me?
Dec 3, 2013, 2:10 pm
#70
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How did we work our moral outrage into full-on, foam-at-the-mouth levels before the internet came along? I mean, this is such a nothing event that it boggles the mind this gets any sort of traction at all.
Dec 3, 2013, 2:16 pm
#72
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The basketball players are not the customer. The University of Florida athletics department is the customer. And I am sure their annual contract pays Delta quite well.
Dec 3, 2013, 2:17 pm
#73
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I guess you weren't the one who missed the funeral.
Dec 3, 2013, 2:18 pm
#74
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Some college basketball team? This is a Top 15 team in the country, and it's the University of Florida, a massive college with a $1.2B (with a B) endowment. DL made the right call.
Dec 3, 2013, 2:20 pm
#75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BThumme
Again, I understand this happens all the time. It's just very unfortunate when the paying customers (the basketball players sure didn't pay for their flight) get straight up lied to.
Someone paid for the flight unless you think Delta flew them for free.
My company pays for all my flights. Am I not a paying customer and should those who paid themselves be given priority over me?
Originally Posted by BThumme
Again, I understand this happens all the time. It's just very unfortunate when the paying customers (the basketball players sure didn't pay for their flight) get straight up lied to.
Someone paid for the flight unless you think Delta flew them for free.
My company pays for all my flights. Am I not a paying customer and should those who paid themselves be given priority over me?
If the basketball players were delayed an hour or three, how upset do you think they would be? Probably not much. I'm guessing almost everyone on that DL flight was going to have a connection to somewhere else, and probably were flying on discount economy tix and weren't the most flexible with their dates. So when you are paying 4-600 dollars to be straight up lied to, it's more frustrating then if you didn't personally pay ( i.e your company).