Dovster

Friday, 13 Dec:

21:40: I arrive at TLV 3 hours in advance (standard procedure to leave time for security checks) for DL 469 TLV-JFK.

23:00: We are told there will be a 20 minute delay in boarding because of a mechanical delay.

23:30: We are told that we will be informed of what is happening in another 20 minutes.

Saturday, 14 Dec:

01:00: We are told the flight has been canceled because of damage resulting from a bird strike and we will be flying out on a replacement flight, DL 9856, at 23:30. Hotel arrangements will be made for those who need them and taxis will hired for those who have a place to stay in Tel Aviv.

This is not as easy as it may sound because we have to go through Immigration, then get our checked baggage off the carousels, pass through Customs, and go to the limousine company to make the arrangements.

03:30: The transportation is finally ready to take us.

20:30: We arrive back at the airport for security and check in.

Sunday, 15 December:

02:00: After sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours, we are told that there was a "slight emergency" with another plane and we were not able to take off. As TLV has a curfew from 0200 to 0500, we have to get off of the plane.

We are informed that a replacement crew will arrive for us to fly out at 07:00.

07:00: We are told that the new captain refuses to fly before 09:00.

08:00: The flight is canceled because of bad weather at JFK. Again, we are sent home but (with the same baggage and Immigration situation but this time they have no taxis for those who live in Tel Aviv. We have to arrange and pay for them ourselves). We are told we will be on another replacement flight, 9921, departing at 22:30 and to be at the airport at 19:30.

20:00: I speak with the captain, pointed out that most of the passengers are connecting at JFK, with many headed to ATL. I asked him why, instead of canceling the flight that morning, we didn't fly to ATL. That would have meant that those connecting could do so earlier and the plane would only be 2 hours away from JFK instead of 12 hours. He told me that the crew had discussed this and agreed, but they spent 4 hours trying to convince Operations of this without success.

22:30: We take off on time but cannot deplane for an hour after arriving in JFK because the jetway was broken and it took that long for them to realize they could not fix it and have us towed to another gate.

After each change in departure times, I had to get on the phone to speak to Delta about my connecting flights (I was going TLV-JFK-ATL-LAS), let the car rental agency know about my new arrival times, and change my hotel reservations in LAS.

When I finally was able to check into my hotel room, I had an e-mail waiting for me from Delta, apologizing for "the long delay when Flight 469, December 14 from Tel Aviv to New York was replaced with Flight 9921 the following day for mechanical reasons".

(He did not mention that the flight arrived in JFK almost 48 hours late.)

As compensation, I was given 30,000 SkyMiles.

I called Delta Customer Care, which had sent the e-mail, and told them what they could do with the SkyMiles. I actually considered it an insult to give this to me in exchange for wasting two days in very unpleasant circumstances. The woman I spoke with asked me what I wanted and I told her I wanted to continue with my itinerary but to have the $3100 I paid for it refunded.

She seemed very doubtful that will happen (as I am) but said that they will have a meeting with their Tel Aviv group (people in ATL who deal with the TLV route) about the situation.

I told her that I will be in ATL from Christmas to New Years Eve and would like to meet with the head of Customer Care in person to discuss this. She told me that would not be possible.

I would get an e-mail, she said, in early January.

Doc Savage

Welcome back, Dovster.

pleasantsn

That is a truly awful way to start your vacation. At least Delta acknowledged their fault here and is willing to offer compensation. I wonder what law controls in this situation, and if Israel has a mandatory compensation amount for such a long mx delay? At any rate, we've met the frontline staff and I know it's not fair to take it out on them. Hopefully they will elevate this appropriately. But I wouldn't expect a full refund any time soon. Maybe they'll pick you up in a Porsche in ATL

itsaboutthejourney

Sorry about your delay, but I think you posted this to vent.

As much as it sucks to hear this, I doubt DL will be giving you a full refund let alone arranging for a meeting between you and head of Customer Care. How much did you spend with DL in 2013? What status are you again?

Dovster

I am Platinum Medallion and got it by flying in Biz Elite across the pond three times in 2012 and, this year, I will be making Gold with two such itineraries.

That, however, should not matter. A mechanical problem started all of this, and weather contributed to it, but most of the delay would have been avoided if Operations simply allowed the captain to fly into ATL.

Am I venting? Yes. Am I furious with Virginia Avenue? Yes.

I do, however, agree with what was posted upthread about Delta front line personnel. In fact, it is my personal tradition when I am flying during the holidays to give boxes of chocolates to the crew on each flight, along with a card thanking them for their work -- which enables me to enjoy my own holidays.

I gave 5 such gift boxes to the crew on the flight that sat on the tarmac in TLV and brought us back to the terminal. I bought 5 more boxes for the replacement crew. On my JFK-ATL and ATL-LAS segments I brought 3 boxes (smaller planes and smaller crews).

Today, I bought the boxes of chocolates for my LAS-ATL segment on Christmas Day. While in Atlanta, I will get the chocolates for my New Years Eve flights ATL-JFK-TLV.

And, as I believe you will remember, like you I flew to Seattle to say goodbye to the CSRs when their office closed and we bought a couple of hundred donuts for the farewell party.

I have the highest respect and appreciation for Delta's front line personnel, but that does not extend to its management. When Richard Anderson tells us that "Delta has your back" I get the feeling that he means that in the crudest sense possible.

RacingJunkie

Only so he can push you over the desk and well.....



Horrible situation, why does the TLV flights always seem to have issues?

Dovster

I didn't know it did. This is the first time I have run into problems in either direction.

RacingJunkie

First of several.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...ed-credit.html

holtju2

Did you request DL to rebook you on other carriers to your final destination due to the delay? That's what I would have done.

Dovster

No, I did not. They said they would try to get us to connect through Europe if we wanted, but I forked out the big bucks in order to be able to sleep on the lie-flat beds.

TLV-Europe has Biz Seats which are no different than Economy seats -- except there is nobody in the middle seat. As that would mean that at least 1/3rd of my flight would be as if I was in Economy.

I do not know what kind of seats would be available Europe-JFK and the Delta reps said they did not know if I could even get front cabin seats at all.

baccarat_king

Considering it was MX, you should have requested to be rerouted on BA TLV-LHR-LAS; which all have a proper Business Class.

I know hindsight is 20/20; but I always run the scenarios on ExpertFlyer when in a situation such as this. (and I suggest what route I want... which often helps) When it's MX, being rerouted on a non-Delta (SkyTeam) carrier is NOT out of the question. You just need to REALLY push for it.

readywhenyouare

^ Good to see someone else who shares my thoughts about Mr. Anderson. He is about as crooked as they come.

PDXNRTLHR

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. However, it seems like DL did the best they could, and they did give you the option to re-route. Delays are unfortunate, but they are a part of life when it comes to flying.

Happy holidays, and best of luck on the trip home.

DLdweeb

^ And another person sees the light.......

Sorry for your troubles. Best of luck at the tables in LV, and I hope your trip home is uneventful and enjoyable.

SDQBound

Awful experience. I hope you have a safe, uneventful rest of your journey.

Wow... DSKWYA???
(Did she knew who you are? )