DCAproducer

I'll try to be constructive in my response, but the OP seems a little entitled.

-I'm unclear, but it sounds like this wasn't a paid F ticket. I've paid F for about 75% of my tickets this year and I've learned to live with coach if I don't get the UG on my other flights. I've always had a C+ seat on those flights and they are usually short flights. Unfortunately this is the route DL is going and they have made it clear in earnings calls they want those seats up front to go to paying customers.

-The Porsche is for HVC's. These are the top tier DM's/360's. Despite what I spend on DL, which is probably trivial compared to large corporate clients, I would never expect this service. I think I'd actually laugh if I stepped off the plane and the agent had my name on their little tablet.

-The slow service sounds like lazy FAs. I've had this on a few route this year. This complaint as well as meal orders not being taken from paying F passengers are two of my DL F class pet peeves. In D1 I've seen non-revs be told they will have to order last, which I think should also apply to anyone on a comp UG as well. Just a thought.

-I've seen bins in F fill up and I rarely see FA's enforce the bag rules. I've often seen people go to C+, but stash their bag in the last couple rows of F. This is one reason I love the 757.

One note on DTW, I don't know what it is, but my connection there are always crazy tight. It's a big airport, and despite the tram, it takes a while to get around.

HelloItsMe

IMHO, letters/emails of complaint should be concise, grammatically correct, and free of drama (e.g. "You should be ashamed").
Don't be surprised if your letter doesn't receive the kind of response you are anticipating.

BigDawg23

In June I was on a long day of travel going from MSP-GRB for a meeting. Then I go from GRB-MSP-SEA-PDX. My MSP-SEA left 23 minutes late. I was too worried and figured still time to get to my SEA-PDX flight. Well we had to wait 10 minutes in SEA for a gate. I was in FC as an upgrade in a 767.

They announced in taxing that 45 passengers were going to either GEG or PDX so allow for them to get off the plane. I got off the plane and too the gate 9 minutes prior to departure along with 10 other passengers. Well the plane was gone, it was the last flight to PDX. I had to rental a hotel and car to get to PDX by 730AM. The had re-booked me on a 745AM SEA-PDX Flight, so obviously that didn't work. They had only one voucher and I was third in line(allowed a few woman to go in front of me). I sent a very nice complaint to Delta and was politley told tough tiddlewinks. They refused to cover my car rental expense or hotel stay. I was checked into the hotel for barely four hours. The only thing I received was 10K bonus miles and a refund on my SEA-PDX ticket portion. Now I was on business and used my Corporate card. However, I didn't feel my company should bare the cost.

End of the day, I wasn't happy, but it was my first bad experience with Delta in three plus years of air travel.

Chalk it up to a one bad experience and move on. If this is a third or more time, move to a new airline. Keep in mind grass isn't always greener.

HDQDD

This. The OP got on a flight knowing s/he was likely to misconnect, then they complain when DL does them a solid and holds a flight.... I wish I could respond to that "complaint".

I'll also add, that DCA has a curfew which may have been the reason they originally weren't holding.

lovecabo

It sounded to me like the OP's bag got checked to final destination and wasn't a pink tag. In that case the bag cannot be taken onboard because then it would be declared missing at the destination. So although he was given incorrect information about space in the overhead bins, once it got checked the DL staff did what they had to do, which is remove the bag and place it in the hold.

jesternl

yes. thank you!

davetravels

Hence, I have learned that, if I am so lucky as to receive a bag tag at the gate, I simply take it off before I board the plane, before any FAs have the chance to see it. That said, I have yet to ever get one of those newfangled computer-printed tags at the door to the plane. At that point, it might be harder to hide the fact that you're taking it off.

Often1

Upgrades - Either boarding or UG's are delayed. It takes DL 35 minutes to board an aircraft which should take 15 because of self-entitled people who believe that they really are elite because DL sends them a shiny plastic card which says they are.
[U]
[/Holding FlightsU] - GA's don't make these decisions. They are made by Operations and there are tons of factors. The rule is T-15 for domestic flights and that seems fair. Flights may be held when there are other known delays, time will be made up enroute and the crew rest requirements won't either cause the flight to be cancelled or delayed the next AM.

[U][/OverheadU] - I don't expect FA's to do an inspection of the OH's a second time after the flight is closed. This one goes under the "no good deed goes unpunished." If the GA hadn't obtained approval to reopen the flight (remember, it's not just the door, it's all the paperwork), the OH space issue would not have arisen.
[U]
[/ServiceU] - Did the FA really fail to respond to you pushing the call button? If so, complain about it.

Lots of minor stuff, but "ashamed" on a freebie UG? Not.

Seattlite

oh Widgets, perhaps you've missed the point. Delta has pushed way, way past their limits. When you have a regional upgrade and there are three open seats with your name first on the list it should be cleared well before boarding. Doing so any later just delays the process. As a Diamond member, I board the plane first no matter what.

To your last point, if you are absurd enough to wait until an hour before departure to check in, you're jeopardizing your ability to even take the flight. I don't have an ounce of sorrow for anyone who checks in that late.

Seattlite

Upgrade lists are intended to be cleared before boarding. There's no entitlement necessary to simply expect this as is an age-old system that works well when the GAs do their job. No reason to do anything else when there are seats waiting to be claimed and nobody else that's going to pay for them.

My buddy and his family flew from HNL connecting through SEA and ATL to TPA or another city in Florida earlier this year. They were escorted by a Porsche for their ATL connection. You know nothing if you think he's a special DL frequent flyer or a bigger spender than you or me.

Yep, lazy FAs.

The bins were not full, so that's the issue. The FAs didn't want to deal with it and they gave bad info to me and the GAs. A pilot came back 5 minutes later before we left and stashed two huge bags in the overhead.

Yep tight connections and flights are frequently held, all doors open, for passengers that need to make it.

You are entitled if you think that your paid F tickets are in some way more deserving than an upgraded ticket or a flight booked with miles. Thank God the service and expectations of a class of service and frequent flyer status are NOT dependent on your hostile ideas.

Seattlite

Upgrades are are far from free. They're earned by those who fly enough to have certificates and status. You're the second person in this thread that assumes quite a lot and thinks that paying for a class of service entitles you to something better. It's all the same! What exactly is your claim to Delta or any airline when you pay for an F ticket? You think you get something better? Do they feel bad for you when you book a non-refundable F ticket and have to change your flight? Haha, they collect your money just like the rules say they will.

All of you folks that think you deserve better in the same class of service because you pay for it vs. other folks that use miles, certificates, happen to snag an upgrade or heck even get bumped for space reasons need to take a really long look at yourselves. You're the entitled ones. Perhaps you all should open up Entitled Air where the slogan is "Flying For Those That Can Afford It."

Seattlite

So should DL have informed me that our plane was to have an especially short connect window? They didn't. I found out because I logged in to check the flight. If they're willing to book 35 minute connections, they need to make them work. If not, start requiring longer connect times so that 20 minute delays don't cause problems.

"Doing a solid" is asking Delta to be consistent. If you're going to hold my flight going home from DTW to SEA at 7:30p on a 757 waiting for 10 or 15 PAX that will make the flight 30 minutes late, you can hold other flights as well.

Whether it's 10,000, 100,000 or 250,000 miles a year, passengers deserve consistency. And yup, I certainly expect a great experience every time when it's within human control on the airline that gets a large enough chunk of my business to call me their top tier "elite" - whatever that might mean.

Seattlite

My complaint obviously got someone's attention because I got a phone call today apologizing and asking for more information. That's new.

Feel free to follow your own advice when you write your next complaint. I'm sure it will compel the response you want.

N639DL

Making snips, bolding, etc. as needed to make my points.

1. I had to make several assumptions from your post because details weren't posted earlier but were referenced later. You said the flight landed at 9:28pm and your connection leaves at 9:43p... I almost asked how you were able to fly on an illegal connection. Until I found out later that your flight was late. Especially considering where you said "As the computer predicted two hours before our flight even departed SEA, we land around 9:28p in DTW" that made me think the flight was on time.

How late was the SEA-DTW flight?

2. You and the 5-10 other people were lucky to have the door open, even if it is the last flight of the night to DCA.

3. You are also lucky to have been in F, even after your seat was reassigned. I'm assuming this was an upgraded seat too since you talked about getting upgraded flying out of SEA. I had a similar experience at ATL a few years ago where we arrived at ATL late to make a connection. I had a seat in row 20 on a 757 (this was before Y+). I ended up in row 44 because that what was available. I'm assuming as well the FA was in uniform too and I'm confident they let you have 1D since it was FC and what not.

4. It does raise some flags in the system when a bag has a tag printed but never gets scanned.

5. I believe FAs/GAs at this point just cut it off by a head count of how many passengers have boarded instead of actually determining there isn't any overhead space. Granted it is a challenge to really see how much space there is left during boarding.

There are some valid points, but I do think the OP is overreacting to an extent.

StayingHomeIsBetter

D-40 on your boarding pass is a bald lie intended to ensure that you are at the gate before D-30.

I have had BPs claiming a D-40 boarding time when the scheduled arrival time for the inbound aircraft was D-35 or later.