Thank you.

Please be sure to let us know the results!

Also, would you consider telling us the story of what happened? :)

You can do this via a standard email "complaint" to customer service. If you are logged in, DL will have all the ticket details, but you should simply provide the following:

"On XXX, I was scheduled to fly from BRU to JFK on DL # under PNR # and e-ticket #. Our flight was cancelled for mechanical reasons and DL reticketed on (insert carrier & flight number) on the next day. I arrived at JFK more than 4 hours late on this Type 3 flight and am therefore due EUR 600."

DL is very quick about these things and will likely call you within 2-3 business days to verify the information and confirm that you want to be paid in Euros rather than US$.

Do note that if DL did not provide vouchers for hotel and meals, you may submit reasonable receipts and seek reimbursement (not compensation) for those.

The 12,500 SM are simply a customer service gesture. DL may, but likely will not bother, to reverse those miles.

Thank you. Sent!

I got here as quickly as I could.

Does EC261 apply to this situation?

XXX-AMS-SLC

XXX-AMS Delta flight number operated by KLM Cityhopper. AMS-SLC was Delta flight number operated by Delta. We were held on the ground in XXX due to congestion at AMS. Ended up arriving at AMS gate 4 minutes late. This was not a bus gate. My connection was only 50 minutes so I hurried and made it to the gate before the plane left. They actually boarded about 20 more people after I arrived at the gate. I was involuntarily denied boarding because I had checked a bag. Due to my original flight’s late (4 minutes) arrival, they assumed my checked bag wouldn’t make the connection and automatically rebooked me through MSP. MSP had a weather waiver in affect and I pleaded with them to route me anywhere else. Inflexible. The rebooked flight AMS-MSP meant I got to spend another 3+ hours in AMS on top of the original 50 minutes. Then the scheduled layover in MSP was nearly 5 hours (which turned into much longer due to the weather there). I ended up throwing in the towel and spent the night in MSP and got back to SLC the next day. The only thing Delta will do is pay $250 for my hotel (I spent more). Paid J ticket if it matters.

Just to add another stick in my eye, the original AMS-SLC flight I was booked on left the gate 11 minutes late. So I really had 57 minutes to connect…50-4+11.

I’ve got another Europe trip booked through Delta in J next month and am tempted to cancel it.

You don't get delay compensation because the delay was due to congestion.

On the other hand you may be entitled to denied boarding compensation under EU rules.

Edit: Have a look at Post 61 in this thread.

My recent 12 hour mid-air mechanical delay on DL operated LAX-AMS-CDG did not net a EU261 though I tried to claim it. They reimbursed for the hotel I booked in ATL and gave 11.5K extra miles.

You are eligible for the denied boarding compensation of €600, as you presented yourself at the gate before boarding had finished. Below is the legal precedent from the European Court of Justice, in case Delta initially refuse. Amsterdam (KLM) used to be notorious for rebooking connecting flights that were perfectly possible and then denying boarding, but I haven't seen it for a while so assumed the process had stopped (given the compensation costs).


CURIA - Documents

The airline said they didn't believe the bag would make it, not that the customer wouldn't make it. The Curia quote related to a mistaken belief re the passenger, not the luggage.

Still the law is clear (and dealt with by the ECJ): baggage not making the flight isn't a reason to deny boarding (in the context of a single contract of carriage involving a number of reservations on immediately connecting flights and a single check-in). The passengers just need to present themselves for boarding.

Not sure it matters with respect to EC 261, but the they said I couldn't fly without my bag for security reasons.
Even though I didn't mention it, Delta already dismissed EC 261 applicability in their email response to my complaint:
Your travel falls under the guidelines of European Union Regulation (EC) 261/2004 defining an airline's requirements when flight changes occur due to weather will not be compensated, but care and assist should be provided. Royal Dutch Airline flight KL XXXX and Delta Air Lines flight DL XXX on April 11, 2019 from XXX to Salt Lake City via Amsterdam was both delayed due to Air traffic control holding the aircrafts.

Of course it was denied because EU261 does not apply to non EU airlines when flying into the EU.

DL reimbursed your hotel due to their own policy (delay was their fault) and not because of the Duty of Care under EU261 because again it does not apply to a non EU airline when flying to the EU.

Was the LAX-AMS flight diverted to ATL? I don' think ATL is anywhere near the LAX-CDG route.

The Spanish case you referenced in your post dealt with denial of boarding due to overbooking, there is no indication that there was overbooking here.