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Aug 9, 2016, 1:04 pm by TheLifeOfA_NKCMAs most of us ...well, all of us, know, there was a power failure at ground ops in ATL on Monday (2016-08-08) at 2:39AM which lead to mass-cancellations and delays and rebookings spanning as far as next Sunday (2016-08-21) as of Aug 9. Passengers didn't hesitate to display their dissapointment, Twitter, ACS, and DL phone lines were ambushed with customers. In an effort to keep our fellow flyers informed on the incoming changes and information, this Wiki was formed.
You may all feel free to edit it as your leisure as we continue to watch this develop..
If you are currently at an airport right now, your information on the ongoing events and current situation there is equally as valuable. Thanks for your input.
If you have part of an article in your post, please cite it with a URL to it's
origin.
Airport & Support Situation..
NRT: Foam or Blowup Pad, Crackers, and water given out to customers for sleeping prior to hotel voucher last night
MSP: "Security Lines best since reconfiguration"
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Note:
Some passengers are reporting long waiting queues on DL phone lines. If possible avoid contacting DL CSR by phone (DM and medallion lines are also expected to have a notably longer wait as well) and instead redirect att'n to Twitter which has been said to be notably quicker than other means of assistance, including Need Help Centers and Gate Agents. Fly Delta and Delta.com should also be permitting rebooking on to other flights at this time. If you are unable to take advantage of any of these methods, express add'l patience
Delta Related Updates:
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August 11th, 2016 // 11:00AM ET - Flights OPs Return to Normal
Flight operations have returned to normal following Mondays outage, airline officials said at noon today. Delta started the day with roughly 25 mainline flights canceledsome due to bad weather in the Midwestand no additional cancellations are anticipated.
The airline is back on its feet, moving past this weeks disruption and operating normally, said Dave Holtz, S.V.P. - Operations and Customer Center. Running a reliable operation is something we pride ourselves on and frankly, that didnt happen this week. But our teams have worked tirelessly to bring back the dependable airline our customers have known us to be and have come to expect from us.
SLC.jpgWith the impact of the power loss is in the rearview mirror, the airline is carefully monitoring the development of a weather system that may hit the eastern third of the U.S. later today, with the possibility of air traffic control-related delays possible in the Northeast. No additional cancellations as a result of weather are expected, however.
The airline plans to fly more than 610,000 people today. By noon Thursday, nearly 2,200 flights had departed with more than 85 percent departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.
Even so, customers traveling today should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Delta's travel waiver has been extended through Thursday.
Monday morning an uninterrupted power source switch experienced a small fire which resulted in a massive failure at Deltas Technology Command Center. This caused the power control module to malfunction, sending a surge to a transformer outside of Delta, resulting in the loss of power. The power was stabilized and power was restored quickly. But when this happened, critical systems and network equipment didnt switch over to backups. Around 300 of about 7,000 data center components were discovered to not have been configured appropriately to avail back-up power. In addition to restoring Deltas systems to normal operations, Delta teams this week have been working to ensure reliable redundancies of electrical power as well as network connectivity and applications are in place.
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August 10th, 2016
Travel waiver impacted dates now extended to include August 11th
https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...em-outage.html
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4:30PM ET // August 10th, 2016 - Delta has canceled 317 flights today, none in the last hour. Of 3,100 flights that have departed during the day, about 2/3 left within 30 minutes of their scheduled departure time.
Delta's travel waiver has been extended. The airline has extended its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by lengthy delays or cancellations. Many customers have already been contacted by Delta.
Delta CEO Bastian: 'This isn't who we are'
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2:30PM ET // August 10th, 2016 - Delta has canceled 311 flights today. About 2,540 flights have departed, 70 percent of those within 30 minutes of the scheduled departure time. Delta operates nearly 6,000 flights a day this time of year.
Delta's travel waiver has been extended. The airline has extended its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by lengthy delays or cancellations. Many customers have already been contacted by Delta.
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12:30 PM ET // August 10th, 2016 - Delta has added a few more cancellations, bringing the number today to 278. About 1,950 flights have departed, 75 percent of those within 30 minutes of scheduled departure time. Delta operates nearly 6,000 flights a day this time of year.
Delta also extended its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or lengthy cancellations. Many customers have already been contacted by Delta.
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11:00AM EDT // August 10th, 2016 - Delta officials anticipate returning to a normal operation by afternoon Wednesday following an outage Monday that disrupted the flight schedule, though scattered thunderstorms expected in the eastern U.S. may slow the recovery.
By late morning, Delta had canceled 255 flights while 1,500 flights departed. About 80 percent of those flights departed within 30 minutes of their scheduled time.
Technology systems that allow airport customer service agents to process check-ins, conduct boarding and dispatch aircraft are functioning normally with the bulk of delays and cancellations coming as a result of flight crews displaced or running up against their maximum allowed duty period following the outage.
Were in the final hours of bouncing back from the disruption, said Bill Lentsch, Deltas Senior Vice President Airport Customer Service and Airline Operations. Delta employees have been working around the clock and are committed to bringing the airline back to full strength. We know this has been a rough couple of days for our customers and apologize to those who have experienced our less-than-stellar operation.
Leaders and employees continue to focus on promptly moving departures at the airline's Atlanta hub, the world's busiest. Delta sent reservations personnel from the corporate headquarters in Atlanta to help customer service agents process customers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A cadre of additional employees were also positioned throughout the Atlanta airport to help customers get to their flights.
Customers traveling today should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Customers can rebook their flight via the website.
Delta's travel waiver has been extended and the airline continued to provide hotel vouchers to several thousand customers, including more than 2,300 Tuesday night in Atlanta. Delta extended its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or cancellations. Many customers have already been contacted by Delta.
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7:00AM ET // August, 10th, 2016 - Delta officials anticipate returning to a normal operation by mid-to-late afternoon Wednesday following an outage Monday that disrupted the airlines flight schedule, though a chance of scattered thunderstorms expected in the eastern U.S. may have the potential to slow the recovery.
Teams across the airline continued work during the overnight hours to bring an end to the impact of Mondays outage that disrupted operations. Delta will start the Wednesday operation with a little over 150 system-wide cancellations after roughly 800 flights were canceled Tuesday.
Technology systems that allow airport customer service agents to process check-ins, conduct boarding and dispatch aircraft are functioning normally with the bulk of delays and cancellations coming as a result of flight crews displaced or running up against their maximum allowed duty period following the outage.
Were in the final hours of bouncing back from the disruption, said Bill Lentsch, Deltas Senior Vice President Airport Customer Service and Airline Operations. Delta employees have been working around the clock and are committed to bringing the airline back to full strength. We know this has been a rough couple of days for our customers and apologize to those who have experienced our less-than-stellar operation.
Delta CEO Bastian: 'This isn't who we are'
Leaders and employees continue to focus on promptly moving departures at the airline's Atlanta hub, the world's busiest. Delta sent reservations personnel from the corporate headquarters in Atlanta to help customer service agents process customers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A cadre of additional employees were also positioned throughout the Atlanta Airport to help customers get to their flights.
Customers traveling today should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Customers can rebook their flight via the website.
Delta's travel waiver has been extended and the airline continued to provide hotel vouchers to several thousand customers, including more than 2,300 Tuesday night in Atlanta. Through noon ET, Delta will extend its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or cancellations to cover Tuesday. Many customers have already been contacted by Delta agents.
Unaccompanied minors will again be allowed to travel on Delta Wednesday following a temporary stay during the height of the disruption.
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August 9th, 2016 // 6:00 PM EST - Rebooking, Refunds, and Compensation: What Customers Need to Know:
Delta people worldwide are working around the clock to take care of customers affected by the disruption of airline operations. Below are updates to assist customers with questions regarding rebooking a flight, the current travel waiver and compensation Delta is offering affected customers:
Q: What does Delta's travel waiver offer customers?
If a customer's flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, he or she entitled to a refund. Even if the flight is not canceled, a one-time change to the ticket may be made without a fee. See full details here.
Q. Has Delta's travel waiver been extended?
Yes, to offer additional flexibility to customers who wish to make changes to their travel plans, Delta's travel waiver has been extended. For the latest information, see full details here.
Q. Is Delta offering travel vouchers to impacted customers?
Yes. Delta will provide $200 in travel vouchers to all customers who experienced a delay of greater than three hours or a cancelled flight as a result of the impact to operations systemwide. The vouchers are available for travel on all Delta and Delta Connection-operated flights.
Customers affected by the outage and who have provided their email address will be contacted via email and will receive their voucher in seven to 10 business days. Customers who have not been contacted can complete a Customer Care form on www.delta.com/wecare to receive their voucher. All travel must be booked by one year from the date the voucher was issued.
Q. Do the travel vouchers also apply to customers who are entitled to a refund?
Yes. Delta will provide $200 in travel vouchers to all customers who experienced a delay of greater than three hours or a cancelled flight as a result of the impact to operations systemwide.
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August 9th, 2016 - Delta CEO Ed Bastian Releases Another Statement
Today Ed released another statement regarding the ongoing system reset and outage. Claiming "This isn't who we are". It can be found here.
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Nonrev Travel Discouraged; Buddy Passes embargoed
Delta employees and family with nonrev flight privileges are discouraged at this time from making any personal travel until further notice. Additionally, during this time travelling via the use of a buddy pass will be embargoed. An end date to this travel suspension has not been decided upon and will be released in future updates.
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Travel Waiver in effect:
All Delta flights
August 8-10, 2016
Ticket must be Reissued On or Before, and Rebooked Travel must begin no later than:
August 21, 2016
Note: This also has been extended to include hotel rooms and other accommodations for those customers who may need to take an add'l night stay due to a flight cancellation.
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August 9th, 2016 // 11:00 PM EST -
Delta canceled about 775 flights Tuesday as the airline worked to establish normal operations after Mondays outage that disrupted the flight schedule. The outlook for Wednesdays operation is positive, Delta officials said, with about 90 cancellations expected at the beginning of the day leading to normal operations later.
Delta continues to recover from events earlier this week and expect to be back to normal operations by mid-day Wed, with some cancellations in the morning. -summarized; news.delta.com
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August 9th, 2016 // 2:00 PM EST - Cause of Outage Identified:
"a critical power control module at our Technology Command Center malfunctioned, causing a surge to the transformer and a loss of power. The universal power was stabilized and power was restored quickly. But when this happened, critical systems and network equipment didn't switch over to backups. Other systems did. And now we're seeing instability in these systems."
Power was restored quickly however, due to some critical systems and network equipment didn't switch over to the backups leading to the outage; DL still in recovery. ACS systems are still catching up and have been reported to be running slow -summarized; news.delta.com
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August 9th, 2016 // 12:30 PM EST - Delta has canceled about 530 flights today while more than 1,600 have departed as the airline works diligently to normalize operations after Monday's outage that disrupted the flight schedule. Leaders and employees continue to focus on promptly moving departures at the airline's Atlanta hub, the world's busiest.
Customers traveling today should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Customers can rebook their flight via the website.
Delta's travel waiver has been extended to customers traveling on Aug. 9. Also, unaccompanied minors that have not yet begun travel will not be accepted until Wednesday. Those customers will be able to book without fee at a later date.
Delta offered compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or cancellations. -news.delta.com
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August 9th, 2016 // 8:30 AM EST - What Customers Need to Know for Tuesday:
Delta is cancelling more than 300 flights Tuesday morning as it works to reset the operation and get crews, aircraft and other operational elements in place to take care of customers. The airline experienced a loss of power Monday morning that impacted operations systemwide.
Here are some things to know today:
1. Customers traveling Tuesday should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Customers can rebook their flight via the website.
2. Delays continue. Customers heading to the airport should expect delays and cancellations. While inquiries are high and wait times are long, our customer service agents are doing everything they can to assist.
3. Delta's travel waiver has been extended to customers traveling on Tuesday.
4. Delta extended its offer of compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or cancellations to cover today.
5. Unaccompanied minors that have not yet begun travel will not be accepted until Wednesday. Those customers will be able to book without fee at a later date.-news.delta.com
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RM people hired off the street that never worked RES working the RES phones and rebooking people? No chance....
It wouldn't surprise me if DL had some sort of program that trains people in all departments to jump in when things like this happen. When I used to work for a major electric utility nearly everyone in the company had "storm duty" assignments including high-ranking fresh out of biz-school management folks. Everyone had to get re-certified each year and when major storms hit most other functions stopped. We would even loan out people to other utilities for bad storms. I would assume airlines do something very similar.Originally Posted by sleuth
I suspect RM probably has people who used to work in RES and know AXIS and/or DLTERM. I think a more plausible scenario would be sending them to the airport to help in the lobby, direct traffic, scan boarding passes while the actual gate agent works the computer, etc...RM people hired off the street that never worked RES working the RES phones and rebooking people? No chance....
I actually expect this sort of mobilization is somewhat common (a few times a year) related to weather events. I don't think it would make sense for DL to carry enough dedicated reservation staff to cover the occasional massive surges that occur as a normal part of the airline business. I also to hear all to often of multi-hour waits like you do over on the UA boards.
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Hey, fellow DCA-ite: if you're going to switch, why not to AA given their presence at DCA and non-stops, etc.? United out of DCA doesn't offer much. Unless you're going to schlep out to IAD. I'm currently status challenging on AA. I'm so much more used to DL, so it's weird, but I also get the feeling that hopefully AA and UA are working to improve their product while DL might be slipping.Originally Posted by WWads
This should definitely happen. I haven't been impressed with DL's recovery from all this, and I just have a feeling deep down that things are going to continue to get worse in the long run. I have PM again for next year, but after that, I'm going to seriously consider switching to United. The time I spend connecting is starting to add up, and is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
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That is a circular argument. Why do you think the crews and planes were not in the right place? Time for your popcorn.Originally Posted by Widgets
Umm the technology hasn't really caused an IROP in days. The long recovery is the result of crews being out of place from the original cancellations earlier this week. But if you want to continue your blind crusade, then let me get some popcorn. I love reading people dumbly blame the wrong reasons for delays.
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People are saying the computers still aren't working. That's not true. Crews aren't in the right place because of cancellations caused by the outage earlier this week. Pretending like flights are still canceling because the technology simply isn't working still is wrong. The technology is working, it's just the problem of positioning crews that were screwed up in the beginning. That's all I'm saying. The technology is working right now.Originally Posted by sfozrhfco
That is a circular argument. Why do you think the crews and planes were not in the right place? Time for your popcorn.
Crew positioning problems caused by the outage can't be fixed overnight. 3.5 days to recover from a worldwide stoppage isn't terrible given the circumstances. What other airlines have recovered faster?
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David
I haven't gotten anything and the door on my flight Monday night closed a minute late. Originally Posted by DiverDave
Same here. Haven't gotten any notice about the $200 voucher, but that may have to go towards future corporate travel. I'll have to find out the policy.David

I just cancelled an award ticket for tomorrow. It's outside the waiver period. No problem. Cancelled, waived re-deposit fee and thanked me for my business
While Delta is far from perfect they are far from the bottom. (I'll take them for the horrid AA agents I have dealt with any day)
While Delta is far from perfect they are far from the bottom. (I'll take them for the horrid AA agents I have dealt with any day)
Suspended
Not the best day to be flying into LGA (weather issues not outage related), UGH, Shuttles from ORD cancelled this afternoon and my then 430pm departure which cancelled turned into the 730PM which is now delayed until 9pm....wonder if I will get a voucher since this is all taking place within the waiver period lol.
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Originally Posted by hnewman
My Tuesday AM flight MSP-DCA at 7AM was canceled and rebooked on 10:30AM flight so I jumped on 8:50 AM flight MSP-IAD today my 14:40 DCA-MSP flight was canceled and rebooked getting home at 7PM. Changed to DCA-CVG-MSP and when I just got up found 20K pesos in my account. Thanks DL
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Originally Posted by Los_Pepes
I too found 20,000 sky pesos in my account today. I still want the segments I was in the middle of flying when I was forced to flee ATL and rent a car for the rest of my journey.
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Hmmm. I did not. Of course, I don't have status, and my ticket was an award one. But I did have a 27 hour delay and paid for my own hotel and uber to and from airport. And my own meals (and son's). Didn't see any pizza or snacks or anything. I did get the $200 voucher email, but I'd like to see my 30k refunded. For a variety of reasons that 27 hour delay--while not horrible--was worth more than $200, IMO. Originally Posted by zedthedeadpoet
I got 20k "medallion appreciation miles" today as well...
I'm hoping I'll get reimbursed for hotel by trip insurance, but if not, that would also be a welcome credit from DL, though I don't want to push my luck.
What's reasonable compensation with a 27 hour delay and hotel stay?
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However, I think it's fair to ask whether DL had appropriate contingency plans in place, including rescheduling algorithms to move crew to where they could have the most positive effect on the network system. There should have been advanced planning for how something of this nature would be handled, but instead we get the impression that it's being done in a seat of the pants mode.Originally Posted by Widgets
Umm the technology hasn't really caused an IROP in days. The long recovery is the result of crews being out of place from the original cancellations earlier this week. But if you want to continue your blind crusade, then let me get some popcorn. I love reading people dumbly blame the wrong reasons for delays.
One part of the job is to avoid meltdowns but it's equally important to know how to recover optimally when a meltdown does happen.
After my JFK-FLL flight was delayed on 8 Aug for 3.5 hours, I got $250 voucher and 20,000 SkyMiles. Do you think this is fair?
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I actually expect this sort of mobilization is somewhat common (a few times a year) related to weather events. I don't think it would make sense for DL to carry enough dedicated reservation staff to cover the occasional massive surges that occur as a normal part of the airline business. I also to hear all to often
of multi-hour waits like you do over on the UA boards.
This comment reminded me of the time I was in Germany when PMNW pilots went on strike and almost all NW flights were being cancelled one day at a time. When I called to be rebooked, the agent seemed to be a BA employee (or maybe a British travel agent who mostly booked BA flights) as she had a lovely accent and constantly referred to WBC on NW and KLM as Club. I never did figure out whether NW somehow outsourced their European call center to BA during the crisis. It seems highly unlikely to go to a competitor for support, but the person really did seem like a BA agent.Originally Posted by kenn0223
It wouldn't surprise me if DL had some sort of program that trains people in all departments to jump in when things like this happen. When I used to work for a major electric utility nearly everyone in the company had "storm duty" assignments including high-ranking fresh out of biz-school management folks. Everyone had to get re-certified each year and when major storms hit most other functions stopped. We would even loan out people to other utilities for bad storms. I would assume airlines do something very similar.I actually expect this sort of mobilization is somewhat common (a few times a year) related to weather events. I don't think it would make sense for DL to carry enough dedicated reservation staff to cover the occasional massive surges that occur as a normal part of the airline business. I also to hear all to often
of multi-hour waits like you do over on the UA boards.
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IMO, yes. At the 1 cent per mile pay with miles valuation, that's $450 - or $125/hr. As a salary, that would be $260,000 a year, which seems quite generous. Or, looking at it differently, I'd usually cheerfully take a $400 voucher for a VDB that resulted in a 4 hour delay.Originally Posted by deltadiamondflyer
After my JFK-FLL flight was delayed on 8 Aug for 3.5 hours, I got $250 voucher and 20,000 SkyMiles. Do you think this is fair?
I don't know that this amount would be sufficient for me if I was delayed overnight and DL failed to provide hotel accommodations, for example. But for an average domestic delay of this length, I think it's pretty reasonable compensation.
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One hopes they're scrubbing the IFE and other ad channels to suppress the "Reliability Means Delta" marketing message for the next month or two... Originally Posted by DLdweeb
If there is a small silver lining (and I'm not ignoring that fact that many thousands of pax were seriously inconvenienced) it may be that DL might be slightly less obnoxious and arrogant with regard to operational reliability

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When/how did you get notified of the $250? Is that instead of or in addition to the 200?Originally Posted by deltadiamondflyer
After my JFK-FLL flight was delayed on 8 Aug for 3.5 hours, I got $250 voucher and 20,000 SkyMiles. Do you think this is fair?











