Take this example the other way. A flight is pushed back from the gate even though it cannot take off due to a ground hold. Then you get to sit on the tarmack perhaps for 6 hours waiting to take off. In that case, if the crew times out, or you need refueling, you get to be delayed much more.

As I see it the current delay problems are three fold:

1. Air Traffic Control needs upgrade to allow planes to fly closer together and increase capacity.

2. Runway capacity is maxed out at all hub airports and needs to be increased.

3. There is insufficient gate capacity to handle the current number of flights especially when delays occur.

All three problems will have to be addressed and all will take years to solve. As a result the airlines working with the FAA and airports need to devise short approaches to ease the gridlock.

I'd bet that DL would argue that gate issues are out of their control due to infrastructure at ATL (or at any other airport, really--specifically thinking about JFK here).

That said, give it a shot. Nothing to lose with writing a letter regarding a situation like you state above.

Cheers.
-beno

Compensation threads are the new SkySaver S*cks.

DL's Compensation Policy for Skymiles Gold Member?
 

I am about 30 hrs into a delayed bag delivery with Delta. I was flying RIC-JFK and they never put it on the plane in RIC. My onward journey was with Virgin/BA, JFK-LHR-BCN. At JFK they promised I would have it in Barcelona in 24 hrs which i thought was pretty generous. But they are late and they promise compensation for necessities ($125/day it says on the lost bag documentation). Does anyone have exp with compensation or can they suggest the best way going about it? Would DL honor it even though my onward journey was not with them?

tks

4.5 hours on a plane at JFK - anything compensation?
 

I know that delays happen, especially in New York, for various reasons. I was pretty pissed off at Delta yesterday, however, when I found out how the treated the passengers on flight DL30 from JFK to SVO (Moscow). The flight was due to depart at 4:20pm on Sunday with my visiting grandparents on board (they were flying back to Moscow after a month-long stay in the U.S.). However, as the flight pulled away from the gate, there was an announcement that something was wrong with the mechanics and the flight would be delayed.

Long story short, the flight was delayed until 8:40pm because they had to fly the part (according to the in-flight announcement) from CVG to JFK and then install it on the 767. The plane pulled back to the gate, but they wouldn't let the people off the plane and wouldn't feed them. My grandparents are in their mid/late 70s and they were physically very distraught by the experience.

I know that these things happen, and that 4.5 hours isn't the record for delays and airlines not letting people off the plane, but is there some sort of a recourse one can seek from Delta? I think I know the answer and that answer is "sucks, but tough" and considering that the airlines are bleeding money, asking for any sort of a compensation for the inconvenience would be a waste of time. But I just wanted to get some thoughts from those who know more.

You're free to ask for whatever compensation you'd like. It is up to Delta.

Yes.

Welcome to JFK in the afternoon, the stinky a*hole of the U.S. air transport system.

This is inexcusable, particularly since they knew a part was having to be flown in from CVG. They knew that the extra ground time would be at least flight time from CVG to JFK. They could easily have assumed that it would take an hour or so on either side of the flight to load, off-load the part, and have it installed.

There is no reason passengers should have been left on the plane, and since it was an mx, they should have given meal vouchers. I would definitely ask for compensation--a lot of it--and file a report the DOT. Some people don't see the need for a passenger's bill of rights. Go figure.

Welcome to the SUCKY New Yorker airports
 

They certainly could have loaded extra food service to be consumed while waiting on the tarmac. Problem here is that the loaded passengers were considered cleared of customs and immigration, and they didn't want to bother with all that hassle of off-loadding and rechecking passports all over again. No place you could have put these people to keep them together
away from the unwashed masses in the terminal.

And New York area as well as LAX airports always SUCK.:p

That's the operative phrase. But, you're absolutely right, the very least they could have done was re-cater for the ground time.

Likely Delta did not have gate space for the aircraft right away. The evening intl banks out of Kennedy are jammed pack for DL with very tight timings. That is the most likely reason for no gate return.

My partner got a $100 e-credit for a similar 6 hour delay. Maybe they won't even pro-rate it and they'll get $100 each. Worth writing.

It can't hurt to write. They might throw them a small delta dollars voucher, $100 or less. I doubt they'd get any more than that.

I got DL$75 a couple years ago for having the cr@p scared out of me. I didn't have to ask, it just appeared in my mailbox. It probably helps to have status. Good luck.