After almost 10-years of being a DL DM I cannot figure out their customer service strategy. I’ve had minor hiccups (example - last year there were fuel shortages in STT and our STT-JFK flight had to make a quick hop over to STX to grab more fuel to make it back to JFK. Even with that stop we still arrived on time into JFK but DL gave us 25k miles each). But when I have written in I’ve waited as long as two months for a reply.

I don’t know if DL has an internal AI that scans the complaint and categorizes them so certain ones get attention promptly while others fall to the bottom of the list. It’s truly a mystery.

Your last comment about AA makes me happy I’ve hit EXP again and moved my flying over to them. Looking like 2023 will be my last year as a DM. Will be making a long drop to Silver in 2024 which I only have from being a DL MM.

delta seem to be investing their creative energy and budget in the shiny new welcome aboard videos that seem to update all the time, while they cut corners in premium cabin service, and offer poor service recovery when they fail. (Still crickets)

If the leadership team believes their premium customers will continue to be effectively brainwashed by the splashy welcome videos, backed up by run of the mill in flight and after care, they are only fooling themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree. When DL used to be operationally flawless they could get away with this. Now that DL has just as many challenges as WN this BS won’t cut it and previously loyal customers will move their business to other airlines.

AA still has some ground to make up but it’s clear they’re putting in the effort and have come a long ways.

Free Wi-Fi did not work for the entire flight (>5 hours) for all pax. Crew tried resetting it multiple times to no avail.

DL gave 9k miles as compensation as a DM. I’ll take it. Lol

Originally booked MSP-BOS-DUB, the BOS-DUB flight got canceled at 2 am after a ~4-hour rolling delay due to mechanical issues and the crew timing out. The next available flight wouldn't have had us in DUB until 24 hours after our original scheduled arrival, and as this was only a 48-hour trip, it was somewhat pointless to continue. Ultimately decided to cancel the trip and had them rebook us on a flight back to MSP.

EC 261 Compensation
Bit of an unusual one; wondering if anyone has thoughts on if the 600 EUR compensation from EC 261 applies here since we never actually made it to the EU country.

Customer Service Issues

• Red Coat told passengers to get off the plane, exit the secure area, and go to the ticket counter for rebooking. However, after everyone from the flight arrived at the ticket counter, it turned out that it was closed, and no one from Delta would be there until ~4 am.
• Delta booked us a nearby hotel for the night via text, but when we finally got to the hotel, they said they were sold out and didn't have a room for us despite the confirmation email from Delta. So ultimately, we returned to the airport and waited there for our flight back home. We used Lyft for the trip to/from the hotel since it was outside of the shuttle service hours.

If EC 261 seems feasible here, not sure if I should also request some goodwill miles for the general inconvenience/customer experience misses or just request the statutory compensation.

Deicing fail
 

Just asking if this is worth asking for compensation.

DL 713 BOS-LAX on 2/23/2023.
Scheduled BOS departure 7:05pm.
Scheduled LAX arrival at 10:50pm.
Boarding was on time.
Real LAX arrival at 1:08am the next morning.

The official flight time was 8 hours 49 minutes and it beat out my SLC-HNL flight as the longest domestic flight I ever had (or at least BIS). It was rather painful.

What happened was it was snowing and they needed to deice and that started quickly after doors closed and push-back. Not a blizzard - it was generally mix of snow and rain. No issue with the need to deice.

But then the Captain said the deicing machine broke. We sat there with no de-icing happened for about an hour and a half until the issued was rectified.

This caused the ghastly arrival time. Besides the discomfort, real monetary loss for me was $16.50 at a long-term off-airport parking lot because I didn't pick up the car until then next calendar day than what I had prepaid for.

If the deicing equipment didn't fail, we probably would've been maybe 30-45 minutes late instead of 2 hours 18 minutes. While weather is out of DL's control, I don't think the ground-ops equipment functioning correctly is not.

Worth the email?

it’s mostly weather related. Suggest not take the hit to your record.

EC 261 eligibility based on landing also requires that the airline be headquartered in the EU, so regardless of whether you "landed" or not, you wouldn't be eligible.

Sounds like a crappy experience, though; comp-worthy.

Thanks! Guess that's what I get for posting while still sleep-deprived xD

I was on a recent flight that pushed 0h25 late, and we flew like the wind (direct GC route, 150+ tailwind), landed early, and then had to wait 25 minutes for a ground crew (blocked in 0h09 late).

Before we had even parked, there was an apology email in my inbox with 2,500 miles. It had no explanation, but I can't imagine what else it was for and I did miss something the captain said while we were sitting just short of the gate. Still, wow. My only other theory is that the FA was apologizing a lot to my seatmate about something that had happened (previous IRROPS?) and there was a typo somewhere.

When did they stop delivering it the same day (night)?

Though they have lied to me, about my bag going out when it arrives, and it being prioritized due to my status (then Diamond). In reality, the delivery company made one pickup a day (late evening), and they set the route for deliveries, with no priorities.

If BOS-DUB was on DL, no EC 261 compensation.

Did you have a confirmation number for the hotel? If I did, I'd ask the hotel for walk compensation (hotel version of IDB). Some hotel chains are very generous, especially if you have status.

In addition to most flights operated by airlines headquartered in the EU, EC261 applies to flights departing EU territory operated by any carrier. MSP-BOS-DUB on Delta would not qualify because none of the flights departed the EU.

During the Christmas meltdown in 2022. DL baggage office at DTW had thousands of bags stacked up.

Flying in domestic D1 LAX - DCA, which was the last leg of a vacation trip to Kauai. Purchased main cabin, and used a GUC to upgrade. Was disappointed that they had a last minute aircraft swap, and we were in regular F recliner seats, not D1 lie-flat seats. (Although with full bedding, ironically.)

Submitted a complaint about the downgrade and received a $200 eCredit for each passenger.