Apr 8, 2017, 1:28 pm
Last edit by: Renes Points
Great explanation about Crew Tracking & Scheduling and what went wrong: Post #590
[Feel free to edit / add to the timeline of DL events.]
First waver ATL only and only 5-7 and by 11th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170406...perations.html
Second waver "all" hubs and 5-9 and by 16th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170407...perations.html
April 6th COO Gil West apology and blames "unprecedented" ( 5 hour ) storm / weather: http://news.delta.com/chief-operatin...cedented-storm
April 7 & 8 Five things to know list: http://news.delta.com/5-things-custo...tions-saturday
April 7th In midst of service fail Delta devalues SkyMiles with partners: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...000-miles.html
April 8th updates on operations: http://news.delta.com/operational-re...ontinues-today
April 12th will be $DAL earnings live and should yield more info: http://ir.delta.com/news-and-events/...s/default.aspx
April 9, 11:40 PM (EDT): What appears to be the last cancellation of the meltdown was made for DL2682/10Apr BOS-LGA (717 aircraft)
April 11th - Delta begins to pay out compensation for impacted travelers: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1835970-early-april-operation-disruption-compensation.html
Other coverage of the event:
Pilots board relating to this epic fail: https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/d...-atl-irop.html
Factors compounding delays/cancellations:
Current delay statistics: Flightaware's live flight delay and cancellation statistics
News coverage:
BuzzFeedNews: Delta Has Canceled Thousands Of Flights And Everyone Is In Hell - No spring break is safe. (Posted on April 7, 2017, at 11:59 a.m.)
The Southampton Press: Cancelled Flight Dashes Disney Dream For Hampton Bays Marching Band (April 7, 2017 11:30 AM)
USA Today: Thousands of Delta flights canceled days after storms (Published 8:53 a.m. ET April 8, 2017)
CNN - Delta meltdown: Pilots are on hold, too (Updated 6:52 PM ET, Sat April 8, 2017)
The Wall Street Journal - Delta Struggles to Recover From Last Week’s Storms (April 9, 2017 12:23 p.m. ET)
AJC.com: Delta woes stretch into Sunday with more cancellations (11:57 a.m. Sunday, April 9, 2017)
AJC.com: Why one day of thunderstorms turned into a five-day Delta meltdown (12:01 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)
Detroit Free Press: Headaches continue for Delta fliers in Detroit (Published 2:26 p.m. ET April 9, 2017 Updated 5:54 p.m. ET April 9, 2017)
CNN - Delta tries to 'normalize' as flight cancellations continue (Updated 4:06 PM ET, Sun April 9, 2017)
New York Times: Storms, Though Over, Still Disrupt Delta Flights (APRIL 9, 2017)
NewsChannel5.com - Nashville Man's Body Stranded After Delta Flight Chaos (4:24 PM April 9, 2017)
CBS North Carolina: Raleigh parents upset after son’s body stranded during Delta flight chaos (April 9, 2017, 8:14 pm Updated: April 10, 2017, 5:35 am)
AJC.com: Delta reassures customers as delays continue through weekend (5:53 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)
AJC.com: Hundreds of stranded bags left at Hartsfield-Jackson in aftermath of Delta flight cancellations (9:29 a.m. Monday, April 10, 2017)
Bloomberg: Delta Delays Drag On, Testing Passengers' Patience (April 9, 2017, 4:10 PM EDT Updated On April 10, 2017, 10:13 AM EDT)
BuzzFeedNews: Delta Suffered "Failure of Crew Tracking Systems" During Cancelled Flight Fiasco - "I feel like we are lost in the system." (Originally posted on April 11, 2017, at 3:28 p.m. Updated on April 12, 2017, at 10:38 a.m. )
Reuters (posted on BusinessInsider): Delta's profit drops 36.3% (Apr. 12, 2017, 7:20 AM)
AJC.com - Accused child rapist caught at airport when flight is delayed (7:39 p.m Thursday, April 13, 2017)
[Feel free to edit / add to the timeline of DL events.]
First waver ATL only and only 5-7 and by 11th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170406...perations.html
Second waver "all" hubs and 5-9 and by 16th: https://web.archive.org/web/20170407...perations.html
April 6th COO Gil West apology and blames "unprecedented" ( 5 hour ) storm / weather: http://news.delta.com/chief-operatin...cedented-storm
April 7 & 8 Five things to know list: http://news.delta.com/5-things-custo...tions-saturday
April 7th In midst of service fail Delta devalues SkyMiles with partners: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...000-miles.html
April 8th updates on operations: http://news.delta.com/operational-re...ontinues-today
April 12th will be $DAL earnings live and should yield more info: http://ir.delta.com/news-and-events/...s/default.aspx
April 9, 11:40 PM (EDT): What appears to be the last cancellation of the meltdown was made for DL2682/10Apr BOS-LGA (717 aircraft)
April 11th - Delta begins to pay out compensation for impacted travelers: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1835970-early-april-operation-disruption-compensation.html
Other coverage of the event:
Pilots board relating to this epic fail: https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/d...-atl-irop.html
Factors compounding delays/cancellations:
- Weather in ATL April 5
- DL terminating interline with AA
- Delta's systems crashing/overloaded
- DL's crew scheduling system crashed [rumor?]
- Rumored short-term power outage in ATL A concourse caused by airport construction some time around Tuesday-Wednesday
Current delay statistics: Flightaware's live flight delay and cancellation statistics
News coverage:
BuzzFeedNews: Delta Has Canceled Thousands Of Flights And Everyone Is In Hell - No spring break is safe. (Posted on April 7, 2017, at 11:59 a.m.)
The Southampton Press: Cancelled Flight Dashes Disney Dream For Hampton Bays Marching Band (April 7, 2017 11:30 AM)
USA Today: Thousands of Delta flights canceled days after storms (Published 8:53 a.m. ET April 8, 2017)
CNN - Delta meltdown: Pilots are on hold, too (Updated 6:52 PM ET, Sat April 8, 2017)
The Wall Street Journal - Delta Struggles to Recover From Last Week’s Storms (April 9, 2017 12:23 p.m. ET)
AJC.com: Delta woes stretch into Sunday with more cancellations (11:57 a.m. Sunday, April 9, 2017)
AJC.com: Why one day of thunderstorms turned into a five-day Delta meltdown (12:01 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)
Detroit Free Press: Headaches continue for Delta fliers in Detroit (Published 2:26 p.m. ET April 9, 2017 Updated 5:54 p.m. ET April 9, 2017)
CNN - Delta tries to 'normalize' as flight cancellations continue (Updated 4:06 PM ET, Sun April 9, 2017)
New York Times: Storms, Though Over, Still Disrupt Delta Flights (APRIL 9, 2017)
NewsChannel5.com - Nashville Man's Body Stranded After Delta Flight Chaos (4:24 PM April 9, 2017)
CBS North Carolina: Raleigh parents upset after son’s body stranded during Delta flight chaos (April 9, 2017, 8:14 pm Updated: April 10, 2017, 5:35 am)
AJC.com: Delta reassures customers as delays continue through weekend (5:53 p.m Sunday, April 9, 2017)
AJC.com: Hundreds of stranded bags left at Hartsfield-Jackson in aftermath of Delta flight cancellations (9:29 a.m. Monday, April 10, 2017)
Bloomberg: Delta Delays Drag On, Testing Passengers' Patience (April 9, 2017, 4:10 PM EDT Updated On April 10, 2017, 10:13 AM EDT)
BuzzFeedNews: Delta Suffered "Failure of Crew Tracking Systems" During Cancelled Flight Fiasco - "I feel like we are lost in the system." (Originally posted on April 11, 2017, at 3:28 p.m. Updated on April 12, 2017, at 10:38 a.m. )
Reuters (posted on BusinessInsider): Delta's profit drops 36.3% (Apr. 12, 2017, 7:20 AM)
AJC.com - Accused child rapist caught at airport when flight is delayed (7:39 p.m Thursday, April 13, 2017)
April 5, 2017: Delta cancels 300 flights due to thunderstorm
Apr 6, 2017, 10:03 am
#151
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 629
That really doesn't matter. The fact is, it's an aircraft there and it has a ton of empty seats. Whatever technical excuse is used to avoid utilizing those seats is something that should be easily overcome.
My itinerary showed up immediately after the diversion in the DL app as SNA-DFW-ATL. No reason the system should not be able to treat the DFW-ATL segment as a normal flight with normal electronic booking and boarding procedures. They had 2.5 hours when the systems were up and working fine that they could have confirmed people in the open seats, and I'm not even convinced the systems were down (the adjacent LAX-[DFW-]ATL flight was boarding normally and electronically), so there should have been no reason they couldn't have listed and cleared a bunch of standbys.
It's poor management and maybe poor IT contributing to this, but either way, it's an unacceptable waste of resources in a situation like this and should be addressed and prevented from happening in the future.
My itinerary showed up immediately after the diversion in the DL app as SNA-DFW-ATL. No reason the system should not be able to treat the DFW-ATL segment as a normal flight with normal electronic booking and boarding procedures. They had 2.5 hours when the systems were up and working fine that they could have confirmed people in the open seats, and I'm not even convinced the systems were down (the adjacent LAX-[DFW-]ATL flight was boarding normally and electronically), so there should have been no reason they couldn't have listed and cleared a bunch of standbys.
It's poor management and maybe poor IT contributing to this, but either way, it's an unacceptable waste of resources in a situation like this and should be addressed and prevented from happening in the future.
Apr 6, 2017, 10:15 am
#152
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: YBG
Programs: Marriott: Platinum Hilton: Diamond AC: 25K
Posts: 234
hmm my parents got stranded in atlanta yesterday they re booked them on a flight for tomorrow. so I kept checking to see if i could find an alternatfight or them once in a while one would show up and i would get an error message when i tried to change them. now i cant even do that it says this ticket can no be changed online.
Apr 6, 2017, 10:17 am
#153
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: DL DM, AS MVP 100K, Amtrak peon, Colbert Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 4,534
Was that really necessary? Poster clearly acknowledged possible technical limitations to clearing new pax onto the diverted flight (i.e. not all is known), but took an empathetic/pragmatic view (which I happen to share): It would have been in everyone's best interest, including DL's, to use the time on the ground to find a way to ensure butts in seats. And if the hurdles were truly insurmountable, management should create new processes to overcome them in the future. How is that sentiment possibly deserving of ridicule? Heaven forbid we push for DL to improve so that an already bad situation won't be made worse. 
Apr 6, 2017, 10:30 am
#155
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Delta DM MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, TSA Pre-Check
Posts: 343
I would agree....called at 8:15 EST this morning and told me I could get a callback in 3 hours.....I have NEVER, even during major storm issues with more cancellations than that had the issue.....actually got the call back at 9:51 EST but still the longest I have ever waited from the Diamond Line. I REALLY wish Delta would allow SDC via the website so you didn't have to call everytime......it should be simple.
Apr 6, 2017, 10:52 am
#156
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DCA
Programs: DL DM, HHonors Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 170
Yes their system seems under particular stress. I called 4 times and got a message saying that the line was busy - on the 5th time I got through to the hold system and was told that my wait would be 1.5+ hours.
Apr 6, 2017, 11:05 am
#158
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ATL
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt LT DM, Wyndham DM, Hertz PC, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,038
Apr 6, 2017, 11:19 am
#159
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
Posts: 4,519
"Due to OTHER / OTHER, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA (ATL). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes. To see if you may be affected, select your departure airport and check "Delays by Destination"."
Do we know what's causing this?
Do we know what's causing this?
Apr 6, 2017, 11:29 am
#160
Formerly known as scootr29
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 977
"Due to OTHER / OTHER, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA (ATL). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes. To see if you may be affected, select your departure airport and check "Delays by Destination"."
Do we know what's causing this?
Do we know what's causing this?
Apr 6, 2017, 11:33 am
#162
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
"Due to OTHER / OTHER, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA (ATL). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes. To see if you may be affected, select your departure airport and check "Delays by Destination"."
Do we know what's causing this?
Do we know what's causing this?
Apr 6, 2017, 11:40 am
#163
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Programs: DL Diamond, Marriott LT Plat, HH Diamond, Avis Preferred Plus, National Executive
Posts: 4,578
How'd you like Snow's? As a native Texan I miss Central TX BBQ. Your picture made me miss home.
Apr 6, 2017, 11:43 am
#164
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
Apr 6, 2017, 12:06 pm
#165
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ATL Lost Luggage
Programs: Kettle with Kryptonium Medallion Tags
Posts: 10,320
FWIW, this is what the Atlanta newspaper is reporting:
And this bit of DYKWIA amused me:
Link: AJC.com - Hundreds stuck at Hartsfield-Jackson after storm, delays and cancellations continue (10:15 a.m. Thursday, April 6, 2017)
Delta cancelled about 350 flights Wednesday and diverted more than 60 flights. Flight cancellations continued Thursday due to crews being out of place and crew rest requirements after Wednesday’s storms, according to Delta spokesman Michael Thomas.
And at mid-afternoon Thursday, a ground delay program was causing delays averaging 2 hours and 29 minutes for arriving flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
And at mid-afternoon Thursday, a ground delay program was causing delays averaging 2 hours and 29 minutes for arriving flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Traveler Belinda England from Glasgow, Ky. was returning with family from a vacation in Cancun, and said delays left their flight getting into Hartsfield-Jackson at around 2 a.m. By the time they got through Customs and tried to recheck their baggage, they had missed their connecting flight back home.
“I’m a travel agent, and I’m very, very upset with Delta,” England said. “I know weather is not their fault, but they had ample time to get their act together.” She said the experience would affect her interest in selling Delta flights in the future.
“I’m a travel agent, and I’m very, very upset with Delta,” England said. “I know weather is not their fault, but they had ample time to get their act together.” She said the experience would affect her interest in selling Delta flights in the future.
