C W

Very nice work Reid.

The OP never states if he was flying direct to LHR, although it sounds like it. The only other possibility on Delta metal would have been Delta 84 to CDG at 11:04pm and then connecting onward to London via Air France.

If it was an unresolved schedule change then that falls on OP to resolve. Delta is incredibly generous, so much so that many abuse it, in terms of schedule change reaccommodation. A schedule change that caused an illegal connection (as DL895-DL32 is) is a golden ticket to fly in basically any way you want to your destination. But you have to check your itinerary and call if something insane is going on like a 43 minute II connection at ATL.

Orange County Commuter

I'm with Reid, we are missing something here. I tried to book from San Jose to London. 875 isn't even an option. I am not sure how his luggage got on the flights at all, but there are some missing facts.


So either the OP or his TA missed that there was a schedule change basically making this impossible or some "creative booking" occurred somewhere. And why was immigration suppose to let this guy run to the front of the line? Just because he had an "important meeting" ?

But I doubt we will here from him again. We were all suppose to go "OMG Delta did you wrong you should get LOTS of money" and we didn't so.... But to the OP, as soon as you started the "I am never flying Delta again" rant you gave up a lot of power with your demands for lots of compensation. Why should they care about making you happy if they already lost you as a customer?

flyerCO

Most IAFs have a line for or allow skipping to front for those with short (sometimes called HOT) connections.

Orange County Commuter

Apparently you don't fly through Atlanta often. We don't have this. We just like to watch people get hysterical. (Trust me there's no fast track unless you pay! I have seen people beg hysterically and get nowhere!)

Delta probably should have given OP his luggage but other than that I don't think they have a lot of liability. We don't know when luggage showed up (that detail is missing) or what OP spent (another missing detail).

This is a reminder as another person said that it pays to carry on enough necessities to survive. If I am checking on international there's a change of clothing in my carry on so I won't have to shop for basics in Europe!

MrWiggles

DL30 on March 18th had a scheduled departure of 10:21pm and an actual departure of 10:45pm, so I think the OP would have been able to book the itinerary s/he mentioned.

Orange County Commuter

Yep.....

But I wouldn't have. You need 2 hours minimum to get through immigration, grab your bag, go through customs, go back through the TSA etc... I tell people connecting in Atlanta you need a lot of time. We have an incredibly inefficient immigration team (December 26th I was with my mother who does not have GE.. 2.5 hours to clear immigration! And the surly agent was really rude about my Russian Visa, I think he thought he could prove I was a terrorist by that one time entry LOL! And yes people all around us missed their planes.. At least we were overnighting in Atlanta)

Reid

Yeah, that would work. 91 minute connection, 1 minute over the MCT. CBP shows an non-US citizen average wait time of 41 minutes and a max of 66 minutes for the arrival hour which would make that a very tight cnx.

Often1

If this was a domestic flight, that is SOP. You must be at the gate no later than T-15 or you may lose your seat. While DL may still permit you to board, if the flight is overbooked and at risk of an oversale, that is when you lose your seat.

For international it is T-30.

That is what happened to OP in this situation. Aircraft still present, but seat needed and OP offloaded for a standby.

C W

Within MCT but outside of SCT (sensible connection time) for a seemingly infrequent traveler without expedited customs access. Although if he was traveling on a diplomatic passport he should have had that.

Considering that Delta got him to ATL early and his connection flight left late this is mostly on the CPB and somewhat on OP for booking a very tight connection on the last flight of the night during spring break and not packing any clothes in his carry-on.

Baggage mishandling occurs during rebooking. This is really on OP for missing his connection, not on Delta. If we hear more about his claim we can help him with that. So far I see Delta as blameless.

It would have been fun to sprint for the CDG flight after missing LHR. My personal best international speed-rebooking was changing from DUS-AMS-DTW-LAS to DUS-ATL-LAS when DUS-AMS got delayed. DUS-ATL left at 11:30am, I called the Medallion line and started speed-walking to the gate at 10:46am. Ticket issued by 11:03 and even got my pick of a window seat.

TTT

Moral of the story:

No US citizen shouldn't make an INTL-INTL connection in the US without ample time, it's not worth the hassle/potential cost.

There are more "connection friendly" countries for transit available for the OP's routing (i.e. Mexico and Canada).

audidudi

I'm not surprised that we haven't heard from the OP again. He's obviously trying to make a mountain out of a molehill! I have zero sympathy with him for even attempting to make this connection!

exwannabe

I thought they could through check on an I-I flight?

If so, DL could not give the pax his luggage as it would be outside US customs.

kitkat77

I've transited Mexico and did not find it very friendly. Perhaps it is better now. Panama was a good one, though...

BenA

Mexico isn't particularly convenient for transit, either, at least in MEX; you need to clear Mexican immigration even if you're immediately departing to a third country.

I more or less enjoyed my business class trip from SFO-MEX-EZE on AeroMexico, but the MEX transfer experience was the worst part of the trip, and was no better than the US (possibly worse).

Canada, on the other hand, is an excellent choice; airports like YVR have a great sterile transfer setup.

kop84

I thought CBP was experimenting with through checked bags I to I in DTW. I vaguely remember that from a few years ago, but I cannot recall if anything came from it.