John Wang

Days ago my family took SEA-KOA flight. We sat at the back of the plane. When the food cart arrived I asked to buy dinner for my family and was told that the foods were sold out! It was just the first round of food service! How could they not bring enough foods for a 6.5 hours flight? We ended up leaving the plane without having dinner... Luckily we brought enough snacks for kids so they had enough. Where to file complain to Delta to let them know this? Thanks.

third_wave

There is no guarantee of food for purchase availability in coach on domestic flights, including Hawaii. I agree that this is a long flight, but unfortunately you just have to come prepared.

Widgets

This is an unfortunate mismatch of expectations. Meals aren't guaranteed to be available in the Main Cabin. You can fill out a complaint at delta.com by clicking on the Comment/Complaint link in the top right corner of the home page.

flyerCO

I think that most materials I see say they don't guarantee your selection, but only in fine print at the bottom say they might not have enough for everyone. I wait for the day a passenger with blood sugar or other medical issues gets I'll from not having food. The resulting lawsuit I'm sure will provide incentive to ensure that there's enough food for everyone that wants to buy, or at least anot option to pre-order. 6.5+ hour flight with a possible 3-5 hour flight before with no meal and no time or belief need to get one on the ground. By the time the plane lands a passenger could've been without a meals for almost half a day.

C W

If you write a nice, concise complaint you'll probably get 5-10k Sky Miles.

I'm sorry that you weren't able to buy-on-board, but it is not a flight with meal service and no guarantee of availability. Best strategy is to eat right before boarding.

Thankfully we are seeing a trend towards more food on domestic flights, especially premium and now other transcon routes. Hawaii would be logical due to the flight times involved, although the extreme price sensitivity of leisure travelers on those routes may be an obstacle. It is certainly an interesting contrast to say, JFK-LHR, which is basically the same length depending on winds and has two meal services.

John Wang

I don't expect much from airlines nowadays especially when I take main cabin... Thinking about the old man on UA, I actually felt pretty lucky. But still want them know the experience no matter they are going to change or not.
This is my first Delta flight after 12 years. Given that Delta is aggressively expending in SEA, it is inevitable to take some Delta flights since it has better schedule than Alaska in some transcon routes. I know airlines do not care family/vacation travelers but I don't want it drop to the level of Frontier or Spirit...

Widgets

Delta is expanding free Main Cabin meal service, so feedback like yours could encourage expansion to new routes.

The Situation

What Why is this the airline's responsibility? If having food is a life or death issue for me (thankfully its not), I am going to be darn sure that I always am carrying food with me and not relying on others. Even so, I ALWAYS pack a few granola bars. What if I am at the bank or a car dealer get my oil changed - should they be obligated to provide me food as well?


This is not to trivialize the OP's complaint, I too would be disappointed if they were out of food, but I think you got a bit carried away.

C W

I can assure you that Delta is very far from Spirit. I wouldn't let this one experience shape your whole view of Delta. Generally Delta employees are very caring and they have a substantially better overall onboard experience in economy than other US airlines.

C W

I agree with you that if you absolutely need access to food at all times that it is your responsibility to carry it.

However, I take FlyerCO's point. It doesn't matter whose responsibility it should be, what matters are the optics if some terrible (fatal?) hypoglycemic event happens on an extremely long domestic flight with no food service or access to food. Hopefully the crew could help said passenger with FC food etc, but it is really worth the airline's consideration from a PR standpoint.

Then there's the issue of flights like UA's EWR-HNL which is blocked at 11 hours and 9 minutes westbound. 6.5 hours is reasonable amount of time for most people to go without food. 11 hours and 9 minutes is not. That could make a large thread of its own though

flyerCO

Big difference on one you are stuck in a metal tube for numerous hours. The bank/oil change there's nothing stopping you from getting a big Mac if you needed it.

Also as pointed out they proudly boast they offer BoB but then all of a sudden don't have enough. Add in short connection time with not being able to stop and get something/believing something is being served. Also add in that the previous flight may also been a few hours in length.

Point is if you advertise you offer meals on board, then even if it's BoB there should be enough for anyone who wants/needs one. Saying we offer BoB for everyone, but then putting an asterisk down below saying "may not cater enough" to me doesn't cut it. On a flight with free meals they'll make sure to cater enough for every passenger. Thus, it's not unrealistic for a passenger to believe that with BoB where you pay, they'd do the same.

I have no issue with BoB, but they should at least ensure that anyone who wants/needs a meal can buy one.

TTT

Personal responsibility should dictate that someone with a medical need for food at specific intervals bring at least the bear minimum with them. I am fortunate in that I don't have that need, but I still bring a couple of easily packed food (bars, jerky, nuts, etc.) in my bag for situations where I otherwise can't control what/when I eat.

That said, the technology certainly exists that would allow a passenger to pre-order food online to ensure the selection and it's availability. It would be nice if Delta implemented something like that (as other airlines have done so with success).

Allan38103

How to complain?

The trend today for any alleged slight is to twitter it. And if you can include a video of you not being served, so much the better.

jackplum

I believe that is planned to be rolled out in the not distant future

C W

I had only heard about this for preselecting FC meals. Is there a Main Cabin buy-ahead plan too?