Flying standby, agent says step aside and I will get you a better = no seat
Oct 10, 2017, 4:12 pm
#1
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Flying standby, agent says step aside and I will get you a better = no seat
I was returning from an international flight and wanted get home several hours earlier, so DL placed me on a standby flight which was a different routing. I went to the gate an hour prior to departure to make sure that I was on the list and able to board. When my Delta App on my phone showed I had clear into row 49, I proceeded to board in the Sky Priority line. There was about 30 or so passengers waiting to board. When I scanned my ticket it beeped and was red, the GA said step aside and I will get you a better seat. So I stepped aside. GA boards everyone else except three people, then asked me to step forward. GA says somethings wrong with your ticket. I said they put me on standby, but it is an international ticket so it might need to be re-issued.
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
Oct 10, 2017, 4:19 pm
#2
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I was returning from an international flight and wanted get home several hours earlier, so DL placed me on a standby flight which was a different routing. I went to the gate an hour prior to departure to make sure that I was on the list and able to board. When my Delta App on my phone showed I had clear into row 49, I proceeded to board in the Sky Priority line. There was about 30 or so passengers waiting to board. When I scanned my ticket it beeped and was red, the GA said step aside and I will get you a better seat. So I stepped aside. GA boards everyone else except three people, then asked me to step forward. GA says somethings wrong with your ticket. I said they put me on standby, but it is an international ticket so it might need to be re-issued.
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
Oct 10, 2017, 5:41 pm
#4
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regardless of whether it was a domestic or international segment, aren't "standby" and "different routing" incompatible in the DL same-day-change system? this was probably totally hosed up w no chance of success from the beginning
Oct 10, 2017, 6:28 pm
#5
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This would not have been SDC. The original agent must have simply placed OP on a straight change with a change fee waiver and then realized there was no basis for it.
The better customer service would have been for the original agent to simply have said that there was no space and that standby would be the international change fee + fare difference if it cleared.
The better customer service would have been for the original agent to simply have said that there was no space and that standby would be the international change fee + fare difference if it cleared.
Oct 10, 2017, 8:12 pm
#7
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Regardless if the standby was actually allowed or not, the GA should not have lied on what appears multiple times to the OP... and then tried to avoid them.
Oct 10, 2017, 8:40 pm
#8
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I've been offered standby on international tickets at the gateway airport after all international segments have been flown. In my cases, it was always a matter of the agent (at the postcustoms rebooking desk SkyPriority line) or redcoat not knowing the rule that with a D1/FC ticket, one can SDC directly into FC if there's a FC seat for sale. No way would I take standby and get stuck in coach when I paid for D1/FC. One redcoat even tried to convince me that I would be on the upgrade list and have a good chance of clearing, but I told her that I couldn't be on the upgrade list until I was confirmed on the flight and that SOP was for the GA to clear upgrades before the standby list.
Oct 10, 2017, 8:50 pm
#9
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Did you happen to see what the machine said when it beeped ?
I had a similar experience where our RUC's cleared and at the gate our new boarding passes were invalid: the machine said "not on this flight".
I think what happened is that during the 2 hours between printing new boarding passes and boarding someone (likely at the gate) bumped us from our seats and gave them to someone else.
The GA explanation when he moved us aside was kind of ludicrous. Delta compensation kind of munificent.
I had a similar experience where our RUC's cleared and at the gate our new boarding passes were invalid: the machine said "not on this flight".
I think what happened is that during the 2 hours between printing new boarding passes and boarding someone (likely at the gate) bumped us from our seats and gave them to someone else.
The GA explanation when he moved us aside was kind of ludicrous. Delta compensation kind of munificent.
Oct 10, 2017, 11:24 pm
#10
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This would not have been SDC. The original agent must have simply placed OP on a straight change with a change fee waiver and then realized there was no basis for it.
The better customer service would have been for the original agent to simply have said that there was no space and that standby would be the international change fee + fare difference if it cleared.
The better customer service would have been for the original agent to simply have said that there was no space and that standby would be the international change fee + fare difference if it cleared.
Regardless there was no need for a change fee + fare difference. SDC or SDS should've worked.
Also an agent once they've confirmed cant simply go and undo.
Bottom line, sounds like the ticket just wasn't reissued and GA was too lazy to do it.
Oct 11, 2017, 4:10 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 246
I got to the airport, and there was some type of issue at check-in, he didn't speak English well and said something about the route but not the ticket being changed. He asked if I would be willing to fly tomorrow, I said no. He made a phone call and about 20 minutes later he printed a boarding pass, he said the only reason I got on the flight was because I made a seat assignment.
Screwy IT for flight changes.
Oct 11, 2017, 5:16 am
#12
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I was returning from an international flight and wanted get home several hours earlier, so DL placed me on a standby flight which was a different routing. I went to the gate an hour prior to departure to make sure that I was on the list and able to board. When my Delta App on my phone showed I had clear into row 49, I proceeded to board in the Sky Priority line. There was about 30 or so passengers waiting to board. When I scanned my ticket it beeped and was red, the GA said step aside and I will get you a better seat. So I stepped aside. GA boards everyone else except three people, then asked me to step forward. GA says somethings wrong with your ticket. I said they put me on standby, but it is an international ticket so it might need to be re-issued.
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
At that point there were three other people waiting to board, GA brings up my reservation, but then boards two more passengers. Then another passenger says hey I am supposed to be standby too, but my names not on the list. So GA goes into his reservation and prints out BP. He looks at me and says, that guy just took your seat. I say no, how do I go from number one with 18 open seats to no seats. How to I go from step aside and I am going to get you a better seat to no seat.
The GA says let me talk to the pilot and if he says it OK, I will put you on the plane. I know this is BS, but what can I do. GA goes down jet bridge and plane departs. I wait 20 minutes for GA to come back, GA doesn't. So I call Red Coat, she immediately says looks like GA did his job, you were cleared into row 49, you must have been late to the gate. I said no, here one hour prior to departure. I said he is sitting at the end of the jet bridge with a girlfriend. Red Coat says how do you know it's his GF, I said she is a girl and appears to be a friend. Red Coat says while he has to stay down there for an arriving plane. I said OK I will wait.
Another plane lands, just crew no passengers. GA still does not come back up, after 20 minutes I call again for a Red Coat. Same one shows up, again ask to see GA, then ask for her supervisor. I explain everything to this supervisor, she does a good job of listening and understanding. After over 50 minutes the GA returns from jet bridge, and does not say anything to me.
I believe most passengers would have left the gate area by then, and I know that is what this GA was counting on. However since I had hours to wait for my only other flight option, I decide to stick it out and wait to hear what the pilot had to say (yeah I know the bit about the pilot was bs.)
Have others had this tactic used on them?
Oct 11, 2017, 9:22 pm
#14
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 222
Gate agents often make mistakes or screw up. They are human. I've experienced it too many tImes to count and yes, they only make it worst when they attempt to exciuse their actions with either bogus reasoning, outright lying or misquoting the rules. It happens and will always happen and for me - a simple, I screwed up and I'm sorry would actually suffice.