MarkCron

Hopefully you'll find a red coat who can take care of this before your flight tonight.

MarkCron

The reality is none of those details matter. OP was offered $2000 plus a D1 upgrade and only got the $2000.

LoganFlyer

This. Any DL agent (phone, revenue management, etc.) who uses BE as an excuse to not allow the OP to end up in D1 as part of the VDB compensation is wrong. Once the Red Coat agrees to D1 as part of the compensation, no one can go back and say "oh wait, you were in BE, so we can change the deal." (I know the OP wasn't in BE in the first place, but the point is even if they were, that wouldn't matter.)

btonkid12345

The fare difference was $130 roundtrip to Main Cabin (X). I paid that online. It still kept me in E for the two domestic flights (which I've already flown) so when I called, the agent said it was ~$35 to skip asking a Supervisor to even exchange, and to move those two into X right with her. I accepted the faster option for the small difference, and she emailed me a new YOUR FLIGHT RECEIPT email showing everything in Main Cabin (X) which then all upgraded to C+ (SU).

Delta gave me The Westin Atlanta Airport. I have stayed there once previously on a DL voucher and received the crappiest room, so I skipped it and booked my own. Don't plan on asking DL for reimbursement. Given $15 breakfast, lunch, and dinner vouchers - so $45 total. Yes, the Red Coat promised these, forgot to do them, I reminded her a second time, she still forgot, and then a Need Help agent contacted her to verify and finally printed them. The Need Help agent expressed that I was so calm and polite, as others she has encountered in similar situations are usually losing it at them.

I am most annoyed about the time spent as well.

And the highest Manager for this Concourse authorized it. They documented the reservation that they authorized it. But they said if Ticketing won't do it, they can't reissue an international ticket there. They told me to call the Diamond Desk as they "have magical powers that we don't anymore at the airport."

I had 1 prior reissue due to an IRROP on the domestic connecting flights, and that was a huge waste of time too - a Red Coat called and the ticketing agent she called insisted the Red Coat put her Employee ID and PPR (not sure what that is) in her rebooking notes. She repeated multiple times that by her "touching" the reservation to rebook, all her information was stored, but the person on the phone would not relent. This Red Coat responded loudly into the phone "I have worked for Delta for 15 years and have NEVER been asked to enter a PPR and I will not. I have just now entered my Employee ID. Please complete the reissue, thank you." Took the Red Coat about 45 minutes of holding on the phone for that to happen, where she commented the person on the phone must've been new.


If you VDB they have no problem rebooking you in what you had booked - so if you were already in D1 it would have been real easy for them to just change the flight.

Completely agree with the bullet point piece. Or some documentation and final agreement prior to door closing. Hilariously the pilot came out T-10 and said a middle C+ passenger was complaining, standing in the aisle, and refusing to sit until he got an aisle. The GA replied "tell him he can deplane and fly tomorrow then."

Quickly they found a main cabin aisle passenger to switch into a C+ middle. They didn't even have time to deal with VDBs until door has closed.

I have done two prior VDBs with DL. A domestic one processed before boarding, where the terms were straightforward and the GA very nice and transparent.

And an international one where a voucher and Delta One was offered on the next flight. Again, they honored that deal quickly, before the door closed, and gave me much confidence in Delta standing behind what their GAs offer when they discuss the VDB with you.

btonkid12345

Exactly. I told them I specifically booked to get there Saturday night so I had a day to rest and relax. I wouldn't have given up a C+ aisle for a Main Cabin random seat, to go a day later, without extra compensation.

The only reason I agreed to be the person the next day was because I could get sleep in Delta One regardless of seat on the flight the day later.

btonkid12345

None of the VDBs had been handled when the pilots came up. They were up to $1,200, when they were huddled and decided to offer $2,000 for the Delta One to C+ downgrade. They then processed the $2,000 Delta One downgrade vouchers so those folks could board.

Once the door closed and they went to process the VDBs for those of us left, they discovered they couldn't give the rest of us a different amount than the $2,000 they gave the downgrades. So they laughed about it being holiday time and gave us all $2,000. When I went up to volunteer initially, I was told $1,200 and the KLM flight 2 hours later, which I said I would accept, but also said if it went higher, I wanted whatever the person offered the most received, which they agreed to.

When the above-Red Coat managers got involved and instructed the Red Coat to make sure the seats were held on the KLM flight, they were told only 2 seats were left on the KLM flight. It was at that point where they asked the group of people not taking the flight at all if anyone would be willing to fly tomorrow. I was the only one who volunteered, with the stipulation of more $$$ or a Delta One upgrade. The manager said he could only do the latter, and only on one particular Delta flight (the later one with a bunch of Delta One empties - hence why mileage upgrade were also available). I accepted. And the rest I've described.

AntonS

Looks like your case should have a trail of notes/history in your PNR, how you were upgraded then downgraded. They should absolutely honor the promise or up the compensation.

Did you try to speak to red coat today?

Looks like all AMS flights are sold out in J except 3:55pm KLM flight which has 2 seats left, so this is your best chance.

bdh

This is the somewhat risky nuclear option, but if DL won't play ball my sister in law was in a similar situation a few years ago coming back from Hong Kong. She'd actually been IDB and told she would be put on a flight later that evening. When the evening flight rolls around they say there isn't space there either anymore and she'll have to wait another day to get out. The only seat on any flight still available that day was in J on a SQ flight which the airline she was on (don't remember who anymore) wasn't going to pay to put her on, so she paid the cash walk-up price for the SQ ticket and then filed in small-claims when she got home. She ended up winning her case and got the price of the SQ ticket plus the unused portion of her original ticket.

At this point you'd probably have enough documentation (with the boarding pass showing Delta One) to make a reasonable case in small-claims if DL doesn't budge, but obviously much riskier and more hassle than working something out with DL directly.

spamkiller

You have to watch where you record this, as some states make it a crime to record without consent of all parties. Georgia is a 1 party consent state.

whooperatw

Often1

First, I would not obsess about recordings and screen shots. The Red Coat made clear that she had been overruled by RM and neither she nor anyone else present had the ability to change that. There will be ample PNR notes to cover this.

Second, what OP's fare basis was is irrelevant. This is IRROPS and it is handled as an OPUP. OP could have been flying on the cheapest BE fare and accepted a VDB to D1 and that could have been done.

Third, don't put yourself in the position of spending money you can't recover. You might not.

I would go to the airport very early and see if you can't scrounge up a senior person. Red Coats are first-line supervisors and the decision here was made way above her level. Reversing this is not something any first or second-tier supervisor can do.

The problem here is that this is essentially an IDB because the flight was oversold and OP gave up his seat only on the promise of the $2K + D1 (for the next day). But, IDB does not help OP as it maxes out at $1,350 and he's already getting $2K (albeit in funny money, not cash). But, DL has radically lowered its IDB numbers in 2018 and might not want to "eat" the stat. So, that might cut OP's way.

Ordinarily, I would say that the way to avoid anything like this in the future is to insist that the transaction be processed before boarding is complete. But, in this case, my guess is that RM would simply have bounced OP back to steerage even if a new BP in D1 had been issued for the next day.

ethernal

I agree with everything except this - documented evidence is always good for at least comp recovery after the fact. Never make the assumption that the PNR accurately reflects everything.

All in all, this is a pretty dysfunctional situation. The right way to handle this is to reprimand the red coat for promising something s/he could not - and not let the passenger get stuck in the crossfire. What a mess.

ECKOA6

hotturnip

Well, this flight should be boarding momentarily. I hope we get an update.

Like the DL agents, I, too, find btonkid's composure remarkable. If the right DL executive read this account in the calm, clear way s/he reported it, they would be ashamed.

I think it's time to say, "if you're not going to give me the upgrade, you have to give me the additional cash I bargained for. Another $2000, please."

telloh

In Georgia, only applicable to conversations "originating in any private place."