joeyE

A group of 6 friends were flying CLT-JFK-KEF last night. 1st flight didn’t arrive until 9:30 pm bc of weather. 2nd flight departed at 9pm (on-time) so the 6 of them missed their flight & are rebooked a day later.

I was under the impression that a carrier might hold a flight if the delay was within reason. Maybe not for 1 person & 2 hours, but a group of 6 for 30 minutes would seem to garner a closer look, especially since JFK was supposed to still be recovering from weather.

Does Delta have any formal or informal internal policy as to when to release a connecting flight? I get that delaying a connection can cascade into the future, but so can finding 6 new TATL seats during peak season.

beachmouse

Transatlantic is less likely to get held because of how those routes are scheduled- ATC in Gander and Shanwick assign aircraft to specific time and space routes in the name of safety because they go out of radar range and it's usually easier for the airlines to move passengers around than to lose their originally requested transatlantic 'lane assignment' and have to accept the a leftover slot from ATC

dcadwell

Yep. Many more hoops to jump through when considering that ATC coverage is lost during flight.

Often1

Yes, DL does have a policy. The decision to hold a flight is committed to the sound discretion of Operations and the PIC.

DL does a great job of assessing all the relevant factors, including ATC as well as availability of later tracks over the ocean, crew time (bear in mind that the later the crew is into KEF, the later it may be before they may legally perform a flight out of KEF).

Two other considerations are the remaining passengers as well as the simple fact that when the six were no shows, their seats may have been provided to overbooked passengers, thus avoiding IDB/VDB,

btonkid12345

I've never been on any Delta flight where we waited for late arriving passengers. It just doesn't happen on Delta - they are the "on time machine." And I would be pissed if they did otherwise.

Six people is not a significant number to hold for anyways - especially if there are any six seats available to rebook for the next 24 hours.

The closest I came was when I had four minutes to connect. I was flying into and out of LGA. Turns out my connecting gate was right next door to my arriving gate. The gate agent said the pilot decided to wait until departure time for me (she specifically mentioned me being a DM and in First), and if I made it by then, he was happy to wait for my checked bag to make it the 100 feet across.

I made it on two minutes prior to departure time, after which the door was closed. I got the notification a minute later that my bag was loaded, and off we went.

Delta does have a policy where if something like this happens and you're the affected pax, they will EXTEND the return by a similar number of days so your total vacation time at the destination isn't affected. So your friends could call and ask to come back one day later, and as long as they aren't yelling at the agent or berating them for making them a day late, they will get it.

indufan

NEVER? How long have you been DM? I am a little skeptical. It DOES happen on Delta but agreed they don't do it frequently.

However, I think you have been on a flight where they waited and you didn't know it. I have had tight connections before where, almost magically, there is a posted 10 or 15-minute delay. Sometimes coincidence, other times not so much.

dcadwell

Yep, I've had it happen a couple of times as well.

tvnwz

In my experience here is the procedure:

If you are running late for the connection DL will not hold the flight.
If you are on the flight and ready to leave DL will hold it for others.

fotographer

sure DL. like other airlines will hold flights if
1. you are a Senator/Rep
2. you are a washed up movie or T.V star
3. you are a currently in or have been in a reality show
4. If you have enough followers on what ever medium you have (instagram, twitter etc)
5. you have a member of any Royal family

I am sure there are a lot more.. but dont want to bore the readers on this thread

MSPeconomist

sdix

I've had delta hold a Domestic flight for me (and others) several times and I've been on flights that have waited multiple times. I've seen them held for 2 connecting PA and 6-8 connecting PAX so not much rhyme or reason.....

reimero

I occasionally see them hold a flight if:

• It's only a matter of a couple of minutes
• It doesn't impact the assigned takeoff slot (i.e. there's a scheduled long taxi because lots of planes are arriving or departing)
• The crew isn't in danger of timing out; and
• There isn't a short turnaround on the other side.

The above factors are never a guarantee, but they all help. Flights late in the day are more likely to be held than early flights because delays have fewer cascading consequences.

ekozie

I find that any ATL-outstation flight on a day with moderate delays is held more often than not for about 15 minutes.

sydneyracquelle

mayhem

Not even really, what they do do is they will protect you on the next flight for the flight you're missing, so you'll have two bookings and a confirmed seat on the first next flight.
Also happens when you call during Irrops and there is a chance that the next flight may go out before your earlier flight.