Delta Baggage Shenanigans
 

I understand that summer at our airport (VPS) can be chaotic, to put it mildly, but the DL baggage handlers seem to have found a way around getting dinged for late arriving baggage. Several times this summer, I'd receive an app alert that "my baggage was arriving at Claim 1" only to have it arrive 35-60 minutes later on the belt (not to mention it NEVER comes out early with a Sky Priority tag). I get that there are often 5 planes arriving for 2 belts at VPS in the summer, so sketchy as it may be, it's more an airport issue with the bags being late. However, it's been happening lately even though the airport is slow again. Last night, I got the update about 10 minutes before the bag truck showed up, telling me they're just scanning it off the plane as if it's already arriving. I tried to claim miles for late bags, but got denied since they "arrived on time" according to Delta.

Anyone else seeing this lately? Other than filing a complaint about their dishonesty, anything else we can do about consistently late bags and Sky Priority bags never coming out first (be it VPS, other airports, ATL after immigration, etc.)?

File complaint. It may be dishonesty or it may be they don't realize they're not doing correctly. (Should be scanned as offloaded, not at belt)

When you pull up bag history does it show both an offload and arriving belt time? Does it show just arriving belt time? The first is dishonest, the latter is most likely bad training.

Good question. Unfortunately I already shredded my bag tags but I'll be sure to check it out next week since I'll be on the same evening flight home again.

In the PMNW days I used to fly out of ONT. There were 2 arrivals within about 30 mins of each other, one MSP-ONT, the other MSP-SNA-ONT.
I think NW probably had 4 or 5 people working at that time of night and bags would take forever (this was in the 1990s so more people were checking bags back then when it was free). It could take 45 minutes for bags to even show up on the belt.
I wrote to Beth Shultiss, the VP at NW suggesting they maybe bring at least 1 cart of bags to the belt as soon as it was loaded so that it would at least appear that progress was being made.

Yup, same thing at my busy tourist station of JAC. They scan all the bags on the cart as "delivered to claim" then leave them and go unload another plane. They also are super understaffed and pay no attention to Sky Priority tags. Price to pay for living in paradise, I guess.

I’ve gotten two successful bag claims out of VPS and one whee the claim failed despite my bag not showing up for 30+ Minutes.

I strongly suspect the ramp workers are employees of the airport and not Delta and there’s no incentive to do it right- the airport is so short staffed there are no incentives for getting it right and no penalty for doing it wrong.

The Delta staff at VPS is not Delta mainline, but what was formerly DGS. Delta sold DGS a few years ago, and I can't remember the new name. Prior to the NW/DL merger, ASA staffed the DL operations at VPS. I worked there for a short time during the transition.

So I remembered to research this today when I landed and here are the results: Flight Complete at 1:40, Bag Reported Off Plane at 1:44, Bag Reported Delivered at 1:54, I heard the baggage cart drive up and start loading bags on the belt at 2:00, actual arrival at claim at 2:01. Didn't bother with a late complaint since they'd tell me it arrived on time, but this is a pretty consistent process, and when it's backed up in summer can take up to an hour (yet bags are magically still on time somehow).

I'd start taking photos using cell, they're timestamped. I would then send in complaint that they're knowingly fudging numbers. I'm willing to bet someone is getting a bonus partially based on fudged numbers.

Had similar incident with QR at CAI. QR was none the happy when I sent in timestamped photos proving the ground agent was lying.

People, these stations you are mentioning are NOT Delta mainline stations. The people working the ramp are NOT Delta employees. I can guarantee you they could give two sheets if your bag is offloaded at 2:01:35 and not 1:58:35. They're making barely above minimum wage, it's a job for them not a career. I understand you feel you are that important, trust me you're not that important to them! So if it makes you feel like you're doing something constructive keep sending those "My bag was 2.5 minutes late!" messages, nobody is going to care, trust me.

DL cares. They're paying those people/company based on meeting certain metrics..

Also are you sure They're outsourced? Most airport employees at US airports are employees of the airline (or one of their regional carriers). Outstations internationally are different story.

I guarantee you those stations, at least below wing are not staffed by Delta agents. As far as paying the company, there are only so many ground handling companies out there. Delta is having a hard enough time hiring and keeping on their own employees to worry about some BFE station and their being late by 10 or 15 minutes in delivering of the bags to claim. Put it this way, working for Delta is now a job, not a career, unless you hire in as a pilot or white collar employee. You hire in as a front line worke,r plan on making pretty much 15 bucks an hour and top out in pay after 120 months, ten years. Show me anybody willing to put themselves in inclement weather or facing people, such as the members here, for basically minimum wage for almost half of their tenure with the company. Not gonna happen.

Most work for a company 49% owned by Delta.

I had this happen at LAX the other day. No contractor excuse here.

Outside US yes. However in US the same agents that check you in also work the flight and these are generally airline employees, either of the mainline or regional carrier.