DL continues to weaken operationally (Summer 2022 Meltdown)
Jun 20, 2022, 5:41 pm
#226
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,175
Just now have time to post so figure I’d follow up from my post on Thursday about IRROPS. Basically the whole east coast had a meltdown on Thursday due to weather which I’m sure y’all know. I’m young, I’m only 18 years old but this was without a doubt the worst travel day of my entire life.
Anyways, my original routing was JAX-LGA-YYZ. I woke up at about 8:00 to already see my 10:40 JAX-LGA is delayed until 12:10. I look at potential causes and see thunderstorms over NYC, great. Gave me a little time to run a couple extra errands and grab breakfast though. Only issue is I was going to misconnect to my LGA-YYZ so in the meantime I called Delta and while I was on hold, the LGA-YYZ canceled. Got an agent in no time though and was rebooked on WestJet from LGA-YYZ just with a very long layover now as nothing better had open seats. I then saw my inbound flight returned to the gate in LGA after sitting in line to takeoff for 2 hours, then more delays started rolling in. My new 12:10 departure turned into 1:00, then 1:46, then 2:06. 2:06 stayed so I headed to JAX for my new 2:06 departure. I hung out in the SkyClub and had lunch for a couple minutes then headed to my gate for boarding.
When I got on my flight, the crew was great from the start and very apologetic for the whole thing even though it was completely out of their/Delta’s control since it was weather. They did say our wheels up time would be 2:17 as regulated by NYC ATC as LGA was now very congested from all of the disrupted morning flights. We takeoff, everything is fine, and we start our descent as usual. Then we level off and a few minutes later the captain comes on and says, “yeah so like I was saying back in JAX about LGA being crowded well bad news they are now not accepting our arrival at all due to congestion and we have to divert to BOS”. So we head to BOS and land. As soon as we get there there is just a swarm of aircraft waiting for gates on all airlines. We wait on the runway and captain says it’s gonna be over an hour for a gate. Getting a gate took 2.5hrs and in that time I was slowly watching all of my alternate options to YYZ fade away as we weren’t going anywhere. Finally got to the gate and originally said it would be a gas and go stop to where the people on the plane just flipped. They eventually let us off though and I got off because I had a hunch that that flight wasn’t going anywhere. I instead ran to the SkyClub to be rebooked.
When I got there, there was surprisingly no line to get in but about a 5 person line for rebooking, no big deal. I get to the front of that line and turn around to see the entry line way out the door now and see that the BOS-LGA portion of my diverted flight has now been canceled as I predicted. Agent couldn’t find me anything to get to YYZ until noon the Friday until I suggested roundabout ways to get there. Nothing through ATL but I could make a delayed DTW flight, spend the night there and take a 7:20AM DTW-YYZ. I took that and booked a room at the SpringHill Suites by the airport as the Westin was full. So I hopped that DTW flight which was about 2 hours delayed as they were also waiting on a gate for forever. Got to DTW and saw decent lines for the help centers but nothing like what I’ve seen from American at MIA/DFW and United at DEN. Went to my room at the SpringHill and got about 4 hours of sleep before I needed to go back to the airport again.
Got some sleep, went back to the airport, got checked in, and went to my gate. Boarding was delayed as the computers were glitching and eventually they just decided to manually board us which isn’t usually a big fuss but in my shoes it was just yet another thing to deal with as they had to cross check our boarding passes, cross check our passports, and then cross our names off on an already delayed boarding process. Ended up being minor though and got to YYZ on time at about 8:30AM. What a crazy experience and I hope I never have to experience that much IRROPS especially that back to back ever again…
Anyways, my original routing was JAX-LGA-YYZ. I woke up at about 8:00 to already see my 10:40 JAX-LGA is delayed until 12:10. I look at potential causes and see thunderstorms over NYC, great. Gave me a little time to run a couple extra errands and grab breakfast though. Only issue is I was going to misconnect to my LGA-YYZ so in the meantime I called Delta and while I was on hold, the LGA-YYZ canceled. Got an agent in no time though and was rebooked on WestJet from LGA-YYZ just with a very long layover now as nothing better had open seats. I then saw my inbound flight returned to the gate in LGA after sitting in line to takeoff for 2 hours, then more delays started rolling in. My new 12:10 departure turned into 1:00, then 1:46, then 2:06. 2:06 stayed so I headed to JAX for my new 2:06 departure. I hung out in the SkyClub and had lunch for a couple minutes then headed to my gate for boarding.
When I got on my flight, the crew was great from the start and very apologetic for the whole thing even though it was completely out of their/Delta’s control since it was weather. They did say our wheels up time would be 2:17 as regulated by NYC ATC as LGA was now very congested from all of the disrupted morning flights. We takeoff, everything is fine, and we start our descent as usual. Then we level off and a few minutes later the captain comes on and says, “yeah so like I was saying back in JAX about LGA being crowded well bad news they are now not accepting our arrival at all due to congestion and we have to divert to BOS”. So we head to BOS and land. As soon as we get there there is just a swarm of aircraft waiting for gates on all airlines. We wait on the runway and captain says it’s gonna be over an hour for a gate. Getting a gate took 2.5hrs and in that time I was slowly watching all of my alternate options to YYZ fade away as we weren’t going anywhere. Finally got to the gate and originally said it would be a gas and go stop to where the people on the plane just flipped. They eventually let us off though and I got off because I had a hunch that that flight wasn’t going anywhere. I instead ran to the SkyClub to be rebooked.
When I got there, there was surprisingly no line to get in but about a 5 person line for rebooking, no big deal. I get to the front of that line and turn around to see the entry line way out the door now and see that the BOS-LGA portion of my diverted flight has now been canceled as I predicted. Agent couldn’t find me anything to get to YYZ until noon the Friday until I suggested roundabout ways to get there. Nothing through ATL but I could make a delayed DTW flight, spend the night there and take a 7:20AM DTW-YYZ. I took that and booked a room at the SpringHill Suites by the airport as the Westin was full. So I hopped that DTW flight which was about 2 hours delayed as they were also waiting on a gate for forever. Got to DTW and saw decent lines for the help centers but nothing like what I’ve seen from American at MIA/DFW and United at DEN. Went to my room at the SpringHill and got about 4 hours of sleep before I needed to go back to the airport again.
Got some sleep, went back to the airport, got checked in, and went to my gate. Boarding was delayed as the computers were glitching and eventually they just decided to manually board us which isn’t usually a big fuss but in my shoes it was just yet another thing to deal with as they had to cross check our boarding passes, cross check our passports, and then cross our names off on an already delayed boarding process. Ended up being minor though and got to YYZ on time at about 8:30AM. What a crazy experience and I hope I never have to experience that much IRROPS especially that back to back ever again…
Jun 20, 2022, 6:12 pm
#228
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: DL DM+(segs)/MM, UA Ag, Hilton DM, Marriott Ti (life Pt), TSA Opt-out Platinum
Posts: 3,221
Jun 20, 2022, 8:35 pm
#234
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Programs: Sometimes known as [ARG:6 UNDEFINED]
Posts: 26,673
Jun 20, 2022, 9:03 pm
#235
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: MSP/BUF/BNA/LFT
Programs: AA Plat, Priority Club Gold, Choice Privileges Gold
Posts: 1,224
More bad news and experiences from Delta...
Delta Has Effectively Eliminated Business Class Upgrades, Charges Up To One Million Miles - View from the Wing
Delta's Meltdown Continues & This Time It Hit Close To Home (milestomemories.com)
I flew Spirit to FLL this weekend, an airport that DL routinely has more delayed or cancelled flights compared to NK (and charges double the fare as NK), and it went without a hitch...
Delta Has Effectively Eliminated Business Class Upgrades, Charges Up To One Million Miles - View from the Wing
Delta's Meltdown Continues & This Time It Hit Close To Home (milestomemories.com)
I flew Spirit to FLL this weekend, an airport that DL routinely has more delayed or cancelled flights compared to NK (and charges double the fare as NK), and it went without a hitch...
Jun 20, 2022, 10:15 pm
#236
Join Date: Jan 2022
Programs: DL, UA, AA
Posts: 1,996
More bad news and experiences from Delta...
Delta Has Effectively Eliminated Business Class Upgrades, Charges Up To One Million Miles - View from the Wing
Delta's Meltdown Continues & This Time It Hit Close To Home (milestomemories.com)
I flew Spirit to FLL this weekend, an airport that DL routinely has more delayed or cancelled flights compared to NK (and charges double the fare as NK), and it went without a hitch...
Delta Has Effectively Eliminated Business Class Upgrades, Charges Up To One Million Miles - View from the Wing
Delta's Meltdown Continues & This Time It Hit Close To Home (milestomemories.com)
I flew Spirit to FLL this weekend, an airport that DL routinely has more delayed or cancelled flights compared to NK (and charges double the fare as NK), and it went without a hitch...
What's funny is that DL's plan is "working".
People are still believing it's "better" as an airline, and are contributing to AmEx and Delta's bottom line through CC spending, and flying Delta with hopes of getting those domestic upgrades, as international ones are impossible without GUCs. It's sort of a marvel, really. The way they've been rolling over miles for medallion membership, they'll soon need a Diamond Plus (I think they should call it "shiny diamond") level.
Last edited by Goodoldflyer; Jun 20, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Jun 20, 2022, 11:25 pm
#237
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,369
Jun 21, 2022, 1:36 am
#238
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 870
They must all have bartenders now, I’ve only been asked my age once and it was at ATL F. The lady checking me in just let me know that they have an open bar and that I can’t use it (wasn’t planning on it).
Jun 21, 2022, 3:30 am
#239
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,134
Because it didn't happen to you, then it didn't happen? 
My DAB-ATL yesterday (Sunday) was cancelled. Rebooked. Then that flight was cancelled. No more DAB-ATL flights with availability until TUESDAY morning. I checked MLB-ATL. Nothing. The last MCO-ATL on Sunday had 3 available but they were gone before I could confirm. Next availability out of MCO was Monday morning. I wound up renting a car and driving to JAX for the last flight on Sunday. I asked for a meal voucher at check-in at JAX and the agent nearly laughed in my face. Said it was a 45 minute flight so no meal voucher warranted. The flight may have been 45 minutes but the experience was most of a day.
Was this experience the worst thing that ever happened to me? Of course not. But it does show that DL has a ways to go to get back to where they were.
BTW, does anybody know the procedure for submitting the rental car receipt for reimbursement?
Edit: When the second flight was cancelled, DL did not notify me (no email, no text, no nothing). I found out by checking the app, but the app did not push any notification to me.
My DAB-ATL yesterday (Sunday) was cancelled. Rebooked. Then that flight was cancelled. No more DAB-ATL flights with availability until TUESDAY morning. I checked MLB-ATL. Nothing. The last MCO-ATL on Sunday had 3 available but they were gone before I could confirm. Next availability out of MCO was Monday morning. I wound up renting a car and driving to JAX for the last flight on Sunday. I asked for a meal voucher at check-in at JAX and the agent nearly laughed in my face. Said it was a 45 minute flight so no meal voucher warranted. The flight may have been 45 minutes but the experience was most of a day.
Was this experience the worst thing that ever happened to me? Of course not. But it does show that DL has a ways to go to get back to where they were.
BTW, does anybody know the procedure for submitting the rental car receipt for reimbursement?
Edit: When the second flight was cancelled, DL did not notify me (no email, no text, no nothing). I found out by checking the app, but the app did not push any notification to me.
Jun 21, 2022, 3:54 am
#240
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Berlin, Germany
Programs: DL DM/2MM, UA PE, HH Gold
Posts: 1,080
I just had an unreal experience this past sunday at JFK. Flew DL48 to AMS which is using the plane coming in from TLV hours earlier. To save on gate space that plane got parked on the old Terminal 3 parking spot for a couple of hours. It's then supposed to be towed to the departure gate...
Arriving at the gate about 1 hour before departure time ( the official boarding time ) only to find out no plane at the gate. Announcement from the gate agents "will be here any moment". Same announcement 15, 30, 45 minutes later. Plane finally arrives at the gate 10 minutes past the official departure time.
Explanation: no ground crew available to tow the plane to the gate! Something they knew about hours in advance. Story continues with no baggage loaders available to load luggage and freight. Departure time was 7.35 pm, luggage was loaded onto the plane at 10.10 pm. Actually departure time 10.55 pm, a
3,5 hour delay on a day with perfect weather in the northeast. Lots of people ( my estimate at least 30% ) with missed connections in AMS, everybody was looking at the app which was only saying "please contact reservations". Lots of people with the phones on the ear all listining to the same music.
Also, at the boarding time gate had two agents working the flight but one had to leave around our original departure time with only one agent holding position for the next three hours ( she did very good, handling a nearly full A330! ).
Story got even worse after arrival in AMS but that is an different story, AMS was a mess yesterday ( monday ) with extemly long lines at the "transfer" centres for rebooking.
After this experience i'm pretty certain that DL ( and KLM too ) have to cut the schedule even further then the already announced cuts, they are simply operationally not able to handle the number of pax & flights. July ( with all of europe in holiday mode ) will be a new all time low for travellers.
Arriving at the gate about 1 hour before departure time ( the official boarding time ) only to find out no plane at the gate. Announcement from the gate agents "will be here any moment". Same announcement 15, 30, 45 minutes later. Plane finally arrives at the gate 10 minutes past the official departure time.
Explanation: no ground crew available to tow the plane to the gate! Something they knew about hours in advance. Story continues with no baggage loaders available to load luggage and freight. Departure time was 7.35 pm, luggage was loaded onto the plane at 10.10 pm. Actually departure time 10.55 pm, a
3,5 hour delay on a day with perfect weather in the northeast. Lots of people ( my estimate at least 30% ) with missed connections in AMS, everybody was looking at the app which was only saying "please contact reservations". Lots of people with the phones on the ear all listining to the same music.
Also, at the boarding time gate had two agents working the flight but one had to leave around our original departure time with only one agent holding position for the next three hours ( she did very good, handling a nearly full A330! ).
Story got even worse after arrival in AMS but that is an different story, AMS was a mess yesterday ( monday ) with extemly long lines at the "transfer" centres for rebooking.
After this experience i'm pretty certain that DL ( and KLM too ) have to cut the schedule even further then the already announced cuts, they are simply operationally not able to handle the number of pax & flights. July ( with all of europe in holiday mode ) will be a new all time low for travellers.