The cry should be directed at your friend and no else I'm afraid.

Absolutely not. You should've known what you were getting yourself in to before you purchased this buddy pass. It seems you didn't. Your itinerary was not guaranteed First class. Your itinerary didn't even guarantee you'd get on any flight that day. This is an employee privilage and Delta won't compensate you for it. If you did complain, it might have resulted in punishment for the employee (if he or she were still active).

Indeed, your beef is with your friend. Also, you say you saw "Confirmed" and had purchased non-refundable arrangements etc. Your "friend" apparently did not communicate to you that you were simply a standby passenger and might have spent the entire 6 days waiting to get on the flights as a standby. You were lucky in a number of ways here, with DL accommodating your trip using Skymiles. Even if your friend had stayed at DL, there was no guarantee you would ever get to AMS. If you were not told, there's one big reason to question your friend.

The only thing unclear is whether you got your money back for the cancelled buddy pass ticket. Assuming you paid with your credit card, I would think you should at least get money refunded.

The buddy pass is one of the most overrated things going. If you are not prepared for the trip to cancel right out from under you.. don't do it. It takes an extremely flexible person to enjoy a buddy pass.

Wow, what a bunch of flamers.

I started this thread just to make people aware of a situation that caught me by surprise, so that others might avoid getting into the same predicament. I see that my help is not wanted here.

A few more comments, as I strangely feel the need to defend myself:

1. I was fully aware of the standby nature of the buddy pass. That's why I didn't have ANY hotel reservations until 3 days after scheduled arrival, in case I got bumped. And if I happened to arrive as planned, I could always grab a cheap room in Amsterdam at the last second. I had no checked baggage, in order to make it easier to hop on alternate flights if necessary. The itinerary was set up so that there were multiple flight options later in the day. I also periodically checked the availability of seats on the scheduled flights.

2. The ticket was indeed "ticketed" and not just "reserved" from the beginning.

3. My pilot friend had only been employed at DL for less than a year, so it's not like he was fully knowledgeable of all the ins and outs. The ticket he got for me was the first time he used that benefit. (He also gave tickets to his parents for an anniversary gift, so they also got screwed when he quit).

4. I was not expecting a handwritten note delivered by courier to inform me that my ticket was cancelled. Simply purging the reservation from the system or appending/replacing it with an error message online would have told me something was fishy.

Please understand that your friend's lack of knowledgeability about the program is the precise reason why he should not have been given buddy passes to friends and family in the first place. Like piloting a commercial jet, NRSA travel is an animal with a set of rules that require full understanding and adherence to the letter from day one.

[QUOTE=Jazzop;8713149]Wow, what a bunch of flamers.

I started this thread just to make people aware of a situation that caught me by surprise, so that others might avoid getting into the same predicament. I see that my help is not wanted here.

A few more comments, as I strangely feel the need to defend myself:


Relax, you have no need to defend yourself. Of course, Delta should have notified you in some way that your pass was no longer valid. Not doing so is not your fault; it's Delta's. If I had run my business that way, I'd have struggled to maintain customers.

I note that you're new here. One thing you'll learn fairly quickly is that the Delta board is chock-full of Delta apologists. You know, the kind of people who, when you piss on their shoes and tell 'em it's raining, will apologize for getting their feet in your way and forgetting their umbrellas, -- and will be delighted to have the opportunity to buy one from you.

lex

Buddy passes are the responsibility of the employee, nobody else's.

So, if I understand correctly some of the posts stating that Delta should have notified the OP, Delta should also advise buddy passes of Schedule changes and flight cancellations? C'man :mad: let's just confirm them on the next available flight give them a hotel, meal vouchers and DBC's when the flight its full.

I'm sorry, but the only one to blame is your friend for giving you and his parents something that he did not fully understand.

The first thing I MADE SURE I LEARNED when I started was the ins and outs of Non rev and buddy pass traveling.

I'm glad it worked out for you ^^ and you got to use those useless miles that one can never use for an award :rolleyes:

Sorry, but you are 100% wrong. NRSA is a benefit, they are not customers. DL doesn't even normally have contact information for anyone but the employee and wouldn't be able to inform the pass rider even if they wanted to. NRSA can be great, but you get what you pay for.

Wow, I'm agreeing with you again! That's three times in the last few weeks. This is making me very nervous. :D

That's pretty offensive.

If you think those were flames, you're probably too sensitive to hang around FT.

While there are a few here who will defend DL no matter what, this thread is not a case in point. Most of the comments were, I believe, polite, accurate and made in good faith.

And the worst flames on FT are mild compared to a great many internet BB's. Imagine if this post appeared on A.net. :D

Yes, there was some mild criticism of the OP, but it was constructive, and accompanied by good factual info.

1. By definition space available travel is never confirmed and you were listed, not ticketed. Very different terms.

2. Your odds on obtaining first/business class were never certain you were behind elites,:D and active mainline employees and their families. Second if your friend worked for a Delta affilliate not mainline you were even further down the list.

3.If your friend is/was a pilot then why would he be employed for such a short time. :confused: I'm guessing he worked for an express carrier and moved on possibly one of the non wholly owned. ASA or Mesa not Delta or Comair.

4. As for no automatic messages the people who travel under an employees benefit are responsilbe for their buddy pass travelers.

Did you call him/ her up in the days leading up to departure to see of the flight was oversold or was their some confusion in that you thought you were OK.

A lot can happen in two months, flights can overbook heavily to Europe and Business class can sell out.

The employees are supposed to know the ins and outs of nonrevving procedure. Many agents would refer you to the ticketing desk and close the flight. Whenever an employee quits or is fired their travel priveledges are revoked. Only someone who retires in good standing is allowed to continue to have priveledges.

Just curious. Has DL been hiring pilots in the last year?

IIRC, total this year has been about 245 pilots (for all types and CA/FO positions).

The most recent class started on 10/17 with 24 new pilots.

This trend will continue. DL is also hiring a ton of FA's as well.

-b-