brenig

Here is a letter I emailed to Delta about what happened to me on Aug 2 2009 onboard one of their flights. I will post all further communication.

Dear Sir, Madam,

I would like to call your attention to the following incident which occurred to me on August 2nd 2009. I purchased a Business Class (paid, not upgraded) ticket for flight DL125 from Brussels to Atlanta. After takeoff I was server my special meal. The meal contained fish and chicken schnitzel. Half way through my dinner I was having doubts about the freshness of the meal and consequently checked the expiration date. To my extreme shock, the meal had been expired for quite some time. (the production date was also mentioned) I immediately called upon the purser who sincerely apologized and promptly removed the meal from my tray. Within a short while, I started to feel nauseous and a little while later I threw up all the food that I had eaten in the lavatory. The purser again apologized. Moments later I found myself in the lavatory throwing up a second and then a third time. I was feeling very sick and the purser expressed to me that I looked very pale. In addition, the passenger sitting next to me repeatedly told me how sick I looked. Before landing, the purser requested me to document what had happened and told me that Delta would then investigate the incident and send me "serious compensation" for what had happened to me. It has been over four weeks and I have not had a reply from your airline. I feel it my duty to inform the FDA of what has occurred, however, to avert that, I am waiting your response first. I would like reassurance that such an occurrence will never happen again to another passenger and would like to know what measures will be taken for that. I also would like to see some serious compensation as promised.

Awaiting your response,

haydensydney

Ewww.... nasty....

Do business class meals have expiry dates on them?

brenig

Dear Mr. xxxx,

Thank you for your e-mail describing your recent experience with Delta.
On behalf of Delta, please accept my apology for the discomfort you felt
during and after your flight.

I am truly sorry for your disappointment and concern with the quality of
your meal on Flight DL 0125 from Brussels to Atlanta on August 02, 2009.
Passenger comments like yours are critical in evaluating our food
service, as our future course of action is based on feedback like you
have provided. Please be assured your concerns will be shared with our
Food Service leadership team.

As a gesture of goodwill, I have issued an Electronic Transportation
Credit (e-TCV) in the amount of $150.00. Please note the voucher number
and associated Terms and Conditions will be arriving in a separate
e-mail. Please keep the Terms and Conditions, since the e-TCV number is
required for redemption. The e-TCV can be used online at www.delta.com
or when booking directly through one of our Reservations offices.

I hope I have been able to resolve any concerns you have about our
service. Mr. xxxx, your business is important to us and given the
opportunity of serving you in the future, I am confident Delta will not
only meet but exceed your expectations.

Sincerely,

Mandy M. Ulson
Coordinator
Customer Care

brenig

Special meals do...

GoCanes

I think the only reasonable compensation from DL is a refund of your ticket (or at least that portion of it). There is no excuse why an expired meal was served. First to blame of course is the catering company. Unfortunately, it is probably in Brussels as you originated there I believe. Second to blame is the FA serving the dinner. It should be the serving FA's responsibility to confirm that all food is not expired. Regardless of class of service. They failed you there.

The reality is that this meal was sitting in a fridge or freezer for somewhere for some time and someone either did not care and sent it out anyway or was just plain negligent.

I hope you are feeling better. I would go to a GI doctor though to make sure you did not contract anything that will plague you down the line.

spc354

Since the incident dates to August 2, it is likely that the OP has already heard from DL. What did they have to say?

GoCanes

Yeah, but his post was today and looks like his email was sent early Sept.

soitgoes

The OP recently contacted DL.
The OP writes that the cabin crew had promised a response from DL; the OP states that he/she waited "over four weeks" but did not receive that promised response.

To the OP: I would file a complaint with the DOT (see link in my signature). That will ensure that a manager at DL reads and responds to your complaint.

StayingHomeIsBetter

The OP states in his letter to DL that it has already been over 4 weeks (after 8/2) and he has yet to receive a reply from DL.

Since there was actual harm to the passenger, I would not hold my breath waiting for a response from anyone other than, perhaps, a DL lawyer offering to make a settlement. And the proposed settlement will include a non-disclosure clause.

No customer service agent is going to respond and go on record by conceding that DL gave the PAX a case of food poisoning.

Just isn't going to happen.

I am just waiting for the posts that will appear in this thread trying to shift all of the blame from DL to the PAX for his "negligence" in continuing to eat a meal when he had doubts about the freshness.

OP... I hope there was no long term effects from the incident, and that you get a proper response from DL.

kimslie

OP can you share the approximate expiration and production dates? I'm curious as to how far out something has to be expired to do what happened to you, and also it adds more detail as to how long the caterer and/or DL sat on that food prior to serving.

I hope that they make this right by you. What a terrible way to fly.

Kim

tkey75

It's not necessarily the expiration date, as food can be "expired", but not in the sense that it will inherently make you ill due to some bacteria growth. It just won't be "fresh" (tasting). It's improper handling and storage that causes the nasty bits to appear that make you ill. The meal was more likely thawed for too long before it wasn't heated properly, and may even have seen several cycles of that scenario.

bmw303

were you able to take a picture of the expiry date ? (i.e. camera or cell phone camera --- i know you're technically not supposed to turn a cell phone on in flight).

If you were able to take a picture, then you'd definitely have a stronger case.

Regardless, this is certainly unacceptable, paid business class or not.

jetta2.0t

.....

tkey75

Not sure what the "case" is. Other than a couple trips to the loo for a talk with the porcelain god, there's no actual damages.

OP, what do you feel is appropriate compensation? Specifically ask for that, or expect nothing. I'm sure the FA did nothing after you left out of embarrassment/fear of being reprimanded.

DLATL777

If DL can afford to pay off every passenger on a TPAC $100 for IFE not working, they can afford a bit more then $150 for a mild case of food poisoning. As others have said, ask for exactly what you want; you need to spoon food this big baby sometimes.