<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bnaboy:
I have NEVER, NEVER seen a flight crew hurry, run or even briskly walk when they were the reason for a flight delay.

Granted, their reason for being late in the first place is most likely not there own, but the assertion that they care about this is not consistent with my experience. Most often, when crew finally does arrive, they are talking, laughing, taking their sweet time. Many times, items in tow such as Starbucks or food indicate they have even stopped at concessions before proceeding to the delayed flight.

I have never witnessed any sense of urgency from FA's arriving late for a flight. The prevailing attitude seems to be " hey I'm going to spend the night somewhere other than home so I don't care when I get there."

Again, this is only my experience (as a 6 year PM flyer) and is certainly no reflection on any specific individual.</font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Mr. Paulo

[email protected]

Dear Mr. Paulo:

Thank you for your comments regarding your recent flights. I apologize
for your inconvenience related to our delays and cancellations, but
appreciate your taking time to let us know your concerns.

We work very hard to ensure that all of our flights operate on-time
every day, as scheduled. However, when circumstances occur that force us
to make tough decisions, we want to minimize any adverse impact to our
valued customers like yourself. More importantly, your time is
valuable, and our team is focused on helping you maximize such an
important resource. I am sorry that we may have caused you undue
hardships in Cincinnati, and that our agents failed to provide accurate
information regarding the operation of Flight 1638. I assure you that
your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate areas for further
review.

Our people should be responsive to the needs of our customers,
particularly when schedule interruptions occur. This includes
furnishing courteous, understandable explanations and doing everything
possible to hold overall inconvenience to a minimum. From your
description, we did not do a very good job in this case, and I
apologize. We will do everything we can to prevent a similar
mishandling in the future.

While I cannot recreate this specific flight, I have authorized a
transportation voucher for $100.00 to be sent to you. This voucher is
valid for one year and may be used toward a future Delta ticket.
Additional terms and conditions will be included with the voucher. While
I realize that incentives may not erase the negative impact of your past
experiences, I am keenly aware that it is our loyal passengers that make
Delta a strong and vibrant airline.

Please accept our apology for the unfavorable impression you received in
this instance. We appreciate your selection of Delta and will always
consider it a privilege to be of service.

Sincerely,

Patti Anderson
Manager
Customer Care


Original Message Follows:
------------------------

Name : Mr Paulo
Email Address : [email protected]
SkyMiles Number: 23XXXXXXXX

Comments:
I am writing to inform you of an absolutely dreadful five hours spent at
CVG on Thursday, July 10. The vast majority of my delay was due to
complete mismanagement by the operations staff at CVG. Further,
throughout the delay we were consistently given misinformation or not
communicated with at all. Based on my experience, it is clear that you
should remove #8 from your Customer Commitment Statement ("We will
provide full and timely information on the status of delayed and
canceled flight"), as it is abundantly clear that you have no intention
to fulfill this commitment.

As an aside, I am Gold Elite with Continental, and pay full business
fares for the majority of my travel (including over $900 for my
EWR-CVG-EWR flight referenced here). I would think that this makes me
exactly the type of customer that Delta would like to keep. I have flown
less on Continental this year because their fares have generally been
higher than competitors on the routes that I fly. However, the new
frequent flyer alliance was encouragement for me to come back to
Continental and Delta. However, after last week's experience, it will be
a cold day in Atlanta before I board another Delta flight. I fully
intend to copy Continental and the DOT on my complaint.

On to the chronology of my Thursday, July 10.

16:30: Arrive at CVG to check in for DL 5773 to EWR. At the end of
check-in on the kiosk, I receive a message informing me that I cannot be
checked in, and I would need to see an agent.

16:50: With only one agent working for non-elite domestic passengers, I
finally reach the counter. The aircraft type has been changed and my
prior seat, 17C, does not exist on the smaller CRJ-200. I was given my
new boarding pass.

17:05: I reach the waiting area at Concourse C. (As an aside, the
seemingly random way that gates are assigned to the counters is VERY
confusing for passengers.)

17:20: We are informed that scheduled 17:35 departure will now be 17:45,
due to maintenance. (We were later informed that two tires had been
changed.)

17:40: We are informed that the new departure time will be 18:00.

17:55: Boarding is announced. I present my boarding pass, receive a
gate-check ticket for my suitcase, and head to the plane.

18:00: I arrive at the plane, and the FA jumps out of the first row seat
(where he was doing his crossword puzzle) and asks, "What are you doing
here?" It seems we had just been placed on a weather-related gate-hold,
and the new departure time is not known. We were sent back to the
waiting area. Upon arrival, the monitor now shows 18:30 departure for
this flight.

18:15: Departure time is revised to 19:00.

18:45: A "position change" is announced for our flight to doorway T. I
stand up to see where T is - about 5 counters away. Then after a few
minutes, I realize that sign behind the new counter reads "Cancelled"
under the flight information. No one had announced the cancellation -
the sign was the only indication. A hoard of very confused passengers
descend on the counter and are informed that the flight indeed had been
cancelled.

18:50: After waiting in line for a few minutes, the gate staff realized
that there is a 19:00 departure (delayed to 19:15) on DL 1638. They
quickly issue boarding passes, and we head for the new gate.

19:05: Having taken the bus to Concourse A, I walk the entire length of
the terminal to A21. (The supposed flight did not show up on any of the
monitors in the terminal, so we are hopeful that the information is
correct.) On arrival at the gate, there is similarly no information on
the backdrop. (Eventually, the gate agent wrote "Newark 1638" in marker
on a piece of computer paper and taped it to the backdrop.) We were
informed that the flight crew would arrive any minute, and departure
would probably be 19:30, but "please do not leave the gate area, so we
can board as soon as the crew arrives."

19:30: Flight attendants arrive at the gate. Still no pilots. We are
informed that they are on their way, and we will board any minute.
Despite that all of the shops in the terminal are more than a five
minute walk from the gate, we are encouraged not to leave the gate area.
Therefore, no dinner.

19:30 to 21:00: Frequent announcements that the pilots should be here
any moment.

21:00: Captain arrives. Some passengers in the gate area applaud. Others
hiss.

21:15: Still no 1st Officer, but at the captain's advice, we board the
plane.

21:30: 1st Officer arrives.

21:45: We push back for a departure delayed by nearly three hours - not
counting the additional 90 minutes from the cancellation of the prior
flight.

According to one gate agent, the pilots had been informed earlier in the
day that the flight was delayed, with a new scheduled departure of
21:40. (This information was never volunteered until we were actually in
the process of boarding.) As a result, the pilots were not even en route
to the airport at the time we were being told that departure was
imminent! While passengers are told with a delay to continuously check
back in case the flight is cleared earlier, apparently pilots are told
to do as they choose - after all, the flight can't leave without them!

The delay is irritating. But the fact that we were constantly lied to
about the impending arrival of the pilots was appalling. To their
credit, the gate agents were completely pleasant, and did not appear to
have any more information than we did. The flight attendants (who were
there waiting almost as long as we were) were also very pleasant. The
pilots, in my opinion, were arrogant and made no attempt to apologize
for the delay. I do not know whether this episode was the fault of the
pilots or their management, but the system clearly broke down, to the
inconvenience of about 80 angry, inconvenienced, and lied-to passengers.


I hope that you will read this story thoroughly and try to get to the
bottom of why this situation occurred, and how to prevent it from
affecting other future passengers. I do not intend to be among them.

Regards,
Paulo
CO-RNXXXXXX
DL-23XXXXXXXX
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