Spiff

Cojones? More like a complete lack of cojones and a spine. There was nothing suspicious about the OP's actions and the Delta agent who sicced the feds on him should be terminated with prejudice.

crimguy1976

Again, you weren't there. Unless you can provide substantiated evidence (which I know you can't), then you'll continue to bore me with this continuous diatribe.

The agent did what they felt was right at the time. Had the flight gone down in flames as a result of some sort of malicious activity, and the OP was determined to have caused it...I have no doubt you'd be the first person in line to sue Delta and seek firing of the agent for not noticing something suspicious.

In other words, in your view, there is no right DL can do here...on either side of the coin.

GUWonder

Might as well reward DL personnel for smoking rope.

The wild imagination of someone at DL had someone fantasizing about the "big catch" -- call it so-called "suspicious activity" -- where there was no criminal behavior. Applauding poor judgment -- a bad call -- is not my cup of tea.

GUWonder

Speaking of wild imagination .... that will continue to bore us with a continuous diatribe that imagines all sorts of excuses for people who dream they have the "big catch" where and when there is no "big catch" to be had:

Well, at least there's agreement that it was DL , per the first sentence above as well.

Delta should pay more than $98; and DL employees with a wild imagination should dream on their off hours, not while at work.

Spiff

That's complete rubbish. You have no idea what I would do in any situation. I have some Powerball numbers to pick. Wanna tell me what they are?

MikeMpls

Maybe, maybe not. However, having fingered him, DL has an obligation to transport him to his destination after he is cleared to fly. DL refused to do that, even to the extent of pocketing his fare and forcing him to buy a one-way ticket home.

Delta could have transported him to his destination. They refused to do that.

Delta also could have refunded his fare and returned him home at no expense. They also refused to do that.

His entire fare for the itinerary in question remains in Delta's coffers.

They did eventually refund the additional $98 he spent to get home. When you think about it, that's a pretty good deal for Delta -- abscond with several hundred dollars and only give back $98.

jzumrick

If Delta notified the feds as he was boarding then you can be sure he will miss the flight. So it was there fault. After all he only asked for the miles he should have gotten for the itinerary and to get home. Gosh, he bought a legal ticket, violated no rules. He should be allowed to continue his travels with no impact to him financially.

jimrpa

Really, could you please highlight the exact place in the OP's original post where he makes the statement "...that the Delta agent thought is itineraries were 'suspicious' and sicced the feds on him"? I've read that post several times, and I'll freely admit that I sometimes miss stuff when I read it. I may well have overlooked this.
A couple of things here:

1. You're assuming that "Delta ... sicced the feds on him". That has not been substantiated.
2. You're asserting that an airline has no legal obligation to report certain classes of passengers or certain passenger behaviors to the government. While I am definitely not a lawyer, I'm pretty sure that's wrong. For example, I'm almost 100% positive that airlines are required to report certain name matches to authorities if people traveling with those names attempt to travel.
3. In saying "Delta did it out of spite", you're asserting that Delta had a deliberate, malicious intent for their actions. What do you base that assertion on?

Certainly, if you completely disregard laws, regulations, and what little "facts" we have, you can make any claim you want regarding Delta's culpability. As I said earlier, I wish the OP lots of luck with a judge. Maybe he'll be lucky and find one of them thair "activist judges" that the government hasn't disposed of yet

jimrpa

Actually, I'd encourage you to give GUWonder a bit of slack. While s/he and I have disagreed at times, s/he generally tries to be very civil and avoids the (incredibly strong, at times) temptation to dive into so-called personal attacks.

You might want to look at his argument and see if there are facts (or what have been presented as "facts") that might be in dispute or are conflicted, and point those out.

Keep in mind that, based on what I've seen, I really don't think Delta did anything "wrong". Now, the US Government on the other hand, was very wrong, and definitely owes the guy significant damages from a moral perspective. Also, I wonder if there's a case for "False Arrest" or "Imprisonment" here? Not to mention, unfair restraint of commerce.

If I were the OP, instead of going after Delta, I'd hire some real lawyers, and maybe even get the ACLU involved, and publicize how the government is really trampling peoples rights.

jimrpa

Where is it established that "Delta 'fingered' him"? Further, was Delta legally obligated to report him for some reason? Keep in mind that, here in the US, the government now has non-public criteria by which people are identified for additional scruitiny. Take a look at FAMs and FC seats. Delta is legally obligated to protect the identities of the FAMs even though we all know they ARE FAMs. In the same way, the OP may have exhibited a non-publicized behavior to a Delta employee that the employee was then obligated to report to the government.

Wake up and take a look around - we're back in they heydays of the USSR, circa 1965, where neighbors are legally obligated to report "subversive" behavior of their friends and neighbors, and children are expected to report their parents "anti-social" activities.

Krakajax

There is something missing in this story the OP is telling.

First of all, the "Feds" would have been more likely the
DHS TSA supervison and the U.S. Marshal Service.
FBI would NOT have been involved in this unless there was
sufficient reason(s) OTHER THAN the highly UNUSUAL
and VERY ODD MCO-JFA-FRA-JFK-BWI-BOS
(Orlando FL - New York - Frankfort Germany - New York -
Baltimore - Boston) routing.

DL as well as ALL airlines WILL VOID TICKETS and CANCEL
RESERVATIONS if you attempt to take segments out of sequence.

Also they WILL VOID mileage and tickets bought & sold via eBay....

EITHER of these scenarios added with the OP possibly creating a "fuss"
(as in being very abusive in behavior to the GA -- could POSSIBLY be WHY "Feds" were summoned....


At any rate, very very "fishy" story .....

jeffreyt

Ah, the joys of Flyertalk.

chrisny2

I don't think he ever asserted that airlines have NO legal obligation to report certain classes of passengers. He said there wasn't an obligation IN THIS CASE.

GadgetFreak

Exactly correct.

Its funny how people think that an "unusual" itinerary is a sign of a problem. Do they really think that if someone was planning any kind of criminal activity they would necessarily fly all over the place like that? Is there any thought process at all that leads a sentient being to the conclusion that many segments= possible terrorist? Its amazing how people can just say and do things without trying to think if they really make any sense at all

Spiff

Well then.

You may test your hypothesis at your convenience.