cb2vi3

I found a thread on here that mentioned that folks should probably ignore Delta's emails.

I've been able to confirm that recommendation.


I booked an 8:36pm flight to Vermont. At 3:34pm on the afternoon of the flight, I received this email from Delta:

----

We are trying to contact you because the times have changed for our flight on August 14. We'll look in your reservation for a telephone number and try to reach you there too. Please review the information for new flight numbers, departure and arrival times (we’ve bolded the changes).

Thursday, August 14
Flight: Delta 4402 (operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines/ASA using their equipment)
Departs: 9:55 pm from Atlanta, Georgia
Arrives: 12:26 am at Burlington, Vermont

----

I arrived at the airport at 8:25pm and checked my bag. The Delta agent crossed out 8:36pm on my boarding pass and wrote "9:55". I went through security, and, figuring I had plenty of time, I went and grabbed some food.

I arrived at the gate at 9:25pm and the flight was gone. (Departure time according to Delta Operations: 9:22pm.) The next available flight was the next day. (Oddly, my bag made it to Burlington that night.)

What happened? It turned out that the flight time had not been changed. The flight was simply on delay. They sent me the wrong email. (Delta's official record says that I was sent an IROP email at 3:34pm, but it apparently doesn't record which one.)

Counting the hotel room I couldn't cancel and an increased car rental rate over the course of the four-day trip, I ended up out over $275 (on a four-day trip) because of the screw-up.


The best part: no compensation. (They offered a $25 voucher for my trouble, but I did not receive it.) I've been back and forth with several Delta reps, all (but one) of whom has argued everything except the email, including:

Rep #2: The flight was simply on delay so it could leave at any time. Since I wasn't there, it was my fault for missing it. (She followed it with the nicely patronizing: "I always go to the gate right away when I fly.") I pointed out the email and reiterated what it said. (I showed her a copy online.) She told me that she "respectfully disagreed", that the email had been sent to me to "tell me about the delay." She didn't have any concern about the wording of the email.

Rep #3: Since I had checked in online the night before, Delta was not obligated to update me on schedule changes. I noted that the email was delivered to me 16 hours after I checked in, and she clammed up, noting that she simply couldn't help me.

Corporate's response: I "failed check-in guidelines", so my seat was released. In reference to the email: "Our airport representatives are expected to always be responsive, and offer precise, complete information. It sounds like that didn't happen in this case, and we will continue to make efforts to improve in this area." "While we would like to offer special consideration in cases such as yours, we are unable to honor the many requests that we receive from others in similar situations. We follow a consistent policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us. Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request."

I'm worried how many "similar situations" occur. I'm curious if I can request a copy of that "consistent policy".

The one rep (#1) who didn't argue with me told me that he completely agreed with me. (He was thrilled that I was able to show him all of my documentation online.) He told me he would have missed the flight as well, and that he would arrange compensation and call me back the next day. I never received that phone call, and a followup call (connecting me with Rep #2) said that there was no indication of any compensation except the $25 voucher.

Lesson learned: ignore Delta's travel update emails and go the airport at the original time. It's just a shame that I was novice enough not to know about it going in.

Btw - if I don't fly Delta again, is it worth me calling and cancelling my SkyMiles account?

EDIT: I added more details below.

MikeyZBT

Ok, yes, the e-mail was incorrect, but seriously?!

I mean, how hard is it to check again, on your own, the status of your flight?? It's not that tough to check and see that the flight was actually at the same time. Worst case you sit at the airport for an extra hour. Much better than having to go the next day, right?

To sum up, it's pretty much just as much your fault as it is Delta's. You need to have more responsibility for your own reservation.

flyingbrick

Oh, please! Delta is not responsible for lying to him? Email, phone, website, smoke signals, makes no difference. DL TOLD him the departure time changed. Not maybe, not delayed--changed. How is he supposed to "check"? The email came direct from DL. The horses mouth. Now we are supposed to check multiple sources of flight info and get a consensus, just in case one of the OFFICIAL sources is wrong? Assuming the facts as stated, I'm with the OP.

N808DE

Let's see -

• Call DL to verify that it was a change and not a delay
• Check online - stat would say DELAYED, not ON TIME for the new time
• Ask the agent at check-in (who crossed out the departure time - I've never seen that happen btw)
• Um, maybe look at the screens throughout the airport!!!
• Go to the Departure Gate earlier than usual boarding time to see what's going on
• etc

Sorry but I wouldn't rely on an automated email to dictate when I would arrive at the airport and decide to wander off for something to eat.

N808DE

If this is a means of trying to "stick it to em" over this situation, they'd probably be happy to have your unredeemed miles back.

monitor

And check again, and recheck, and then do it over again? And take a look at and then keep an eye on the departure gate?

If the equipment for the flight is there, why would one leave the gate area at all? If you are talking about a mainliner, it will take at least 20 minutes to load and, if boarding has not started, you will have that much time to run and grab some food (and bring it back with you). But this was an RJ, which can load and go in less than 10 minutes.

I do have some sympathy for the OP for learning a basic lesson the hard way but all airlines, at all airports, operate the same way and none of them have their electronic IRROP communications to passengers down to a zero error state.

MikeMpls

Hogwash! Delta presented this to the customer as a schedule change, not as a flight delay when the plane can actually be expected to leave at any time.

When he checked his bag they wrote the new boarding time on his BP, and he arrived at the gate at T-30, which in most airports is enough time to deal with gate changes:

This would be an ideal case for small-claims courts.

bross

Assuming the OP didn't purchase the ticket with cash, call the credit card company and dispute the charges for the ticket. You were not provided the service you contracted for and you have all of the written evidence needed. It may not make up for the full amount that you are out, but it's a start.

DMIrishFlyer

Give me a break - small claims court?

Assuming that the OPs post is correct (and I have a feeling we're missing something)

Sure the email was wrong and sure Delta should offer some compensation and I have some sympathy for the OP - but as he said himself it was a novice mistake. There are many ways to check the flight status - he should have done it - and the novice part is very apparent, if he got the email and then the agent hand wrote a time on his BP - why wouldn't he have questioned that? the same system that sent him the email should have had the updated time and wouldn't have required a hand written time (this is where I think something is being left out of the story)

The title of the thread is also misleading - I've had numerous emails from Delta about schedule changes and they have never been wrong (BUT I always check)

Bottom line - Delta screwed up, but the OP is an adult and needs to accept his responsibility in the screw up, he should have checked.

Seminole_Kev

If the information is accurate, I still can't fault the OP on this. If Delta tells someone that their flight isn't going to go until xx:xx then I think it is fair for anyone to assume that their flight won't leave until xx:xx or later. Delta is in the wrong here in my opinion (again, if the facts of this are true). Blaiming the poster for not knowing to work around a screwup that he/she didn't know was a screw up is completely missing the point. Especially as most fliers out there are not "experienced" flyers.

tonypct

I don't think posters are saying that Delta wasn't in the wrong here. My take on all this is that the OP, even with an e-mail from DL, should still take some responsibility for checking flight status. As someone else said, we've probably all learned to do this the hard way.

mikew99

It's difficult for me to understand why so many FT'ers would blame the OP for anything that happened here. When a change is presented as a schedule change and validated by multiple official sources (the advance email and the check-in agent's computers), I would believe it, too.

DL's indifference to the OP's complaints just adds insult to injury. I think we've all been screwed over by the airlines so many times that we have just gotten used to it.

cb2vi3

If there's anything I can offer to verify the story, I'll happily provide it. I honestly didn't post this as a vendetta. (I was trying to avoid getting vent-ish, but I think I may have passed that point.) I've flown Delta happily and exclusively since 1996, and this is the first time I've had an issue like this. It's just that this has been such a disaster that I'm not sure I want to fly Delta again.

The Email
My Boarding Pass

I edited these to remove my name, SkyMiles number, and confirmation number. Having said that, it would not be difficult to get my name or contact information from what I've posted in this thread (and not just for Delta).

The orange mark on the right of the boarding pass is the TSA signature.

I put all of my original (unaltered) documents online so that I could share them with Customer Care during my call(s). One rep thanked me and noted that he wished it were possible for more people to do the same - the others largely ignored them.

Even if I'd called to verify the status of the flight, I don't believe I would have done anything differently. I'll freely admit, the Departure board said "8:36pm Delayed to 9:55pm" and I didn't give it a second thought. "Delayed" doesn't say "Delayed and can leave at any time". The times matched what the email said, and the email said that the flight had been rescheduled. (I just assumed that it was written that way on the board as a way to notify those who hadn't received an email or phone call.) The agent who took my bag didn't seem at all alarmed that I was checking a bag at 8:25pm for an 8:36pm flight, and made no mention that it might leave before 9:55pm. (As I pointed out, she wrote "9:55" on my pass.)

I wasn't able to track down a copy of Delta's delay email (if they have one), but I assume it includes language pointing out that the passenger should arrive at the gate as scheduled. (If it doesn't, it should.) My company's legal team would recommend that Delta add some kind of disclaimer to all of these emails.


There were at least four others that were left behind. (A fifth was nearby telling someone on the phone that her flight had left her behind, but I didn't speak to her personally.) A couple from Colorado had waited at the gate for three hours on a layover. They told me that as late as 9:10pm, the flight was still scheduled for 9:55pm. They left to grab some food, and by the time they got back, the flight was gone. (I can't verify their story, though.) They ended up having to find a hotel at their own expense - at least I had the luxury of sleeping in my own bed.

I've struggled a good bit in figuring out exactly what happened, given that Delta's offered two versions of the official record. The Corporate response claimed that the flight had been rescheduled for 8:36pm after it was scheduled for 9:55pm, and that "it is unfortunate that we were unable to inform you that your flight had been re-scheduled to its original departure time." But Rep #2 told me (and was emphatic) that the flight had always been on delay - she even contacted Delta Operations. (She was the one who told me the 9:22pm actual departure time.) They can't both be right - and I truly believe the latter, since she was able to give me hard numbers.


The credit card dispute angle is interesting. I'm back and forth on it, only because I think reasonable dispatch gives them leeway as far as getting me there. The one thing that might allow it to work is that what happened seems to fall outside of what's covered in the Contract of Carriage.

I've been thinking about Small Claims Court, but I'm not sure it's worth taking a day off of work to do so. (Sadly, doing so would cost Delta more in paying their attorneys to show up than it would to offer me some kind of voucher.)


After this episode, I'm of the mind that the airlines shouldn't be moving schedules backward on short notice unless they can confirm that everyone who has checked in has been properly notified. If that means being more conservative about pre-set delays (ie, in this case, delaying it until 9:25pm and then re-delaying it if necessary), so be it. But there were at least five of us who had checked in and had bags on the plane - the Captain apparently decided to put the standbys on in our places and take off.

I mean, honestly - I had my cellphone on me. The 3:34pm notifications included two calls to my cell. If they'd done the same when the flight was moved to 9:22pm, at least I'd have had a fighting chance to get to the gate before it left. And, even if I didn't receive the notification, at least I could take some comfort that the effort was made.

The worst part is that if I hadn't received the email, I probably would have made the flight. If what happened is a consequence of using a notification system, maybe they should reconsider how they use it.

DMIrishFlyer

I'm not saying you were on a DL vendetta and given the evidence you have I have no reason not to believe you - and I'm not absolving DL of blame (see my post above) ALL I'm saying is that given the circumstances you should have checked - to me the circumstances would have thrown a huge red flag, hence my reference to part of the story not being complete.

I fly a lot and I have a routine before every one, it involves a lot of checking and rechecking times and gates, even if i get to the airport and am told my flight has been delayed I always get to the gate at the original time JUST to be sure. I once missed a flight that delayed me for 18 hours and I had to change a routing and spent 12 hours in JFK - hence my hatred of JFK - but that's another story. That was my novice mistake , this one is yours (your words - not mine)

I will have to say that one bad experience in 12 years would not be an I'm outta here experience for me - I'd be inclined to forgive and move on.

BTW another novice error - you book nonrefundable hotels???? don't know about you but as much as I change my plans that would cost me an absolute fortune....

cb2vi3

I hear you.

I think my reasoning for not flying Delta again is that I always feel like I have to judge a company more on what happens when things go wrong. Handing out free headsets when a flight is delayed doesn't feel necessary, but it's a nice gesture that goes a long way.

While I've been delayed in the past, I've never had a circumstance where I had to deal with Delta Customer Care. I give kudos to the rep at Hartsfield for helping me reschedule without issue. I give kudos to the rep who tried to help me but couldn't (she didn't have access to Delta Operations to find out why the flight left early) and relayed me to Corporate. And, despite not coming through on his promise, I give credit to the rep who said he'd do what he could to compensate me.

But everybody else (three at Customer Care and two via Corporate) went completely out of their way to be combative and absolve themselves of responsibility, including making statements that seem contradictory or just unbelievable. (If Rep #3's statement were true, no one should ever check in online.)

The night this happened, I was an emotional wreck, given that my trip had been ruined. (Among other things, I missed an event on Friday night that I was flying out for.) The rep that I spoke to that night was largely unsympathetic, refusing to do anything other than put me on a flight the next day, insisting that I would have to pay extra to move my return flight. (Gracefully, I didn't lose my composure - my overriding emotion was hopelessness.) I told her I'd call back in the morning to figure out how to reschedule my trip (and seriously considered cancelling the whole thing and eating the airfare). I instead, I opted to talk to a rep in the baggage claim area before heading home, figuring (correctly) that they'd be more receptive, given that they hadn't had to deal with a dozen upset passengers.

All I wanted at the end of this was an apology for the incorrect email and some kind of effort to offset my expenses. (A $75 voucher would probably have felt slight, but I think I would have been okay with it had the effort felt sincere. The $25 voucher - that I never received - felt like an insult.) While I appreciated Corporate's effort to apologize, apologies feel hollow when they're made while deflecting responsibility.

The reality is that Delta gained nothing with all of this - all they did was lose my business. In fairness, there's always another customer to take my place.

In reality, I'll probably just try another airline for a while (ie, until I have another problem), then re-evaluate.


Oh, no - that was just because of the lateness. Their cancellation policy required cancellation before 6pm. That's later than some - I think most of the rooms I've stayed in require cancellation before 4pm.

This trip was kind of an experiment - I usually do Wednesday to Monday trips and take early afternoon flights both days. I figured I'd try a long-weekend trip and leave Thursday night after work. After this, I think I'm going to go back to what I was doing before.