BenMeddle

Here's a rather strange story...

I was supposed to fly LGA-ATL on Sunday, December 21st to visit my parents but my flight was canceled. Why it was canceled is anyone's guess as it was the only LGA-ATL flight on Delta canceled that day and the weather was fine after a few early morning delays (I suppose that the airline needed to axe a flight due to earlier delays and that this flight was a turnaround, so the plane wasn't really needed elsewhere). Delta auto-rebooked me on a LGA-ATL flight the following day at 9:00 PM and put me in first class.

Come the morning of Monday, December 22nd, I received an email from Delta saying that I had been rebooked on a LGA-ATL flight at 5:40 PM that day. The flight was a last-minute addition to the schedule. What's interesting is how I got rebooked.

My mother called Delta early that morning to see if there were any flights earlier than 9:00 PM that I could get on. I had done the same the night before, but was told that everything prior to that time was oversold. The CSR, however, told my mother that Delta had added another LGA-ATL flight to the schedule that morning. She then asked my mother if I was an unaccompanied minor. My mother was truthful, saying that she just wanted to see her youngest son sooner rather than later (I'm 33). The CSR was apparently a mom herself and rebooked me on the earlier flight.

I love my mother, but she crossed a line here because the schedule change screwed up my work day (she understood my displeasure). More importantly, what was the Delta CSR thinking changing a passenger's flight without their permission? How did she know that it was actually my mother? The only information my mother provided was my name and flight info. She didn't have my confirmation number, Skymiles number or credit card number. She literally could have been anyone. I don't believe that Delta would have auto-rebooked me on the earlier flight since I already a seat on a flight that night and my booking code had changed from L to Y.

Am I the only one who finds the situation a wee bit disturbing?

3Cforme

I'm disturbed that you blame DL for acting upon your mother's request, but maybe that's just me.

icurhere2

I think it's inappropriate for a DL employee to do this even with the best of intentions (although mom seems to have gotten some of the blame - and rightfully).

Yet I've had to convince a DL employee to do something similar to get a flight changed for free in an emergency medical situation for an unrelated party. In the situation I described, I did have a legal document proving I had the power to make that determination.

NHFL9

Really if you have the PNR there isn't much DL can do to stop you if you say that you are the traveler since they don't really have a way of verifying the caller's identity. I guess the normal deterrent is the need to pay for most changes.

AndyTLe

I've called on behalf of colleagues, family members and others before without any problems. Having the ability to change itins was helpful. What kind of barrier would the OP like to prevent this?

Gandhi90s

Interesting handle ... BenMeddle. If that's really your last name, your mother's actions are hardly surprising.

I think your quarrel is with your mother and yourself, and not with the airline. I doubt if DL would have made the change without your mom providing the PNR. And whom would she get that from?

photojojo

You just beat me to it. I was thinking; "holy irony".

keeton

People can also call who are vindictive ex-(or soon to be)spouse or an unscrupulous coworker/competitor to change travel itineraries without the traveler's knowledge or permission.

I think having _some_ form of ID verification - Skymiles number and PIN, credit card number or the like should be required.

Gandhi90s

The PNR should be sufficient. If you share it with someone, it's on you IMO.

MikeMpls

Apparently the caller's age wasn't in the record, and the rep didn't bother to verify much, if any, info from his SkyMiles account. However, for all we know the rep might actually have verified a lot of the usual info (name, address, phone from itin).

The rep asked the mother if the caller was an unaccompanied minor, the mother cleverly dodged the question, and the rep fell for it.

The mother should be more honest & not meddle; the rep could have been a bit more careful & on the ball.

The OP might email this to Delta (use their contact link) with a suggestion that DL better train their reps to not to be fooled by meddling mothers & other busy bodies. I don't see it as major lapse on the part of the rep: Next time verify the age of the purported minor.

MikeMpls

That's silly. Active PNR #'s can be found in trash cans in airports all over the world. The rep has very specific information at his/her disposal (name, address, phone, credit card, SkyMile profile) that can be used to vet any caller.

As I said, I think the rep did try to vet the caller but the mother was moderately clever. The rep could have been more alert & done a better job.

Gandhi90s

Um, if you are referring to discarded BPs, it's too late to mess with the PNR (unless you are going to claim that it was a connecting flight on a single PNR, and the mother came to the airport mid-itinerary and rooted around in every trashcan on the off-chance that she could find her son's PNR).

mizzou miles

Are you kidding me? Blaming Delta? Really? Sounds like you need to have a conversation with your mom. Maybe on a couple of levels.

From the title of the thread, you would think some random adjusted your PNR...

Get a grip.

MikeMpls

You're missing the point. Thousands of still active PNR's are accessible to anyone daily. The returns can still be rebooked/cancelled.

The rep should have done a better job of validating the caller.

MikeMpls

What good is verification info if it's not used?

When I called HHonors yeserday, they asked for my PIN. The Delta rep dropped the ball.