Delta: No customer service No. and Delayed Baggage pickup at airport at own cost!
 

Just read this Time story excerpted on cnn.com.

In the past delayed baggage has always been delivered to my home or whatever location I happened to be (if I were on a trip out of town). I don't recall this changing, where I have to return to the airport and pick up delayed baggage. If it is standard, then it s***s! The Bill of rights become even more important every passing day. We pay ever increasing amount for bags, and no apparent recourse to compensate for delayed bags, and now having to waste time to have it picked up when it becomes available! It happened to me in Ghana, but I thought it was an exception. Now I see it may be the next "best in class" policy for Delta.

The one lesson. Whine and complain enough, you'll get a voucher for your trouble.

It has always been the case for me that delayed/lost luggage was delivered to me free of charge. Is this still the case or has it changed?

It's still delivered to you if it's an involuntary separation.

There are times when there can be a voluntary separation (i.e. inbound ALT-MCO is late, fly into MLB/TPA instead, bag gets to MCO, it's MY job to get it).

Correct and in the few situations where I have been required to gather my own seperately arriving bag, the requirement was always explained to me in advance.

What about IRROPS? Some of you may have read this before, but on July 29 a DL agent (and supervisor) required I voluntarily separate from my baggage to protect me on another flight.

I was scheduled to fly JFK-DTW-SDF on NW metal using a DL ticket. Flights were ticketed using DL flight # and issued on DL 012 stock.

I get to gate B23 at JFK. Complete chaos and no info on DTW flight.

I call NW and find out it is severely delayed and "on decision for CXL". Agent advised of re-route available via MEM with open seats, but computer wouldn't let her do it. Otherwise she could re-book me for an AM flight. Agent said best bet would be to speak to the GA - so off I go:

First DL agent at B23 tells me, "I'm Delta, not NW"

I then approach DL agent working MEM flight, which has inbound a/c and crew. She has no info on DTW situation at first. She finally learns of delay and realizes I will misconnect - she did deny flight being "on decision for CXL"

At the time there was a line of severe t-storms running N/S west of JFK on an east/southeast heading. Inbound aircraft to be used on DTW flight had not departed DTW. Per OIS, FAA reported JFK on "ground-stop status" with a high possibility for ground-stop continuance. When I saw this, I was quite certain flight would CXL.

See: http://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/ - very useful tool. @:-)

I'm already a guaranteed mis-connect on last flight of night via DTW, but to get on the MEM flight I had to beg and plea with the DL Agent at B23. She then had to call her supervisor to find out if it's ok to re-book me because I have a checked bag.

In the end, she would only re-book me, per DL supervisor, if I agreed to voluntarily separate from my luggage. Needing to get home, I reluctantly agreed. Agent re-books me and notes PNR that I voluntarily separated.

I get on the bus at B23 (B23 is a "bus gate" to aircraft stands), board the Compass E175 to MEM, and we start our taxi-out. Long hold for westbound departures because of severe WX, so pilot allows mobile devices.

As soon as I turn my phone on, surprise, surprise, a notice from NW that the DTW flight is canceled. Then an email stating I've been protected on the flight I'm currently sitting on.

MEM was another mess with IRROPS on 7/29 - severe WX, lots of diversions - but all was handled professionally.

My bag finally did get delivered when it arrived late the next day, but I had to make a couple trips to the DL baggage office at SDF to make this happen.

I did a TTU on NWA.com and received a personalized response (my TTU got directed to someone higher-up), specifically addressing the problems I encountered, and an apology. Kudos to the NW staff at TTU. ^^

As to my next JFK trip - which happens to be next week - I won't be checking any bags if I can help it.

SDF_Traveler

Suggest you take another look at the story which sez:

"So rather than wait in line at the lost-luggage counter, I took a phone number to call in the report later. Which I did — only to be told sternly that lost-baggage reports cannot be taken over the phone, only in person at the airport."

The author has no one to blame but him/herself !

Bob H.

Yes, I completely understand that story and that is exactly what I was talking about. I could have tried to take my original connection, which the bags were loaded onto and then, at MY expense, get the bags. That makes sense (partly).

The airline was able to re-route you without additional cost and your decision was to not fly with your bags. You could have continued to DTW and found overnight accommodations on your own.

You made the right decision to make your life easier...

As the flight to DTW did cancel, I actually would have spent the night in New York - no way I could have continued to Detroit.

With NWA, I've never been forced to "voluntarily separate" from luggage to be protected from IRROPs - be it a missed connection or canceled flight. I should add same goes with other carriers IME, even if I'm FIMed to another airline.

According to the time stamp on the "flight cancellation notice" for the DTW flight, it actually canceled during the boarding of the MEM flight, but I had already powered down my mobile.

Is it actually Delta policy that pax must "voluntarily separate" from their baggage to be protected on new flights during IRROPs?

I quite disagree with this... when a carrier has already failed in the most basic matter of transporting a passenger's bags along with the passenger, and subsequently caused unexpected delay to the passenger as a result of waiting for bags that were not loaded in the first place, to me it seems completely unreasonable to expect next that the passenger - who has already been delayed, and made to wait around for bags that were not loaded in the first place, should incur additional delay and expense simply because the carrier is unwilling to provide adequate staff to deal with the situation as it has happened.

Being willing to follow up by telephone or internet for a missing bag situation is both the least that a passenger in such a situation might expect from a carrier, and perhaps the best situation that a carrier might hope for from such a passenger.

Next people will be saying that as passengers we should be willing to buy a ticket back to the last airport to collect our missing bags, since every time we check in a bag anywhere, we take the chance that it might not make it with us, and it's our own fault if it doesn't... :rolleyes:

Sometimes passengers have ground connections to make, such as connections via rail. Do you stand in a huge queue to make a claim and miss your rail connection -- or do you catch your rail connection and make a call?

I've been caught in this scenario and I exited the airport to catch my rail connection. I had to make some phone calls and by an act of god did get things sorted for a bag delivery.

Had a similar scenario happen two weeks ago, but to complicate things, I had already been re-routed (luggage was pulled & re-routed), and flight I was on ended up being delayed.

Since this was JFK, I skipped on the last LIRR train of the night and spent a good hour dealing with the fine luggage people.

Once finished, I had no more ground options for the night, it was past 2am, and here I am at JFK / DL baggage. I ended up paying $150 for a night at the JFK Holiday Inn Express (not the best of hotels).

Just before 10am as I'm checking out, DL calls saying my luggage arrived and wanted to know where to deliver. Since I had to go back to the airport to catch the AirTrain / LIRR, I went and collected my baggage.

Anyways - ground connections can just be important and there should be another line of re-course instead of waiting 1+ hr to have a baggage agent complete a missing bag form.

JFK again next week - this time, no checked luggage.

Ghana Customs requires that any delayed baggage that arrives seperately from the passenger MUST be picked up in person by the passenger and cleared through Customs. The transporting airline is not permitted to serve as an agent for Customs purposes as is the case virtually everywhere else in the world. The only exception is made for passengers who have ticketed air itineraries to domestic points within Ghana and who complete the PUB form with Customs prior to departing on their domestic flight - their bags may be forwarded to be held at the domestic airport for collection.

This policy was instituted in response to smuggling rackets intentionally "misrouting" bags and then having these delivered to them bypassing Customs inspection.

Actually, as a Medallion.. you don't pay any fees for your bags... But as a Medallion they should not have charged you... I suggest you email them

What - not brave enough to ride the E train late night?

I have had a lot of baggage issues, recently, bad luck etc. I called today to customer service and my first issue was why do I have to wait in line with 20 other people and only one person working the desk. Ne decent answer at the moment.