dc0de’s & friends notes…

A Delta Airlines pilot threatened to throw a passenger off of an aircraft today, 30 minutes prior to it’s departure.

Delta Airlines flight 1047 from Atlanta to San Diego was originally scheduled to depart ATL at 6:55pm Eastern on 1/3/2009, on a 767 aircraft.  When passengers got to the gate, they were not informed of any delays or changes.  However, when boarding the aircraft, the Delta gate agent informed the waiting passengers that their seats had all been re-assigned, as there had been an equipment change.  The gate agent did not call this a “last minute” change, as the 757-200 had arrived from San Diego and had unloaded it’s passengers while most of the departing passengers were waiting to board. It is apparent that Delta had planned to use the 757-200 for several hours prior to the aircraft’s arrival, and simply did not care enough about it’s passengers to notify them ahead of their scheduled departure.

Many of the passengers were surprised as they boarded that their seat assignments had been changed, and one gentleman was almost removed from the plane for asking why they hadn’t been informed earlier of the equipment change.  One flight attendant was heard saying, “You are going to have to speak with the Captain about this”, and when the Captain and the passenger spoke, the Captain told the passenger, “We’re one step from throwing you off this flight”.  At no time did the passenger become unruly or violent, he was simply frustrated by Delta’s apparent lack of courtesy to it’s paying customers.

Also overheard from the Captain’s discussion, were the following:

“Are you going to be calm for this flight?” (the passenger was calm)

“We will not stand for passengers raising their voice or cursing” (the passenger didn’t raise his voice)

“With the recent events, we have to be extra careful” (the passenger went through security, didn’t have any incendiary sewn in his underwear, and was not exhibiting any violent actions)

So, now it seems that freedom of speech is also forbidden, on these, “Friendly Skies”.

The passenger in question first had an exit row seat, then was moved to a middle seat on the 757-200 replacement aircraft, and finally, after being threatened, was given an aisle seat near the rear of the aircraft.

Delta Airlines has not yet commented on our story.

Ok, I’ve been a customer of Delta Airlines for over 12 years, and I’m currently stuck in JAX (Jacksonville Airport, in Jacksonville FL), because of Delta’s “new” methods of treating their customers…. Here is the synopsis…

• I was booked on a 13:59 flight home
• I arrived at the ticket counter at 13:26, 3 minutes before they were supposed to close the flight
• I was told that the flight was closed, and that I now have to pay a $50 change fee to get home on a 17:20 departure

When I asked about the discrepancy of the time issue, I was told that their clock was the “authority”.

When I tried to explain why I was upset, I was told, “If you yell at me, I can’t help you.”

When I asked if there was any way to refund my change fee, I was told, “No, that’s the only way you’re going to fly home.”

Before you all comment that I should have been to the airport sooner, and that I should understand that these people are paid poor wages and are working for an airline that just came out of bankruptcy, forget it.

Here’s what I sent to Delta, regarding my issues with their new “policy” of closing flights and charging change fees (a new revenue stream for delta)…

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I am currently sitting in JAX waiting for the next available flight back to Atlanta. I am now booked on the 17:20 departure. However, I was originally booked on the 13:59 departure, and was not allowed to check in 35 minutes before the flight, as the ticket desk closed the flight early.

I have been a Delta traveler for many years, and recently lost my Medallion status, and I am really seeing how a “normal” traveler is treated.

I was shocked to be told that “You were late”, and “That’s just the way it is” when I questioned the discrepancy in time.

This seems to me to be just another tactic to “earn” money for the airline, and it is at a great personal cost to me. I didn’t have a choice over my booking, nor my arrival to the airport, and yet, I was treated by the ticket desk as just some smuck that doesn’t understand air travel.

Unfortunately, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. My first career path was to become a professional pilot, and to this day I hold a private pilots license. I live in Atlanta, and have been a loyal Delta customer through thick and thin, remaining loyal when many of my colleagues chose to fly SouthWest, Airtran, and American out of Atlanta.

The cold shoulder I received at the JAX ticket counter, and the early closure of the flight only seem to be the new status quo for Delta, in what appears to be an effort to take more money out of the business travelers pocket.

I can only say that I feel betrayed and sick to my stomach, that I backed a company for years, that would treat me with such distain.

I asked if the change fee could be waived, and was told “under no circumstances”, and was repeatedly treated like a 3rd class citizen. The manager of the front desk did not listen to what I stated, and when I tried to clearly repeat myself, he stated “If you yell at me I can’t help you…” when I wasn’t yelling, I was repeating myself so he would actually process the facts that I was trying to explain to him.

At this point, my frustration, feelings of betrayal, and the apparent lack of customer service has left me considering which airline will get my next booking.

I would like to be contacted by a true customer services manager who can refund my monies, and provide me with some insight as to how this can happen on an airline that I’ve trusted to “do the right thing” for the past 12 years.

Thank you,

————————————————————-While Delta may not do anything, or may not care, I’m done. I will be looking for a new position that does NOT require travel in my immediate future, as if this is the state of Air Travel today, I can only forsee it getting FAR WORSE as fuel prices increase. I will not shed a tear when the Air Travel Industry as a whole collapses, as then smaller companies with more scruples and care for their customers will rise from the ashes to service the traveling public.