We decided to fly my family out of DEN to MEM on a direct flight the week before Thanksgiving so my young daughters could spend more time with Gma and Gpa, and my wife could visit her brothers for a week. I had to work and stay behind.
Check online before we leave, flight is listed on time. Our flight was Friday afternoon so we leave around 12 noon and arrive at DEN about 12:45 for the 2:30 flight.
We check our bags; they are processed and placed on the belt. Then the ticket agent tells us, “Oh, your flight is 4 hours late…” No big deal, flights are late so we have lunch and I see the family off around 2pm at security. As I am walking away, my phone flight tracker blips…”FLIGHT CANCELLED.” I yell across the room/TSA/security to stop my wife before she crosses the threshold of no return. So she backs out, and we make it to the customer service desk. Three people are working. One just for luggage, one for “elite” customers, and one for us… the 100 people who need flights.
As we are waiting everyone is calling Delta, and while I’m on hold the guy in front of me is LIVID… they sold him a ticket at 1pm for the 2:30 flight – he was rushing to a funeral in Memphis. Well you see… by that time the flight was already listed as leaving 4 hours late… but they took his money and his points anyway.
Our story – our only option is a connecting flight the next morning. We paid for THREE direct flights, when I found out we were forced with young children for connection flights (cheaper flights). I asked for the difference to be refunded to the credit card. “No, we won’t do that… We can offer you a $25 voucher.”
“You mean the cost of my luggage I JUST paid for?”
“Yes sir.” They just stole $400 dollars from me.
So Friday night, we get home at 8pm after trying to track down our luggage.
Wake up Saturday at 7am to get back to the airport and check in. Online – flight listed as on time. Get to the airport… check in, luggage checked in, boarding passes in hand. See wife and children off to security. I leave the airport and drive towards home for 30 minutes. Phone tracker blips… FLIGHT DELAYED 4 hours… which won’t work since our LAST connection leaves one hour before this flight takes off. So my wife is now at the airport with 2 young kids. I’m on the phone, she’s in line with customer service.
After 3 hours Delta gets a flight connection on American Airlines at 5pm for DAL to MEM… arriving at 10:30pm. This is our only option, as there are no other flights landing in Memphis.
Again try to get my DIFFERENCE IN PAYMENT BACK – and I’m told that I’m out of luck. My wife gets $50 vouchers to help feed the kids at the airport.
They eventually make it to MEM at 10:45pm. Delta lost their luggage. Delta Airlines had “no record” of their luggage being verified, transferred and checked in to the flight. They leave MEM at midnight with the Delta luggage office being closed. Luggage finally arrived the following night. It never left DEN with them.
DELTA – I will never fly you again. I have zero confidence in your airline or your customer service. You didn’t offer ANY FLIGHT SERVICE… you were just a phone agent, nothing more.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds like my last time on United.
Sounds like a US based legacy airline — any of them,
AA doesn't fly out of DAL…
AA did fly out of DAL for a while, but I don't believe ever to Memphis, only to Chicago
Been there, done that with Delta. Flying in First from Los Angeles to Berlin, the LAX-JFK flight was cancelled. Arrived in ATL to find the flight to Paris would leave 5 hours late. Arrived Berlin 9 hours late. All flights lead to Atlanta which is hopelessly overscheduled. I won't fly Delta anymore even for free with the 185,000 miles in my Skymiles account.