Delta Air Lines
Reviews and Complaints

Flying Delta turned my dream vacation into a nightmare. It’s been 29 days since I’ve seen my luggage. Try taking a 12-day Mediterranean cruise with no luggage. It’s awkward, inconvenient, expensive and, without appropriate clothing, you can’t eat in the regular dining rooms. Delta afforded me no relief whatsoever and only responded with form emails. I faxed my formal lost luggage complaint when we returned home 11 days ago and have not heard a word from Delta. I called them four days after I faxed my complaint and, after being on hold for forty minutes, I was told it would take 4-6 weeks to process my complaint. Great way to do business.
I should add that we had 3 changes of itineraries before we even boarded a plane due to mechanical difficulties. One plane sat on the runway all night before they discovered a mechanical issue at 6 am the next morning. We barely made our cruise and had to add two days at the end of our trip so we didn’t go to Italy without seeing Rome,
I apologize to anyone who sees this more than once but I plan to post it anywhere I can until I get some satisfaction from Delta.

Bill Runeari
Oswego, NY

I made a reservation for three people on a Delta flight, and received confirmation emails from Delta. However, I received check-in reminders from Northwest AND Delta, making me think that I accidentally booked the flights twice. I clicked on links in each of the emails and they led me to 2 DIFFERENT flight confirmation numbers, and 2 DIFFERENT flight numbers, one on Delta and one on Northwest. I freaked out a bit more. I know that Delta and Northwest were in the process of a merger so I called them and they sweetly told me that all that info was indeed for EXACTLY the same flight. I tried to convince them that this was very confusing and more than a little anxiety provoking but they didn't see it as a problem. I called a few more phone numbers that they told me to call to formally complain, but alas, each number was the 'wrong' one to do this, so I am just complaining here on complaintsboard.com.
Kathy

I had decided to book two roundtrip tickets from Atlanta to Tampa. I went on line and tried booking the flight, I had a message come up that it could not use my credit card try another card. My thinking was I had punched in the wrong number, I made several attempts and each time the same message. I called my credit card company and it said the card was fine, no problem. I was frustrated and after a few minutes I tried another airlines and it had a similar message. I called the credit card company back and found out that Delta had pending charges even though the Delta's website said it could not use my card. I know have $1692.00 in charges pending against my credit card and no one at Delta can help. Delta Coporate office has been rude and unprofessional, they tried blaming my bank and credit card company.
Tommy M.

Delta hires ###s. I was at the Austin Airport this morning - my niece was returning to Italy and most likely I will not see her for two years or so. I asked the Delta people at check-in to please, please issue me a pass so I could go with her at the gate and see her board the plane. It really meant a lot to me. They repeatedly said no, because my niece is neither under eighteen, nor disable, nor old. Even th security guard agreed with me that they were being ###s. I certainly do not look like a terrorist, and the issue of "crwoding the gates" was non existent because it was before 5am!
Delta needs to sto hiring brainless order-takers that act like a herd of dumb sheeps and are incapable of making an exception even when it perfectly ok to do so.
I will go oiut of my way to boicott Delta from now on.

Dear Delta,

I am writing to request a refund of the $200 "Excess Baggage" fee I was assessed at the Delta ticket counter, San Jose (CA) International Airport on July 23, 2009. On said date I flew Delta Flight # 1684 (SJC to ATL), connecting to Delta Flight # 68 (ATL to CPH) to participate in a hockey tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark. I checked in the following baggage items:

1. suitcase
2. hockey equipment bag
3. two (2) hockey sticks held together

Per the below listed policy (http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/baggage_allowance/index.jsp#checked), I was correctly charged an additional $50 for my second checked bag (comprised of the hockey equipment bag and two hockey sticks).
Checked Baggage—International

Currently when traveling to or from cities outside the United States you can check two bags, per passenger at no extra charge. For customers traveling between the U.S. and Europe for tickets purchased on or after May 23, 2009 for travel beginning July 1, 2009 customers in economy class will be charged $50 US (or the local equivalent currency) each way for the second checked bag. Exceptions to the second checked bag fee include:

* First and Business Class passengers
* SkyMiles and WorldPerks Elite members (Platinum, Gold, and Silver)
* Active duty military members traveling on orders
* Passengers who purchased tickets prior to May 23, 2009
* Passengers who are confirmed on a Full Y class Economy ticket.

However, much to my surprise and dismay, I was also charged a $200 Excess Baggage fee for the two (2) hockey sticks held together. The ticket person unknowingly stated that the $200 charge for the hockey sticks were considered "special baggage". However, when I checked the Delta website after arriving at Copenhagen and prior to my return trip to San Jose, CA., there was no information justifying the $200 Excess Baggage fee charge. In fact, what I found was alarmingly contradictory of what the ticket person represented to me -- Delta's policy regarding charges for "hockey equipment" reads as follows (quoting Delta Contract of Carriage located at http://images.delta.com.edgesuite.net/delta/pdfs/contract_of_carriage_intl.pdf -- underlining added for emphasis):

"Items of hockey/lacrosse equipment may be accepted as checked baggage and one such item maybe
included within the free baggage allowance. One item of hockey/lacrosse equipment is defined as one
equipment bag plus two hockey or lacrosse sticks (taped together). The combined weight of the equipment
bags and hockey sticks may not exceed 50lb or excess weight charges will apply. The maximum linear
dimensions up to 80 inches will be accepted with no excess size charges applied; oversize charges will
apply to items with linear dimensions over 80 inches."'

My hockey equipment bag and two (2) sticks was weighed and did not exceed the 50 lbs limit; and the linear dimensions of said equipment bag and sticks were well below 80 inches. Most notably, I was not charged ANY fees for the hockey sticks on the return Delta Air Lines Flight # 69 (CPH to ATL), July 31, 2009, connecting to Delta Flight # 1579 (ATL to SJC).

I did also happen to notice that another frequent Delta flyer experienced a similar problem regarding excess charges for hockey equipment - http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/baggage-charges-c103224.html.

Pursuant to Delta's above-stated policy regarding the "items of hockey/lacrosse equipment" wherein it clearly states that One item of hockey/lacrosse equipment is defined as one equipment bag plus two hockey or lacrosse sticks (taped together), I should not have been charged a $200 Excess/Special Baggage fee. Accordingly, I am requesting and expecting to receive a refund for the $200 Excess Baggage fee I was assessed in error. Please confirm that corrective action has been taken within the next five (5) business days.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for any questions or if further clarification is needed.

Sincerely,
Shella Aguilar

I have flown every airline and nearly flown to every city in the US over the course of my career. Every time I have flown Delta, which has been a lot over the years, I have experienced extensive delays, horrible customer service and multiple charges for the same expense on my credit card.

Most recently, I was on a flight, which was delayed leaving MO. It was essential that I was in CT that evening due to a family medical emergency. I explained the situation to the agent and asked if there was possibly another flight I could take since the flight I was scheduled on was delayed leaving and I would be at risk missing my connection; thereby, not making it to Connecticut in time. The agent discounted me with an attitude (clearly demonstrating through rolling of the eyes, pounding on the keyboard and sighing heavily that I was putting her out by asking her to check another flight). She said there was nothing they could do. As a result, we landed in Atlanta, GA. I had 5 minutes to catch my connector, which were several gates away. I asked the stewardess what gate I needed to go too and she sighed and told me to check with the agent after we landed. I then asked if they could please call ahead and let them I was coming and was told there was nothing they could do. I asked if they could possibly make an announcement and please ask if the passengers that weren't connecting remain seated for a few minutes. Again, no! When the plane landed, I got up and went to the front of he plane and was told to sit down. I explained the situation and they again demanded that I sit down. I refused. I needed to catch my flight. They reminded me they could call the authorities and I again told them it was essential that I make my connector for them to do what they needed to do. When I finally got off the plane and ask the agent where the connecting gate was, she informed me they had just left. I asked her to please find me another flight and she said there was nothing she could do that I'd have to wait. I waited in Atlanta for 9 hours. My family member died that night before I could get home.

Another situation occurred when Delta boarder everyone on the plane, knowing there were mechanical problems and making us sit there for over 6 hours not even offering us a beverage. There were several people who asked to be let off (i.e., nursing mothers, families with children, older passengers, etc.) and was told no. This is ridiculous to hold passengers hostage for six hours with no food or water when we are paying good money for those tickets. When an elderly person, clearly was unable to walk to end of the plane to use the lavatory, walked through first class, she was told she wasn’t “allowed” in first class that she’d have to return to her “area” and use the lavatory in the back of the plane.

There have been numerous, numerous occasions similar to these in respect to lack of customer service, extensive delay, no accountability or support when they are at fault and consistent double charging on fees. When you call the airline to dispute the overcharge, they direct you to their website, which takes weeks to resolve. Meanwhile, you have to pay the bill to avoid interest charges.

I rarely submit complaints, but Delta is the worst airline I have ever dealt with, and even after all these years, nothing has changed. I am disappointed to see they took over Northwest. Northwest was a fine airline before they took over. I have flown Northwest for the past few years and never a problem. I was booked on Northwest during the change over and, again, my flight from Detroit was delayed; the connector was delayed; no customer service whatsoever and the end result - it took me 12 hours to get to my destination for a 2 hour flight.

The supervisory/managerial staff for Delta Airlines, at this airport is horrible! The utter unprofessionalism, bullying tactics, total disregard for company policy, and overall insensitive nature of the supervisors, & managers there, is off the radar. The staff themselves, clerks, handlers, etc., are very kind, helpful, & patient, & respectful, but these unfortunate employees are ruled by low-level classless leadership, who are opportunists, slackers, and run via "click" tendencies. Unsupportive, careless leadership. It is a shame that key positions are often held by persons with not only desperately poor social qualities, but vindictive ego-fueled, arrogant jerks, who would rather lead through intimidation, rather than through the harder, but more worthwhile compassion, and sincerity. Delta- Get your act together and listen to employee feedback, and know who your supervisors, & managers are, and HOW they are to your lesser, but just AS IMPORTANT workers!

Name: Mr. Hamza Elsherbiny
Email Address:
[protected]@hotmail.com

I booked 4 tickets online for myself and my family from Delta.com web site since June 2009. The trip was Cairo – New York, nonstop, Delta airlines with the following details:

Last Name: Elsherbiny
First Name: Hamza
Itinerary Confirmation Code: DLTKJN
Flight # 85, Cairo – New York
Date: July 11th, 2009

Travelers were my self: Hamza Elsherbiny, accompanied by my wife: Nihal Essawy, my son: Ahmed Elsherbiny and my daughter: Marwa Elsherbiny.

We are USA permanent residents, my company is at New Jersey but I work overseas, my son works in an American company at Alexandria - Egypt, so we go and return from and to USA permanently .

My daughter Marwa Elsherbiny recently got plane phobia during one of our trips due to strong plane disturbance since about 4 years, she gets panic just while the take off of the plane and never exceeded five minutes if not less.

Starting our trip on July 11th, 2009, my daughter got her panic. We tried to explain to the crew that this was normal to us and that this always happens to her just for minutes during take off, but, and for the first time since years the captain of the plane insisted that she leaves the plane although they called the airport quarantine doctor and he stated that her case was normal and that she is in a very good condition and she can continue her trip on his own responsibility. A report from Cairo airport quarantine doctor was written and the case was documented. A copy of this report was sent to Delta Cairo Airport office. Her trip was cancelled and we had to leave the plane and back to Alexandria where we live. This case was published at the main newspapers in the Middle East (Al Ahram) and (Al Akhbar).

Note: A copy of the quarantine doctor’s report, a copy from Cairo airport quarantine manager and a copy of Al Ahram newspaper dated July 14th, 2009, are already available with me.

Since we left the plane we were trying to reach another reservation with connection with Delta office at Cairo airport and other offices all around Cairo (Egypt) but non helped and their offers was non reasonable, including 7 hours of transit on leaving and 14 hours of transit on return although our original trip was non stop.
Searching on Delta.com web site we found plenty of options available and contacting the main Delta office in Cairo they offered the following trip:
Delta served by Air France
July 22nd Delta 8623 CAI / CDG transit 2 hrs 15 minutes
July 22nd Delta 8550 CDG / JFK
August 3rd Delta 8557 JFK / CDG transit 2 hours 40 minutes
August 3rd Delta 8622 CDG / CAI
At Delta office they said they booked the trip to us 4 tickets and emailed me the itinerary including the seats assigned.
We reached Cairo airport before our flight by 3 hours as recommended, but when checking in at Air France they stated that our tickets are not on the monitor and we can not take them, and they asked me to call Delta call center (International) to solve the problem with them. I made several international calls for about two hours trying to fix this problem. Finally Delta call center said we have to be charged for the difference in ticket prices due to booking at high season although this was not our mistake to book at high season and my original booking was since June because I can’t pay all this cost for tickets. Time was running and Air France stated that the counter will be closed in minutes so I was forced to pay the difference in cost to be able to get our tickets since I had some business appointments at my company at NJ which I rescheduled due to our delay from my first trip. After 3 hours of trials and negotiations we got the tickets but I was charged extra cost US $ 737.34 per ticket this means a total of US $ 2949.36 for 4 tickets, which exceeded the cost of our original tickets, and this is to be added to the original cost I already paid for my tickets which was US $ 698.48 per ticket with a total of US $ 2793.92 and this means that the final total cost for 4 tickets is US $ 5743.28
This delay made great disturbance in my business schedules, my vacation arrangements, my son’s business and vacation arrangements, hotel reservation, a doctor appointment to my wife, everything had to be rescheduled with great disturbance in our life, and instead of getting apology and compensation here comes the great loss of money which I was forced to be charged to be able to go on with my trip.
As I arrived to New Jersey I called Delta and explained what happened to me and my family at both trips, they asked me to send them a fax complaining for what happened and attaching copies of the quarantine reports and a copy of the publishing at Al Ahram newspaper and I did send them all the required details by fax.

Please I need your guidance on how to solve this problem to get back my money, my rights and a reasonable compensation.

Thanks a lot for your patience,
Waiting your reply via:

Email:

[protected]@hotmail.com

I am totally shocked that in this day and age Delta Airlines gets a free pass from the American Govornment. Not only is this airline somewhat of a monoply in Minnestoa, ( Our Congress allowed them to buy Northwest Airlines), now it is our only major airline from Minnesota. But if they damage your luggage in thier care, you have no rights! As an example, recently I checked a bag from an overseas flight from Stockholm to Atlanta, then on to MN. Of course one must change planes in Atlanta, plus clear customs. So, this means that you must claim your bag from the one plane, and go to customs and then place it on the next flight to Mn. In between customs inspections I saw that my new $200.00 Samsonite wheeled duffle bag was doing it's job, life was good. However, after arriving in Mn. I discovered that my brand new duffel bag was completely destroyed. It looked like someone had used a carpet knive on it and decided that this bag was the ulimate enemy. Gaping slits were everywhere. How this happened I hav'nt a clue. An airport employee loads the bag on a conveyer, which is then routed to a cart where another employee transfers the bag to the airplane, where it is then loaded onto the airplane. With so many bags that have to be handled between plane schedules, and put on connecting flights, I find it very hard to understand how anyone had time to assault my poor duffle bag. Whatever the explanation my duffle bag was ruined. I immediatly took the remains of my sad bag to the baggage department to report that I was an unhappy camper and was told "we can give you a comparible bag and you can be on your way". I was not impressed with the $40 comparible bag and told the agent that I was not satisfied. The agent in charge at a Major airport representing a Major Airline(DELTA) told me " that's all that I can do" there is no other compensation availible. I wished to speak to the agents supervisor, however, being that is was approximatly 8:00 PM, no other supervisor was availible. (how convieniet for Delta)
So as I understand it, if you choose to fly in this world with Delta as your transportation provider in 2010, if you plan on bringing some clothes in a sturdy duffle bag with wheels so you don't break you shoulder hauling it around airports with no carts availible. Do plan on spending no more than $40 for you bag needs because Delta airlines will not recompense you if your bag out of site is assaulted by knive weilding employees in the privacy of thier baggage room. On a side note; does anybody know how to attach roller blade wheels onto an army surplus duffle bag? Does anyone know where an army surplus store that has army duffle bags for sale is in Mpls? Never mind, I think I will try google maybe it can guide me.

Dont waste your time with Delta Skymiles! They make it seem so simple when it is not. You still have to pay no matter how many miles you have accumulated. First off, I did not have enough Skymiles in my account so my husband gave me some of his. It cost an initial $30 then $10 per 1, 000 miles. I ended up paying $70 total. The I found out that I cannot pay for partial tickets with Skymiles but, through a "special" promotion, I could apply for a American Express card and be able to pay for some of the ticket with my earned Skymiles. The remaining balance would have to be put on the American Express card. Then, I was told that the amount of miles I needed to fly to the same place but maybe on different days could cost me more Skymiles depending on the day. One day it was 25k for a 2hr flight and the next day it was 32k. Also they told me that if I changed my mind about using my Skymiles after I booked, that there would be a "restocking" fee of $100. No matter what you do with your Skymiles, you will end up paying a fee. Skymiles is such a joke!

Went to check in for my flight and they said it was cancelled due to the plane being too small to fly in the rain. They tried to tell me my
only option was to catch a flight out the next day at 3:30 p.m. and with layovers the flight would land in Pittsburgh at 12:30 a.m. the following day, (mind you the flight normally takes 55 minutes from New York back home to Pittsburgh) They told me they wouldn't put me up in a hotel and for me to call someone and "work it out" Very very rude. I cried because I didn't know what to do, so I had to pay $50 to take a cab back to the city and then pay $60 to catch the Greyhound home. I will never fly Delta again due to their rudeness. I am actually traumatized from this.

My company booked me on a flight to Norfolk Va through Atlanta GA from Pensacola Florida. I had packed in my luggage my Asus netbook laptop. The netbook was inside its OWN padded case and surrounded by clothes.

After arriving in Norfolk and my luggage was retrieved, I rented my car and drove 3 hours to my destiniation motel to find when I unpacked, that the display was damaged beyond repair. It looked as if it had been slammed onto the floor.

I emailed Delta (ever try calling them?) and received no response. I emailed a second time. After a day, I recieved a reply stating 'tough, we aren't responsible for anything inside luggage'- in not so few words.

On my return trip, I happened to sit over the luggage compartment door and was able to watch how they load.

One guy tosses the bag to a second who promply slams it down onto the conveyor as if he were slam-dunking a basketball. Sometimes he actually catches the bag. Other times it goes sailing past and bounces off the tarmac. I witnessed the next plane unloading. Those bags that you leave on the jetway that are too big for the overhead compartments? This one guy picked each up and tossed them down a chute, the bag travelling more than half way down the shoot in the air before landing.

Right now, I am still fighting them. Granted, it was only a $300 dollar computer, but it was MY $300 dollar computer and not everyone can just replace it.

July 7, 2009

Re: Delta Flight 1483

To Whom It May Concern:

I certainly hope this letter makes it into the right hands, and that it is taken seriously-not tossed aside as “some other unhappy customer”. After the worst traveling experience I have ever had on July 1, 2009 on Delta flight 1483 to Orlando. I arrived to LaGuardia Airport to find that the kiosk machines were not working. They were only printing boarding passes for certain flights. I had to wait in line for over an hour for an attendant to print out my ticket that took less than 2minutes. Thus began the day from hell…….. I walk to the gate to find out that my 7:20am flight is delayed to 10:00am due to mechanical problems with the plane. At 10am I happen to look at the board and the flight is scheduled to depart at 10:15am no announcement was made. At 11:00am they decide to switch gates and tell us we are waiting for an arriving plane to come from some where to use it.

Instead of Delta being smart enough to give another us plane from the beginning you take it upon yourself to have no regard for your customers and have us wait more. The reason I took such an early flight was because I had a job interview scheduled later on that day at 4pm. As you could imagine I did not get the job because of the incompetence of Delta Airline. This is truly devastating for me since this was a great opportunity for me but your airline ruined any chance I had. I understand that there are to be delays occasionally but it should not exceed an hour or two the latest. It is ridiculous to be stranded for 9 hours! Because of your shortsightedness to have planes on standby for instances just like this when a plane is unable to fly, instead you have your loyal customers wait for hours. I find it impossible to believe that you all do not have any kind of relationship with other airlines, that in a case like this, could not find someone to take everyone where they needed to be.

Finally the plane comes and we board and we have to wait an extra 15minutes because there are no beverages on the plane. To then go at a snails pace circling around the tarmac for 20 minutes with no announcement from the crew. The plane comes to a stop on the tarmac next to a parking lot and we are left waiting again with no announcement yet again. Finally the pilot announces that it will be another 20mins for us to take off. After already an hour on the plane, the plane starts to move in a circle motion again and comes to a rest at the same parking spot we were already at. The pilot announces we missed our window to take off. The passengers including my self are irate at this. One of the stewards makes an announcement stating that it is our own fault that we did not take off. I find this highly offensive and disgusting that one of your employees was yelling at us stating that it was our own fault that we did not take off. How dare you say that it is our fault when you are clearly to be blamed for such incompetent maintenance of your planes and your horrendous customer service. I do realize that they have to deal with unhappy customers ALL the time, but if they don’t like their job and can’t handle it, then they need to find work elsewhere…somewhere they don’t have to deal with the public.

After 2 hours of sitting on your plane we finally take off and instead of giving complementary snacks you still dare to charge people you how inconsiderate of you. I have been up from 5am and landed at 5pm without food. I would like to know why it took 9 hours to get to Florida a trip that normally takes 2hours. At the end of the trip all we got was an I am sorry from the pilot and that was it, no food voucher no flying vouchers NOTHING! I have been a loyal Delta flyer for years now, I vow that I will never take another flight with this airline again. I will be blogging and twittering about my horrendous experience with this airline so that no one will fly with Delta after the disgusting experience I had.

If tickets had not already been paid for, I would have never flown back with Delta. So I had a return flight on Delta flight 1486 to New York LaGuardia to yet again be delayed for 4 ½ hours. We were boarded on to the plane to make our 2:05pm take off to just sit and wait on the plane for 40mins because of an oxygen tank issue in the cockpit. Once again being the incompetent Delta airline that you are you did not have a back up for it. We had to get off the plane and wait till a 4:30pm plane to arrive with a tank. Once that happened the crew realized that another piece was missing and we had to wait till a 5:30pm plane to arrive with that piece. A flight in which I was suppose to be in NYC at 5:00pm I did not arrive till 9 pm.

I’m floored at the poor maintenance and upkeep to your planes, that so many could not be used after you had no problem over booking flights. It is completely understandable that planes that make constant trips all day long are going to need routine maintenance….hence the novel idea of having BACK UP planes to take there place while they are being serviced…but NO…let’s just wing it and see if we make it! I also suggest customer service training for all your staff. I will never fly Delta again and neither will my family and friends I will be posting my experience any where and every where I can so people will rethink about flying with you. . I have never been SO thoroughly disgusted with an airline as I was that day…and still continue to be… I just hope that what I have told you will be taken seriously and proper attention will be given on all said matters.

Thank you for your time

Melissa

Hey guys -

I realize you probably get a zillion complaint emails about the airlines. I also realize that airline ticket prices change minute-to-minute, etc. However, I think I was just the victim of a legitimate bait and switch and I'd really appreciate it if you'd warn people about this.

Airline mileage programs are notorious for a reason. Because my wife and I have separate Delta Skymiles accounts, we were forced to book tickets (to Jackson, Wyoming, this August), separately. I ran through the system and applied my 20, 000 SkyMiles to get a $200 discount on my ticket, using my special American Express card that Delta requires to "pay with miles" (as opposed to buying a whole flight; the mileage is applied as a 1, 000 miles to $10 discount). I then *immediately* ran back through the whole system with my wife's SkyMiles account.

Importantly, I again was given a $200 discount on her 20, 000 miles. Again I was quoted the exact same flight price, flight time, etc. It was not until AFTER I had entered my credit card information and pushed 'PURCHASE' (which ordinarily completes the transaction) that the Delta system popped up and informed me that her ticket would cost an additional $130.

Damn, I thought, they moved the prices on me. I backed out and started over, looking for a better ticket price for her on a different flight. To my surprise, I saw that the same flight continued to be advertised at the rate I had bought my own ticket on just minutes before. That same price is STILL advertised now, an hour later. Delta straight up pulled a bait-and-switch on us, applying a $130 rate hike at quite literally the last minute without prior warning.

For couples flying on Delta, using separate SkyMiles accounts, this is nasty. You can't book together; they won't let you merge the accounts. The 5 minute time lapse between entering one ticket and entering the other is long enough for Delta to apply this rate hike. Most tellingly, *they do not advertise* that the rates have changed. Although my wife and I have separate SkyMiles accounts, they all belong to the same home address. I strongly suspect Delta's system is engineered to prevent two SkyMiles accounts belonging to the same home address from receiving a discount on the same flight.

In the end, we could have flown Frontier Airlines for the same price we ended up getting after applying 40, 000 miles. It's a racket. Don't fly Delta and don't bother accumulating SkyMiles.

Zach Matthews
Atlanta, Georgia

When Delta announced their merger with Northwest Airlines, they announced they would link the SkyMiles and World Perks accounts. I waited for them to send me the information on how to do this, and received it on May 13. It said that I could link my accounts and delay the expiration of my 47, 810 miles. When I went online to do this, I was informed that my miles had expired on April 30, and that had I linked the accounts sooner, they wouldn't have expired. I wrote to Delta and explained that they had waited until my miles expired to tell me that I could extend expiration by linking my accounts, and that had they informed me earlier, I would have linked the accounts earlier. I got an email back from Honey Daniels at Delta's Medallion Desk telling me that my expiration date would be extended and that I should check my account in the next 7 - 10 days. When the miles weren't restored, I contacted Delta by email again, and was informed that to restore my miles, I would need to pay $50 plus tax. I sent a total of 4 emails to Delta, and each time asked for someone to either restore my miles, or call me to get the matter resolved. I got two emails telling me to pay $50, and a third from Karen Aven at the Online support Desk saying my miles would be restored. Finally, I called Delta and after spending 35 minutes on the phone, was told my only option was to pay the $50.

I understand that merging two airlines and two frequent flyer programs is difficult, but Delta shouldn't hold me responsible for not linking my accounts before they gave me the information on how to do it. They also should stand behind the word of two of their employees who agreed to restore my miles.

It was supposed to be the best week of the year, our family vacation. On June 5th, we arrived three hours early at the Midway Airport in Chicago to fly to New York at 1 PM, where my family and I had a connecting flight to Malaga, Spain, for our summer vacation. All of the tickets we had were for Delta Airline flights. At 12:30 PM, the Delta personnel at Midway told us that plane will start boarding at 1:00 PM, but we didn’t get on the plane until 1:30 PM. On top of that, we had to wait on the plane for another 45 minutes before the flight actually took off for New York. By the way, the weather in Chicago was gorgeous and we saw no reason that a delay would be necessary. In addition, when we were checking our luggage, the Delta employee who was helping was very unpleasant and rude towards us. We were surprised, thinking that Delta has a reputation for being a good airline.
We started to be nervous, not knowing if we were going to make our connecting flight in New York. We landed at LaGuardia airport, but our connecting flight was actually out of JFK airport, and it took us a while to eventually get to JFK without there being some sort of shuttle. We finally arrived at the JFK airport one hour before departure from New York to Malaga, and they told us we were too late and we were not allowed to board the plane and that we were late and we had to rebook the flight. The next flight available was 24 hours later. We tried to talk to the manager, but there was no manger for us to talk to and nobody else cared if we were late. It was Friday and instead of being in Malaga on Saturday, we were stuck in New York and will be in Malaga on Sunday. We had already made reservation to see Albrahandra in Granada on that Sunday, the day after we were supposed to arrive. We spent 56 Euro for non-refundable tickets to go see one of the most famous Spanish landmarks. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit this location during our trip in Spain.
So we had to wait for two and a half hours in line to rebook our flight to Malaga for the next day. Nobody wanted to talk to us, but eventually someone said that because of the weather we have to pay for the hotel on our own. At this point it’s 11:00 PM, and we’re tired and try to look for the place to sleep. We got a horrible hotel ($160) that was right next to the airport and we had to have dinner at the ($90 for 3 people) while we waited for the next flight. I already lost $ 320 because of Delta on the way to Malaga. Also, to add to the annoyances, on the plane, the in flight screen that is available for all passengers was broken where I was seated.
On the way back to Chicago, on June 13th, trying to avoid any surprises, we arrived at the airport in the Malaga earlier, which ended up not doing us any good because the flight left five hours late anyway. We just could not believe it, but we sat for five hours waiting for the plane. They gave us 30 Euro vouchers for food. Delta airlines put us on a bus in hot weather, trying to transport us from the airport to the plane. We were on the bus for a good thirty minutes before the bus actually left to the plane, leaving us standing there in the heat because the bus was not air-conditioned.
Needless to say, we arrived to New York five hours late so we missed our connecting flight to Chicago and the next plane that day to Chicago. We stayed in the line to reschedule for another flight. They told us that next plane would leave next morning at nine. They wanted to give us discount for the hotel, but I was so upset about whole situation that I decided that we would sleep on the airport instead going to the hotel. We spoke to the manager and told us that he cannot give us free hotel. So, we were sitting for some time, trying to figure out what to do next, and a guy from Delta came back and took our tickets and came back a few minutes later with vouchers for food and a free hotel pass. We could not believe it: we needed to sleep in the same horrible hotel we slept in before when we were going to Malaga. They gave us $21 voucher for dinner, where we spent $56 on just three hamburgers.
It was our vacation trip to Spain that was supposed to be relaxing vacation and Delta airlines spoiled it. I lost one day of my vacation, which costs $1000 a day for my condo. The weather had nothing to due with the delays our Delta flights experienced. In today’s economy airlines, should work harder to give good business to the people who spend money on their flights. We know for sure that we will never fly with Delta again. I think the people who work there do not care about customers. They do not know how to satisfy costumer. If they do not know how to do something so simple, they should not be working in positions that put them in contact with customers. I will make sure that all my friends and family will never use Delta again. That is a promise.

Kordas Maria with husband Dr. Bonczak Boguslaw

This was the first time, and probably the last time, my minor daughter has flown unaccompanied. Being a worried parent, I booked her flight several months in advance, called (several times) and emailed Delta to find out what I needed to do to make everything go smoothly. I gave them her ticket confirmation number which had her itinerary attached and was told that I just needed to pay a $100 fee and the stewardesses would watch her and make sure she made her transfer flight. They wanted the specific information about who would drop her off and pick her up, and it had to match the person's driver's license, etc. I did all of that, and like I said, called more than once to make sure I knew everything.

On her flight out, the stewardesses apparently were not paying attention to the time, but luckily she barely made her flight transfer. They had the wrong information for picking her up, however, even though I had just confirmed it the day before. Apparently the airport she was landing in was not updated and gave my sister a hard time. This I could live with, though I was not really comfortable with it.

The flight home was another story, however. They did not let her board her flight home because apparently they did not allow unaccompanied minors on that flight, despite the fact that I had called more than once previously and emailed, but apparently they do not really check to see if the minor is really allowed on, so she was turned away upon arriving at the airport and booked for a flight the next day during the middle of the day. The flight reservation attendant apparently blamed me for booking the flight online, so it was my fault. (Again...despite previously calling and emailing etc. etc.) They scheduled her next day flight without there being a seat for her on that flight, apparently hoping someone just won't show up. Personally, I do not like those odds. I have to take an unpaid day off of work to pick her up midday, and inconvenience my working family to make sure she can be at the airport for the new time, which did take some family juggling, and Delta takes no responsibility for any of it.

The representative I talked to admitted over the phone that I should have been told ahead of time, but wasn't. But all she could say was that my daughter will be flying in tomorrow and have a nice day. I am writing this complaint on the night she was turned away from her flight. I just hope she makes it home tomorrow, and I will not trust them with my unaccompanied minor again. I expect them to have her home on the day she books her flight to come home or to let me know ahead of time if there is a problem, especially if I have contacted them several times before to make sure everything is okay.

I called delta to book a flight using my accumulated skymiles. From full fare tickets over the years. To find out that there is a 100.00 charge to book this flight, even though I had more then enough miles accumulated. So 149.43 later I booked the ticket, which is suppose to be free. That isn't not the fruadulent part. Do to unforeseen circumstances, I need to cancel my trip. I called delta, indeed cancel my trip. They informed me at that time, me the 100.00 fee is non-refundable. However the taxes of 49.43 would be credited to my debit card. In disbelief, I expressed my anger, wanting my 49.43 credited. I reluctantly gave them the debit card number. Here is the worst part. They credited my 49.43. Then charge my debit card. An additional 100.00! Unbelievable right! I called to bring this mistake to their attention. At that time they told me, that there was an additional 100.00 charge to put the miles back into my account. At this point, I informed them I don't want the miles put back into my account, if there is 100.00. Please keep the miles, there practically worthless anyway. Credit my 100.00 and I learned a lesson on how delta rips people off. They absolutely refused, said it was too late, miles were back in and there is NO way they'll credit the additional 100.00. 200.00 delta took from me, didn't take a flight, didn't get a ticket, didn't get to talk to a manager.

Please someone do something about this company! Certainly don't fly them, don't give them your credit cards, they rip you off!

To whom it may concern,
Thanks for taking the time to read my letter.
My delta skymiles account number is [protected] and my wife’s is [protected].
This issue concerns both our accounts equally. Please read carefully because I have been misunderstood a few times already. You had a promotion at the end of last year. The promotion # was [protected] and you pulled it after 3 days and only honored those who had registered before you pulled it. At the beginning of December I called to complain that although both I and my wife had tried to register before the promotion was pulled, we had received an error message on your website. I spoke to a supervisor who advised me that he had heard this had happened to a few people and that he would manually sign me up for the promotion. This is noted on both our accounts at the beginning of December. Based on that information both I and my wife transferred 40000 points each from starwood to delta. However we have not received the 150% bonus we were promised. In subsequent phone calls and investigations I was told that I wasn’t really eligible and the supervisor who had put me on manually had made a mistake. I finally called corporate and after 1 ½ months of not hearing anything I called in to find out that my claim had been rejected without even telling me or calling. My point here is that whether or not the supervisor was right or wrong, he still misled me into transferring my valuable starwood points. I never would’ve transferred them if not for the promotion, and therefore this is a very serious legal issue. I actually loss serious value because of what I was told by a delta supervisor. Either honor the bonus as promised and credit me 65000 in each account or refund my starwood points. Please be in touch with me on my cell phone if necessary at [protected].
Thanks you
Joshua Fromowitz

I was going with my family from Washngton to Florida. The flight was good. I got to a window seat. Then the FA asked me what kind of meal I wanted. There was a choice of either vegetable chilie or meat loaf, with fries, none of these appealed to me so the FA said they also had chicken nuggets for children who are fussy. This comment really bothered me so I told her I did not want the damn chicken nuggets. She asked me what I liked. I told her to go and tell the pilot to land the plane to the nearest Mcdonalds and get me a quarter pounder with cheese combo. She refused.

My dad paid good money for this flight. When I ask the plane be landed, I expect them to land the damn plane and give me Mcdonalds.