Delta airlines pary line versus reality

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but their overall quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! My family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to complain & wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

Our recent flights to Dublin were late several hours, the check-in staff were consistenty lacking in providing timely and accurate info on reasons for delays or new projected schedul departure info, and generally disinterested in cusomer service. They did excel in rudeness ( such as--always our fault in not having proper seat reservations), and always seemed to have ample time to visit and BS with thier co-workers and ignore their customers!!

I realize that 'stuff happens" and that some delays are inevitable, but Delta seems have to made a standard of this poor service, and skillfully compounded the problem with thier lack of poor customer interface-- or is it really due to lack of management and grossly inadequate customer training in favor of bottom line customer numbers and fare $$ in and out the gates?

Thanks for the post. I think most of the USA airlines have many issues. Of course with everyone wanting the cheapest flight it's not an easy world to operate in.

Keith

And there is no end in sight as there are fewer airlines competing.

And voting with our feet is the most effective show of displeasure. But it is not always possible to take alternative transportation due to time ( 2 week vacation period) or location ( Europe,SA.).

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but their overall quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! My family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to complain & wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

 

Our recent flights to Dublin were late several hours, the check-in staff were consistenty lacking in providing timely and accurate info on reasons for delays or new projected schedul departure info, and generally disinterested in cusomer service. They did excel in rudeness ( such as--always our fault in not having proper seat reservations), and always seemed to have ample time to visit and BS with thier co-workers and ignore their customers!!

 

I realize that 'stuff happens" and that some delays are inevitable, but Delta seems have to made a standard of this poor service, and skillfully compounded the problem with thier lack of poor customer interface-- or is it really due to lack of management and grossly inadequate customer training in favor of bottom line customer numbers and fare $$ in and out the gates?

Understand Delta and Virgin have merged - So with the surly attitude and poor service of some Virgin Cabin Crew it looks like the new venture will be a perfect match.

To OP: Unfortunately, your experience sounds like air travel in 2013. I hate to say it, but as a frequent traveler, I don't think that's limited to Delta. I fly American mostly, and have certainly experienced it there. Also with United. I echo the previous poster - vote with your feet and with your money. If you don't like Delta, go elsewhere, even if it might be more expensive. Don't support their practices if you don't like them. But also don't be surprised if it happens at the next airline too.

Understand Delta and Virgin have merged - So with the surly attitude and poor service of some Virgin Cabin Crew it looks like the new venture will be a perfect match.

Not quite...they haven't merged in the sense of becoming one airline (like Delta/Northwest did, like United/Continental did and like America/US Airways will). Rather, Delta bought a minority (49%) stake in Virgin Atlantic, leading to codeshares on 108 routes covering 66 cities. Frequent flier programs are also better tied than they were before.

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but their overall quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! My family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to complain & wine (sic) as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

I love that you truly think your "wining" will help them improve, but as was said above, Delta doesn't have a monopoly on bad service or delays. In fact, I just flew them earlier this month on a fairly long domestic flight and things could not have been better. The ticketing agent was extremely helpful in the process, the flight went really well with great flight attendants and in-flight service, flight was on time, luggage came out relatively quickly. No complaints.

If I were to only fly airlines I have never had a problem with, I would never fly!

I love that you truly think your "wining" will help them improve, but as was said above, Delta doesn't have a monopoly on bad service or delays. In fact, I just flew them earlier this month on a fairly long domestic flight and things could not have been better. The ticketing agent was extremely helpful in the process, the flight went really well with great flight attendants and in-flight service, flight was on time, luggage came out relatively quickly. No complaints.

 

If I were to only fly airlines I have never had a problem with, I would never fly!

This! 100% this!

Well, 99% this - my couple flights on Alaska have been flawless ;) But...Alaska can't get me too far from Kansas City!

To OP: Unfortunately, your experience sounds like air travel in 2013. I hate to say it, but as a frequent traveler, I don't think that's limited to Delta. I fly American mostly, and have certainly experienced it there. Also with United. I echo the previous poster - vote with your feet and with your money. If you don't like Delta, go elsewhere, even if it might be more expensive. Don't support their practices if you don't like them. But also don't be surprised if it happens at the next airline too.

 

 

Not quite...they haven't merged in the sense of becoming one airline (like Delta/Northwest did, like United/Continental did and like America/US Airways will). Rather, Delta bought a minority (49%) stake in Virgin Atlantic, leading to codeshares on 108 routes covering 66 cities. Frequent flier programs are also better tied than they were before.

Thank you for this - Will Delta Cabin Crew now staff Virgin Flights?

Have flown three trips on Delta in the past three months. One domestic, one to Johannesburg, South Africa (nearly 17 hours!), and one to Paris. Delta did just fine on all three. It is vacation time now, which always adds issues. :rolleyes:

Thank you for this - Will Delta Cabin Crew now staff Virgin Flights?

Not to my knowledge. From what I think I know, they will remain completely separate airlines with completely separate aircraft, crew, and staff. They're just forming a closer partnership, Delta is owning a big (though not majority) chunk of Virgin, and they're working towards a joint venture which will help share profits (and losses). That latter part isn't that odd - for example, I believe American Airlines and British Airways already do this.

Someone please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that there is no true "merger" in this at all.

Have flown three trips on Delta in the past three months. One domestic, one to Johannesburg, South Africa (nearly 17 hours!), and one to Paris. Delta did just fine on all three. It is vacation time now, which always adds issues. :rolleyes:

Thank you for this - As the in-flight service appears good, we will now book Delta for our upcoming vacation.

Thank you for this - As the in-flight service appears good, we will now book Delta for our upcoming vacation.

The inflight service on Delta can be bad. But it can also be bad on AA, BA, US, UA, VS, AF, you name it. I've even heard people have legitimate complaints about Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, which are often referred to as best crews in the world. I've had some crabby, rude crews on Delta, but have also had some great, friendly crews on Delta (both domestic and international).

Flying, like any other business, can unfortunately have good and bad employees who are having good or bad days. And as a customer, you just don't always know ahead of time what you'll get.

The inflight service on Delta can be bad. But it can also be bad on AA, BA, US, UA, VS, AF, you name it. I've even heard people have legitimate complaints about Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, which are often referred to as best crews in the world. I've had some crabby, rude crews on Delta, but have also had some great, friendly crews on Delta (both domestic and international).

 

Flying, like any other business, can unfortunately have good and bad employees who are having good or bad days. And as a customer, you just don't always know ahead of time what you'll get.

In all my years of flying, I have only one Virgin Flight when surly and crabby was not used to describe cabin crew, that was in upper class - all other Virgin flights were PE or coach. It will be good to try a new airline (Delta).

I rarely fly DL simply because their routes don't fit my travel patterns. But I echo the other comments....substitute "Delta" with almost any other airline and it will still ring true. BTW, I fly Alaska fairly often and have never had a negative experience with any of their employees.

Another tip is that airlines have all sorts of "buy up" options nowadays. Buying a Business or First ticket will definitely get you a better experience, though that's not an absolute guarantee. I was able to "fast track" AA Platinum status for $200. Money well-spent; priority check-in, security, and boarding...2 bags free with priority baggage claim; access to the preferred seats at no extra charge. And definitely a notch better treatment at the airport and in the air.

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but their overall quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! My family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to complain & wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

 

Our recent flights to Dublin were late several hours, the check-in staff were consistenty lacking in providing timely and accurate info on reasons for delays or new projected schedul departure info, and generally disinterested in cusomer service. They did excel in rudeness ( such as--always our fault in not having proper seat reservations), and always seemed to have ample time to visit and BS with thier co-workers and ignore their customers!!

 

I realize that 'stuff happens" and that some delays are inevitable, but Delta seems have to made a standard of this poor service, and skillfully compounded the problem with thier lack of poor customer interface-- or is it really due to lack of management and grossly inadequate customer training in favor of bottom line customer numbers and fare $$ in and out the gates?

Sorry you had a tough time with DL. Were your delays mechanical or weather? DL can't do much about weather, which everyone has had a lot of in a bad way back East. The GAs can only announce what they are given by OPS. If they are told 30 minutes, they can't say "well, with this weather around, I'm guessing we're going to be stuck for 3 hours until the cell passes and the plane you are supposed to be on arrives here and we can clean it and provision it for your flight."

What did you mean that you were chastised for "not having the proper seat reservations" ?? Did someone have the same seat assigned (it happens on EVERY airline), did you have seats not together and you were wanting to sit together and you were asking the GA or FA to move people? Were you upset that you had regular cattle car instead of the EC cattle seat? Just curious what would have prompted this.

I've had nasty experiences on every US airline, but far less on DL. If you want to avoid bad service, I'll tell you to stay FAR FAR away from American. Worst service preflight and inflight I've had in a LONG time, on flights to/from LHR.

Good news - if you stay away from DL, more chances for me to get a seat ;)

As Delta's on time percentage is, according to the last ratings, about 80%, therefore, they are NOT consistently late.

Sorry this happened to you. Sometimes flights are late, for a variety of reasons. But, as others have mentioned, if we didn't fly an airline just because they were less than absolutely perfect, we won't get anywhere.

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but their overall quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! My family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to complain & wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

 

Our recent flights to Dublin were late several hours, the check-in staff were consistenty lacking in providing timely and accurate info on reasons for delays or new projected schedul departure info, and generally disinterested in cusomer service. They did excel in rudeness ( such as--always our fault in not having proper seat reservations), and always seemed to have ample time to visit and BS with thier co-workers and ignore their customers!!

 

I realize that 'stuff happens" and that some delays are inevitable, but Delta seems have to made a standard of this poor service, and skillfully compounded the problem with thier lack of poor customer interface-- or is it really due to lack of management and grossly inadequate customer training in favor of bottom line customer numbers and fare $$ in and out the gates?

All I wonder about is whether your dissatisfaction is based on numerous flights with Delta (all bad) vs numerous flights with all other airlines (always good)?

Otherwise, I fear I must agree with other posters who have stated that this is simply how modern air travel can be.

I do feel badly that your experience was so unfortunate.

[ I've had nasty experiences on every US airline, but far less on DL. If you want to avoid bad service, I'll tell you to stay FAR FAR away from American.

+1, I have never had a "bad" experience on DL which is my usual carrier. I have, of course, had less than optimal experiences, who hasn't? Really dont like AA tho, often rude and surly ground staff and cabin crew.

I too am curious if the OP is complaining about one day or multiple experiences.

-------------------------

Helen

[ I've had nasty experiences on every US airline, but far less on DL. If you want to avoid bad service, I'll tell you to stay FAR FAR away from American.

+1, I have never had a "bad" experience on DL which is my usual carrier. I have, of course, had less than optimal experiences, who hasn't? Really dont like AA tho, often rude and surly ground staff and cabin crew.

I too am curious if the OP is complaining about one day or multiple experiences.

-------------------------

Helen

And I have mostly great experiences with AA, which is who I fly most of the time. Just goes to further the point - every experience can be different.

Over the years on this board there have been a variety of posts warning against EVER flying (fill in the blank with every major US airline) because they (fill in the blank -- lost my luggage, caused me to miss my cruise, have rude FA's, and on and on and on).

Even as a top tier flyer on Delta (diamond), I'm not going to minimize your bad experience or defend poor customer service. But the more you fly, the better overall picture you get. And it just is what it is. The grass is NOT greener on any other US airline (except maybe AS, but they don't fit my flying patterns).

Flight delays? Yup. Been there many times. If the delay is mechanical, I'm happy to wait on the ground rather than fly on an unsafe bird. If the delay is weather, that's beyond the control of the airline. I'd rather have the pilot decide that the storm cells are too widespread and dangerous if that protects the safety of the aircraft. If the delay is because the pilot overslept, I'm just as PO'ed as everyone else. Welcome to flying.

Consistently late? Not really. Part of gate agent's job is getting that door closed on time. Mostly, they do it well. The 45 minutes or so before departure can be very hectic -- people want to change seats, bring oversized and too many bags aboard, need extra time to board, and maybe some tired and frustrated passengers start giving the GA a hard time demanding answers the GA doesn't have. Even after the boarding door is closed, bags can still be loading or the catering can be late -- and/or there can be a ground stop. Welcome to flying.

Overbooked? Absolutely. Every airline routinely overbooks every flight they can. There are double secret algorithms to predict the number of no-shows so that the flight goes out with no empty seats. And yes, the last passengers to board are annoyed that the bins are full. If too many passengers show up, the GA will ask for volunteers to take a later flight (I've got $900 in vouchers in my Delta "wallet" for volunteering). Rarely when there aren't enough volunteers, someone will get IDB'ed (involuntarily denied boarding). Welcome to flying.

In flight service? On a flight to Dublin (from either JFK or ATL, I presume), you should get a hot meal, two or three beverage services, extra water, and some sort of snack just before landing. The food isn't great (I bring my own unless in business). Did you not get even this? That would be annoying and worth a whine. Welcome to flying.

Focus on $$ and making a profit over improving customer experience? Sadly, yes. Even Delta's best customers are not feeling the love. From "first class monetization" (meaning fewer upgrades); making "same day change" more difficult; pathetic award seat availability; adding MQD (medallion qualifying dollars) as a requirement for status levels; lowing the quality of the branded liquor in the Sky Clubs; higher fares as airlines merge and consolidate resulting in the creation of an oligopoly; and who knows what else. Welcome to flying.

FWIW, there is an interesting show (Airport 24/7:Miami) running on Tuesday nights on the Travel Channel. It's an inside look at what it takes to move thousands of people and bags every day into and out of a major airport. Amazing that the whole system works as well as it does.

I need a biscoff. Welcome to flying.

 

And I have mostly great experiences with AA, which is who I fly most of the time. Just goes to further the point - every experience can be different.

I am a very loyal AA flier, domestically at least. Since AA pulled a lot of flights out of PHX, I have looked around, particularly when I have to fly to NYC about once a month. US has a nonstop redeye as well as a couple of other non stops. Talk about crappy, dirty planes. OK flight crews and great ground service here in PHX. UA is better all the way around and at the same price and almost the same times but they fly more into EWR. But as I live about 1/2 way between LA and PHX, I will still drive to LAX when I have the time where I can fly the AA redeye into JFK, get upgraded to business class and SLEEP all the way. My kind of flying.

The one airline I WILL NOT fly is WN. I used to fly them all the time to LA. But 8 times out of 10, they would cancel or hold the 7AM flight and put everyone on the 8AM flight. So that got me into LA at 9, too late for business meetings. I also don't like the happy, happy, giggly atmosphere. Fine if you are going on vacation I guess, a real irritant when you are trying to prepare your mind for a business meeting, particularly one that involves heavy negotiation.

As Kenish posted, middle to top tier status ff get airlines to bend over backwards for them.

Sorry for your DL experience but I do believe you're complaining to the wrong people. I complained directly to DL (via their website) about the lack of maintenance to their onboard restrooms during one particular leg of our flight and all 6 of us that were on my booking got a nice credit voucher. ;)

Don't

Expect to

Leave

The

Airport

We haven't flown with Delta for years now.

Just like another poster said....If you really

don't like them, go elsewhere, even if it

costs more money to do so.

Over the years on this board there have been a variety of posts warning against EVER flying (fill in the blank with every major US airline) because they (fill in the blank -- lost my luggage, caused me to miss my cruise, have rude FA's, and on and on and on).

 

Even as a top tier flyer on Delta (diamond), I'm not going to minimize your bad experience or defend poor customer service. But the more you fly, the better overall picture you get. And it just is what it is. The grass is NOT greener on any other US airline (except maybe AS, but they don't fit my flying patterns).

 

Flight delays? Yup. Been there many times. If the delay is mechanical, I'm happy to wait on the ground rather than fly on an unsafe bird. If the delay is weather, that's beyond the control of the airline. I'd rather have the pilot decide that the storm cells are too widespread and dangerous if that protects the safety of the aircraft. If the delay is because the pilot overslept, I'm just as PO'ed as everyone else. Welcome to flying.

 

Consistently late? Not really. Part of gate agent's job is getting that door closed on time. Mostly, they do it well. The 45 minutes or so before departure can be very hectic -- people want to change seats, bring oversized and too many bags aboard, need extra time to board, and maybe some tired and frustrated passengers start giving the GA a hard time demanding answers the GA doesn't have. Even after the boarding door is closed, bags can still be loading or the catering can be late -- and/or there can be a ground stop. Welcome to flying.

 

Overbooked? Absolutely. Every airline routinely overbooks every flight they can. There are double secret algorithms to predict the number of no-shows so that the flight goes out with no empty seats. And yes, the last passengers to board are annoyed that the bins are full. If too many passengers show up, the GA will ask for volunteers to take a later flight (I've got $900 in vouchers in my Delta "wallet" for volunteering). Rarely when there aren't enough volunteers, someone will get IDB'ed (involuntarily denied boarding). Welcome to flying.

 

In flight service? On a flight to Dublin (from either JFK or ATL, I presume), you should get a hot meal, two or three beverage services, extra water, and some sort of snack just before landing. The food isn't great (I bring my own unless in business). Did you not get even this? That would be annoying and worth a whine. Welcome to flying.

 

Focus on $$ and making a profit over improving customer experience? Sadly, yes. Even Delta's best customers are not feeling the love. From "first class monetization" (meaning fewer upgrades); making "same day change" more difficult; pathetic award seat availability; adding MQD (medallion qualifying dollars) as a requirement for status levels; lowing the quality of the branded liquor in the Sky Clubs; higher fares as airlines merge and consolidate resulting in the creation of an oligopoly; and who knows what else. Welcome to flying.

 

FWIW, there is an interesting show (Airport 24/7:Miami) running on Tuesday nights on the Travel Channel. It's an inside look at what it takes to move thousands of people and bags every day into and out of a major airport. Amazing that the whole system works as well as it does.

 

I need a biscoff. Welcome to flying.

Excellent post, as a Delta Diamond level flyer I agree 100%!!!!!

Karen