If you are flying Delta you better check flights?

[mii]

This is exactly why I check my airline's online site weekly. I made my reservations for a cruise for this coming Oct. and I check once a week. Now it has already changed once but fortunately the times have changed but it is still no problem with me. Just check once a week. By the way Flyer Talk good posts. Everyone should read them.

 

Marilyn

[Bill S]

Sheltie Lady: thanks for your original posting! As a result of yours and all the other posts, I started checking our booked Delta flights from LAS-ATL and FCO (Rome) for this September. So far, so good. But I will check weekly from this time forward.

I am more concerned about our luggage not making it due to Rome due to Delta's horrible stats on lost luggage and because our connection in Atlanta is only about 80 minutes (hope we are not late arriving at ATL). I really appreciate the good tips that have been posted about ways to minimize the risk of lost luggage.

BTW: we have 2 Shelties at our house - hate leaving them behind, but that is one of very few downsides of cruising! :)

[SheltieLady]

Sheltie Lady: thanks for your original posting! As a result of yours and all the other posts, I started checking our booked Delta flights from LAS-ATL and FCO (Rome) for this September. So far, so good. But I will check weekly from this time forward.

 

I am more concerned about our luggage not making it due to Rome due to Delta's horrible stats on lost luggage and because our connection in Atlanta is only about 80 minutes (hope we are not late arriving at ATL). I really appreciate the good tips that have been posted about ways to minimize the risk of lost luggage.

 

BTW: we have 2 Shelties at our house - hate leaving them behind, but that is one of very few downsides of cruising! :)

 

 

I not happy reading about lost luggage at Atlanta we have 1 hr 22 minute transfer that's if our flight is not delayed leaving Salt Lake due to a winter storm keep my fingers crossed. Coming home we have over a two hour transfer.

Oh BTW: we are owned by 5 shelties all sables all will go up to the vets office for boarding.

 

Christine

[FlyerTalker]

If you take reasonable precautions, I wouldn't sweat the luggage connection with over 80 minutes. It's those 35 minute connects that are barely legal that may result in misconnected luggage. Also, the deicing at SLC should not be a big delaying factor as winter schedules often have some time built in for the gylcol shower and it's part of the routine at SLC, DEN, MSP, ORD and other "winter-time" hubs. And you won't have the summertime t-storm problems at ATL in January.

 

AS ALWAYS: the advice given is my best judgment and unforeseen incidents may throw a monkey-wrench into the works. Be prepared by arriving in enough time at your departure airport, double-checking the luggage tags, knowing how to negotiate your connecting terminals, and being mentally prepared for last-minute changes/glitches.

[Bill S]

Sheltie Lady: 5! How neat! Our two are also sables, both female and great companions-just tough on vacuum cleaners though! :)

 

Hope you have an uneventful trip to FLL! And have a great time down this way in a few months!

[rwdtgb]

We have never had a problem with luggage on Delta(Atlanta) and we fly to Europe to Italy a couple of times a year.I guess it can happen we have just been very fortunate...

 

Tom

[gizmo]

On a report for Jan 06, US Airways was on top for lost luggage. Interesting chart, take a look. Delta was 4th.

 

http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-tips/lostbaggage.html

[greatam]

On a report for Jan 06, US Airways was on top for lost luggage. Interesting chart, take a look. Delta was 4th.

 

http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-tips/lostbaggage.html

 

 

US Airways has been "top dog" for lost luggage for some time. And if you transfer in Philly, due to poor management and baggage handler union labor problems, chances of having your luggage damaged, misplaced or lost forever, are even greater. Poorest airport/airline combination for lost luggage in the US.

[63galaxie]

Sidenote: San Juan has a rule for Sat and Sun only that you can not check your baggage over 4 hours before a flight. I had a 4:30 flight out of San Juan after my Mar. Silver Whisper cruise. Silverseas did provide a mini tour of San Juan after we got off but still I got to the airport at 10:30 and with hours to kill sitting with my luggage outside of the airport until the magic check in time.

 

So you got luck with the new flight. :)

We're leaving at 4:30 now that Delta cancelled our 12:50 flight!

Do you remember if the airport was really hectic at that time? I've heard that the airport is pretty crazy after the cruise ships come in. Does the craziness every calm down? Thanks. Karen

[FlyerTalker]

If you have a long time before your flight, you might want to look into buying a one-day pass for Delta's Crown Room Club. Nice place to wait for your flight at SJU. Check the DL website or call DL for details.

[alwayssingin]

On a report for Jan 06, US Airways was on top for lost luggage. Interesting chart, take a look. Delta was 4th.

 

http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-tips/lostbaggage.html

 

 

I was a contributor to United's #2 ranking. On my move back from Germany they lost one of my bags. I know it had arrrived it to Chicago as I had to manually take it through customs then hand it over for my connection in Nashville. I arrived in Nashville (after having my dog ride on my lap instead of in her crate below - but that's another story!) only to find my smaller suitcase and the empty dog kennel. I was told my huge, green suitcase, bought in Korea and unlike any I've ever seen, would be on the next flight. It wasn't. I got a call at my hotel room saying that it had arrived on the following flight, had been identified, and would be delivered to me within two hours. An hour later the UA supervisor called me to tell me that when they went to pick it up by the carousel for delivery, it was gone.

 

That was October 1st of last year and I still have not seen my bag. Since I was moving from Germany (my husband's unit had been deployed and the army was allowing me to move back to the states), all of my medical/dental records, x-rays, a year's worth of contacts, best clothes, etc., were in that suitcase. I was compensated, but it can never be enough to replace everything lost.

[alwayssingin]

Sorry. After saying that I realized this really wasn't the correct thread for my missing baggage saga!

[wwaggone]

We had changes also, but Delta actually called our home phone and left a message with all the new flight information. Flights were not as good as originally booked, but they still worked. Good thing Delta called. Always a good suggestion to check the airline website at least monthly and weekly as your trip gets close.

[RoofingPrincess]

I booked Delta in May for a trip to Reno in September (non-cruise-related, obviously) and after seeing this, decided to check my flights. Couldn't find my return leg as an option on their site. Typed the flight numbers in, and they now correspond to two totally different flights. Dropped Delta an e-mail (via the contact area on the site). A day later, I got an e-mail saying my itinerary had changed, and separate e-mails would contain my new itinerary and e-ticket. Strike 1 -- they didn't notify me, I had to find it myself and ask them.

New itinerary had me going Reno-Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City-Cincinnati, and then Cincinnati-Connecticut... but the Salt Lake-Cinci flight took off an hour and a half before my Reno-Salt Lake got in!! Strike 2!

And the new e-ticket had my old (obsolete, useless) itinerary on it. Strike 3!

Called their 800 number, got their call center in heaven-knows-where (the person had a strange way of speaking English). Didn't like the flight option the guy offered me -- I'd gone with Delta because I wanted an afternoon flight, not an early morning one -- and told him that I'd cancel the trip if I wasn't going to lose the money. He checked with his supervisor (another long wait on the phone) and I was surprised to find out that I could cancel and get a refund! Waited again to get the refund guy -- and am now waiting to see if they indeed spoke true and refunded my entire amount.

Tickets on another airline will cost me at least $100 more -- but after these 3 strikes, I just don't trust Delta anymore...

[janetz]

If I had not looked at my itinerary, I would have not had any flight to Albany once I got to Atlanta! :cool:

[auntiecruiser]

Our cruise for January 2007 has been chartered, and we were forced to change our cruise date. We already had purchased our airfare with Delta. What do we do to change the date of the flights? We got a really good deal on our airfare, is there any chance that they will honor that price and just switch our dates?:confused:

[SC_Sam]

Most likely, you can change, but there will be a $50 per person change fee.

[greatam]

Our cruise for January 2007 has been chartered, and we were forced to change our cruise date. We already had purchased our airfare with Delta. What do we do to change the date of the flights? We got a really good deal on our airfare, is there any chance that they will honor that price and just switch our dates?:confused:

 

Call the CRUISELINE before you make any changes to your air tickets. As a general rule, the cruise line will help with the cost of change fees if the change is within 6 months AND the cruiseline is reponsible for the change. They may be willing to contact the airline, offer you onboard credit to compensate for the change fee or just outright offer the change fees. Has happened to me twice-once on an Asian cruise cancelled 6 months in advance due to SARS and once on a Hawaii cruise-cancelled at the last minute as the ship broke down in the Panama Canal.

 

The Asian cruise-Princess really went to bat for me. But I was REALLY persistent. 1st class FF tickets on Cathay Pacific booked via Qantas miles. Qantas has a rule-when you redeposit or change your flights, it is not done with $$$$, it is done with miles. I did not have enough miles to change both tickets without giving up my first class tickets. I don't know how Princess did it, but I got my dates changed without any more miles. Good Luck!!!

[cusyl]

.

 

I am more concerned about our luggage not making it due to Rome due to Delta's horrible stats on lost luggage and because our connection in Atlanta is only about 80 minutes (hope we are not late arriving at ATL). I really appreciate the good tips that have been posted about ways to minimize the risk of lost luggage.

 

 

It would be a good idea to put a copy of your itinerary in an outside pocket of your luggage as well as inside so they can forward it to you at your destination if it is delayed.

[WCROSBY]

:mad: AT XMAS TIME 2005 I FLEW FROM PHX TO HARRISBURG THRU CINCINNI ON THE WAY TO HBG I HAD A THREE HOUR LAYOVER ON THE WAY BACK TO PHX I ONLY HAD A 2 HOUR LAYOVER. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT DELTA CHANGE MY RETURN FLIGHT TO AN 8 HOUR LAYOVER IN CINCINNI. NEEDLESS TO SAY MY DAUGHTER DROVE ME TO BWI ABOUT 2 HOURS AWAY AND I PAID EXTRA MONEY AND FLEW HOME WITH SWA.

[laginog]

Make sure you keep checking your seat assignments on Delta also. Evidently....(we were told by one of their reps) they have a "glitch" in their system and sometimes if they change your flight time by even one minute, it will wipe out your seat assignments. It's happened twice to us now. You have to call them to get re-assigned (we did get them same seats both times because we caught it right away)...or at least we did. We couldn't fix it online.

[BobbiOh]

It's hard to say I think Delta is moving planes and change flights because of there bankruptcy and restructure I would book the flights you want but keep an eye on them especially as you are not flying till June 2007 I would check them at least once a month and as it get closer I would check more often. You might be okay as Delta is hoping to come out of bankruptcy sometime early 2007. If they change you flight you can still choose your seats I did today with the ta.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Christine

 

It has nothing to do with that. The airlines re-bid their routes and flights every quarter. So every airline is going through some schedule changes. You can pretty much expect movement in late December/January, then March, June and September.

 

You could see more changes since your flight is pretty far in the future in the airline world.

 

Schedule changes are considered an involuntary change, so if you don't like the flight they've moved you to, you can request a different flight or request a refund (even on a nonrefundable).

 

Good luck,

 

Bobbi

[BobbiOh]

And the new e-ticket had my old (obsolete, useless) itinerary on it. Strike 3!

 

This is normal. The ticket doesn't need to be re-issued, which is the only way it would show the updated itinerary. They know that it's a revalidation due to an involuntary schedule change per rule 240.

[krstee]

Make sure you keep checking your seat assignments on Delta also. Evidently....(we were told by one of their reps) they have a "glitch" in their system and sometimes if they change your flight time by even one minute, it will wipe out your seat assignments. It's happened twice to us now. You have to call them to get re-assigned (we did get them same seats both times because we caught it right away)...or at least we did. We couldn't fix it online.

 

Something similar happened to my hubby. We booked a flight 6 months in advance from RDU to PHX. We used NWA's frequent flyer miles and somehow got 1st class seats on the way back from Phx (he actually flew Delta, as they codeshare with NWA). Delta made several changes to the itinerary - but they did email us everytime the schedule changed - so that was nice - but those 1st class seats were gone after the first schedule change. I called NWA who wouldn't talk to me b/c it was a Delta flight. I then called Delta and luckily found a nice CSR who got my 6'2" big burly hubby back into 1st class seats for his return trip. After that, I watched the reservations like a hawk.

[karen2cruz]

I have followed this thread off and on. I agree that Delta is notorious in changing flight arrangements after booking and not notifying you. So, when I make the arrangements (if I have to use Delta) I check about once a week and make sure all is well. Several times we have had to call and get new seat assignements because, without notification, they have changed our flights and not assigned us seats.

 

My husband and his friend just booked flights thru Orbitz on Delta (1 month ago). I wasnt in charge and have never used Orbitz so I just let the guys deal with. Well their flights are this week and I just happened to check on Orbitz to see what was going on. Needless to say their had been changes without notification from Delta or Orbitz. They went from 4 flights (1 stop each way) to 6 flights (2 stops). Also, they were put on a little 8 seater commuter plane. My husbands friend happens to be on the "large size" and cant handle small planes. It took them two days to fix the problem with Delta, Orbitz and BahamasAir saying that it "wasnt their problem" and even were hung up on.

 

Do not book Delta unless you are prepared to have your flights rearranged without notice.