The Joys of Travel

[sdelmonte]

It's been five days since my flight from Pittsburgh to JFK was canceled. Time enough to have calmed down. But Now I am wondering what, if anything, I should do next.

Here's the tale: when a flight is canceled due to weather, Delta does not offer the passenger a refund or any help with accommodations. They will do their best to get you to your destination on the next available flight, and that's it.

On the one hand, I can understand their point of view. Air travel is difficult even on fair weather days. Airports like JFK are overtaxed all the time - our flight to Pittsburgh sat on the runway for an hour, waiting for its turn. When bad weather hits, things get that much worse, and it sort of makes sense to cancel some flights proactively in order to prevent delays and scheduling chaos from overwhelming the airline's capabilities. Never mind that given how many weather delays occur in this literally stormy time, it would be hugely unprofitable to refund thousands of tickets and pay for hotel rooms and food.

However, it's hard to entirely understand the rush to cancel. JFK was suffering long delays last Sunday, but other airlines did fly into there, albeit quite late. So while Delta can say that this was beyond their control, it's not the same as a snowstorm or a hurricane, as something that make travel dangerous or impossible for some time. They CHOSE to cancel my flight and not to delay it. SO it sort of feels like Delta was seeking the easiest path. They get what they want - order in their schedules - and never mind the passenger. Which is to say, the paying customer.

I looked online and found that not every airline treats passengers this way. JetBlue - who else? - either reimburses passengers or offers a future ticket for ALL cancelled flights, and also offers vouchers for any delay over an hour. (I suspect, to be fair, that this policy came after the big JetBlue PR fiasco last winter, when some passngers were stuck on the runway for 11 hours in a snowstorm in NYC.) So it's clear that Delta, despite using the weather as an excuse, also has clearly set policies that could be changed if enough passengers gave them a hard enough time and took their business elsewhere.

But that now leaves me wondering what my next move should be. I am not likely to get any money back. Would a letter of complaint to the CEO of Delta do any good? Or would I just be venting? Is there any organization I should offer my complaint to?

What do you think?

Comments

[agonistes]

These are my thoughts. *eyes Hartsfield*

Delta is in the news a lot down here, being as...headquarters. They've recently filed for bankruptcy, and I'm not certain if they've emerged from under protection yet. At Hartsfield they're pouring money into ticketing and checkin counters, and Terminals B and E have recently been remodeled. (B is nearly Delta-exclusive; E is for international flights and Delta.)

So at least in theory they're working to take better care of customers. But that's on the ground and in places where they can make more money -- easier to check customers in and process their baggage, with fewer employees; and facilities that encourage customers to linger and spend money out in the terminals. When it comes to actual flight policy, things have changed. And recently. For example, when I was headed to Chicago, I purposefully got to the airport four hours early because many times in the past, Delta has switched me to an earlier flight and gotten me where I'm going with no trouble at all. When I asked about doing that, I was told that as of June, Delta is charging $25 to do that -- and I couldn't do it anyhow, because all flights to Midway that day had been oversold. When I left Chicago, the same thing happened, and four people had to give up their seats.

I'd take it to the Better Business Bureau rather than Delta, but I'd also do a quick Google check to see what exactly Delta's new policies are, and if there are already people doing anything to complain. If there's already a campaign underway, a letter would help; if not, I don't think it'd do much good.

[timewalker.livejournal.com]

http://www.consumerist.com

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

A letter of complaint should always be addressed to the company in question, regardless of other actions one might take. The worst they can do is nothing, and sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised at what they'll offer to make a miffed customer happy.

I fly Delta almost exclusively, and I have never had a problem. Obviously, others mileage will vary.

[rushin-doll.livejournal.com]

My tendency, misguided and naive as it may be, is to assume that things are done for good reasons. I'd toss a letter or email out asking for an explanation of the decision in order to avoid having travel plans disrupted in the future. Someone should be able to answer that one, right?

Naive and stuff,
Ana

[zsero.livejournal.com]

(I suspect, to be fair, that this policy came after the big JetBlue PR fiasco last winter, when some passngers were stuck on the runway for 11 hours in a snowstorm in NYC.)

It didn't. Last year, coming back from Confluence, my JetBlue plane was (IIRC) about 2 hours late, because of a problem with the brakes. I got a $50 voucher (which I must remember to use within the next few days before it runs out; must book OVFF ticket now).