Delta Airlines Doesn’t Get You There Anymore – The New Travel Reality.
"Get used to disappointment".
-- The Princess Bride
As a government contracts lawyer, I had the privilege to see most of the major cities in America as part of my work travels. As Johnny Cash says, “I been everywhere man” at least when it comes to the United States. I especially owe a shout out to Federal Publications for sending me to so many places and paying my expenses to teach the Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act, and the now defunct Loss of Efficiency Claims seminars. I must have been to Las Vegas 100 times for Federal Publications, prompting me at one point to tell seminar attendees that this would be my last Vegas show, only to relent and continue on.
When I left my first law firm after more than 24 years, I lost my email address which I had used to register my Delta Airlines frequent flyer account back in 1986. It was very early days for frequent flyer programs. Anyhow, despite periodic efforts, I was unable to convince Delta to let me back into my account. Finally, after maybe the fourth try and sending them a second copy of my driver’s license and passport, they agreed to register a new email address. It had been 17 years since I had access to my account, and lo and behold, it turned out I had some 80,000 or so unused mileage points. I started flying Delta more regularly.
I am writing this now having come back from Maui, Hawaii on a trip mostly on Delta Airline. The trip is emblematic of the troubles with our air traffic system. On the way out to Maui, my wife and I booked flights from Washington, DC to Atlanta and then direct to Maui. We purchased upgraded comfort class seats for the long journey which cost several hundred dollars each. Well, the day before travel commenced, Delta texted us to let us know they cancelled the flight. No explanation was ever provided. We scrambled to rebook flights. It now would require two stops. On the day of departure, at 2:20 AM we leaned our Detroit to Honolulu leg of our rebooked flight would be delayed. Apparently, Delta had some mechanical problems on the Detroit to Honolulu. It was a bad omen.
We went to the airport anyway and we learned the Delta desk at National only opens at 4 AM. Wanting to keep our upgraded seats and leg room, we took the flight to Detroit, expecting a 200-minute delay. Delta kindly agreed to upgrade us to first class, which I haven’t flown in in 30 years. That delay stretched on for even more time due to weather issues. As we were finally boarding the plane, Delta rudely advised us we had been kicked out of our first-class seats and rebooked into middle seats back in coach. Surprise, here is your new middle seat in in coach for the next 11 hours. Sorry you didn’t pack any snacks or water given your first-class expectations. That upgrade was just a tease. The Delta employees were extremely aggressive.
And, after all that, we didn’t make the last possible Maui connection, and we had to spend the night at an airport hotel in Honolulu. The next morning when we flew to Maui, Delta forgot to put the luggage they were holding on the plane. We had to go back to the Maui airport later and get our luggage. The whole one-way trip took almost 50 hours! And Delta hasn’t even refunded the extra money we paid for the Comfort Plus seating we never got to enjoy. Our trip had even more Delta-caused woes, but I won’t bore you with the details.
My point in writing this isn’t to tell you about my first world problems. My point is to vent about the diminished state of the airline travel business. In the 17 years it took to get back access to my Delta frequent flyer account, much has changed, and all for the worse. The system used to work. Now it doesn’t. It is not just Delta. Alaska Airline has bumped me out of my exit row seat twice in the last year. I no longer have any faith in the airline industry.
Funny thing is, I just read today that the airlines may save about $580 million dollars on jet fuel due to the use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Apparently, slimmer passengers are cheaper to fly. Who knew? Hopefully, they will put some of that money to use to make the system more reliable. My wife’s thoughts of traveling in a future retirement have undergone some revision The airlines like Delta have made things so unpleasant that we are reconsidering our travel plans.
In many ways Delta is emblematic of how crappy (no other gentler word suffices) so many American services and products have become. The rest of the world is making progress while we regress. Back in the day, Delta used to brag that “Delta get you there.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLHo824kO4. Now I know why they don’t use that advertising jingle anymore. Instead, Delta crushes your expectations.
Postscript: As this blog was going to publication, Delta Airline customer service replied to my wife offering $400 total compensation for each passenger, plus 10,000 Delta miles each, plus a fare differential refund to be determined for the seat downgrade. As they say, that ain’t nothing. .