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delta-air-lines
delta-air-lines
Changing My Last Name At Marriage Means I Can't Fly
By Laura Northrup on May 22, 2012 11:52 AM
100 Comments
Drawing conclusions from our mailbox here at Consumerist's virtual HQ, no one in the United States ever changes their last name when they get married. Or dies. Both events result in such confusion at some companies that it's clear they have never encountered them before. That's clear from Claire's experience booking a flight after her name change. She was already a Delta customer, so they used the name that was in their system and said they could change it later. This was not, strictly speaking, possible. More »
Delta Cuts Out Pesky Fuel Middleman, Buys Itself An Oil Refinery
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 1, 2012 10:35 AM
53 Comments
Delta Air Lines has been battling rising jet fuel prices with all the other airlines, trying to institute prices hikes — some successful, some not — and do what it can to cope. And now that everything else hasn't worked, it's decided hey, why not just cut to the heart of the problem and buy an oil refinery? More »
Delta Flight Forced To Make Emergency Landing After Bird Strike At JFK
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 20, 2012 11:00 AM
42 Comments
Plane engines make a lot of noise, but then there's the awful noise it reportedly makes when a bunch of birds hit. Passengers on a Delta flight yesterday had a bit of a scare, after their plane was likely hit by a bird strike on the way to L.A. The crew made a successful emergency landing at JFK. More »
American & United Do What We Didn't Want Them To, Join Delta In Fare Hike
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 19, 2012 10:00 AM
27 Comments
Remember yesterday when we were like, yeah, it would stink if other airlines joined with Delta in attempting to hike fares by $10 to $20? Guess what, everyone? Some went ahead and did that. American Airlines and United Airlines threw their pricey hats in the ring. More »
Delta Air Lines Trying Its Best To Raise Domestic Fares By $10-20
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 18, 2012 10:00 AM
29 Comments
Whatever you do, other airlines, please don't follow the leader. Delta Air Lines just pushed through an airfare hike for domestic flights, and if their plan works, other airlines will follow suit and that increase will go into effect across the board. Sort of like when the popular girl tells everyone else they have to wear the right scrunchies or be ostracized. More »
(jendubin)
Some Airlines Starting To Get It, Installing Roomier Overhead Bins
By Mary Beth Quirk on March 12, 2012 10:00 AM
67 Comments
After seeing countless passengers refusing to believe that their wheelie bag isn't going to fit in closed bins, while others just will not listen to flight attendants' pleas of "please don't put your coat in the overhead bin," some airlines are actually expanding the size of their overhead bins. More »
(dooley)
Report: Delta, U.S. Airways Among Those With An Eye To Buy American Airlines Parent Company
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 13, 2012 12:00 PM
16 Comments
As American Airlines parent company AMR tries to sort itself out during bankruptcy proceedings, there are already a few vultures circling it. A report says Delta Air Lines and U.S. Airways are considering buying AMR, along with a buyout firm called TPG Capital. More »
More U.S. Airlines Jumping On The Surcharge Bandwagon After EU Emissions Law
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 6, 2012 3:00 PM
19 Comments
Travelers taking off or landing in countries in the European Union may notice a bump in airline fares, as U.S. Airways and American Airlines have joined Delta and United Continental in adding a $3 surcharge each way to help offset the cost of a new carbon emissions law. More »
(Kimaroo)
If You Don't 'Look' Disabled, Expect Shoddy Treatment From Delta
By Laura Northrup on August 30, 2011 10:45 AM
256 Comments
Alauna is disabled, unable to walk or stand for long periods of time. But she's in her 20s and there is nothing obviously physically wrong with her at first glance. This meant that her requests for assistance during her recent Delta flight delay nightmare were met with resistance or eye-rolling. More »
Delta Changes Bag Policy For Armed Forces Members
By Chris Morran on June 9, 2011 1:25 PM
57 Comments
Earlier this week, a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan made headlines when they posted a YouTube video to voice their displeasure with Delta Airlines over the carrier's checked baggage policy for active duty members of the armed forces. More »
Delta To Bring Outsourced Calls Back To U.S. But Not Add Any New Jobs
By Chris Morran on June 7, 2011 12:43 PM
34 Comments
Delta Airlines recently announced that it had decided to move some of its outsourced call center operations out of South Africa and back to the U.S. But before anyone goes looking for a gig at Delta's phone operations base in Dallas, the airline says it should be just fine with the staff it already has on hand. More »
(KFreon)
Delta Discontinues Discount For Paying Bag Fees Online
By Chris Morran on June 2, 2011 4:15 PM
50 Comments
Since Delta began charging fees for checked bags — $25 for the initial piece on domestic flights; $35 for a second — the airline has been offering $2-3 discounts to travelers who prepaid those fees online instead of at the airport. Not anymore. More »
(Evelyn)
Delta Charges Extra $391 To Fly Your Dog, Then Misplaces Him
By Laura Northrup on May 19, 2011 9:00 AM
94 Comments
Evelyn's father booked a ticket for her and her dog to fly from New York to Los Angeles on Delta Airlines. Being a regular Consumerist reader, she was nervous about trusting Delta with her beloved pet, but notes that "[she] thought the horror stories must be rare enough that we should take the trip." Delta staff told her that her dog, who weighs about 50 pounds, needed to fly as cargo at a cost of $591, instead of the quoted $200. The ostensible reason was severe weather on the ground in Los Angeles. What this extra $391 got Evelyn was a missing pet for an hour, then an upset and dehydrated dog. More »
Delta Warned About Mice Feces On Plane
By Ben Popken on April 21, 2011 10:00 AM
34 Comments
Most people are worried about a seatmate that takes up more than their fair share of the seats, but on one Delta plane they should be more concerned about a far tinier co-passenger. CNN reports the FDA has sent Delta a warning letter (read it here) about mouse droppings "too numerous to count" onboard one of its planes. More »
How Delta Made Enemies Of Standup Eugene Mirman
By Ben Popken on March 7, 2011 10:00 AM
10 Comments
I stumbled across this clip of standup comedian Eugene Mirman describing how Delta Airlines became his enemy. It all started when they lost his bag and at the counter they looked at his ticket and asked him if his name was "Barbara Riddle." He said no and then they proceeded to deliver Ms. Riddle's bag to his house, twice, before finally giving up and telling him he'd have to file a claim for his luggage. Fast-forward to 5:57 to hear him tell the tale and read aloud the hate letter he wrote them as a result. More »
Get Your Airline Ticket Changed For Free Because Of Massive Midwest Storm
By Ben Popken on January 31, 2011 9:26 PM
37 Comments
The Superbowl of storms is headed for the Midwest with 20" snow and 45 mph winds predicted for Chicago. Thankfully, a lot of airlines are waiving their usual ticket change fees for travelers who could be affected. 3,000 flights have already been canceled in advance of the potentially deadly weather. Don't go to the airport to see if you can make your flight, don't get stuck in an airport, stay home, stay over at your friend's house an extra day or two, and take advantage of this leniency. Here are links to the various airlines and their waiver and winter update pages and policies: More »
(Family photo)
Hairless Kitten Freezes To Death After Trip In Delta Cargo Hold
By Laura Northrup on January 27, 2011 9:00 AM
169 Comments
Snickers, an eleven-week-old hairless kitten, flew from from a breeder in Utah to her new home in Connecticut in the supposedly climate-controlled cargo hold of a Delta Airlines plane. Her new family paid the airline $70 extra so she would be removed immediately. Instead, she sat under the plane for about 50 minutes, on a 10 degree Fahrenheit evening. When she finally met her family, she showed symptoms of severe hypothermia. They tried to warm her up and rushed to a vet, but it was too late. More »
Delta Auctions Off Flight Bumps To Lowest Bidders
By Ben Popken on January 5, 2011 2:00 PM
72 Comments
A reader over at Marginal Revolution spotted Delta's new system where when you check in at the kiosk it asks you to bid on what it would cost to get you to volunteer your seat. Below the entry box it says, "Delta accepts lower bids first." Genius! More »
Delta Offering Free In-Flight WiFi During Holiday Travel Season
By Chris Morran on November 8, 2010 12:22 PM
30 Comments
Let's face it — traveling during the holidays kinda sucks. We know this because they have made movies about it. So in an attempt to convince fliers it's not the suckiest airline — even if they do publicly lie about their baggage policies — Delta is offering free in-flight WiFi for folks who have to fly hundreds or thousands of miles to deal with passive-aggressive in-laws. More »
American And Delta Too Busy To Tag Your Bags, Want You To Do It Yourself
By Chris Morran on November 3, 2010 11:40 AM
50 Comments
Thought there wasn't much more the airlines could fob off on the customer? You were wrong. Apparently, the employees at American and Delta are so slow at tagging your checked bags that the airlines think you'd do it better yourself. More »
