American Airlines told Bill that he couldn’t acces their international lounge because his flight from the Dominican Republic to Houston, which required a passport and a customs form, didn’t count as an international flight. Bill’s wife had paid $300 to upgrade Bill’s ticket to first class expressly so he could access the lounge, and Bill wasn’t sure what part of “international” American didn’t seem to understand. Yet it turns out American might be right. [More]
Delta Plays Airport Roulette When Flying Into D.C.
By June 15, 2010
On Sunday, Andy emailed us from his seat on Delta Flight 2744 from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., to let us know that he had no idea where his flight was going to land. The ticket he purchased said he was flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport, but Delta said it would all depend on whether they could beat their scheduled 10:19 arrival time and get there before the ten o’clock airport curfew–otherwise they’d have to land at Dulles. Strangely, they didn’t mention this 10 p.m. curfew to Andy before he bought the ticket. [More]
Delta Smashed My Bike And Won't Refund The Baggage Fee
By June 9, 2010
This guy is trying to raise money to build dams in Africa by doing 20 half Ironman races. Consequently, he has to travel with his bike a lot. He says that during a recent trip back from Hawaii Delta smashed his bike and won’t even refund the $200 fee he paid them to transport it. This makes him sad. [More]
Delta Flight Attendant Caught With Gun At Airport
By June 5, 2010
It’s not just celebrities who get caught trying to bring firearms onto planes — it also happens to airline employees! Yesterday, a Delta flight attendant was arrested after a scan of her bag turned up a loaded handgun. [More]
Delta Paid $2,800 For Lost Dog Valued At $20,000
By May 10, 2010
Paco wasn’t the only dog lost in transit before it was loaded onto a Delta aircraft. Four years ago, Vivi, a whippet who won the Award of Merit in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, escaped from her kennel as it was being loaded onto a Delta flight and was reportedly seen running across the tarmac before escaping into the marshy marsh. A media frenzy ensued…. [More]
Delta Offers More Money For Pooch Lost In Transit, Apologizes
By May 7, 2010
Paco is still missing, but after we contacted them, Delta reached out to Josiah and said sorry, along with offering to reimburse him for all the costs he put into the dog and two additional $200 vouchers for future travel on their airline. Josiah says that’s unnecessary, as he still probably won’t be flying Delta ever again after this experience. [More]
Delta Waives Fee For First Checked Bag If You Use Their AmEx Card
By May 7, 2010
In a world where fees for checked baggage top the list of annoying things about air travel, it’s a small victory to learn that Delta has decided to offer an incentive to travelers with the airline’s co-branded American Express card — no fees for the first checked bag for you and up to eight other members of your party. [More]
Entire Dog Lost, Delta Offers $200 Credit
By May 7, 2010
Where’s Paco? Josiah doesn’t know, his girlfriend doesn’t know, someone at Delta might know. After all, Delta was supposed to load Josiah’s new dog on the same plane that Josiah got on. Paco didn’t land with them. Frantic, Josiah called around desperately before being told that Paco was safe and sound, being taken care of by Delta employees, who would put him on the next flight out. Paco wasn’t on that one either. More harried calls and Delta told Josiah Paco had “escaped” and the best they could do is refund his $200.00 pet transportation fee, but only as a “credit” for future Delta travel. That doesn’t do Josiah any good, as he’s vowed to never fly Delta again. Here’s his story, and more adorable/sad puppy pictures: [More]
Airlines Made Nearly $8 Billion From Fees In 2009
By May 6, 2010
All those little surcharges to your airline tickets sure do add up. A recently released DOT report states that U.S. air carriers raked in $7.8 billion in fees last year, a 42% increase over 2008. [More]
Delta Passenger Fights Satan, Sprays Others With Water
By April 26, 2010
A Delta flight from L.A. to Florida had to make an emergency landing in Albuquerque, NM on Friday, after a first class passenger sprayed people with a water bottle from the beverage cart, threatened to “bring down” the plane, and shouted, “Get behind me Satan,” apparently referring to a flight attendant. [More]
Unevenly Packed Bags Results In $1500 Delta Disaster
By April 14, 2010
Reader Ariel writes in after Delta refused to let her check her bags curbside because one was 5lbs too heavy, despite the fact that her other one 10lbs under. She says she was told it was Delta’s policy that she couldn’t move 5lbs of her crap to the other bag. This set off a chain of events that cost her $1500. [More]
Hawaiian Airlines Tops Quality Study, American Eagle Falls Flat
By April 13, 2010
For the second year in a row, Hawaiian Airlines has topped a study that ranks 18 commercial carriers according to a formula that accounts for everything from on-time arrivals/departures to baggage handling to customer complaints. On the bottom end of the rankings was American Eagle. [More]
Worst Company In America: Delta VS US Airways
By March 30, 2010
Delta merged with Northwest Airlines and has been having some trouble with little details like “landing in the state of Minnesota without missing it.” US Airways has a stinky plane that sends you to the hospital. [More]
Always Keep Your Boarding Pass
By March 29, 2010
Over on his travel blog, Christopher Elliott writes that if you want to ensure you’ll get the reward program miles you deserve, you should hold on to your boarding pass. In his example, a frequent flyer with Air France couldn’t get his Delta miles credited even though the airlines codeshare, because Air France demanded the original Delta boarding pass, which the customer had thrown away. Elliot managed to get the airline to cave on this instance, but he points out that it’s easier (and better in case of an IRS audit) to hold on to them “just in case.” [More]
American Airlines, Jet Blue, Delta Seek To Delay Tarmac Imprisonment Rule
By March 17, 2010
You know that new rule that says airlines have to let passengers off the plane if it’s stuck on the tarmac for more than 3 hours? It’s supposed to go into effect in April, but at least three airlines are hoping to delay it because they say runway repairs at JFK Airport will interfere with schedules. [More]
What's The Best Airline For Bringing My Bike?
By March 5, 2010
After yesterday’s story about cyclists being unhappy with United’s exorbitant fee to check bikes on their planes, the folks over at Bicycling wrote to share their breakdown of the best and worst airlines for when you’re taking your wheels with you. [More]
Delta Flight Canceled Because Of Flight Attendants Fighting
By February 26, 2010
There seems to be some disagreement about whether or not actual punches were thrown, but it seems that some sort of fight between two flight attendants caused a Delta Connection flight to be canceled. [More]
