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]
delta airlines
More U.S. Airlines Jumping On The Surcharge Bandwagon After EU Emissions Law
By 1.6.12
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]
If You Don't 'Look' Disabled, Expect Shoddy Treatment FromDelta
By 8.30.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
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 6.9.11
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 6.7.11
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]
Delta Discontinues Discount For Paying Bag Fees Online
By 6.2.11
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]
Delta Charges Extra $391 To Fly Your Dog, Then Misplaces Him
By 5.19.11
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 4.21.11
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 3.7.11
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 1.31.11
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]
Hairless Kitten Freezes To Death After Trip In Delta Cargo Hold
By 1.27.11
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 1.5.11
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]
American And Delta Too Busy To Tag Your Bags, Want You To Do It Yourself
By 11.3.10
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]
Expedia, Delta, And Bank Of America Team Up, Form Bad Customer Service Voltron
By 8.13.10
Paul tells Consumerist that he has a few problems. First, Expedia and Delta Airlines failed to correctly undo and reschedule a flight that his family took from Michigan to Florida. Second, his wife and children have gained the ability to bilocate. Or teleport. At least according to Delta and Expedia. Neither company seems fazed that the family flew the same route twice in a row both times. Sure, this trip might be physically possible, but it’s also completely insane. [More]
Delta Passenger Kicked Off Flight For Asking If Pilot Had Been Drinking
By 8.4.10
Here’s a lesson from Delta Airlines: If you think you smell alcohol on a pilot’s breath, don’t dare ask the flight crew if he’d been drinking; you’ll just end up being kicked off the flight. That’s what happened to a woman from California, who recently found herself booted from a Delta flight. [More]
Being Stuck On Tarmac In Phoenix Without Water Makes For Sweatiest YouTube Video Ever
By 7.26.10
If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of being trapped — without water — on a delayed Delta flight that’s been waiting on the tarmac in 112-degree Arizona heat, one passenger has chronicled his ordeal in a series of quick videos from yesterday. The best — or perhaps worst — part comes at the end of the first clip when he squeegees about a gallon of sweat from his forehead. [More]
Delta Sends Boston-Bound Child to Cleveland And Vice-Versa
By 6.10.10
Not content to just lose business clothes and cute little dogs and smash bikes, Delta took two children flying as unaccompanied minors and put them on the wrong planes, according to Cleveland’s WOIO. [More]
Pilots Who Missed Minnesota Will Not Appeal License Revocation
By 3.15.10
Remember those Northwest Airlines pilots who were too busy looking at their laptops to bother landing in Minneapolis? They have made a deal with the FAA to drop their appeal to have their licenses reinstated. [More]
