Not wanting to become the Dave Carroll of the classical music world, solo cellist Lynn Harrell purchases a second seat for his cello when they travel together. This should keep everyone happy. The airline sells an extra seat to a very quiet and compliant passenger, and Harrell racks up extra frequent flyer miles that he can put toward future travel for his cello. Delta isn’t happy, though: they’ve kicked him out of their frequent-flyer program and banned him from it forever. His crime? Accruing the frequent-flyer miles that the airline granted to his cello. [More]
DELTA
‘Passenger Of Size’ Policies For The Largest Domestic Airlines
By 11.8.12 — Updated: 11.17.12
For passengers who don’t easily fit into the narrow seats on most commercial jets, it helps to know in advance what each carrier’s policies. [More]
Hurricane Sandy Prompts 4 Major Airlines To Cancel 9,000 Flights
By 10.29.12
In case you’ve been blithely unaware of a weather phenomenon dubbed Hurricane Sandy, she’s moving in on the East Coast, and fast. As such, American, Delta, United and US Airways had already wiped a combined total of about 9,000 flights off the boards to prepare for the storm. That’s a lot of stranded people. [More]
Delta Learns That It’s Not A Good PR Move To Upset Judy Blume
By 10.16.12
Judy Blume is a world-famous author of books for kids and young adults (I still remember the eye-opening experience of thumbing through my older sister’s dogeared copy of Tiger Eyes), but in the parlance of Us Weekly, she’s just like us! Except she has 75,000 Twitter followers to gripe to about her problems with Delta. [More]
No, My Drunk Seatmate Probably Can't Open The Emergency Exit
By 8.28.12
Patrick wanted off the plane. The overloaded Delta flight sat on the runway for more than an hour. He had the privilege of sitting in the exit row next to a very drunk man who was probably more likely to collapse on the emergency exit door than to be capable of opening it. When te flight attendant wouldn’t pay attention, he tried to contact Delta customer service and PR via e-mail for help. Some kind of help. When the flight attendants finally let a few people off the plane so it could take off, Patrick wasn’t one of the lucky few. Neither was Drunky McSeatmate. [More]
You Might Want To Skip Any Airline Not On This List Of Those Who Serve Free Booze
By 7.12.12
The good news is some very discerning minds have gone ahead and done the hard work of assembling a list of airlines that serve free alcohol on in economy class. The bad news is that you’re mostly out of luck when it comes to flights in the U.S. Sigh. [More]
FAA Fines Delta Almost $1M For Flying Two Planes Without Making Necessary Repairs
By 7.11.12
The Federal Aviation Administration is cracking down on Delta Air Lines, after the agency claimed the carrier failed to make or took its time making necessary repairs to two planes after inspections found damages on the aircrafts. The grand total for such infractions is close to $1 million. [More]
Does “Lifetime Warranty” Mean You Have To Keep The Receipt For A Lifetime?
By 6.27.12
Yesterday, we told you about what an easy time one Consumerist reader had when trying to get a replacement part for his 7-year-old Kohler faucet. Unfortunately, not every company is as generous when it comes to lifetime warranties. [More]
Rude Flight Attendant Almost Spoils My In-Air Proposal
By 6.21.12
Consumerist reader Jacob had planned to ask his girlfriend for her hand in marriage mid-flight during their recent trip from Tel Aviv to Memphis. But thanks to a terribly rude flight attendant, those plans were almost grounded. [More]
Only JetBlue, Southwest Score Above Average On Customer Satisfaction Index
By 6.19.12
For almost two decades, Southwest airlines has sat comfortably atop the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s annual survey of air carriers. But not only did Southwest’s numbers slip a bit in the new list, it also ceded the lead to JetBlue. [More]
5 Tips From A Delta Reservation Agent
By 6.18.12
What’s the best site for finding airfares? How do I score free upgrades? Will anyone actually try to call my bluff when I claim a bogus bereavement fare? No one is better suited to answer these questions than an experienced flight reservation agent. [More]
Do You Get More Satisfaction From Cheap Airlines Than Legacy Carriers Because You Expect Less?
By 6.13.12
When it comes to being satisfied with our flying experiences, it turns out we’d rather opt for low-cost carriers like JetBlue, over old legacy airlines like US Airways, according to a new study that rated customer satisfaction. [More]
Survey Finds Best & Worst Airlines For Redeeming Rewards Miles
By 5.17.12
It’s incredibly easy to pile up airline miles. I think I just earned 400 miles for merely mentioning this fact. But as you may have already discovered, it’s not always so simple to actually redeem those miles. A new survey looked at dozens of domestic and international carriers to find which ones were more likely to have seats available for rewards travel. [More]
FAA Scolds Passenger For Using iPad To Shoot Video Of Bird Strike
By 5.2.12
Remember that bird strike in April that forced a Delta flight to make an emergency landing? The actual incident was caught on video by author Grant Cardone, who is now on some FAA “you’re a troublemaker” list because he shot that video when his iPad was supposed to be turned off. [More]
Delta Passengers Quarantined Following Medical Scare (Which Turned Out To Be Bug Bites)
By 4.26.12
Passengers on board a Delta flight from Detroit to Chicago were quarantined on the tarmac for several hours this afternoon over concerns about one traveler with what appeared to be a mysterious rash. [More]
Airlines Forced To Roll Back Price Hike Because Not Everyone Joined In
By 4.23.12
When it comes to airline price hikes, it’s all for one or none at all. Last week it seemed Delta Air Lines would get away with an increase of $10 to $20 on last-minute domestic roundtrips, because American, United and US Airways all joined in. This time, however, it appears they’ve been thwarted. [More]
Don't Leave Your Phone In The Airplane Bathroom Or Someone Will Think It's A Bomb
By 4.16.12
There once was a time when the worst thing that could happen if you accidentally left your phone in an airplane bathroom was that it might be stolen by a sticky-fingered passenger or crew member. But now, a phone in the loo could be a bomb, which means your plane is making an emergency landing and everyone on board will arrive late to their destination. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Spirit Airlines Vs. Delta
By 3.19.12
The final day of Round One competition is waiting on the tarmac, ready to take off. Unfortunately, these two airlines would like to charge you for the privilege of voting on which one is worse. [More]
