Delta Airlines Northwest Airlines Beware the low fares: they'll get you in other ways Atlanta, Georgia
I've had several bad experiences with Delta/Northwest now, and have learned not to be fooled by their low fares (they usually offer some of the lowest fares when I do a Web seach for upcoming travel). Most recent experience: flying out of Madison WI to a job interview in the Northwest. Arrived at the airport an hour before flight, WITH NO BAGS TO CHECK. Encountered a huge line at the counter - apparently, they had 3 fully-booked flights all leaving around the same time. However, I didn't think it would be a problem because I had NO BAGS TO CHECK.
Unfortunately, I discovered that there was no kiosk available for self check-in for travelers without bags. On top of that, they only had 2 agents working at the counter! In spite of the fact that they had 3 full flights leaving shortly. Missed the 30-minute limit for checking in at the kiosk by 2 minutes, literally. Then was forced to wait in another line to have one of the agents try to override the block. This took 15 minutes, and by that time they wouldn't give me a boarding pass for the flight.
The outcome: booked on a second flight, 10 hours later. Charged $50 rebooking fee (which I later appealed and which was not refunded). Missed my job interview. Didn't get the job. There were approximately 20-25 other people who also missed their flights that morning. Some speculation that Delta deliberately had only 2 agents at the counter because the flights were overbooked and they didn't want to reimburse people for getting bumped. Who knows? But a 3rd agent did miraculously appear about 1/2 hour after the flights took off.
Again, this was not my only bad experience with Delta/Northwest. Another time I missed a flight from Seattle by 5 minutes, and ended up being charged $500 for rebooking on another flight. I strongly suspect that they make up for income lost on their low fares by charging penalties/fees at every possible opportunity. Just horrible travel experiences with Delta/Northwest, and will not use them again. Interested to see if others have had similar experiences ...
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Your Fault...
#4Consumer Comment
Sun, February 27, 2011
It was your fault for missing the flight.
The standard "rule" is that you need to be at the airport 2 Hours before your flight for domestic flights. Delta says for most of their airports you must be there a minimum of 75 minutes before. You showed up 1 hour before, and I would not be surprised if your 1 hour was actually less than an hour. One would think that with your previous experience that you would have learned you need to arrive earlier. The reason you were most likely denied the change fee refund was because you did not arrive before their stated requirements.
You obviously have a computer, so why not use their on-line check in? You could go on-line and print your boarding passes up to 24 hours before the flight. So you could have done this and since you don't have any bags would have been able to go right through security when you arrived.
Steve
Bradenton,Florida,
U.S.A.
A few ideas.
#4Consumer Suggestion
Sun, February 27, 2011
I'm assuming you paid with a credit card, right? Dispute the charge, as you did not get what you paid for.
Also, getting to the airport well before check in time is a must if you want to avoid this. I hour is really not enough in most cases.I get to the airport a full 2 hours before any flight. I go through security no less than 1 hour prior to my scheduled departure time, and when I get to the gate area, I sit as close to the gate/ check in area as possible.
In any case, I feel you would prevail with the credit card company in a dispute. Your delay was certainly the airlines fault.
Thesadreality
seattle,Washington,
U.S.A.
You got that right
#4Consumer Comment
Sun, February 27, 2011
You got it right, Delta charges high fees to offset the low fares. That's why you pay only $100 on a 3 hour flight an not $200 on Greyhound for a 20 hour ride. I think they deserve better feedback. Everybody knows it's cheaper to fly these days than ride.