Delta Airlines employee negligence causes me to loose $8,000 plus .. Atlanta Georgia

August 26, 2008

Delta Corporate Office
Delta Airlines

To Whom It May Concern:

Per Pat Talley, Reservation Supervisor in your Salt Lake City Reservations Office, I am writing this letter to you for compensation. I feel that Delta Airlines owes me compensation for grave errors on the part of incompetent performance by your employees. This is my story

I was scheduled to fly to Pakistan this last Sunday afternoon originating in Huntsville, AL through Atlanta onto Dubai, all on Delta, then to Pakistan on Emirates. I arrived at HSV approximately 2 hours prior to departing. The flight out of HSV was originally scheduled to depart at 5:07pm. When I arrived at HSV I noticed the flight was delayed and leaving at 5:18pm. We boarded the plane and as they were about to close the door, I turned off my phone and noticed it was exactly 5:18pm. Then the pilot announced that the plane would be delayed about another 20 minutes because of bad weather in Atlanta. About 10 minutes later he came on again and announced that due to bad weather ATL was shut downno flights in and no flights out. He also stated that it would be at least 1 hour before we would be leaving so they had us get off the plane.

I got off the plane and took a seat while others gathered around the desk at the gate to rebook and try to get out to another city. As I sat there I noticed the baggage trucks pull up, the conveyer belt put in place and 3 men began unloading our baggage. I watched for mine and sure enough it was there. All the bags were taken off the plane. They also took off the carry-on bags and brought those back up to us at the gate, so I was able to retrieve my carry-on.

There was an older Pakistan woman going the same route as me into Pakistan. She went up to the agent at the gate with her ticket. I stood back and listened and the agent told the woman that since our plane did not leave out of ATL until 9:00pm, she should have no problem making that flight and asked her to take a seat. So, I also sat back down.

About 20 minutes later the agent at the gate came on the intercom and said the news was not looking good, that the report from the captain was that it would be at least another hour before they would know if we'd be flying out or not. At this time it was approximately 6:15pm, 7:15pm Atlanta time, and I knew we were starting to cut it close. So I approached the agent. She took a look at my ticket and pulled me up in the system and told me that she didn't think I'd make my flight in Atlanta and said I needed to go downstairs to the ticket counter and they'd have to rebook my ticket since it was an International flight she couldn't do it at the gate. I said I understood, but then asked if she could tell me if the flight to Dubai originated in Atlanta or not. I figured if it did not originate in Atlanta, that it too might be late and I might be able to still make it. The agent informed me that, No, the plane originates in Houston, but they will change planes in Atlanta. So one way or another that plane will leave out of Atlanta on time at 9:00pm.

Let me divert and state why it was so imperative that I make that flight. I am a very avid flyer. I fly internationally almost once per month. I was on my way to Pakistan to do a Women's Conference on Wednesday, Aug. 27 for 800 women. I had already sent $8,000 to Pakistan to our contacts there to pay for all the arrangements for this conference. Per my original schedule, I would have arrived in Lahore on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 3:00am, more than 24 hours prior to the conference. This was a very important assignment that I had.

Ok, so I and the Pakistani woman went downstairs to Delta's ticket counter. When we arrived there and told the agent that we were sent down to rebook, she asked why, that her screen was showing her that the plane was leaving at 6:41pm, in about 15 minutes. I told her that I was just at the gate and they told us the plane would be delayed by at least 1 hour. She said, Well, my screen is telling me that it's leaving at 6:41pm. I then looked at the monitor on the wall and it read the same thing, 6:41pm. Then I asked the agent if she could call up to the gate and find out what's going on. She said she couldn't do that and I asked why not. She said they are busy up there and she didn't want to distract them. Then she informed me that there was a flight leaving out today, Tuesday, through Heathrow to Amsterdam to Dubai she could get me on. I was thinking to myself, Ok, do I book that or run back upstairs to see if the plane was truly leaving at 6:41pm and I could still get on it. I choose to go back upstairs. But, up there I was told again that the plane was going to be delayed even longer. This was approximately 6:30pm.

I went back downstairs. I called Delta Airlines to see what they could do. They told me that they could not get me out until Wednesday, Aug. 27 which would put me into Dubai on Friday, 2 days after the conference I was suppose to do. I was to be the main speaker at this conference. I told them that the ticket counter at HSV said there was a flight today, Tuesday, which could get me through Heathrow, Amsterdam and onto Dubai. She said that wasn't available and I should go back to the ticket counter, which I did.

At the ticket counter the agent began trying to book me another flight. She was on the phone with the International desk trying to work something out. She told me there was nothing until Wednesday. I asked if there was anything in Business Class that I would upgrade. While talking to someone at the International desk, she said I was confirmed to fly out on the same flight (original flight as Sunday) on Tuesday. When I was given my tickets, it showed Coach Class. I said, I thought there were no seats in coach on that flight, to which she had no response.

In the meantime the Pakistani woman and her son return to the desk asking about her luggage. Let me also say that as I stood at the ticket counter, several passengers on my original flight were coming to the desk to retrieve their luggage from the room behind the ticket counter. All the while I assumed that my luggage was in the same room behind the ticket counter. So after the man and his mother asked about her luggage, the agent told them that her luggage had just left on the flight out for Atlanta. I was totally shocked. I asked if my luggage was on that flight, as well. They said yes! I asked where my luggage was going to and she told me Dubai. This is totally against Federal Aviation and Homeland Security guidelines. Then I asked why we weren't told the flight was leaving so we could get on it. The agent responded that by the time I would have gotten to ATL I would have only had 20 minutes to get from my arriving gate to the departing gate. BUT, I should have been given that option to take that flight or not. I had told them that I needed to get to Pakistan to speak in a conference on Wednesday. I feel if I would have gotten out on my original flight I would have at least been in Atlanta and could have worked something out from there.

Let me finish by saying that domestically Delta is my favorite airline. I favor Delta over NW, AA, UA, and Continental and have always been very pleased with your serviceuntil now. I will also say that the agents at the departure gate were very kind and trying to help, but the agents at the ticket counter were totally acting inconvenienced and put out. One of them (a female) was busy flirting and playing around with another (male) employee. Totally unprofessional!

As of yesterday, after speaking with Pat Talley and sharing my nightmare, she had at least upgraded me to Business Class roundtrip leaving today and then advised me to write this letter to you for further compensation. But then I received a call a couple of hours later from another agent apologizing to me that Pat was not authorized to issue me the upgrade and it was being withdrawn and I was now booked in Coach. The woman gave me the option of $200 travel voucher or 20,000 sky miles. I am a Silver Elite/Medallion Sky miles customer. I continued to tell the woman that apology accepted, but this does nothing for the inconvenience and almost $8,000 that I have now lost and the missed conference. Plus, I have the expense of having to cancel and rebook tickets on Pakistan Air into Pakistan because Emirates does not run a flight on that day from Dubai to Pakistan.

I would like something done about this situation and my compensation immediately. My mother began working for Eastern Airlines in the 60's, and then went on to National Airlines and later retired from Pan American. I'm being told nothing can be done. I KNOW it canI've seen resolutions to these problems solved over the years.

I will say if I do not get any satisfactory results and compensation from Delta Airlines, I will write a letter of my experience to The Travel Magazine, Travel + Leisure magazine, Business Traveler magazine and other traveler magazines. I am also considering contacting TSA, FAA and office of Homeland Security. Also, we take teams several times a year to various countries around the world. We just had a team of 115 travel with us to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We will contact all of our travel companions, well over 200, and inform them of this situation and discourage them from using Delta in the future. I am NOT a vindictive woman, but I DO NOT feel I should have to suffer the consequences that have resulted as a result of your company's negligence.

Leanne
Killen, Alabama
U.S.A.

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