We have decided to add one more day to our itinerary. We have tried other airlines in our past Europe trip but never Delta for international flight. Perhaps, the reason was our flight was delayed almost 4 hours each way from San Francisco to Orlando and back .Their reason was engine trouble and this was back in 2008. Now, the dates and fares with delta seems good since I am booking this late. It will save us $ 200 per person and there are 4 of us. We have taken UA before but we flew Lufthansa , their alliance . I am looking at safety records as well as not being delayed for a few hours as it will cut down on our time in Europe . Thanks so much.
Posted by
Oregon
111 posts
In the past couple of years, I have selected Delta/KLM flights for the best combination of price and schedule to/from several destinations in Europe. When one flight to Paris departed and arrived an hour late, that caused me to miss my connection to Prague, but they put me on the next connection with no problem. No other issues to report.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
KLM was fine going SFO-AMS-Rome and returning Venice-AMS-SFO. We did have to scramble to connect in AMS between the Venice (Alitalia) flight and our SFO connection, but made it with minutes to spare. Nice entertainment system on the transatlantic flight, food OK, attendants pleasant. All flights left on time.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Airplanes are machines. They break, no matter who owns them.
Delta gets more than eighty percent of my business and I fly like the very dickens.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
I am a frequent flyer with Delta as Detroit is a hub, so I fly it 95% of the time and am happy with it. Last flight to Orlando they had a change of aircraft and asked for volunteers.... $600 voucher, first class to Orlando for a few hour delay...made me happy.
I always fly nonstop if possible and we have those to Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, so gets me most anywhere I want to go.
Posted by
Reno, NV, USA
2533 posts
I agree with Ed. Any flight you are booked on can have some kind of issue. Personally, I have no allegiance to any airline. I just choose the one with the best price and the shortest travel time.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I fly Delta out of Detroit as well. No problems that were Delta's fault - can't blame them for weather.
Posted by
OP
san Francisco
735 posts
Thanks everyone for your feedbacks. It made me feel at ease to book with delta .
Posted by
San Jose, CA
1994 posts
If Delta works for you, it probably makes sense to book it. However, after two experiences of flying from San Francisco to Italy, I am not going to use the Delta-KLM connection again. Both times I missed my connecting flight in Amsterdam on the way home, once because we were so late leaving Florence, and the next time because they overbooked and put me on a second flight was also overbooked. On that flight, my 14 hour transit time increased over 24 hours. Also, KLM bounced me from the overbooked flight about 4 hours before the departure time; they called me and told me I couldn't get on the flight. Two different Delta flight attendants told me that KLM seems to be preferentially taking their own passengers and bouncing Delta passengers.
Posted by
2081 posts
@ sally,
machine are made by man. man isnt perfect and neither are the machine they make.
I use Delta/KLM since they have a direct Non stop flight from Portland (PDX) to Amsterdam (AMS). I prefer non stop to 1,2,3,4+ stops. the more stops, the less time i have overthere. I use AMS as my "hub" on my travels so far. this year i want to start in Krakow, but all of the flights so far have 2 stops. The cost isnt that much of a deal since its about the same as a R/T from PDX/AMS, but the 2 stops isnt making me jump for joy. So, im going to stay overnight in AMS and take and early flight out the next day. I can book a flight out later that AM, but i dont want to chance it. Its less expensive to stay overnight in AMS than to try and book a flight that day. Im still researching flights, but its not looking good.
Out of the 2+ years of using Delta/KLM, they have only shafted me once. It was 2 hours late on the departure. but i did make it.
I think doing anything you are playing the odds. The more you travel by plane, the greater the chance of having a delay, lost luggage, inclement weather,....ect.
happy trails.