Full disclosure: I am a total airline apologist and enthusiastic Delta fan.
This is a really nice story, though. To summarize, American cancelled a flight that was to take a group of 5th graders on their class trip and basically said, "Stinks to be you." Delta stepped up, found a spare airplane, and flew the group to their destination.
That makes me happy! Also, I am flying Delta today to Chicago.
Great PR coup and good thinking by the Delta agents. Delta did a good job coming through.
American is hamstrung right now with the Boeing 737max grounding.
WOW! Kudos to Delta. We've been frequent flyers for years and will be flying with them in a couple months. A number of years ago we were scheduled to fly in comfort seats and after we checked in the boarding agent called our name and said they were moving us to Business Class. They reported they needed my seat for a wheelchair bound person. Thanks for sharing this story. It made my day!
I love Delta. They are often more expensive but you get what you pay for in the airline world. I exclusively fly them unless they just don’t go where I need to go (eg upcoming Berlin to Reykjavik leg).
I, also, like to give credit where it is due. Delta treated us more than fairly in a situation that was partly my husband’s fault and partly the weather. None of it, Delta’s. He forgot his passport. That problem was compounded by the fact that we had stopped over in Baltimore for a few days to attend my niece’s wedding, so no easy access to our house. That problem was compounded by the fact that Hurricane Irene blew through Maryland the night before our scheduled departure. Dulles Airport was jammed with people whose flights had been canceled. The Delta rep handled all the rearrangements of people’s flights in a calm, polite manner, though some of the passengers were neither calm nor polite. In our case, she rebooked us, waiving the change fee and got us a hotel room, for the duration, at a much reduced price. My recollection is $60/night at the Sheraton in McClain. Really outstanding customer service.
Like any airline, Delta has its share of problems. But they also have a culture where front line employees and middle management are encouraged and empowered to go beyond the Contract of Carriage minimum to fix things and a lot of their people do use that power for good
I just got back from Greece today. I flew Delta so I could get a free ticket with points. The other 3 ladies in my group flew American-supposedly to Philadelphia, then to Birmingham on the same day. Their flight from Philadelphia to Birmingham was cancelled and they had to spend the night on cots at the Philadelphia airport. This morning, they had to leave at 6:42 to go to DC, then to Birmingham. I had to spend the night in ATL because I took the later flight from Greece to JFK because it was cheaper and I knew in advance this would be the case, so I spent the night in a comfy hotel bed in ATL and still got home to Birmingham today 25 minutes before the other ladies. Each of them paid $1500 for their tickets; I paid $345 for the taxes on my ticket. Clearly, one airline outdid the other.
I always tell people who complain about Delta that they must have never flown any other airline. I was on a code share Virgin flight to the UK last week. How I longed for Delta! Virgin somewhat redeemed themselves on the flight back but only because the plane was less than half full so I had a two-seat row to myself. If I ever have a choice, I will choose Delta.
