Trouble with Delta Airlines booking

That happened to me on one trip a couple of years ago, and it was very frustrating. I think it’s just a glitch that pops up in the system sometimes. At any rate, I was able to reach a rep using the chat mechanism and resolve the problem.

Would it be safe to assume there were partner airlines involved? Sometimes the two airlines booking systems don't play nice with each other. The Delta system will show availability, but when the time comes to actually ticket, the availability on the partner's system just isn't there.

I find the Delta Web based site to be abysmal. It takes forever for the pages to load with the information. I recently booked an international round trip and thought it would never complete each step. I find their mobile app to work great and have booked through that several times. Since this past trip was to/from New Zealand I wanted to verify layover/connection info that the app does not display as easily. Should have used the app! I am glad the Delta rep was able to get you the routing and fare you wanted!

I have also found that regardless of what flights I booked something changes before we depart. This often gives me an opportunity to rebook on a flight that I preferred initially but was more expensive when I originally booked the flight. We are flying to/from CDG in April and booked the flight at the end of January. Every segment has had a change and Delta rebooked our return through a different gateway (ATL instead of BOS) which we preferred but that flight was quite a bit more when we booked.

Mardee, I used the chat mechanism in the end but I had to be armed with all the flight info beforehand. In the end, the rep found a better scheduling than I had originally so it worked out well.

Eric, I think you are correct about the partner airline (Air France) being the issue. It’s weird though because you click on the flights you want on the website which include the partner airline and it won’t go through. Why do they not tell you that you need to speak to an agent to book? As it was even with the Delta agent doing the booking, I still had to go to Air France to get our seat assignments. I have run into that before when Lufthansa was the partner airline. Oh well, live and learn. I will just book with an airline agent the next time I use Delta.

Hi Kim,

I am glad I am not the only one with an issue with Delta. I have not had this problem with United or American. Yes, I expect there will be changes to the itinerary between now and next August. Hopefully that will result in a lower fare but I kind of doubt it as the fares have been pretty consistent now for months.

Maybe try booking directly with Air France then?

Paul, thanks for the good suggestion. I will look at the partner airline as well next time and see if I could book that instead.

I've booked thru KLM for a flight operated by Delta a couple of times. International Delta, domestic KLM.
Sometimes there are perks too that you don't get if booking directly with Delta.

Delta has a pretty good policy regarding change and cancellation fees. Doesn’t apply to basic economy but no change fee (fare maybe different) and an electronic credit if you cancel your flight. So check the partner airline’s policy prior to booking