cappearc

My husband and I were flying first class from IND to STT using Sky Miles (60K each) with a reservation made in 10 months in advance. I would check about every month and some minor changes were made to the itinerary, but never an aircraft change. We checked into STT yesterday and received our boarding passes for our first class seats. The leg from ATL to IND had us in 1C and 1D on one of the smaller jets with has only 6 first class seats. We arrived at our gate and the plane was boarding. As we handed our boarding passes to the agent she took them and some type of receipt printed out. As we're boarding the plane, there is someone in our seats. We look at the receipt she gave us and it said 18 A and B...the last row of the plane, no seats that reclined and my husband is 6'8"!!! We don't fly first class very often because we usually don't have the miles or the cash. This particular trip had 4 legs.
We went back up the jetway to the ticket agent and asked for our original boarding passes back so now I have copies of both sets to send to Delta. What should we ask for...1/4 of the miles back or an upgrade to first class when we fly to Bonaire next March on Delta?
Do we have any rights here? Thanks.

Carolyn

NOLAnwGOLD

You should get all of your miles refunded for coach to FC, so 30K each, since you didn't get what you paid for. What was the reason they gave you?? Ask for what you want and they might give it to you....if it becomes a big problem, write to some of the travel columns such as in the NY Times or other travel advice folks....

KNRG

He was transferring in ATL, no?

I suspect someone else misconnected or they condensed planes and buh-bye seats.

MastaHanky

Could have been FAMs.

CJKatl

You indicated that you arrived at the gate and the plane was boarding. Was it within ten minutes of take-off? Might they have released your seats because you were not yet at the gate? If so, was it because your first leg was running late, as opposed to your lalligaging about Hartsfield-Jackson?

If so, the correct thing for them to have done would have been to have gone on the plane and asked the people given the upgrade due to your being late to move to their original seats. There is a thread somewhere from a month or so ago about this happening to people - getting the upgrade taken away after boarding because the people showed up from original delayed flights. If you had to part in the seats being given away, push the issue and get compensation, probably in miles.

If, on the other hand, your seats were released despite your having enough time to make it to the gate before the ten minute departure window, then you are owed nothing.

DeltaMIA

DL5982 was downgraded to an E70 from an E75. The aircraft went from 12 First class seats to 6 seats. Unfortunately, through automation, your seats were relocated to the coach cabin. You were already on your way to ATL when the "downgrade" occurred.

The agent working the ATL-IND flight should have provided you with a OW upgrade certificate for future use due to downgrade.

Usually not any compensation or mileage refund applies for award travel when a portion of the outbound or inbound was flown in the paid class of service as it the higher award will always apply. In this case STT-ATL. It never hurts though to voice your opinion to Delta through the various channels available to you.

I'm sorry you didn't receive the service you expected.

bomaab

You state that no compensation would apply for either miles or anything. At the same time you say that they should have recd an upgade certificate -so which is true??

Also - I remember talking to Delta CS who are emphatic about paying money/miles means you are buying "space" on plane not seats... But when you get downgraded you are not getting the "space" you paid for.

Can you please help me and point me to policy where it states no compensation for such things?

Thanks

DlRes

You will get some miles back, however not all and definitely not 30K. Ok so the difference between F and Y 60k - 30 k = 30k divided by 4 segments = 7.5K since only one leg was downgraded.

cappearc

To clarify a few things:

This was the last flight of the day from ATL to IND at 9:20pm. We landed in ATL over 2 hours prior to the this flight from STT where we had been given our correct first class boarding passes (1C and 1D) just 8 hours prior for this ATL to IND leg. I can't believe there was an aircraft change within this 8 hour period.

We were at the gate 35 minutes ahead of the flight departure. Right when we walked up to the gate, they were boarding so we gave the ticket agent our boarding passes. I thought it was odd she didn't tear them or run them through the machine that reads the boarding pass. She threw them in the trash and gave us this tiny receipt that I couldn't even read w/o putting my glasses on. It was only until we were on the plane we realized we were in the LAST row on this full flight. We did go back up to the ticketing agent and ask for our original boarding passes back so we could send them to Delta along with the 18A and 18B last row boarding passes. As I mentioned earlier, "to add insult to injury" my 6'8" husband was miserable as the seats are right up against the wall and don't recline. Between the 2 of us we used 120,000 Sky Miles for this RT from IND-STT, with the layover in ATL for a total of 4 legs (30,000 each). We are first class "virgins" so we didn't even know what to do about this at the time of the flight when it is in the boarding process. The flight attendants just shrugged their shoulders and said "sorry".

What is the best way to approach this with Delta and what are our rights?
My son and DIL are both attorneys. Shoud I have them send a letter on our behalf?

We do have a trip in March planned on Delta to Bonaire. I had to use 70K sky miles for ONE COACH ticket and paid around $1300.00 (thru a travel agent) for my husband's COACH ticket. We are on separate reservation numbers. Once again we will be connecting in ATL. I would be satisfied if they gave us a OW from ATL-BON for this upcoming trip. Should I just write or call and ask for this? ONE MORE THING-I had even initially paid Delta $25 per ticket for this reservation since I spoke to a real person on the phone when I was trying to book this back in Dec, 2007. Thanks for everyone's help.

Carolyn

StayingHomeIsBetter

To the OP:

After checking which crop dusting partner services ATL to IND, I am assuming that the flight was operated by Shuttle America.

I had the same experience, bumped from a FC upgrade to coach on a paid ticket on a Shuttle America flight from ATL to MDW when they pulled an E70 rather than an E75 up to the gate.

My impression is that this is not an uncommon occurrence for them.

How full was the coach section?

It is my opinion that they substitute the smaller plane when the flight is undersold, and to hell with whoever they displace from FC.

I have asked DL for an explanation of why the aircraft was substituted on my flight, but they refuse to tell me. All I get is the "once we have your money, all we owe you is to get you from point A to point B" routine.

To DeltaMIA:

1) What was the reason for the E70 for E75 substitution on the OP's flight?

2) I was not offered an OW certificate. Should I have been?

3) What would DL prefer us to assume? a) That Shuttle American has trouble keeping enough E75s in airworthy condition to maintain its schedules? OR b) That it is baiting-and-switching by substituting the smaller planes when ridership is low?

icurhere2

A nice note to DL saying that you understand AC can be substituted but the downgrade for not one but two people greatly diminished your enjoyment of the trip. Ask specifically for what you want - a flight voucher or miles is most likely to be given. Ask about the possibility of upgrade certificates.

I think you would get a better and more expedient response by NOT doing that. As has been mentioned previously, the airline will probably provide something to you (even if just the 7.5 K miles for that segment). Suggesting legal entitlement despite the award redemption mileage being the same (60K) regardless of the number of segments in F each way probably won't get anything better . . .

indufan

You know I understand that F award tickets price that way if any segment is in F but it just isn't right if they started out that way but didn't end up that way. What if it were NRT-ATL-IND and the NRT segment was the one downgraded?

To further complicate this, this is a route that is currently, and incredibly, only served by planes that have an F cabin.

Anyone saying that you buy space is completely incorrect. Airlines sell SEATS. Period end of sentence. This is what has allowed them to charge extra for persons of size for a second seat.
This, of course, is the proper compensation.

The flight before this was supposed to be a E70. Could be that something happen to cause those planes to flop positions. Interesting, it seems that this flight occurs on Saturday only as I flew ATL-IND on Friday at 9:30 and it was a 757...which due to weather in ATL actually arrived at 1:25 AM so count your lucky starts.
If definitely happens from time to time.

You are showing your inexperience with Delta. This is how Delta handles all seat changes that don't have new boarding passes. It is a great system.

The flight attendants are completely out of control of this situation. What did you want them to do?

Attorneys? You have got to be kidding. Maybe you should try the "Contact Us" link at Delta.com
Ain't going to happen. I actually do sympathize with you but you missed F on a 432 mile flight for crying out loud.
What does this have to do with anything about this situation?

Sorry to be crass about this but your expectations are a little screwed up.

cappearc

indufan,

I certainly understand your lack of sympathy for our situation. It took us a long time to acquire these 120,000 Delta Sky Miles for this trip (mostly through credit card purchases). We are not world travelers and take a few vacations a year. I'm sorry... but this was a big deal for us. As far as the 432 mi. trip.....are you 6'8" tall? After all is said and done...2 hours can seem like an eternity when your knees are wedged tightly into the seat in front of you AND you can't even recline your seat.

baccarat_king

cappearc, I feel your pain!,

But, correct me if I'm wrong, looks like the 6'8" tall person is going to be traveling in COACH on the upcoming trip in March.

cappearc

Hopefully emergency exit row OR at least a seat that reclines