June 7, 2005

Open Letter to Those [Expletive]ers

Delta Air Lines
Customer Care
P.O. Box 20980
Atlanta, Georgia
30320-9820

Dear Sir or Madam:

I have been a happy and faithful Delta Air Lines customer for several years, but my experience of June 6 left me livid.

Just after 11 p.m. Monday, June 6, I was turned away from a Delta flight from Atlanta to Columbia, S.C., which had 25 open seats. I was aggrieved by Delta employees, and in compensation should in the least be credited the 25,000 Delta SkyMiles I used to obtain my reward ticket for this trip. Here's what happened.

My originating flight from Austin, Texas, to Atlanta (Delta flight no. 4867, scheduled for 6:25 p.m.) was delayed by one hour, 20 minutes and finally departed Austin shortly before 8 p.m. CDT. The plane arrived in Atlanta minutes before 11 p.m. EDT putting the passengers in the terminal right at 11 p.m. Upon later investigation, Delta computers showed my original connection between Atlanta and Columbia, S.C., pushed back from the gate (C23/C25, Delta flight no. 4332) at 11:01 p.m., three minutes before its scheduled departure.

Gate information monitors displayed that 4332 had departed, but I found another Delta flight scheduled to leave 16 minutes after mine (Delta flight no. 1504, "stubbed out" as flight no. 9617 following a mechanical problem with the original airplane).

I managed to get from the C concourse to gate B20 at 11:08 p.m. and quickly explained my situation to the agent at the gate. He ran with me down the jetway and to the airplane's open door, my boarding card in his hand. Another Delta employee, a woman about a full head shorter than my six-foot height, with shoulder length, blond hair, was at the door and looked at my boarding card.

Because she noticed that my checked bag was supposed to be on another flight, she refused to let me board regardless of 1504's (a.k.a. 9617) 25 empty seats. She had none of my delayed/missed flight argument and again refused my boarding the plane. It was the last flight to Columbia that evening. It was 11:09 p.m.

I was then told that despite the departure monitors reflecting my original flight's departure, the plane was still at gate C23/C25. I rushed back to C23/C25 and found the plane obviously gone.

I remain furious that I was both turned away from a flight I could have easily been on and then told to rush back to the other empty gate. Had I been allowed to board the flight at B20, I would be more than satisfied and this letter would not be necessary. I wish I could provide names of the two gate agents at B20 (the woman might be a flight attendant), but things happened much too quickly. Delta employee Rickey Coats was unable to find the names of the people in question.

Again, I expect to be compensated by Delta Air Lines crediting me the 25,000 Delta SkyMiles it cost to obtain my reward ticket. Delta should exceed my request by offering more, but I think this is fair compensation. Below (not here, on the actual letter I sent to Delta) you will find my SkyMiles account information, address and telephone number to contact me when this occurs.

- Rich