Below is our absolute worst travel experience. We were reminded of it last week when we used our voucher compensation money to travel to Atlanta for the weekend. I would definitely rather not have had this experience than a free trip to Atlanta. I have only told this story once without tears coming to my eyes. It was horrible, both physically and emotionally. I’m sorry that we put our children through this and hope that we are never again in such a situation. Here is the letter I sent to the CEO of the airline we were traveling on and refered to in last Tuesday’s post. The letter is kinda long so only read it if you like horrible airline stories….
The Family. About 6 hours into our trip. Still bright eyed and excited to be going home!
August 21, 2008
Dear Gerald Grinstein:
I am writing to request compensation for an extremely difficult travel experience on Delta airlines.
Issue 1:
We purchased 3 adult tickets and 1 infant ticket online through www.expedia.com. After the purchase, we were issued an itemized receipt including a line for the purchase of our infant ticket. We also called Delta to confirm that the infant ticket was in the system and we needn’t have a paper one sent prior to our travel date. The Delta representative looked up our tickets and assured us that we were ready for travel.
Upon arrival at the airport in T. for departure, the Delta agent informed us that we needed to purchase a paper ticket for our infant. Even though we showed her the itemized receipt, she asked that we re-purchase the ticket and write Delta later, asking for a reimbursement. She insured us that she would bring us a receipt for this ticket prior to takeoff but in actuality only delivered a sloppily hand written boarding pass and no receipt for our transaction! Her laziness and incompetence cost us 6 hours of time on the phone with Delta representatives and internet representatives. Eventually this issue was resolved but not without much wasted time and frustration.
Issue 2:
The last leg of our flight from I to D was flight xxxx on May 14th from NY to D. Because of bad weather, our plane was diverted to A and finally H. We sat on the tarmac in H for four hours in the middle of the night. During this time, our family was in D waiting to pick us up at the airport. Adequate information was not given to those in D waiting for the plane to arrive. This caused my family the inconvenience of driving 3 hours to the airport, spending literally an entire night in the D airport before driving 3 hours home in the morning without us. This inattentiveness to customer service is inexcusable.
The wait on the tarmac was so long that the airplane ran out of both food and water. With both a 1 year old and a 2 year old child, no running water is a sanitation risk that I am not willing to take. I repeatedly asked to be let off the plane but no care was given to the request. I even threatened to call 911 and let the police know that we were being held against our will but this did not initiate an appropriate response from the flight attendants. Our children eventually ran out of diapers and I shredded airplane blankets to use as diapers. No. I did not plan for 12 hours extra delay for a flight from N to D when I packed our bag. These extremes of discomfort simply because of another’s neglect to complete one’s job are simply inexcusable.
Once we were finally able to disembark from the plane, the apologetic captain and crew deceitfully informed us to wait at the desk for a Delta agent to help us make alternate plans. The captain and crew were probably already in their hotel rooms, asleep for the night by the time the angry and agitated mob of passengers was informed by a security guard that we would have to go to another section of the airport to wait until the Delta agent came on duty in the morning. Not only were we stranded in the airport for the night, the airport staff refused to unload our luggage. This was a tremendous problem as we were still without diapers and at this point, my 1 year old had urinated and defecated all over herself and her stroller. I personally don’t recommend the use of airplane blankets for diapers. After 30 hours of travel, our children would have been exhausted under normal circumstances. Again, the circumstances that led us to this point of extreme uncleanliness and discomfort are inexcusable.
I found the highest ranking employee at the H airport and pleaded for him to allow us to have our luggage, explaining that my children needed new clothes and diapers. He insisted that even as the highest ranking employee on duty that night, he did not have the authority to get our luggage. His picture is attached to this document. Once again, this was absolutely inexcusable.
The next morning, the Delta agents finally came on duty. We were supposed to go to a hotel and come back at 2 PM the following day for a re-scheduled flight to D. We went down to claim our baggage and call a service bus for the hotel that Delta had arranged. At this point we discovered yet two more negligent acts committed by Delta airlines. When we called the service bus for the hotel that Delta had booked us in, they were full and would not accept us. This caused my husband to have to go back upstairs and stand in line again to be re-booked in another hotel. Secondly, when we finally got our luggage, it was soaked. Not just wet, it had clearly been unloaded from the plane and left outside in the rain all night long. Our luggage sat in the rain all night long while we sat inside the airport in discomfort and unsanitary conditions due to the desperate need for more diapers. This is inexcusable.
We were supposed to arrive in D at 10PM but instead, we arrived at a hotel in H at 6AM. Exhausted, dirty and indescribably disappointed with Delta airlines.
I am asking for a $400 credit for each of the 4 tickets we purchased for future use on Delta airlines. Delta has credited us with $50 vouchers but this is laughable in light of what we experienced. Money can never compensate for the discomfort our family went though during this experience. I am simply asking for a gesture that demonstrates a sincere desire to compensate for the negligence that caused this horrible experience. I have copied an Attorney on this document so that he can be fully aware of our correspondence should we need to take further action. Please compensate us for this negligence as I am not going to allow this issue to rest until we are fully compensated. I desire to pursue this matter simply because I do not wish a similar situation on anyone else.
Thank you for your immediate attention.
Sincerely,
K
Stuck on the plane- J with her airplane blanket diaper
Highest ranking airport official on duty who wouldn't get our bags while they sat in the rain and our kids sat in their own urine.
Tags: International Travel
September 21, 2009 at 10:24 pm |
What a nightmare! I’m so glad you pursued getting compensated for this horrible experience. They’re just lucky you didn’t sue them.
September 21, 2009 at 2:12 pm |
Do you have a letter that they wrote back to you? That was a great letter
September 21, 2009 at 8:54 am |
oh my goodness…you were brave to take that guys picture!!!
What an awful experience. I think those people that had to sit overnight on the plane in Minnesota with their children are going to sue.
That is just horrible! They should have sent you to Hawaii or something!