THE WEEKEND FROM HELL FOR MY AUNT & UNCLE...

seriously???

. . . I don't see what the problem with the voucher was?

They are trying to offset the cost of a meal that they would have had
to buy for themselves anyway, not set them up with food for a week!

And put yourself in Delta's shoes. Would YOU give a major comp to a
third party that wasn't even involved? Me neither!

This happens sometimes. I've flown Delta and never had problems. It's
just luck of the draw. As for having no food, don't you think they
could buy food at the airport? It's better having a late flight than
being dead from a 50,000 plus foot fall.

I highly doubt that they are going to give you two free vouchers and
trust that you're just going to pass them onto your aunt and uncle.

If they have a legitimate complaint, they should submit it and see
what happens.

I am going to go out on a limb here and assume the medication your
aunt takes is to help her nerves because of her fear of flying. I am
not sure if the medicine needs to be taken with food.

You mentioned that your aunt and uncle had nothing to eat by 7:10pm.
There was an opportunity between 5 and 5:45pm to get something to eat.
This would have been enough time to grab a quick bite from a fast food
restaurant or something from a kiosk. One of them could have stayed at
the gate area to listen to announcements while the other went to grab
something.

Were there any sacks on board the plane that could have been
purchased?

As for the food vouchers you were given, most vendors at the airport
are open by 6am. I am not sure why the food vouchers could not be used
at the airport on Monday morning before the flight left.

People should expect delays at the airport. I'd rather have a pilot
turn around and be delayed then have an emergency in flight. people
should also carry a small snack or sandwich with them in case of
emergencies like this.

Id rather be inconvenienced by a replacement plane than fly in a plane
that they are unsure of and don't feel safe in. It's the worse feeling
for anyone who has a fear of flying, its better to supress that
feeling by knowing you are in much better plane.

Everyone eventually has issues, that why its best to plan ahead.

Always good to carry some nutritious snacks with you in case of
delays.

Vouchers for fast food is sad, sure it may be cheap to some people,
but its long term effects are not cheap.


Good Day

I'm sorry, I have flown quite a bit in my life and I would LOVE for an
airline to have handled the delays as well as delta did in this
situation. It sounds to me like your aunt and uncle were kept up to
date on what was going on, the timelines were actually met and in the
second situation they were taken care of nicely.

I guess maybe I have flown into Newark airport too much, but a 2 hour
flight that takes 4 hours seems like a dream to me. Newark is ALWAYS
backed up with air traffic (nothing the airline can do about it, it is
all air traffic control) and on one flight I spent almost 2 hours
circling, the entire flight was only supposed to take 2 hours.

That third situation had nothing at all to do with delta. THat was
all LGA.

There was insufficient cabin pressure.

Are meal vouchers good at airport food vendors? While I've
experienced flight delays, I've never had the opportunity to receive
vouchers.

I do know that even at Milwaukee, I can get a McDonald's meal for
under $6.

I'm just wondering--your aunt is "very afraid of flying". Would she
actually use a voucher for another flight, after this experience?

Would you rather they flew with no cabin pressure, mechanical problems
and right through a thunder storm?
Really?

They did what they had to do for safety! It inconvienienced everyone,
not just your family. I'm sure even the emloyees had better things to
do!

Wow - that was a BAD weekend. However, I don't think it was Delta's
fault. None of what you list is anything they did on purpose, it was
out of their control and happens. Usually not on every flight, but
it's bad luck.

The first flight sounds like it was handled well in my opinion. While
a delay is never an optimal situation, it would not be safe to fly
unpressurized. The altitude at which you need oxygen is 10,000 feet.
It appears, based on public record, that this flight reached an
altitude of 11,000, and began to descend. Likely the pilots were
alerted to the issue by the on board computer system and then decided
to return. It sounds like the passengers were given updates as to the
status and then boarded ASAP. It does take time to unload one
aircraft's luggage and move it to another.

Regarding the original return flight, maintenance issues happen. It
sounds reasonable because they did give out vouchers, etc. Also, $6
sounds cheap, but you could get a fast food meal with that. Nothing
gourmet though.

Regarding the new return flight, weather delays do happen. If there is
a thunderstorm, you can NOT fly through it. All arrivals and
departures must wait until there is no more lightning in the vicinity.
Holding patterns are not convenient for travelers, but are necessary
and are controlled by ATC, not Delta.
Would you rather have the aircraft run out of fuel, or make a stop at
another airport? Its very inconvenient, but a must, and something out
of Delta's control.

I think the circumstances were handled very well. While it may have
been a hellacious experience, I do not think they were wronged in any
way, therefore no compensation is due.

I'll bet you would. So would I.

First of all, I don't think they would send them to you. They would
send them to the travellers who were inconvenienced.

Secondly, I don't believe they are owed anything. The problem on the
first plane, which you said was never identified, was apparently the
cabin air pressure was lost. Have you ever flown in an unpressurized
cabin? Very uncomfortable, and can cause excrutiating pain. Your
aunt should be grateful they turned around.

$6 buys a fast food meal, and they can't control the problems of
scheduling.

Yes, we had very bad storms at some point early this past week. The
flight didn't go to Allentown or Baltimore - it landed as planned. A
bit late. A lot better then flying into a storm or a plane waiting
while avoiding a storm.

Flying can be a stressful experience, but usually we aren't
compensated for the stress. This sounds like one of those
experiences.

I suppose you would have been happier if Delta had just attempted the
flight in a broken plane?

I dont see anything wrong with what they did. It was a dangerous
situation that they had to correct.

Sorry but both those delays were for valid reasons and except for the
cheap dinner voucher, the airline stepped up to the plate and did the
right thing.

On the outbound flight the cabin lost pressure. Would your aunt and
uncle prefer to fly on oxygen when the cabin pressure failed
completely? Why did they not eat? LGA has tons of places to eat from
Burger King up to a sit down restaurant. If they were told to stay by
the gate, one could have gone and got a sandwich or something and the
other could have waited by the gate.

On the return flight, the first flight again had mechanical issues.
Unfortunate but unavoidable. They did get hotel vouchers. Yes, they
got cheepo meal vouchers and that's unfortunate and maybe worth a
small refund.

The next flight had weather delays. The airlines do not control the
weather and the pilots don't make the decisions to stay in holding
patterns, air traffic control does.

It seems your aunt and uncle ran into every conceivable delay but none
are worth free round trip tickets.