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Too much luggage + too short connection = “total nightmare” flight on Delta

July 21, 2009

detroitVivian Rouleau missed her connecting flight to Akron, Ohio, because of baggage. Not hers, but everyone else’s. Worse, her airline didn’t seem to care about the resulting connection problem, even though it seemed to be entirely preventable.

Rouleau’s story, and others like it, suggest the new $15 fees for the first checked bag aren’t just a commercial failure (as I’ve noted in the past, there can be a negative correlation between the fees and an airline’s profitability) but they also have all the makings of a disaster, from an operational perspective.

Consider what happened on Rouleau’s flight.

Our first flight was over 20 minutes late taking off, due to people not clearing the aisles so the crew could get started on their takeoff procedures. This was, of course, because of the huge amount of carry-on baggage that people brought on board in order to not have to pay $15 to check a bag. Even though the rules say one piece of carry-on baggage plus a handbag or briefcase is allowed, and to quote Delta’s online information, it must “fit easily in our SizeCheck unit,” and if not, the bag would have to be checked.

Not one passenger was asked to make sure [the luggage] fit, and they brought everything but live chickens in crates on board. They were stuffing very large duffels into spaces not meant for something that big, and several times a piece with wheels had to be brought down and put in another space where it could be turned sideways to make it fit. A total nightmare!

When she landed in Detroit, the process began over. Rouleau, who was sitting in the back of the plane, had to wait another 20 minutes for everyone to deplane. That left only half an hour to make her Northwest Airlines puddlejumper to Akron.

And the fact that I am 70 years old didn’t help any. We ran on the people movers, we galloped up and down escalators at full speed, and prayed that the tram would get there quickly. We arrived at the departing gate at 12:01 and were told the ramp was closed and we couldn’t board, even though that plane was sitting right where I could see it.

At that point, her best option was to rent a car and drive to Akron.

Of course, we expected the airline to pay for the car rental. The CS person at Delta’s main CS desk looked up our flight on the computer and it showed our flight was a weather-related delay and therefore, the airlines wouldn’t pay for the rental car.

That was outrageous! It was clear and sunny in Fort Lauderdale when we left, and overcast but not raining when we got to Detroit. The sole reason this plane was late was due to the egregiously unfair practice of charging to check a bag.

Oh boy. We’ve seen this a time or two — airlines playing the weather card in order to avoid compensating passengers. Rouleau decided to write a polite letter to Delta, asking it to reconsider. She did, but the form response was a frustrating regurgitation of her own story, preceded by the words “I am truly sorry,” which smacked of insincerity.

I am truly sorry for the inconvenience you were caused when you state that your flight from Fort Lauderdale was delayed over twenty minutes.

Please know that all delays are reported in the Federal Flight Information Data Base. After further review of the Federal Flight Information Data Base, our records indicate that Flight 215 on June 19 was delayed a total of one minute on the departure due to a mechanical issue. It also states that the flight was delayed in route a total of eighteen minutes sue to weather issues. Regrettably, we have no record the over twenty minute delay in departure as you state and the in route delay is an “uncontrollable” delay. I am sorry for any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause.

I suggested Rouleau take this up one level and try one of these contacts at Delta. She did.

Delta second response was far better. It offered her a $50 flight voucher and an “I’m sorry” that sounded a little more genuine.

I understand that some passengers carried their heavy bags as carry on due to which you could not deplane fast. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience you were caused which resulted in missing you (sic) connecting flight.

We know travelers need an airline they can count on, and I recognize how upsetting it is when plans are disrupted. Feedback like you have provided will help us to improve our overall customer experience. Be assured that I have shared your comments with our Airport Customer Service leadership team for internal follow up.

I think the time for talking is over. Delta needs to be a leader and admit a bigger mistake: The $15 luggage fee just doesn’t work.

The sooner Delta eliminates its surcharge for the first checked bag, the sooner problems like this will go away.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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44 comments

  • Blake

    I hate any part of the boarding process now, it was bad before now it is ridiculous. On a flight last weekend I saw a guy boarding with 4 bags; a laptop, a messenger, and two gym bags; and he was by himself.

    I think I read somewhere that TSA is going to start limiting the bags through security.

  • http://www.ffocus.org Bruce InCharlotte

    The problem isn’t that the $15 works or doesn’t. The problem is that the gate agents are not enforcing the carrier’s rule for carry-on size.

  • sami

    My dad, a frequent business traveler, used to always wait until the last to board–what was the point of getting on early, just to sit and wait for everyone else to file on, since we were all going to the same place? Might as well sit in a chair where you can stretch out and walk around rather than be in a cramped airline seat.

    I remember that now as I jostle to be one of the first on board so I can be assured of getting some overhead luggage space, thanks to folks bringing impractically large bags on board.

  • http://cestbeth.com/ Beth

    If the customer was flying FLL-DTW-CAK, then it appears her Delta-coded flights were operated by Northwest/Northwest Airlink, which operate as subsidiaries of Delta and still have their own operating certificates and rules. Perhaps she should take up her complaint with Northwest customer service as well.

  • Michelle B.

    Since Delta doesn’t hub out of Detroit, I have a hard time imagining that 30 minutes isn’t enough time to get from 1 gate to another. While the carry-on issue can cause problems and could have been handled better, Delta is consistently bad for not making the “we have passengers with tight connections, if you are not connecting please stay seated” announcment. Some friends on Delta last month missed their connection off a delayed flight when the jet bridge closed 1 minute after they got there and they wouldn’t reopen even though the plane door had not been closed. Since they were near the back of the plane on the 1st leg, if the flight attendant had just made that announcement, they would have made their flight.

  • Toni

    NO…the sooner Delta (and other airlines) start actually ENFORCING carry-on limits that were in place LONG before the advent of fees for a first checked bag, the sooner this kind of thing will end. Those of us who really DO travel light do NOT want to subsidize, in the price of our ticket, the packing habits/needs/wants of others. This is why so many of us SUPPORT bag fees. We just wish people were not only actually LIMITED in the size/weight and number of bags they carry on, but CHARGED for those as well.

  • Ann, CTC

    Actually, Michelle, since NW and DL are now one carrier, technically DL does hub out of Detroit. With the merger, you could be on DL metal sold as a NW flight, NW metal sold as a DL flight, or any combination thereof. And 30 minutes for a connection, regardless of airline or airport is simply not enough time anymore.

  • Vivian

    This luggage nightmare is my story – thank you Chris for publishing it. What was left out, and to answer a couple of concerns in the above comments, I did complain to Northwest first and CC’d Delta. It was Delta who eventually responded with compensation. Even though Delta and NW have merged, their reservations systems are not linked up, and Delta cannot even make seat assignments on an NW flight (I discovered this when I was given the wrong seats online and couldn’t change them). The other point I want to make is that half an hour to get to a gate might have been enough time, execpt our orignial connection time was 50 minutes, we arrived 20 minutes late, and after deplaning, the gate attendant advised us it would take 15 to 20 minutes to get to the appropriate gate! By the way, Chris, I love the photo that accompanied my story. That very long, psychedelic people mover tunnel in Detroit was a nightmare in itself. Anyone who has every been there can relate!

  • Christopher Elliott

    @Vivian, thanks for answering some of the questions. I had to make some edits to the original letter because of the length. Glad you liked the photo. Hat tip to my friends over at Flickr for that one!

  • Carver

    I’m with the others that believe that the rule culprit is a combination of Delta having a poor connection system and not enforcing carry on rules.

    This is actually another reason why I am a fan of loyalty programs. I generally fly only American Airlines. As such, I have a fairly reasonable understanding of their policies and procedures so I am not likely to miss a flight due to a short connection time because I know what’s realistic for the markets that I travel in.

  • Sarah

    There are a lot of people complaining about missing connections due to being stuck at the back of the plane. Simple solution: choose a seat as close to the front as you can! I realize there are some airlines that charge more for this convenience, but won’t it save a lot of time, hassle, and frustration, especially because you already know you have a tight connection? I try my best to sit near the front and on the aisle, and I have never had a problem making a connection. With online check-in, it is usually easy to get an optimal seat.

    I also try to board early in the regular boarding process (ouside of my sacred “zone”) for this reason alone: People with excessive carry-on luggage tend to place their larger bags in the overhead compartments near the front of the plane and then proceed to the back of the plane where their seats are located. This practice starts the departure delays because, by the time the middle of the plane is boarding, the space directly over their seats is taken, causing passengers to have to scramble up and down the aisles to find a place for their bags. When the plane arrives, those same people have to scurry through the narrow aisles again just to find their bags, causing deplaning delays. It annoys me to no end when I board a plane and see all of the flight attendants standing at the front of the plane guarding the cockpit. Couldn’t one attendant guard the cockpit while the other(s) assist passengers with correct and efficient placement of their bags?

  • Bill

    I agree with the people who are saying that the airlines need to enforce the carry on size restrictions and limits. Whether or not there is a $15 fee should not be an issue in this case. This has been a problem for many years,and the baggage fees have just made it more of a problem.

    On Saturday, I bought my wife a nice, hard sided carry on suitcase. We took it to the airport and made sure it fit into the baggage sizers. We will expect to be able to carry this piece of luggage onboard and will certainly financially penalize (by not flying) any airline where she cannot stow this due to bad enforcement of their policies. It is absurd that airlines seemlingly can stringently enforce other rules and not this one.

  • Josh

    Choosing a seat near the front isn’t always possible, even if one is willing to pay; most flights I check in for only have a handful of seats available.

    Some of this is pure rudeness on the part of fellow passengers that needs to be stopped. Feel free to save the $15 (you paid more than that for the parking or cab ride to the airport), as long as you know you can handle your own bag QUICKLY, both boarding and deplaning. On landing, if you can’t grab your bag on the move, and exit the plane with no gap in front of you, move out of the way and WAIT until others behind you have deplaned. 20 minutes to deplane is ridiculous, and is caused by these me-first buffoons who can’t see the line waiting behind them while they slowly pry their bag out, gently place it on the floor, carefully extend the handle, and only then start walking.

    Remember that airports and airplanes are places where others have legitimate right to be in a hurry due to no fault of their own, and it’s okay to push past or verbally insist that people move out of the way (even if you aren’t in a hurry, those 10 rows behind are). Perhaps more “peer pressure” would speed up the process…

  • Richard

    It may not be practical for everyone, but Delta is off my list for doing exactly what was complained of here. The only way to engender a change is to hit them in the pocketbook. Unfortunately, other than Jet Blue and Southwest, I’m running out of domestic arilines to fly.

  • Christina

    I’ve done a similar flight change at DTW where my 50 min connection time, combined with weather issues, and the 20 min deplaning nearly made me miss my second flight. Which then sat on the taxiway for an hour and a half because of thunderstorms. Figures ;) Regardless the airport is set up where if you need to go from a turboprop plane to a larger jet or vice versa it’s very difficult to do in 20 mins and I’m a bit younger than the person in the article. So its something to keep in mind when using that airport. I also try to sit near the front of the plane as much as possible when I know I’m making that kind of connection to increase my chances of getting off plane 1 quickly and making plane 2. That might have helped some in this situation

  • Jen

    Asking the flight attendants to be in the aisles helping with luggage is a ridiculous suggestion. Have you ever tried to walk down the aisle when it is perfectly clear (aka people in a single-file line)? It’s hard enough as it is without another person standing in the aisle and having to push herself (or himself) out of the way so they can walk by. When I was lucky enough to sit in first class once, the flight attendant did a pre-flight beverage service for us in first. It looked difficult to just walk past the travellers with suitcases and bags in order to give us our beverages, and that was just for 4 rows. Imagine for a plane with 30-36 rows.

  • Joe Farrell

    I tried to figure out of the OP was telling the whole story and the facts make me wonder.

    NWA 215 operated from FLL-DTW on 19 Jun as:
    http://tinyurl.com/mmdctn

    Total flight time was 2:36 – departing at 8.41 arriving at 11.17am

    The flights for the 1 week before and after took between 2:18 – 2:36 according to FAA records and generally were wheels up anywhere from 8:33-8:48 – so this flight was well within the standard range for operation of the flight. I do not see a 20 min wait anywhere. The flight the next day arrived at 11.23, the day after at 11.20, so I am not seeing any untoward delay of this flight.

    She had 50 minutes between flights – which is cutting it pretty close for an elderly woman who is unable to move fast. The issue for me is that this was not the last flight to Akron for the day. 12.01pm is not the last flight of the day, nor the last flight on anyone else. Further, why did you have seat at the rear of the aircraft? Did you not get a set before departure? Many older people forget to reserve a seat in advance and are stuck with whats left.

    Look, Delta-northworst should have accommodated you given the situation on the next flight – unless you are going to football hall of fame weekend I see no set of facts where there are 2 available later in the day. Renting a car and driving 3.5 hours seems a little extreme.

    Sure, airlines need to do someone about bags and the carryon issue, but at the end of the day one is responsible for dealing with what happens and there is no evidence that northworst could not accomodate these folks on the later flight.

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  • Merryl

    On the remote possibility that Delta is reading this, let them know that I have willingly paid more for a flight on another airline that was not charging for the first checked bag. My primary reason for this is to NEVER have the experience that Rouleau had. I don’t want to fly on an airplane full of people who are desperately trying not to check a bag. Frankly, I’d rather they charge everyone $15 more in the base fare. Maybe then they’d actually make some steady profits and be able to treat their employees and customers with some respect.

  • Jen

    The problem with charging the $15 more in the base fare and not charging for luggage is that some people don’t use suitcases when travelling. When I’ve flown to visit my family for a weekend, I just have a few things in a carry-on because I leave a drawer of my clothes at their house. It wouldn’t be fair to travellers who don’t need to bring any luggage.

    Personally I have no problem paying the $15 fee for luggage. To me, it’s no big deal and I avergage it in when budgeting for my trip (same with the cost of the SuperShuttle and the price of a bottle of water past security).

  • http://www.travelite.org Lani Teshima

    Clearly, Delta is at fault for not enforcing its carry-on rules. If they are going to charge a fee for even one checked piece of luggage, then they need to judiciously size up all bags at both the check-in gate as well as at the gate itself. I realize this would be more work for the gate agent, but what do they expect? A family of 4 isn’t going to want to pay $60 (or more) one way just for their bags.

    I know the major carriers are trying to appear competitive against the budget airlines–my understanding is that the perception is that the public doesn’t think about all the service fees (much less service) when they are comparing prices at Travelocity or Orbitz. It means the big airlines have to appear to offer the same airfare… then they try to make it up with various fees. Very sad. They should just call it a “baggage handling fee” and charge everyone $15 if they have to tack it on, but the way it’s done now is just crazy.

    Now, what people REALLY need to learn is how to pack a carry-on correctly so they DO meet size requirements. People travel with too much stuff!

  • Mary H

    Okay, so when i board continental on my next flight, do I need to carry and umbrella and poke my way to the front. Maybe 1.5 hours won’t be enough time to transfer to my international flight?
    What’s wrong with this picture when people can afford ticket,taxes, and fees, but not the checked on baggage fee? What’s that, three or four coffees from starbucks?

  • http://luggageseries.com/ Vivian

    In reply to Joe Farrell, the plane DID leave 20 minutes later than the published departure time. Now I know they build in extra time, and the actual flight time is not what it appears to be on paper, but that’s probably why they thought a 50 minute layover to make a connection would have been sufficient had the plane left at the actual time my ticket said it would. We would have arrived earlier than expected, and the 20 minute hike/run to the connecting gate would have been doable. As for other flights to CAK that day, there were none until 9:00 the next morning! The only alternative was to fly into CLE at 7pm (it was now noon in Detroit) – a long wait, or a 3:00 into Columbus which was no help at all. We finally got a Pinnacle flight at 6:00 into CLE and my family had to pick me up there instead of CAK, which is 10 minutes from their house rather than an hour and a half away. BTW, my $15.00 checked bag did arrive on schedule at CAK, and my son had to go pick it up for me there.
    Should mention great post! Looking forward to reading the next one!

  • ed

    I wish I could remember the airline I was on, but it was a puddle jumper (I think it was Durango to Denver) and the flight attendant asked if anyone had a tight schedule flight to catch in Denver. My wife and I raised our hands and the flight attendant took our name and flight/airline and allowed us to deplane first. They then called ahead to the CS desk to inform them we were arriving and to expect us. Once we deplaned, we had to climb up several flights of stairs, run on the people-movers and we got to our gate just in time…you could see the CS standing in the doorway looking around to see if she could see us…I felt that was a great service. Unfortunately I can’t remember the airline.
    Ed

  • Brad

    @Sarah, I find your comment that “I also try to board early in the regular boarding process (ouside of my sacred “zone”)” to be part of the self-centeredness that causes many of the problems being discussed on here. If you try to sneak into an earlier boarding zone than the one on your ticket, you’re causing delays and inconveniences for the travelers that play by the rules and are boarding when they’re supposed to. Ironically, you seem to justify this inconsideration by suggesting that if you didn’t, there would be no way to put your bags near your seat because of the travelers ahead of you who use the front luggage space without consideration for the passengers who will be sitting there.

    Self centered actions on the parts of others do not justify the same by yourself. If you are at a football game and you stand up on your seat to get a better view, you will indeed have a better view than the other people in attendance . . . until the other 70,000 people also stand up and everyone has the same view as they started with. As travelers, we need to remember that we’re all in the same boat (or plane) and act accordingly.

  • ed

    @sami

    I used to do the same thing, until one time on a flight from Honolulu to Dallas Texas (a v-e-r-y long flight) we were one of the last to board, and when we got to our seat, someone had stolen our pillows and blankets. So during this long flight, we had no pillows or blankets…and to make matters worse, when the option came to purchase food, they ran out of food before they even got to us! Luckily I had a can of Macadamia nuts with me! Sheesh.
    Ed

  • Joe Farrell

    Vivian – the flight left what 20 minutes late? Left the GATE 20 min late or took off 20 min after scheduled departure time.

    Honestly – we need to know more facts – what time was the scheduled arrival time at the gate in DTW? What time did you get there? Was the door opened promptly? Or was there a delay waiting for a gate agent? Departure times are not relevant. Arrival times are relevant, since, as you noted, they have many minutes built in as fluff for the inevitable problems.

    30 min to get a connection from time off the airplane is tight but doable. The problem for you is that they probably closed the gate early since it is a remote gate. We also have no idea what time the connecting flight was scheduled to leave – which is a very important fact. Was it 12p? or 12.10p THAT is the claim against DL – that they closed the gate access before departure time – and – you DID present yourself at your originating gate, the one in FLL, on time – they dropped the ball by failing to accommodate you.

    Are you telling me there were no flights to Canton, not through ORD, or CMH or even EWR at any time that day. I find that hard to believe. And that was YOUR mistake – you need to ALWAYS know your options. If told the DL gate agent that there was a flight from DTW-Cinci to CAK on DL they would have accommodated you. Or even one on AA from DTW-ORD-CAK.

    If this is not a situation where you need to know your alternatives – I don’t know what is . . .

  • FL Traveler

    WOW! And no consideration given her age. Not that 70 is ancient but I would hardly expect any mature traveler should be expected to “run” to get their connection. Whatever happened to calling ahead and making the planes aware of the delay? Or is that too a long – gone practice.

    I question all these “weather – related” excuses. Recently a friend booked from Chicago to BWI. They pulled the same thing on her. Got her into Regan near to midnite instead. Her car was at BWI. No one could go get her at midnight and there were very limited transportation options at that time of night between the 2 airports. She is still waiting a reply and hopefuly some type of compensation. (Needless to say, weather at both locations and in between seems fine — unless the TV radar was wrong.)

  • Vivian

    Joe: In respose to your post, the flight was due to depart FLL at 8:20a and actually left the gate at 8:40. I agree, it’s the arrival time that’s what’s important, and quite honestly, I don’t recall what time we actually landed, but I do know we stood in the aisle for a very long time before people started leaving the aircraft after they collected their many bags from overheads. And FYI, before we left FLL, the attendants were pleading with people to clear the aisle so they could prepare for takeoff. It was rather chaotic just getting the carryons stowed and the aisles cleared. The plane was scheduled to land at 11:19, and I have to take your word that it did. That said, we MIGHT have had enough time to get to the connecting gate IF we hadn’t been held up so long getting off the plane, and IF it wasn’t at least a 20 minute trek to the departing gate for a young able-bodied person who could run all the way, and IF Northwest had notifed the departing flight that there were passengers with a tight connection and that they should hold up a minute. The flight for CAK was due to depart at 12:04, we arrived at the gate at 12:00. The ramp had been locked and we were told it was too late to board. Then she said, you have to be at the gate at least 20 minutes before departure anyway or we will give your seats to someone else. Twenty mintues before departure we were still racing down escalators! I think the reality was that they had sold our seats before we got halfway there. On the other flights we took during this trip, almost every one was oversold and the agents were making announcements begging people to give up their seat if they could make a change in their plans, and they were offered all kinds of perks to do this. Our seat was INVOLUNTARILY given away. They weren’t worried about us not making our connection because they were plenty of people who wanted it. The plane would not have left with our seats empty, I assure you. There were loads of standbys on every leg of our trip, also. And yes, Joe, they checked all airlines and there were no other flights or connections to CAK. And when we finally were able to score ONE seat on the CLE flight at 6:00, were we told another one would most likely open up, and we SHOULD be able to both get on that flight. That was five hours of angst wondering if we would indeed be on that flight. Any other questions? I’ll be happy to answer.

  • Vivian

    Joe – One other observation. You seem to know what time we landed (do you work for Delta by any chance?), and according to you we arrived on time. Why, they, did the agent deny our request for a rental car after she checked her computer and determined our flight delay was weather related and therefore they weren’t obligated to give us an compensation? And the reason we thought driving was a good idea was because, at that time, the earliest she could get us on a flight to CLE was 7:00p, and since it was noon, and the drive from Detroit was only three or three and a half hours according to a Delta employee who does it all the time, we would have arrived in Canton around 4:00 instead of into CLE at 8:00 with another hour or more drive back to Canton.

  • Kathy Bible

    I don’t blame the airlines for charging a bag check fee. I think $15.00 each way is reasonable and it’s worth the cost to me not to have to lug around a bag. I’m disabled so I couldn’t take the suitcase even if I wanted to. People should not be so cheap. Most of the folks I’ve seen trying to stuff huge bags into tiny spaces look like they could well afford the bag check fee. I just have to laugh when I see people with expensive jewelry and electronic toys schlepping huge bags all just to save a few dollars. Penny wise and pound foolish I say. And if folks truly can’t afford the bag check fee then they should take less stuff. Less IS more!

  • Nigel Appleby

    Perhaps instead of charging for checked baggage the airlines should charge for carry on. Then the overhead lockers and the aisles and.. would be empty. However they would need more baggage handlers and delays would be caused by waiting for the plane to be unloaded. We just can’t win!

  • Rob S.

    As if the $15 fee wasn’t bad enough, heard on the radio this afternoon that Delta has started charging an *additional* $5 fee to check your bags in at the airport. The only way to avoid the fee is to check in online. (So I guess this means they’re penalizing customers who do not have Internet access) When will the madness end?
    There’s a reason I only consider Jetblue and Southwest for my airline travel (even though a close friend works for USAirways, he knows I won’t fly with them…)

  • Lisa S

    @Toni, I am glad you apparently need no luggage when you travel and would love to know how you do it; but I don’t see why anyone should have to pay for a reasonably-sized carry to be brought on the plane. Planes are essentially flying buses that have you TRAPPED for the duration of your flight, including that time spent on the tarmac because some idiot thought arriving early was a good idea even though everyone knew there would be no gate available upon arrival. Note: I am not blaming the pilot who probably has no control over the situation and is putting the best spin on the situation. The entire airline industry needs to get its act together and figure out how to provide customer service. Until then, nightmares like the one above will continue to happen over and over and over again.

  • Lisa S

    @Sarah, thanks for the heads up about boarding outside the “sacred zone.” @Brad, maybe if people wouldn’t use overhead compartments not associated with their row, then boarding outside the sacred zone would be self-centered. However, with so many rude people combined with flight attendants who do nothing to make sure that people have overhead space available to them in their row, others have to take actions to protect themselves. I have tried to behave according to my courteous beliefs and, in our self-centered society, I get screwed most of the time (just think how airlines and their staff behave!). I am now starting to practice a little self-care. Having said that, Brad, I do wish people were more polite and considerate.

    Now I understand why some airlines board starting with the front of the plane: it prevents the people sitting in the back of the plane from putting their carry-on luggage where it doesn’t belong.

  • Lisa S

    @Vivian, my mother can’t walk well–which obviously is not a problem for you if you were racing through the airport. We have started requesting wheelchair assistance for her. Through this process I have learned security is a lot faster, and the airline often puts her in a forward row. I haven’t yet figured out how to get one of those little cars to pick her up from one gate and take her to the connecting gate because we usually take direct flights, but that might be something for you to look into if you ever travel Delta-Northworst (I liked that, Joe.) again.

  • Dan

    “Twenty minutes for an able bodied person”

    With DTW’s tram system, a good 90% of the gates or so are easily accessible within 10 minutes tops…

  • Vivian

    If you’ve ever had to connect through a Detroit remote gate – and I do not recommend this – it would be impossible to hitchhike a ride on a cart, unless they have one that can do escalators. I lost count of how many very steep escalators we had to negotiate. What I should have done was hop on the baggage cart! My luggage made the flight, so I could have too :-) You’re right, the tram is great, but it was only for part the trip through the airport. Two different employees said it would taje 20 minutes, and they were right. Even with these short little legs pedaling as fast as they could. This is a connection that never should have been put on the schedule. Before the merger, Delta used Delta Connections Comair through Cincinnati. That was always a good trip.

  • Vivian

    Here I go again, responding to my own post, but I just remembered a couple of airports where you boarded a bus and were transported across the tarmac to a far away gate. Are you listening Detroit?

  • Anonymous

    So you arrived at the gate at 12:00 for a 12:04 departure time? If so Delta was correct to deny you boarding – you must be boarded 10 minutes before departure according to the rules of most if not all airlines. While it would’ve been nice if they had held the plane for you, I imagine all the other people on the Akron flight would’ve been having the same frustration you had on that flight from Ft. Lauderdale if they had. And then people on the next flight from Akron that were waiting on that plane would’ve been delayed, and so on throughout the day.

    I think the problem is your request for a rental car wasn’t reasonable. I’m not saying their contract of carriage is correct but it does say they will get you their on their airline – not on any other airline, and certainly not by Hertz, Avis, or Budget. So demanding they pay for a rental car instead of getting accommodated on a later flight seems unreasonable to me – unless they told you there was absolutely no way to get you to your destination that day (or to other airports in the vicinity as pointed out above).

  • Toni

    All this talk about “calling ahead and telling them to hold the plane for us.” If the airlines did this, not a single plane would ever, EVER, leave on time, EVER.

  • Vivian

    What, then, is one supposed to do when they miss a flight through no fault of their own? That was a connection that could not be made under the best of circumstances and should never have been offered. Would you take a flight to “somewhere on the way to your destination,” and then sit around for seven hours waiting for a way to get there? You wouldn’t have started out in the first place if you hadn’t made plans ahead of time to finish your trip. That’s why I’ve never gone standby and never intend to. This was a confirmed itinerary, not a pay your money and take your chances trip.

  • Sarah

    @Brad- It generally makes little difference what order is used:
    http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/vandenbr/projects/boarding/boarding.htm

    The study even says that “Random” boarding is best! It appears that I’m actually helping the situation by boarding outside of my zone.

  • Joe Farrell

    No – I’m not employed by Delta! If you go to my first post in this thread you will see a link to Flightaware.com – THEY have a record of every flight.

    In your case, you have a very good claim against Delta – you won’t bring it cause it costs more to prosecute than you would get.
    p
    As to Anon – she WAS on board her DEPARTING flight timely – this – she satisfied the 10 min rule – plus DL knew she was coming. She was on her inbound flight. If you read the contract of carriage you only have to be on the first departing flight of the day to satisfy their rules.

    Vivian – like I said – you ALWAYS need to know your options – just because you have 55 min scheduled between flights does not mean it is enough time. You could have gotten on a flight to ORD – leaving at 12.45p – arrive in Chicago 1 hour later – and then had 90 min to connect to a United flight to Akron at 2.15 CDT arriving in CAK at 4.15p EDT. You needed to make a polite right then and there.

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