Delta JFK problems thread

htree

Hello all,

I've just returned home from New York after scooping up the £160 tickets for me and my boyfriend in September.

Anyone on the flight that was due to take off on Thursday at 7pm will know the problems experienced, but for those who don't, heres a quick guide:

Flight was cancelled on then Thursday (after being delayed for 6 hours and us sitting on the plane for an hour and a half) due to technical problems related to the weather (few inches of snow and ice - hardly unusual for NY in February!).
We were constantly lied to by rude staff who all contradicted each other and had no communication.
Forced to stay overnight in the gate, with no blankets or pillows provided (although most of us did steal some off the plane)
We had to queue for up to 6 hours in the middle of the night to be rebooked onto a flight the next day.
Staff consistently refused to answer questions, walked away when spoken to politely and told people to sit down and shut up.
We were given $14 of meal vouchers each for the following day - which hardly bought anything as the airport food was horribly overpriced.
Our luggage was left in the baggage claim area, unattended overnight, in front of an open doorway - and really battered, with broken wheels, dented cases and broken zips.
After spending the next day in the airport, some managed to escape home by flying via Amsterdam or Berlin.
The unfortunate ones were booked onto the 7:20pm Brussels flight, which was delayed for 6 hours, after which the crew timed out and we were told we couldn't fly ot Brussels.
After a lot of confusion, we were told to board the plane to fly to Atlanta where another crew was put on board to fly us to Brussels.
12 hours after leaving JFK, we arrived in Brussels to find that we had missed all connecting flights to London and therefore had to spend the night at Bussels, although we were put up in a hotel.
The next morning we flew home with no disruption (although this was probably due to the fact that we were with BMI!).

All in all it was a nightmare.

Is anybody else complaining? What excuses have you received? Whats your plan of action?

Anyone on the flight, please feel free to email me or PM me.

Thanks, Helen (and Ali)

jonesMUFCforever

I saw the weather conditions on the news hardly a few inches of snow and ice!!!
Have you checked the terms and conditions of the airline to see if it says what should have happened in your case?
It did look horrendous but my gut instinct says that their only obligation is to get you from A to B which they did eventually!
I do not know enough of the airline regulations in the US to be able to comment as to whether you are due compensation.

_Andy_

Might be worth posting at

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=489

PBA

According to the article about the storm on Wikipedia, there were record snowfalls (up to 42" in New York state), at least 34 deaths, states of emergency declared in many areas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2007_North_America_winter_storm
You can't blame the airline for not being able to fly in those conditions, and if the problems you have are weather related then it's down to your travel insurance to pay for your hotel rather than the airline.

elainew

Hi there
My sister was on the same flight as you. Her name was Anne and she had 2 teenage boys with her and her hubbie. She has the same story as you--treated disgustingly . She says weather played no part in it as other flights were taking off and landing. She got home yesterday evening after 3 days of hell. They landed in heathrow and then had to pay £120 in a taxi to collect their car in Gatwick.
They will be complaining !!
I've directed her to this page

htree

There were horrible conditions in upstate New York, but the city only had about 2 inches of snow a couple of days before (it was no longer snowing when at the airport) and the only reason there was ice was due to the fact that they had not gritted anything.

There were snow ploughs and gritters on the runway, which was why every other airline could take off, however Delta did not grit the gates and holding bays of the planes.

I'm glad someone else from the flight has found this page, hopefully it will help if more people write to complain.

AnneK_3

I'm Anne and I was on the flight from JFK to Gatwick last Thursday with my hubby and 2 boys.
Can I just say that the weather in New York State had indeed been horrendous but NY state is an big place and NY city only had a couple of inches of snow-so nothing unusual for this time of year!
The reason we were given by the captain for the flight being cancelled was"mechanical" not weather. We eventually arrived home on Sunday afternoon very tired and a couple of hundred pounds less in my pocket than I had been expecting. Having to arrive into Heathrow instead of Gatwick resulted in taxi journey costing £127 and an excess payment to the carpark. Why should I have to pay for this?? We're definately going to try for compensation as we are not covered for such incidentals on our holiday insurance.
We appreciate things don't always go to plan but Delta's Customer service is none existant. Courtesy and respect go a long way to making you feel valued as a customer but sadly both were none existant last Thursday and Friday!!!!

htree

The customer service was indeed non existant. I've just received a text from Vicky who was also with us and she said she has rung up Delta and they said to send photocopies of any receipts we have.

I'm expecting more than reimbursing the extras though, I missed 3 days of work and my best friends 18th Birthday celebration, which I planned for everyone!

htree

Look at this:

On Delta's own website:

What do you provide for your customers who are delayed overnight due to a delay or cancellation within Delta's control?
When customers who are away from their home or destination are inconvenienced overnight due to a delay or cancellation within Delta's control, we will provide meals and hotel accommodations at Delta contracted facilities, based on availability.

What if no hotel rooms are available at Delta contracted facilities, at Delta contracted rates?
If Delta is unable to secure a hotel room for a customer at a Delta contracted facility, at the Delta contracted rate, you will receive a Transportation Credit Voucher that is equal in value to the Delta contracted hotel rate for that city and may be used toward future Delta transportation and most travel-related services


This was not offered to us!