Anyone who flies a bunch has run into problems with their seats. Either the power ports don’t work or are broken, headphone jacks are loose, tray tables are not perfect or even in some cases completely missing! Yes, that happened to me as you can see above — and while eating dinner on my lap was a bit of a pain it was better than many hours in a coach seat.
Most times, these types of events are a minor annoyance compared to say a seat that is really broken to the point that it is not safe to use and you are required to move to another seat.
That is not what happened to very frequent Delta Diamond Medallion flyer Wayne Frongello from Orlando, Florida.
For some background, Mr. Frongello is such a frequent flyer that he has already by this point of the year qualified for Delta’s top Diamond Medallion status for next year, that is, 2024. He’ll be Diamond through January 2025.
On January 20, this year he was booked to fly Delta flight DL837 from Atlanta to Hawaii in Delta One: a ticket that he paid $7,564 for round trip to and from the island.
While waiting at the gate to board, he was paged by the Delta Air Lines gate agent and was told unfortunately the in-flight entertainment system at his seat was broken — and he would have to be moved to a Main Cabin (coach) seat.
Wait – really?
Yes, really!
Now I don’t know about you but I have never, in my well over 1 million miles flown with Delta Air Lines, ever been told my seat could not be used or occupied due to a broken video system, nor can I understand how this would make the seat unusable or unsafe in any way.
Mr. Frongello informed the Delta agent the video issue did not really matter to him — he had things to read and could watch movies on his iPad.
The Delta agent insisted he would have to move to coach – period.
It got worse. Much worse.
RELATED: Delta Gate Agent Sets His Own Policy Against Upgrading Families
The Delta agent even told Mr. Frongello that his upgraded had cleared and as an upgrade passenger he would be downgraded and he would have to fly in coach to Hawaii.
Mr. Frongello held firm that he was not an upgraded passenger and had, in fact, paid full fare — over $7500 dollars — for his Delta One seat and would not fly the 10+ hour flight in a coach seat.
The Delta agent finally relented and allowed him to board the flight.
Lo and behold when boarding the plane it turns out the video system worked just fine. There was simply nothing at all wrong with his seat and it was not unsafe to fly in anyway.
We reached out to Delta Air Lines regarding this event and were told the following:
“While this customer was able to fly in their assigned Delta One seat, we apologize that their experience was not up to our standards. We are committed to providing a positive and welcoming experience for all of our customers when flying with Delta.” – Delta spokesperson
I have also been informed that Delta has reached out to Mr. Frongello personally regarding the attempted downgrade from Delta One to coach and that he was offered no compensation and he is now exploring his options at this point as to why this happened.
What do you think about this? Have you ever had a Delta agent downgrade you for a broken in-flight entertainment system? – René
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Wow!!! This is incredible !!! The passenger needs to rectify to Delta Airlines and get his full $7000+ the inconvenience and give him a trip in first class anywhere to compensate his bad bad trip!!!
I hope this doesn’t happen to me or anyone as I travel with DELTA AIRLINES myself…..
I experienced the same on my flight to Zurich last year October. My Delta one seat had no power to the entertainment and seat. After numerous complaints, while still seated, I was offered 10k points and a downgrade to the main cabin with no option of any refund or catch the next day’s flight. After I refused, I was threatened I would be kicked off the flight and that I was delaying takeoff. To avoid any embarrassment, I got off the plane and got rebooked for the next day. I got to Zurich, and I was informed my luggage was left behind in Atlanta. I had no suit for my Monday meeting, and In Zurich, no stores are opened apart from H&M at the Airport. For all my troubles and numerous emails, I was offered $200. Story of my life
outrageous
That’s so terrible!
You supposed to be compensate for cost of ticket plus additional 3300 per fda rules. You should consult with lawyer. Go to your local news channel.
LOL….fda, I think you mean FAA. FDA is food drug adm.
I quit flying Delta years ago bc of horrible treatment and lack of concern for their customers.
Wow! That is so wrong, power and ego has become the new norm with these flight attendants. They tend to lie and makeup their own rules as they see fit. This man paid $7500 for his flight, so why would he move to coach to be squished?Everyone knows the airlines squeeze you in like cattle in coach. Absolutely no leg room. I’d be really pissed! He definitely should be compensated with a free 1st class ticket.
The days of the kind and curtious and super friendly stewardess who loved their job and actually catered to the paying customers is gone! Flying has become so terrible I avoid it with a passion. I’ve been flying since I’m 4. The service now provided is minimal at best!
Flight attendants had nothing to do with this. Read the article…cheez
This is horrendous behavior but not shocking to me. Almost the same thing happened to me, sans the lame broken video excuse. I was told they needed the seat for an air marshal. A gentleman in his 80s at least took the seat. When I complained the attendant threatened to kick me off the flight. I will never never fly Delta again.
I surprised they explicitly said there was an air marshal on board.
Something similar happened to my sister in law and her husband. They were in the bulkhead seats in Comfort+ Atl to HNL. Flight to Hawaii was fine, but they were moved to the back of the plane because “someone with a disability” needed their seats. The guy and gal who took their seats were not obviously disabled. In fact, they were living it up in the Skyclub before the flight. It was clearly some sort of payoff. My SIL didn’t have status on Delta. But they PAID for their seats. Compensation was a $200 flight voucher. They aren’t travelers, so that wasn’t very helpful. It really put a damper on an otherwise lovely vacation.
Wow, the “disability” card makes it hard to pitch a fit here.
Still, isn’t the responsibility of the person with a disability to make arrangements ahead of time? I would have been tempted to demand an upgrade to first then….
What’s even more outrageous is they seemingly don’t have to refund the fare difference? Has anyone tried contesting with their credit card company? It would seem very clear to me that service was paid for that was not rendered….
I’m thinking the gate agent was approached by someone with money in hand soon to be in agent’s picket to find a first class seat. they just picked the wrong person to dislodge.
Bingo
Sounds about right!
My sentiment exactly.
They do that same thing happened to me with Hawaiian airlines they upgrade seats for money when I complained they kicked me out and they lost a loyal frequent flyer since then I fly with Southwest
Totally agree, he was being scammed by an unscrupulous Stewardess or steward. Reeks of bad conduct.
Flight attendants do NOT take money for upgrades. Having been one for 40+ years I can safely say that we would look at it as entrapment and an excuse to fire us. DL flight attendants (and please, the terms ‘stewards/stewardess’ went out with the 60’s) are not unionized and would be terminated instantly. I can only think of once where someone offered me a hundred bucks and I immediately notified the captain.
And cops taking money is illegal and internal affairs was created to catch crooked cops, yet there are crooked cops taking bribes out there.
I paid a flight attendant AFTER she upgraded me once. I was upgraded per the request of a first class passenger. I was so thankful the flight attendant had been so nice I put some money in my used drink glass. She was happy, I was happy that she was happy, it worked out great.
You probably shouldn’t have let everyone in on the fact that you bristle at the outdated titles. I know people will use it just to be a snot.
I call BS.
@Wanda Collins – why SHOULDN’T he “bristle” at an incorrect term? Even though I used the term “stewardess” in the 70’s and maybe 80’s, I no longer do. My father worked for, and retired from, the airlines, I flew quite a bit on his discount, and was told the term “stewardess” was no longer appropriate and was actually somewhat demeaning.
Times change. You may not like it, but no one can stop it. You learn, you grow, you adapt. And you don’t intentionally offend.
[Person attack removed]
Exactly what I was thinking. Gate agent corruption.
Or wanted to upgrade a relative or friend/ And probably money in hand
Agent sold the seat! No doubt!
More like the agent’s mom was non-revving in coach. With the downgrade, no one would be any the wiser the seat wasn’t available for an “complimentary” upgrade. Shady agent!! How disappointing. Not to be one of those saying what you “should’ve done” but I would’ve asked for a manager at the gate.
That or the agent had a family member or friend trying to fly on stand by first class
I was thinking the same thing!
Hello!
I experienced an issue very similar to this incident in June of 2022, flying from STL to BHM, with a layover in ATL.
The gate agent “informed” me that my full fare first class seat was no longer available due to a “plane change”. However, someone was in that seat and it was not me. Either Delta overbooked and gave the seat to someone else, even tho I had checked in within the 24 hr period, as soon as possible. I asked the gate agent to check when the person assigned the first class seat had purchased the ticket(I had purchased in Feb of 2022) and when that individual had checked in. Also, before I left my location to get to the airport, everything was in order. I was at the check-in counter at least 1 1/2 hrs before boarding as well. So, in a matter of 20-25 mins, I was bumped from my seat. To Delta’s credit, I was offered a later flight in first class, but it would have meant a 5or6 hr wait in the airport. I took the less expensive seat, and finally returned home. A few days later, I waited on the phone for 2+ hrs before finally being serviced by a CSR. I was somewhat compensated…I remained calm. So very disappointed in Delta and especially the check-in counter agents in First class section of STL airport. Rude, and really no customer service …I certainly hope this gentleman will follow up with any and all accommodation owed to him by Delta. Somehow, I don’t think the President of Delta condones these employees’ behavior. I truly believe he is trying to keep Delta as customer centered as possible. Hopefully, the few employees that are the bad apples of the bunch can be dismissed sooner, rather than later, given the state of airline affairs these days!
Seem to me that there has been an over abundance of complaints about Delta, from there stewardess being rude and I’m obnoxious to their gate agent
I refuse to fly Delta because of their poor rating in customer service
I had a similar experience only worse. Delta Gate staff and several others came to take me off the Planw. I had two small dogs, mother and daughter and I purchased a full fare extra seat to put one dog under the seat ahead of the seat I purchased. How did they allow me to get all the way to my seat knowing full well that the ticket agent with his supervisor and on the phone to an expert supervisor told me to purchase the full fare seat for my dog. I was mortified. The lady in the window seat took my dog and they let me stay on the plane from Portland, OR to DETROIT, MI. I was going to Winston Salem, NC for cancer surgery. They dumped me out in Detroit, stranded. The flight atendents went to the top people, my son threatened to call the media because I am 77 years old and they put me out stranded. Also the Agent took my ricket and told me I would be compancated. They never refunded me my ticket but the agent received a call from the top, thanks to the flight attendents . I was put on a plain with my two very small dogs. The rules clearly stated that two small dogs of the same breed can fly together. I WILL NEVER FLY DELTA Again. I WAS TREATED LIKE SCUM.
These agents need better training -period. And when a paying customer is booted that’s bull crap….shouldn’t be allowed, particularly if it’s a senior citizen or a child. I worked in reservations for 2 yrs and back then that kind of stuff never happened, I really don’t know what has happened and why people have gotten to the point they are so rude and nasty to each other but I do know it all started with trump.
When are people going to stop blaming Trump for everything wrong in the world?? Rude people & those trying to change things to benefit themselves have gone on since the beginning of man kind!!! Time for people to take responsibility for their own actions!!! Bring back true customer service!!! To keep a loyal customer is to treat them with respect and provide a great service!!
Of course it’s Trump’s fault. How bout it’s bad manners and actions of the individual. You people are ridiculous blaming everything on Trump. Need to come up with new material and get a reality check. No wonder the US is a hot mess. Whiners and excuses. So sick of these folks.
It indeed all started with trump. I’ve been saying this all along.
You cannot blame poor service at Delta to an ex-president-there is no possible link the two. What could a president have to do with bad service at an airline…I’ll answer that one…NOTHING. Hate or love Trump, you cannot blame him for this.
Why not blame COVID… it started then
Oh another one of those demodiots.
Are you sure it started with Trump? Not with Abraham Lincoln?
Alright, kids, let’s slow it down and keep it a little on topic.
Yea, I don’t think all the people I have seen hitting flight attendants and throwing punches look much like Trump supporters.
I think where Wendy’s statement is coming from is that tRump made it cool to half the country that being rude and ignorant to others is fine. Yes those types of people have always been around, but once the leader of the free world sets that example and a fervent base cheering him on. It’s only a matter of time before it “trickles down” to the masses.
Hey Mike, So I guess Biden is the reason so many people are acting stupid then?
Look, It wasn’t Trump. It was the airlines own policies during Covid that started all this. Forcing masking. Throwing people off planes for wanting to just breathe. Arresting people. If you even questioned them, you were accused of disruption (or worse) and removed. This created an atmosphere of unrestricted power among the airlines staff. Now, they think they can do anything they want to their customers.
@Rsm61 *sigh* it’s cool and I understand that in your eyes, your deity can do no wrong. I feel bad that you can’t express your view in an adult manner without the name calling or that a peice of cloth over your face to ride PUBLIC transportation can make you lose it. My statement was just an observation, I guess this is the world we live in. I am actually in the category of people that believes both parties are garbage for the majority of Americans (ie. working class) so with that being said I yield to your “superiority” and shall bid you adieu.
One cannot fly with 2 pets in cabin unless one is service animal.
The gate agent was trying to steal a first class seat for one of her coworkers. This happens all the time on Delta. Domestic airlines can no longer be trusted to treat elites well. As a result, I fly charter when available.
“The elites?” Geez, might as well say the poors are back in main cabin. The entitlement of some people…
No words. You make it sound as if you are better than the plebes. Such entitlement put to words I have never seen.
Can you afford a $7500 plane ticket? If not, then yes, you’re a plebe. There’s no shame in that. Elite status is real, sad but true.
He actually was never inconvenienced, was he? Except for maybe the 5 minute conversation he had with a misinformed agent.
According to Elise Demel he had a bad bad trip. Actually, once he boarded, the trip was comfortable, on-time, and with great service.
It wasn’t your complaint nor your flight. It seems like you are sticking your nose into something you had no business in. Your trying to make excuses for a Delta agent screw up. I stopped flying Delta decades ago.
Actually he was, he had to go through hell to get onto the plane when he should have been able to just check in and board. There shouldn’t be the issues that are occurring, there shouldn’t be the unethical, dishonest, disrespectful conduct that is occurring at all levels of the individuals employed by the airlines. It is not acceptable nor is it legal. PERIOD!
I like to see the other side of the story. Always onesided. Plus that seat might me MELed. Which is a relief that the airlines and FAA have agreed upon., so the plane doesnt get grounded. It is very simple to ground an airplane. The pilot can refuse that airplane for that seat. Would that make economical sense too. B737 Max 8 cost over $100,000,000. What do you think a larger plane cost?
The seat was blocked out for maintenance MEL. Even it may not be a safety issue. It may be a regulatory compliance issue. Every leg the plane flies out of compliance it can be a $11k fine.
Yes go get compensated. Sorry they did that. They all do that. At every airline. And no I dont work for Delta. Just imagine what it was like before deregulation. Fares were more expensive 30 years ago compared to the income back then percent wise
Like I said. Other options are another airline, a boat, a train, a bus, a car, or dont go at all. Zoom it. Your money.
SO – if that was the case, it should have been an immutable “no-go” from the gate agent, right?
The fact that she backed down suggests to me that this wasn’t the case at all, and much more likely she was trying to slide a friend or non-rev into that seat.
“The passenger needs to rectify to Delta Airlines…”
No, he does not.
Delta Air Lines… the only airline in the world that spells its name in three words. The country’s oldest fleet!
This is what happens when you give the airlines carte blanche to ignore the rules, contracts, and obligations by which all other businesses transacted.
Only a fool would throw their money at such clowns.
This happened to me on a full fare ticket on AA from Lima to Bermuda via MIA and JFK a 20 hour trip. On the MIA to JFK journey I boarded and nothing worked, so I told cabin crew my seat was broken and she said the flight is full and we’d all have to wait for a new plane if I complained. I had stuff to do in New York and a Bermuda flight to board that night (back when Bermuda was at all nice) so we jerry rigged the seat into the bed position locked it and I woke up happily in JFK. We fly at AA. Go team. Unnecessary to say now, but time is important as are all of us.
Flying Delta has become a joke!!! 2 weeks I was flying myself, my 4 daughters, my wife and my mother to Florida. We stood in Delta priority line for almost an hour waiting to check our bags and was told by the agent that we had not arrived early enough and instead of be able to check or 3 bags per person we could only check 1 each!!!! I’m a platinum flyer and was treat worse then ever. The agent did everything in his power to make us miss our flight and we were so close that they actually had to key our tickets back in at the gate to board!!!! Delta was become a nightmare!!!!
He sat in his booked seat and made the trip. Why should he get his money back and a free flight on top of that? Just because he had to argue for 30 seconds?
It’s simple. The agent either had a friend or favorite customer that he or she wants to upgrade at the expense of other
Passengers. I am glad this passenger stood his grounds.
It’s simple. …The agent either had a friend or favorite customer that he or she wants to upgrade at the expense of other
Passengers. I am glad this passenger stood his grounds.
What do you mean his bad trip? He flew in the seat he paid for, everything worked and was fine. It was just an inconvenient altercation at the beginning.
@Jack – “inconvenient altercation”? You mean after paying a huge sum for 1st class he was lied to by a Delta agent over and over? I would call that 100% a “bad trip” I would never EVER forget!
Could be a few things:
1. Miscommunication + incompetence of the agent
2. Agent made a mistake with which person she was talking to (thought it was someone else whose IFE wasn’t working)
3. Sinister attempt to upgrade a Delta employee or a friend who was in coach on the flight.
I’m going with #1. I try to not presume sinister intent when incompetence will explain a situation.
@Chris – I think all of us would like to know the real reason this happened but Delta has chosen not to share that.
Nor should they be expected to. Every mishap doesn’t need to be reported to the world and explained by Delta, especially in a case like this where no harm was done in the end.
@Barry – I disagree. As someone who often books Delta 1st I think it is reasonable for me to assume I will not be downgraded to coach for no good reason. Also if this event had happened to me personally I would very much feel harmed that Delta could allow this to happen to me (for whatever reason other than an unsafe seat). I would absolutely want to know why otherwise this could happen again to me or to someone else.
I agree that Delta should explain to the customer why it happened.
I’ve heard of this happening when they need to put an employee like a pilot on a flight. They don’t want to say that, so they make up a maintenance reason that ends up angering the consumer even more.
@JS – The simple solution is to offer a voucher for someone to give up the seat in business class. My wife and I EACH got a $3,000 voucher from Delta once.
I also agree this should not have happened. I would also have been upset. My issue was with the publicity the incident was given by the customer, although I can see that there is benefit in making the issue known if the truth wasn’t being told and if this is happening a lot.
@Rene, did they give you $3000 for being downgraded? That’s awesome if so, exactly what they should have done!
@Barry – No. Took a later flight and accepted voucher. Was an oversold flight.
I can speak from experience when I say that the inconvenience and stress caused by these types of incidents at the gate can really ruin the trip for many people. Specially if you paid top dollar for your seat. A pleasant interaction with Delta prior to take off sets the mood for the trip. My husband traveled on a broken Delta One seat from Frankfurt to New York, last October. He couldn’t adjust the seat without assistance from the flight attendant, so he kept it in one position the whole trip. The staff was accommodating and that helped the situation. Being treated with kindness and fairness makes a world of difference.
Yes I agree with you regarding the stress it could cause.
@Rene. Just being pedantic, but for others who may not know any better, you are misleading with your comment. Accepting a voucher for an oversold flight and Delta claiming they have a faulty seat are two separate playbooks in their eyes. I agree they should admit they screwed up, and what they did was inappropriate, but from their perspective they are following procedure(assuming there wasn’t collusion). Augmenting that process will not happen at the gate agent/red coat level…
@Gerard – If they needed the seat, say for a positive space ticket, then the GA could have offered a voucher for the downgrade (or a later flight). The fact that no voucher was offered is VERY telling to me that there is something not right with this situation. That is what I was trying to get across in my comment.
Funny. This just happened to me on Sunday. Mine was an OU ticket that I was upgraded upon booking last week. The first leg I wasn’t even on the upgrade list, so I called and that was fixed and my upgrade cleared at the gate. Then enroute to LGA, I got the email that I was upgraded to C+ on my segment to BOS. I was assigned seat 11A after the upgrade from seat 2A. On top of that, they also upgraded 3 other people at the gate. When I called the diamond line, I was told that someone at LGA downgraded me and there was no more info on their end. They did give me a $100 flight credit though.
All I have to say is if DL keeps this crap up, they are going to lose a bunch of customers. Not to mention that their F tickets are now generally twice the price of other carriers F tickets.
I hardly suspect #3, as that’s a firing offense at every carrier I know of. It’s trivial to look up the history of the PNR and see everything done, by who, and when. Any supervisor can do it the day of and it’s possible after the fact by Headquarters. That would be the first thing any supervisor or Manager of Customer Service would do in an investigation of a situation like this.
I also say #3 I have family that works at delta and I know one just got back from a transpacific flight to Asia in a Delta one seat. I cannot believe that every single medalian member was upgraded before as per policy
Your surprised their top tier customers are upgraded first ?
@James, I’m not sure that was what Raymond was saying. He might have been saying the opposite.
Comp upgrades are not available on most international flights. So absent of GUC passengers, the employees get the seats. It’s an employment perk.
There are ways to upgrade on international flights, for example using global upgrades. These upgrades are very much in demand and all the more so now when more and more seats are being sold.
To the person insisting that there are never open seats in the Delta One cabin on international flights is wrong. I have been on countless Delta flights to Europe, S America and Asia sitting in a center set of two seats with no one sitting next to me.
I suspect it was number 3 as I have seen “broken” seats occupied later in flight myself albeit my experience was an exit row seat that I was moved from only to see it taken later in flight.
I’m leading towards your 2nd option. And she just chose the wrong passenger to do it too.
I meant to say option 3. One reason for the downgrade could be Maybe the seatbelt or something wrong with the seat whether it can’t move up or down.
@Celia – There was nothing wrong with the seat.
It’s possible that the entertainment system at this particular seat was repaired during the hours the plane was in Atlanta before boarding but the mechanic(s) neglected to sign off on it or the agent was not informed of the repair. The agent should have checked with the captain before denying boarding. However, it’s likely when the agent told the passenger about the downgrade, the pilots had not yet gotten onboard.
Chris, as a retiree from a major airline, #3 was the exact thing I was thinking.
Absolutely agree.. incompetent and power hungry agent. Most of the agents are great, I guess this one snuck in..
Since the aircraft that operates the DL Atlanta to Honolulu sits in Atlanta for a few hours, and it’s quite possible that the entertainment system at the seat was written up for mechanics to repair. After the repair, the mechanic may have not signed off on it, or and more likely, the notification that the system was repaired wasn’t passed through to the agent working the flight.
@Bea – Either way the GA could have informed Wayne that the screen was broken and given him the option to either move to coach to accept that the unit would not work not DEMAND he move. It is not like you have to have IFE to fly (just ask anyone who flies American Air).
The article does not indicate what part of the IFE at the seat was broken. We don’t know if it was the screen. It could have been that the volume was inop or that when a video was playing and a pilot or flt attendant made a safety announcement, the video did not stop playing and would not mute. Meaning the customer at that seat could have missed safety PAs. A video at a seat that doesn’t pause when a PA is initiated is going to violate an FAA/FAR.
@Bea – Please. The FA’s can do manual demo. You don’t need ife to fly.
Maybe you have never flown a Delta connection jet with no ife?
Beyond that there was never any evidence anything was ever broken as noted in the article.
Lastly, Delta corporate communications who provided a quote, could have provided the information that the screen was broken but repaired before flight but they did NOT do so. They did note the service failure.
Bingo #3 to get a non rev on the plane.
Unfortunately number 2 on your list happens, I’ve seen and experienced it personally on an international flight. I won’t name the airline but my husband had to make a big stink to get the agents “friend/acquaintance out of one of our seats. The airlines have gotten away with lies, coverups and terrible customer service for too long.
For me a broken entertainment system would be an upgrade. I find no value in these systems. They are distracting, they take away space under the seat, they show inappropriate movies that you wouldn’t want your children to see, and they waste time. This hasn’t happened to me and I hope it never does because it would be extremely irritating for the reasons stated.
Hi Barry:
Back in the day when DL had its nonstops ATL-TLV, (and before 9-11), I was booked in coach. Shortly before boarding, I was called to the podium and told that as a Platinum, they were happy to upgrade me to business class. Very exciting news. However, about twenty seconds later, they noticed that I had requested Kosher meals and, because they did not have any extra one, they could not put me up front – “It just would not look proper for a coach meal to be served in business class.” I protested saying, I always bring some food just in case and not having a business class mean was no problem for me.
The gate agent stood firm and gave the upgrade to a Gold who was thrilled beyond belief.
By the way, I am in Paris on my way home to TLV. My flight was AF MIA-CDG and the Kosher meals came from a company I’d never heard of before – The beef short-ribs for dinner were delicious.
I love flying on a day like Tu B’Shevat – no tachanun.
Chuck
Hi Chuck, so funny to hear from you now because I was thinking about you the other day and the time we met at an airport for the first time (after having responded to each other many time in another blog). Tu B’Shevat is my birthday! Can you remember the name of the company that the food came from? The Hermolis meals from London are delicious. Delta use a different, non-UK supplier for its kosher meals from London. For a short while they did switch to Hermolis (just like Virgin Atlantic uses).
I had the same experience as you with BA a long time ago. I am glad it doesn’t happen any more. I never experienced this with Delta or American. That having been said, it would also be nice if Delta could figure out a way to give Delta One special meals to people that are on the upgrade waitlist and don’t get upgraded until the day of departure, or to give special meals to those upgraded on the day of the flight on coast to coast flights that only have meal service in Delta One.
Hmm, really?
What specifically was the “Hmm really” referring to?
So miscommunication aside, he was still able to fly Delta One to his destination? If so, what compensation does he want or think he deserves? I can understand the frustration and hassle but are we now monetizing such? We’ve all had a bad agent via social media, traditional phone call, or in person.
I can understand his frustration, I’ve been there myself with more than one agent…but he was not delayed, he got the flight he paid for, I don’t know what else he could or should expect.
Just my 2¢
@2808 Heavy – For me personally? I would expect if I had paid over $7500 for a first class ticket not to be told I have to fly coach. You?
I agree with you but I think @2808 Heavy is questioning why he deserved compensation, and I feel the same way.
@Barry – I believe what he wanted was an answer to why this happened. None was provided to him or by Delta to me.
That is a reasonable request.
I agree with you. People thinking that someone should receive a full refund of $7k because a passenger thought for a few minutes that he may have to fly coach?? He got exactly what he paid to receive.
René, I agree, no doubt, not a good start to what should have been a relaxing experience…but at what point does the “compensate me” for every little thing stop? I can totally understand the frustration but this gentleman got what he paid for. He paid for Delta One, he got Delta One. Being as though his complaint (I’m assuming) start and stopped with the miscommunication of the representative – assuming everything else was fine (meal, seat, IFE, etc), I don’t understand the need for compensation.
He didn’t get bumped…he got hassled, but who hasn’t at some point in this hobby? He reached out to Delta like most would have but what compensation does he deserve? And if so, what price do we put on being hassled? No one likes such even if they didn’t pay $7,500. I don’t want to be hassled even if I spent $5 bucks. Personally, I think the “compensate me” frame of mind is getting out of control.
When a situation calls for it, yes the airline (or any company) should to the right thing but this is just one that doesn’t seem to fit the need. Again, just my opinion which probably isn’t worth the 2¢ I claim.
@2808 Heavy – I shared in the post that Delta did not compensate him for what happened. I did not say he was looking for compensation nor had requested any.
then what does ‘exploring his options’ mean?
@Carolk – I believe to get a satisfactory answer to why this happened.
I think since the airlines themselves started this trend. “Compensate me” for your bags, “compensate me” for a seat assignment. If anyone deserves admonishment for the “compensate me” culture, it is the airlines themselves. As they say, turnabout is fair play.
I think the agent should be fired
I’m glad I don’t work for you.
Seriously? The agent may have been working on information that was given to him by the maintenance department. You can’t seriously think they should lose their job/ livelihood because someone is entitled to sit in a seat? If given option to fly another day- he was given an option to get to his destination .. which is what Delta provides – transportation!!!
The agent could have offered for home to sit in a broken seat if that was his choice , provided it was only the video and not the mechanical portion that controls the seat
@Dennie – I have caught red handed a gate agent putting a Delta new hire in an elites seat they should have got as an upgrade. Granted this was many years ago but there you are.
This should be pretty easy to investigate. If they find the GA did this numerous times, then, yes, of course they should be fired.
@Common Sense – We have no idea what Delta did or did not do in their investigation of the matter.
I was wait listed for a D1 upgrade yesterday from LHR to JFK. Delta didn’t activate my upgrade when I checked in, and said it had to be done by an agent. When I got to the gate the agent (who remembered my name from my previous flights) activated me and I saw that I was 1 of 1 for an upgrade, but someone on standby had already been given the last remaining D1 seat a few hours earlier (not her doing – she came on to the plane to apologize before the flight left – she is a Delta Star). Slightly different from what you just said. I realize it could have been a stranded passenger not an employee, but it could also have been similar to your situation.
As a life-long stand-by traveler on Western then Delta, stand-by travel seats are usually only given at boarding time. If the plane has plenty of seats, one MIGHT have a seat assignment upon check-in. However, if a full-up paying customer comes along, I HAVE been reseated to coach, after I’ve boarded and settled into my seat. Therefore, the seat being given to a stand-by some hours prior to the flight makes no sense and should be investigated. If, however, the other passenger was actually wait-listed, same as you, and not stand-by, then all is fair. Big difference between stand-by and wait-list.
My main disappointment was that I wasn’t put on the waiting list until I got to the gate, and only then because the gate agent recognized me. Delta rarely upgrades people on standby and I wonder whether I would have got that seat if I had been activated onto the standby list when I checked in, which is what is supposed to happen. Also as I read about people getting compensated, I am starting to get irritated about the fact that my outbound connecting flight was delayed and caused me to miss my connection together with the special meal, and the lack of reaction from Delta. I wasn’t expecting compensation but an e-mail of apology from Delta would have been appreciated.
I meant “if I had been activated on to the waitlist” – I wasn’t on standby.
Since I am familiar with how delta’s seat assignment and upgrade system works. I am going to call you a liar. There is no way possible to give a non rev a seat until all rev passengers have been upgraded and assigned. Nice try but it didn’t happen.
@Jack – WoW if you work for Delta and calling a DM MM a liar? Did you even read the old post? My friend boarded since GA said first boarded full – it had not. Once he boarded he drops off and non – Rev can upgrade. It happened I witnessed it live.
Wow, how did you know they were Delta new hire.
@BBrendakn – I sat next to her entire flight and could hear conversation.
That is instead of my elite friend who should have been upgraded and sitting next to me.
First , this event highlights the rule we should continue to observe- ALL airlines have issues, period, dot.
In this case we have a situation that shows either the airline system provided false information (upgrade vs paid, broken equipment), or the agent had their head up their [removed], or both. I vote both.
I’d be interested in knowing what kind of compensation the traveler received, if available. I’d be more interested in finding out how the agents (did a red coat get involved) got the information wrong, and what the airline did to fix it.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment. Enjoy the emails
Delta.
Finding new ways to enhance your flying comfort.
Experienced something similar on a PAID Premium Select seat 25B ATL-ICN, connecting on Korean Air to BKK in January. Gate agent called my name prior to boarding and advised of “broken” entertainment system and the need to reseat me in coach, last row window seat(narrowing of the plane)I had asked about any Delta One Seats available to which the answer was “none available”. I had asked for a refund of the ticket price and was told to contact “Corporate” at the completion of my travels. To add insult to injury, boarding pass has “X” fare listed, no bonus miles for buying Premium Select. During the flight, I went for a walk up/down the aircraft and saw a woman sitting in the seat with the entertainment screen on wearing a @ Delta Proud” shirt. Not knowing if she were a Delta employee, I asked how her movie was and she said great. I took a picture from behind and wrote Delta when I returned. Was offered 5k SkyPesos, but “SHENA” appeared present. I’d still like my money for the difference refunded or at least the bonus miles that I would have earned. Delta was “MUM”. I apologize in advance if I offended anyone with the wrong assumed personal pronouns.
@Bridge – Oh my. This is shocking and shows this may be a pattern from Delta!
This is actually fairly common and likely what the gate agent planned to happen here until the flyer put his foot down. I’ve heard many such stories in my lifetime and Delta has to be held to the fire. It’s a total disgrace that they allow their employees to behave like that.
Why spend that much money when instead you can use upwards of 500,000 skypesos for the same experience?
René,
I think it is the “new” employees after so many Delta professionals retired during Covid-19. Secondly, I think Corporate is unaware, at least in Atlanta, that they’re CSR’s NEED training. Thirdly, WE thought “SHENA” was put away once and for all, but we’re wrong. Lastly, have you’ve noticed that whenever an issue arises, the Gate Agents are quick to escalate and start shouting? Ed Bastian needs to get ahold of this before it gets much worse. I’ve noticed Atlanta and New York(JFK/LGA) need refresher training sooner rather than later. 5k miles is ridiculous. Flying SIN(Business) from JFK-SIN-HKT in May for approximately $6600.00 cheaper than Delta.
This entertainment malfunction happen to me flying from LAX to OGG … The Lead came up to whole isle and gave us 20K points and was deeply sorry for the inconvenience…
In general, does Delta insist on having a working to view the pre-flight safety video? Does Delta consider a broken in-flight entertainment system to be a safety issue?
@Dave – If all of the videos are out then the FAs have to do the presentation in person. The few times I have had a broken IFE they just told me to look on to the screen next to me so I can not see a broken screen to be considered a safety issue to not allow someone to sit in the seat.
Rene,
THANK YOU for sharing this gentleman’s experience publicly. I am a Delta Diamond Medallion and Million Miler. I’ve been Diamond for the past 5 or 6 years straight and prior to that was Platinum for 20+ years.
To be honest, I’ve had so many situations with Delta over the past few years, that if I could leave this airline I would. Unfortunately for me, I live in Minnesota and Delta is really our only airline choice flying in/out of MSP Airport without extensive connections.
From the Diamond Medallion line, to the flight attendants to the gate agents; I’ve had example after example of horror stories with Delta employees. And I hate to say this, but I have questioned if its because of my appearance (at times). I am a proud American adopted from South Korea when I was a baby (5 months old). Because some of the ways I’ve been treated by Delta (in flight and at the gate) have been really really bad – cringeworthy at best.
From the gate agent who refused to answer my question, yelled at me in front of others and said he didn’t help people “like me” (he wouldn’t even allow me to show him my boarding pass); to the gate agent who wouldn’t let me board with Delta One on an international flight (when I had a Delta One seat), because as she said “this is only for Delta One, main cabin is later.” (Do you want to know went through my head? And there is more to this story than I have room to type). To another gate agent who swore at me when I asked why I am always seemingly pulled aside for extra screeming (as I always was getting pulled aside – this is to BOARD the plane – after security; which by the way I am TSA pre-check and have Global Entry)!
SWITCHING GEARS: Consider this-take a close look at the Delta in flight security video. You will see there are hardly any Asian Americans featured compared to other minority groups. The only reason there are some Asian Americans now is because they are promoting the Chinese New Year. Prior to this, in all the videos I watched (and remember, I fly multiple times every month) if there are Asians featured in Delta’s flight safety video, it’s in some background non-speaking role (re: putting a mask on a child or pushing a handbag under a seat). For a company who prides itself on playing the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion game to the fullest – heaven forbid Delta show equality to all minority groups in this country in their in flight video.
On that same note pay attention when you fly Delta – and see how many Asian American flight attendants you ever come across on one of your flights. I’m not talking about the flights to Japan, Seoul, Hawaii or the territories.
I’ve reached out to Delta and talked to their diversity department and executive team, but they just do it to pacify me, because of my status and because and my social media presence.
In summation, Delta has much to improve. I sincerely hope this passenger took further action for his awful experience that is far below any standard. Many people I know who are also Diamond and Million Milers would leave Delta too if they could; but given we are all based in a hub, it’s easier said than done.
I’m Jewish and it doesn’t bother me at all that there are none of us featured. I think Delta should use the people best suited for the task.
You read that whole post about getting screamed at and singled out for harassment while boarding and the only thing you took away from it is the part about the video?
No I actually didn’t read the whole post.
While I have not experienced this, would appreciate thoughts on how to handle / elevate before boarding flight. Just want to be prepped. Is it best to get a Red Coat / supervisor involved or other part of Delta leadership? Thanks
@Kevin – As a Diamond Medallion Million Miler if this happened to me I would do the following:
1) Tell them I accept the broken screen and wish to keep my booked seat.
2) If they push – yes – Ask for a Red Coat
3) If they will not relent then demand cash for the downgrade on the spot and point out the passenger has a right to this from the contract of carriage.
They can refuse and tell you to board with the coach seat or not fly – your call at this point what to choose.
Why not elevate it to the pilot?
@Dave – Until onboard I doubt that is an option.
Captain has no authority over customer service issues on the ground/in the terminal.
Depending on which hub you are flying out of ask for a supervisor or station manager. Red coats are hit or miss, especially at ATL(sorry, just my experience).
I had a situation back in Oct that wasn’t that different where the supervisor and station mgr admitted wrong doing from the gate agent.
The flight crew (pilots and flight attendants) is frequently not on the plane until just prior to boarding. This is due to them not being paid until the plane is in the air. The flight crew in the cockpit are also busy during the boarding process in doing safety and equipment checks in the cockpit and around the inside and outside of the aircraft they are flying. They need to ensure the safe delivery of every single life on the plane. I would rather take a downgrade than bother the cockpit crew.
FYI…the flight crew pay starts when the aircraft door is shut and stops when it is opened at destination.
@Brenda – Not with Delta. Up to 30 minutes before departure.
Appreciate the thoughts…as always, these types of situations are frustrating. My fear is it happening when traveling for pleasure with my wife vs when I travel for business. As a business traveler, I am used to the ups and downs. When taking my wife, I want the best experience for her and if there to happen, it would certainly be at this point I would question my loyalty to an airline. Thanks for allowing us all to vent.
I don’t find this story surprising when it comes to Delta. I started with Continental (SFO) and segued to United. I got tired of being dissed for my loyalty, so I thought I’d try Delta. I had heard so many good things about Delta, so I booked a trips and things went well. Then came the pandemic and I didn’t fly for two years+. Delta has been almost impossible to deal with when it comes to rebooking my cancelled flights. I am thoroughly disgusted; they still have more than $2K of my money and 40K SkyMiles … for more than a year. The tix was cash with an AmEx discount using SkyMiles, so they use this to refuse to put the credit into my account. They insist that I rebook on the phone. They don’t answer the phone. The credit expires 12/31. I get the same kind of useless communications from them; they’re ‘so sorry’ and ‘they’re working on it” … but really, it’s obvious that they’re not going to help. I had the same situation with United, and it was dealt with properly after a 10-minute phone call. Delta is not trying to help me at all. At this point, I’m tired of trying to unscrew this; that of course is their goal … they want me to just go away.
sounds like he only had a bad few minutes pre flight. The flight itself was uneventful once the issue was resolved. Not sure why he would be owed anything other than an apology for the misunderstanding pre boarding.
He requested an explanation on why the gate agent was so insistent to take away his seat. Not too much to ask.
I vote for #3 – shenanigans. We are good friends with a DL gate agent, and they have a myriad of ways to get non rev friends onto a flight and into good seats. Say it ain’t so — but unfortunately it is.
This recently happened to me, and while we weren’t told the reason, we learned it was the family of the crew and pilot were all being upgraded and those of us who had paid for the seat were asked to move to the main cabin. We held firm that as two tall travellers we paid for and needed the larger and more roomy seats.
Others who were not as firm did get downgraded and were offered points but no compensation. Absolutely unacceptable. I understand the family wanting a good experience but at the cost of listing customers doesn’t seem like a win for Delta.
I had a broken video screen flying AA domestic first class to Miami, on points in 2018. I noticed it when I sat down and told the flight attendant. He didn’t seem to care, no demand to move nor compensation.
@Tony – Wait… Some AA birds have IFE? 🙂
Ultimately, it’s a non issue if I was the passenger because I was still on my flight in my expected seat arriving at the appointed time. It’s a hassle to have to deal with something like this where you have to justify your ticket but life is inundated with hassle because we have allowed businesses to treat customer service as an after thought because we want everything cheaper.
This is more of a lesson/issue for the airline operation and employee training who is obviously not so competent at handling the situation in general and not knowing their customer. The agent should not be fired but send him to much needed training. He will at least be better educated in the future now even without training. While I don’t think delta owes the passenger anything more than a sincere non form AI generated apology, if I was delta and I was really sorry and I would be because he’s a important loyal customer I would offer something more short of a free ticket.
René, thank you for your post.
And thank all of you for your reactions to it.
I have many friends who work for Delta. My relationships with them are priceless. My loyalty to Delta remains steadfast, however, what occurred before my ATL – HNL flight was unacceptable to me and was bad for the Delta brand. A Delta representative called to apologize and promised Atlanta representatives would address the matter. As of now it remains unresolved.
A full disclosure from Delta to explain how it occurred, would be a good place to start. I hope it will be treated as teachable moment. I have no desire for anyone to get into trouble. In the words of Robert Frost, “The best way out is always through.”
I remain confident we will be able to reach a logical, reasonable, and respectful resolution.
I hope to hear from Delta again soon.
Delta is being too cocky now
I am too a 1M Delta customer and have seen agents do things that sometimes make no sense.
I am not sure if this is still possible but back in the day, gate agents were able to manipulate the system and prioritize friends and family flying in buddy passes.
It is still true. (I have a friend who is a gate agent.)
I’m also Diamond with Delta and last year I really got fed up with their poor customer service. Flight attendants, even in first class, seem annoyed and don’t really want to be there. Phone agents are inexperienced and give wrong information all the time. But it was the open hostility of the Atlanta gate agents that finally pushed me out the door. So I moved to United, and I was blown away by their customer service!! It’s not perfect, but it has been a serious improvement!
I’m just amazed someone would pay $7,500 for a domestic flight to Hawaii.
@Jerry – Someone with the means to do so and chooses to do so.
As someone who used to work the gates at a airport, I once had a Premium Frequent Traveler DEMAND and Tell me I was Going to upgrade him and get him on an earlier flight with no exception!!!
Needless to say a nice little ole lady was upgraded to that better seat and the Rude Demanding Premium Frequent Flier had to take the only available seat, which was a middle seat in coach.
It’s amazing what “Honey” versus “Jam” will get you.
Good point. I assume the customer was polite and patient otherwise he probably would have flown coach. I’ve put a lot of effort over the years into being my best self when traveling.
A similar thing happened to me many years ago. I was flying stand by and the flight was oversold as had been the prior 2 or 3 and was for the next 2 or 3 flights. I went down to use the telephones to determine my travel options and the agent at the desk called me over . I said I’m a non-rev and she said that’s fine, come over. So we were discussing my destination and she was giving me some options when an obnoxious family came down from the same flight I had just left. They were loud and beyond rude, demanding that she see to them. She informed them (several times, as they refused to listen to her or acknowledge my presence) that she was already taking care of another passenger (me), but that they were free to use the phones. We continued our conversation about options and how I could get to my destination (some of our conversation was practically whispered!!). She was successful in getting a ticket for that night to an airport about 1.5 hours driving time from my destination where my friend picked me up. As the wonderful agent was sliding the ticket into the envelope, she stated how sorry she was that she was unable to assist me and wished me good flying on the next day. I responded with how it was very disappointing that she was not able to assist me and I thanked her for her help. W both smiled and I walked away while the family was still on the phones, yelling at the telephone agent.
The agent and my little ruse was due to the family certainly having seen me at the several gates we had gone to previously, trying to get to the same city. Honey certainly IS better than jam. Or crab apples!
Well I have not flown delta for over 7 years after they changed their award program , to a level that basically made it cheaper just to buy a ticket in business . I used my am ex platinum card exclusively, but stopped using it , because the miles earned were basically worthless . Of course all this happened without notice from airline . I have always wondered why they spend so much time of getting costumers to collect miles when they treat those costumers in a way no other company would survive . I now happily fly Jal,Cathay pacific or Ana , they all have much better service ,not to mention their food , just excellent
Easy to solve. Gate Agent had a non-rev friend. They’ve done this before.
Guaranteed it was an attempt to seat a nonrev in D1
Definitely agree with you Ken. The same thing has happened to me about 3 times, and after investigating through a Close friend who works for Delta, we found out that these were all attempts to get seats for their non rev friends or family. Fortunately I stood firm each time, and was unsuccessful in one instance. I did, hose er, follow up each time to make sure Delta was aware of the incident.
The real story is that when he got on board there were multiple non-rev people in first class. And I believe that several of them rotated between the first class seat and a coach seat during the flight.
This was a clear attempt by the Delta agent to put a fellow employee in first class. Good on the passenger for calling that crap out.
There is no reason an airline non-rev should be anywhere but in the back. ANY passenger should be upgraded first, before any non-rev person gets put in first class or business class. It’s yet another testament to the erosion of customer service….
Huh! I thought I had problems when last week I was getting so anxious with the lack of assertiveness by the flight personal not understanding or probably not caring how to get people to put luggage in overhead bins. Everyone would just lay their overhead luggage flat, when if it’s put in upright most bins could’ve accommodated an extra bag per bin. But nope .as we got to the end of the plane, we waiting an extra 30 min while bags were passed up front, with seat numbers being yelled out so they could tag the bags for below. That and people refusing to check their extra bags at the gate! ( It’s free people, and it’s almost impossible for it to get lost, and you pick it up before you leave the gateway!!).
Sounds like the agent had a friend or someone they knew and wanted to sneak them into Delta One.
I think it quite possible this happened because the gate agent had a relative / friend / privately paying customer who wanted an upgrade. Delta gate agents are never ever as bright as they think themselves to be. It should have been apparent that a full fare passenger would not fall for this rubbish. Mr. Frongello should make it clear to Delta that absent some real apology and assurance this will never happen again, he will see which other airline may actually want his Business!
A similar thing happened to me many years ago. I was flying stand by and the flight was oversold as had been the prior 2 or 3 and was for the next 2 or 3 flights. I went down to use the customer service telephones to determine my travel options and the agent at the desk called me over . I said I’m a non-rev and she said that’s fine, come on over. So we were discussing my destination and she was giving me some options when an obnoxious family came down from the same flight I had just left. They were loud and beyond rude, demanding that she see to them. She informed them (several times, as they refused to listen to her or acknowledge my presence) that she was already taking care of another passenger (me), but that they were free to use the phones. We continued our conversation, despite the family’s frequent interuptions and rudeness, about options on how I could get to my destination (some of our conversation was practically whispered!!). She was successful in getting a ticket for that night to an airport about 1.5 hours driving time from my destination where my friend would pick me up. As the wonderful agent was sliding the ticket into the envelope, she stated how “sorry she was that she was unable to assist me” and wished me good flying on the “next day.” I responded with how it was very disappointing that she was not able to assist me and I thanked her for her help. We both smiled and I walked away while the family was still on the phones, yelling at the telephone agent.
The agent and my little ruse was due to the family certainly having seen me at the several gates we had gone to previously, trying to get to the same city. Honey certainly IS better than jam. Or crab apples!
Word to those flying on a buddy, or friend of an airline employee, pass. If you pull that kind of crap – rude, demanding, entitled, loud, arrogant, etc – please know that your actions WILL land the employee in serious trouble, up to, and including, being fired! As my father told me when I was considerably younger, “When you get to the gate, sit down, shut up and wait for your name to be called/show up on the sign board. DON’T BOTHER THE GATE AGENTS.” Wise words that still apply.
Rene’, my wife are taking this same flight to Hawaii next week. Do you happen to know which seat on Delta 1 this gentleman had?
@Ken – 1F I believe.
1F on an A 350-900 35L. DL Flight # 837
Someone else wanted that seat..glad you held your ground. Delta should know better.
There’s no accounting for stupid!!
Delta has moved me from coach to Comfort+ and moved me back to Coach.. I’m on the flight now. Total BS. Clowns working here. Only reason I use them is because I live in Atlanta.
@Dave – How is the “free” Wifi speed?
While rude behavior towards airline personnel has increased, so has rude and frankly, unfriendly behavior by airline personnel towards passengers.
If you complain about anything, even if you’re right, they retaliate against you by denying boarding or giving you extra security checks.
Airline personnel needs to relearn the bread and butter of customer service: the customer is always right, even when they are not.
You know what, beyond what the article said, I bet it was one of those newer gate agents who simply tried to downgrade the paying passenger just to give that same seat to one of it’s friends who was flying standby.
This is something that’s been going on since the hiring sprout of 2020 lately out of the ATL region.. My cousin was fired years back for doing this same foolishness.
Ask to see the MEL # that takes your seat out of service. If there’s no MEL, it’s a serviceable seat, otherwise the flight is being illegally operated without a MEL.
@Michael – Can you expand on this? What MEL stands for.
In aviation safety, minimum equipment list, or MEL is a categorized list of on-board systems, instruments and equipment that may be inoperative for flight in a specified aircraft model. Procedures or conditions may be associated with items on the list. (Wikipedia) certain items on that list may cause any thing from no power to a seat to no power in the cockpit. Some issues are mere discomfort, some will ground the aircraft.
@BlueJay – Minimum Equipment List! Thanks. IFE is definitely NOT included. But years ago on an ATR flown by Delta Conection a coffee pot was strangely enough.
Absolutely! Coffee is the ambrosia of life, especially for a flight crew, front OR back. Whether doing “milk-run” short hops or a trans-continental/oceanic run, caffeine is mandatory!!! (Only half kidding, too! )
Very obvious that some people don’t fly as much or know as much as they say! 99.5 times out of 100 the first people on the plane would be the pilots. Also, It isn’t much of a stretch to know this gate agent was looking out for an employee and picked the wrong passenger. Same person who picked box #3 on Let’s Make A Deal and got the clunker instead of THE BIG DEAL! lol
It’s possible I was selected because 2 weeks earlier, when I made my reservation, 1F was the only seat available for seat selection. Two other seats were unoccupied but were marked with X’s and unavailable for seat selection. The bottom line is, we can continue to guess why the gate agent did her best to try to get me to move or Delta can simply tell me why the gate agent did what she did. I hope to hear again from them soon.
Wayne – do you really think you’re going to get an honest answer?
If the gauge did it top grade a friend or a fellow employee, and they had disciplined her, there’s no way they will comment because of “personnel issues.”
I believe another blog head stated that during the flight you had seen non-rev people rotating through one of the other first class seats. Was that true?
If that’s true, I think what was going on here is pretty clear….
It is my understanding that there were no non-revs in the Delta One cabin. But there were pilots in the D-1 cabin who were working the flight who rotated to/from the cockpit when it was their turn to rest. It makes perfectly good sense that long-haul pilots are provided with a comfortable seat/bed so that they can perform at their best when it is their turn to fly the plane. Such seats are defined as positive control seats. Positive control seats have a higher priority than ANY passenger fare class. As I understand it, if a comfortable seat/bed is not available for a long-haul pilot, a seat will be selected for positive control and the unlucky passenger who was in that seat will lose it. Sorry. Sometimes life is unfair.
Thanks for the response.
I agree with you for pilots FLYING the plane. But then again, there are typically “crew rest” areas separate from the passenger compartments on planes that handle these kinds of routes.
I have no objection to an on-duty pilot getting that seat. I have LOTS of objection to an off-duty pilot/mechanic/stewardess/employee etc. getting that seat ahead of a paying pax.
But I appreciate that you cleared it up – the other blog I had read had that part wrong, for sure.
Out of curiosity, which other blog did you read?
A very similar thing just happened to me on the exact same flight (DTW HNL) on February 2. I had a comfort+ seat and used a regional upgrade certificate to upgrade to first. When I checked in at FLL I was told the upgrade had cleared but a seat was blocked and to check with the agent in DTW as they would assign the first class seat. The agent even called to make sure she had everything right in the computer, she was excited for me and I was excited too! When I checked in with the Delta redcoat in DTW she told me no first class seats were available and I had been upgraded to comfort+. I explained that I had a comfort+ seat already and had been upgraded to first. She said “no seats in first you were upgraded to comfort.” I figured a seat was deferred. Upon boarding every seat was full in first, and they had assigned a Nonrev employee (on personal travel) over me and many other passengers that had upgrade requests in. I asked the flight attendant, she said she thought the recline was broken so it could only be assigned to a nonrev not a paying passenger. In a former life I wrote MEL’s (broken things in planes, how to keep flying legally) as a tech writer – never have I seen a deferral that said “no paying customers”. This whole thing was shady. I filed a complaint with delta, looks like it will take time for them to respond.
This is simple. The agent had a friend or family member flying standby and wanted to upgrade them to 1st class for the flight, but 1st class was full. The only way to open up a seat was to downgrade someone. They chose the wrong person.
I’m platinum on delta and this doesn’t surprise me at all. Any time there’s an issue on their end, they offer crumbs as compensation. If I wasn’t near a hub, they wouldn’t have my loyalty, bc they don’t give it in return.
Hello!
I experienced an issue very similar to this incident in June of 2022, flying from STL to BHM, with a layover in ATL.
The gate agent “informed” me that my full fare first class seat was no longer available due to a “plane change”. However, someone was in that seat and it was not me. Either Delta overbooked and gave the seat to someone else, even tho I had checked in within the 24 hr period, as soon as possible. I asked the gate agent to check when the person assigned the first class seat had purchased the ticket(I had purchased in Feb of 2022) and when that individual had checked in. Also, before I left my location to get to the airport, everything was in order. I was at the check-in counter at least 1 1/2 hrs before boarding as well. So, in a matter of 20-25 mins, I was bumped from my seat. To Delta’s credit, I was offered a later flight in first class, but it would have meant a 5or6 hr wait in the airport. I took the less expensive seat, and finally returned home. A few days later, I waited on the phone for 2+ hrs before finally being serviced by a CSR. I was somewhat compensated…I remained calm. So very disappointed in Delta and especially the check-in counter agents in First class section of STL airport. Rude, and really no customer service …I certainly hope this gentleman will follow up with any and all accommodation owed to him by Delta. Somehow, I don’t think the President of Delta condones these employees’ behavior. I truly believe he is trying to keep Delta as customer centered as possible. Hopefully, the few employees that are the bad apples of the bunch can be dismissed sooner, rather than later, given the state of airline affairs these days!
Every time something like this happens it should be told to world, no it must be told to the world.
Delta like most other airlines has built their brand on half truths and worst.
For example some one tell me where Delta airlines was founded…..
And no its Not Atlanta, its not even GA, as they try to make people believe…….
@Big Bird Airfare- you are both right AND wrong:
▪︎1925: Huff Daland Dusters, the predecessor of Delta, is founded in Macon, Ga., before moving to Monroe, La., a few months later.
▪︎1928: C.E. Woolman leads movement to buy Huff Daland Dusters. Renamed (it) Delta Air Service for the Mississippi Delta region it served.
▪︎1929: Delta operates its first passenger flight.
▪︎1930: Company renamed Delta Air Corporation.
▪︎1934: Begins operating as Delta Air Lines.
▪︎1941: Delta headquarters moves from Monroe, La., to Atlanta.
I was a Red Coat for Delta for 6 years. This is absolutely NOT policy. Obviously, as you all can imagine, this is not a safety issue and therefore not a reason they would move someone. I had this happen several times when the ife didn’t work, and all we did was tell the pax so they knew in advance. That’s it.
I don’t buy it was incompetence on the agents part, NOBODY would have told them to downgrade a diamond. Nobody would be that bad at their job.
(Sorry- somehow this was posted under another person’s comment, therefore am re-posting it here)
Ryan, though you may have been a Red Coat, you were not privy to the actions of every single gate agent, unless your were at a small station like PIR or FAT. Stations like CVG, ATL, MSP, JFK, etc., have hundreds of gate agents. Just as in any job, you have the dedicated and you have the unscrupulous. The unfortunate fact is, people are people and in these Covid days, many more than before feel entitled. Whether that entitlement is on the agent (any employee of the airline, from baggage handler up to admin) or the passenger, I’m sure it’s about the same percentage. The entitled passenger feels they can treat the agents of the airlines as if they’re lower than whale poo and the entitled agents feel they can subvert the system, making it do what they want it to do. i.e. – refused seating to payed passengers to allow their own people on board. Or going through luggage and stealing money – that happened to me at LGA on United, with a gate-checked bag, whisked away before I even had a chance to think what was inside. (About 20 of us were waiting for our bags so long the pilots finished their cockpit check and one came out to do the ground check. He did a double take seeing us there but went out the door. He returned moments later, furious but silent, carrying two bags!! The ground crew began bringing the remaining bags up. Didn’t think to check until I went to get something to eat, remembering $70 was in the outside zip. It was gone. Filed a complaint – no response.) Airline travel has made tremendous strides in many ways. Customer service is not one of them, nor is passenger comfort. But, policy or no, some agents DO get “their” people on board despite it being a full flight.
It is an unfortunate fact of airline life, that there is no limit to what lie a ailine rep will tell a passenger (no matter what your status is).
Oh, the horror. How this person didn’t slit their wrists at the boarding gate is beyond me. To have been burdened with such torture and survived is a tale for generations to come.
I suspect a Federal Air Marshall presented at the gate. They fly up front and cannot be denied boarding. The gate agent is prohibited from telling any passengers about any FAMs on board.
they could certainly explain that after the flight was over, right?
@lori – They had chance to do so and did not do so.
I’m not sure they’re allowed to at all.
Your first mistake was to fly USA based airlines instead of using European or Asian based airlines. Learn your lessons and stop giving them your money.
I don’t think any foreign carriers operate that specific route.
I’m not sure they are allowed to!
The broken video system happens often. That being said, I have never heard of Delta shutting down use of the seat. My daughter flies first class all the time, and there are more often, that tray tables are broken or seats are broken. In none of these cases, did they mandate that a seat be vacated.
First, Delta has a terrible issue with quality control and assurance that their equipment is, far more consistently, in need of repair. That is one major issue that has become consistent.
Moreover, there is no consistency in training Delta staff. Different people; Different stories.
We are all familiar with the workforce shortage and post-COVID recovery. During COVID, Delta made far more brand-damaging moves than even the no-frills airlines, like Frontier or even, Allegiant.
Time to buck up Delta. You cannot charge the fares you charge and, continually, offer faulty equipment and subpar training and management practices.
I think I would write or email the diamond club hq and tell them I’m taking my diamond arse to another airline.
Because most people don’t pay for first class seats, they get upgraded to them. So, the agent, probably looked at the passenger & automatically thought he was upgraded to his first class seats rather than paying for it.
So, the agent, being always disgruntled, overzealous or attention seeking as always, decided to do what they do best & decided to send the passenger to where he thought the passenger belongs in coach.
When flying in the United States, I maintained my peace by (expecting the worst from the attendants) working on my mind & soul to put up with hell for the next however long the flight duration is MOST ESPECIALLY WITH DELTA AIRLINE…
Well . Put. Delta and ALL their employees…CEOs, Supervisors, Pilots, Flight Attendents, Counter/Money ppl, Gate ppl….they are all Nasty Humans..strongly encouraged to be that way.
When they told me the day I interviewed for an RN Case Manager for their Workers Comp…”our Pilots get whatever they want. Whenever they want”..
I thought…great. another good Ole boys club..now infiltrated their workers comp.
I never went for 2nd interview.
MelanieClaire
RN x 40ish, CCM_R
Almost sounds like someone was trying to steal the payers seat.. something very fishy there.. these airline agents have all sorts of rights they shouldn’t have.. bet you that first class seat was going to some delta employee.. all airlines give priority to their employees if they know they are employees.. unless it is a full flight they have to start kicking people off.. probably some poor bastard from coach.. seating priority use to be for the passenger.. but hard to say what airline agents think nowadays..
People have short memories LOL. Remember this dusey from a couple of years back?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/doctor-dragged-united-airlines-flight-speaks-out-two-year-anniversary-n992331
I PERSONALLY was bumped DOWN (never been bumped up!) from First class by US Air, when that train wreck of a carrier was still flying. To be honest, every time I hear a report of a passenger getting into it with a gate agent. I’m usually rooting for the passenger. The “Golden Age of Air Travel” is dead.
Ryan, though you may have been a Red Coat, you were not privy to the actions of every single gate agent, unless your were at a small station like PIR or FAT. Stations like CVG, ATL, MSP, JFK and several others, have hundreds of gate agents. Just as in any job, you have the dedicated and you have the unscrupulous. The unfortunate fact is, people are people and in these Covid days, many more than before feel entitled. Whether that entitlement is on the agent kany employee of the airline, from baggage handler up to admin) or the passenger, I’m sure it’s about the same percentage. The entitled passenger feels they can treat the agents of the airlines as if they’re lower than dogs and the entitled agents feel they can subvert the system, making it do what they want it to do. ( i.e. – refused seating to payed passengers to allow their own people on board. Or going through luggage and stealing money – that happened to me at LGA with a gate checked bag, whisked away before I even had a chance to think what was inside.) Airline travel has made tremendous strides in many ways. Customer service is not one of them, nor is passenger comfort. But yes, policy or no, some agents DO get “their” people on board despite it being a full flight.
Who Ever is Doing This Type of Stupid Miserable Thing ,(Trying To be A Cowboy, Kissing Supervisor’s S)KARMA Won’t Let U Go Empty Handed.
Depending on the aircraft, if your seatback screen won’t play the video safety demo the FAA could have a problem with you sitting there. This problem is usually rectified by overhead video monitors that serve as a backup or by flight attendants performing the safety demo manually, not sure why they wouldn’t just do that here
Delta Air lines has allowed their Flight Attendents and Personell to “police”..given them permission to “manage their flights as needed” therefore turning Delta staff members into Police…with “Authority ” which…. As we now see allows…No, absolutely No.accountability. The delta Employees are treated like delicate flowers. The men they are “good Ole boys”. None of them do any wrong..both in Deltas eyes and “Law Enforcement” State wide.
One of their “mechanics” pointed a gun at me. My 2 daughters in 2003. Sherriffs in Fayette County let him leave for 2 days so we could vacate safely. [Name redacted]’s gun was taken, but there was no report written, filed. [Name redacted] never went to jail. He was “a Delta boy.” Protected by that Good Ole Boy’s (and girls) Club.
I applied for an RN, Case Manager job…2005ish…was advised in the Initial interview,
“our Pilots get whatever they want whenever they want.”
Delta Pilots, wives and their rotten kids have made Peachtree City Ga a version of those stupid HouseWife TV fiasco shows. Delta people are: Rude. Nasty. Judgemental. Snobs and Entitled. Delta teaches them its OK to act like that.
My daughter dated a Delta mechanic. [Name redacted] was, remains one of the most abusive, nastiest men she has ever known. He still works there.
Delta breeds Nasty.
It shows both at Delta and in the towns, cities their employees populate.
As long as We the People tolerate Delta, forget to follow THEIR money..,fail to.hold them accountable….We the People will suffer.
MelanieClaire RN, CCM_R
Still licensed in Ga
Gate agents? More like hate agents. Especially Delta. Truth is, she was bribed by another passenger or she was trying to upgrade a friend. Happens all the time.
Delta tends to dominate the airports they fly out of and they don’t have to worry about angering a few of their customers because we don’t have options. Most airlines that dominate hubs do this. Ask people who are stuck with American out of Dallas. They don’t care if they treat you badly because, to many destinations, the other option is you drive yourself. I hope the passenger in this article and the others get justice but don’t expect it from asking. As for the few bad apples theory, I don’t buy it. For the most part, companies get what they reward/ emphasize. If you get rewarded for ruthless efficiency and what to keep your job, you are ruthlessly efficient. If you are rewarded for customer service and lack of compliments, you shift focus to that. Customer service is BS platitudes unless the company measures it and focuses on it. Obviously, Delta does not. Don’t let Delta get away with saying it’s a few bad apples. They have the apples they hired and they get performance in the areas they value.
Thank you. So well put. Truth. Delta breeds hate. See my post. This site redacted his full name. But. Trust me. I have the receipts. For [Name Redacted] and [Name Redacted].
I came on board greet them and sat down. Later on in the flight when meals were served I was given cornflakes and milk in Delta 1. They bypassed me and gave hot meals to all the other passengers, then came back and said we ran out. They figured that was good enough for me in first class. Very nasty, to say the least.
I haven’t flown in twenty-five years and after these stories I’m glad I don’t pay for abusive non-service. I bought an RV and travel relaxed and meet all kinds of swell people. Yes, I’m retired
I like the idea of traveling by an RV although it can get a little choppy over the water.
If I was in your situation, once seated I would’ve asked the flight attendant to get the gate agent before the door closes. I then would’ve confronted her, and embarrassed her!!
Answer is as clear as can be … the agents friend was next on upg list.
I had a United stew downgrade me midflight from Business to Coach while flying SFO to Zurich. However – it was a safety issue (the seat broke halfway up from sleep mode to seated) and it was only while we were on approach/landing. They credited me a nice bunch of miles by way of apology, and it was all good.
Here’s a good possible explanation as to why. It is an absolute requirement that the passenger see the safety presentation on the screen in front of them at the beginning and conclusion of the flight. In coach you can argue that you are so close to another passenger that you can just look to the side and watch their screen. Although I don’t know if even that would satisfy them anyway. I have not seen the most recent version of Delta’ one. I would imagine you cannot just see the screens of other people in your class. So they are more afraid of the FAA and not complying then what the passenger thinks of them. I have a feeling at the end of the day the FAA is who they will fall back on to blame if all of the media came to them wanting an explanation and the explanation they gave originally was not working.
Gary I totally agree, it’s possible that on the inbound flight there was a complaint about the Ife or something that caused it to be reported to maintenance. At that point Delta could be exposed to potential fine from the FAA if they don’t ticket serious. That’s why when I’m flying if I notice something small broken I just deal with it if it doesn’t truly feel like a safety issue to me.
@Chris Carley – sorry can’t reply directly to your comment for some reason.
I cannot remember, honestly, it was a few days before this article. Maybe VFTW?
Okey dokey — thanks!
I’ve always been treated well by Delta. On a recent flight I was given a 25,000 points “Inconvenience Bonus” because the entertainment system didn’t work. I’m aMillion-Miler and Platinum and was flying in Delta One. I have no way of knowing what other passengers got.
I’ve also been treated well by Delta most of the time. I have no plans to switch.
Wow….udderly INSANE!!!! But honestly I’m not surprised at all!! I am a Diamond frequent flyer from Delta as well. I always fly first…On my last 2 trips – PIT-FL…there were many issues. The first trip PIT-MCO we cashed in our miles, well the agent on the phone used up 80k in miles and put us in COACH!!! Not only coach, but an Emergency Exit row that lacked seats in front of it!!! So I got harrassed about holding my LOUIS VUITTON PURSE and was forced to put it in a upper stoway 4 or 5 rows behind!!! WTF?! When we flew back to PIT, that flight was an even larger mess!! We barely made our 25 min layover because of Delays in Orlando.
We had to aggressively run through the airport and barely reached the gate. Well my husband has COPD and Asthma, so he was quite winded and struggling to breathe. The gate agent had her nerve to ask my husband who was gasping for air, “Sir imma have to get security. You seem very intoxicated. You been drinking sir?” We all said “WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!! MY HUSBAND HAS A MEDICAL CONDITION HE STRUGGLES TO BREATHE!!! NO ONE EVEN DRINKS ALCOHOL HERE!!!” Next we were forced to check our carry-ons as of course there’s now no room on board….Totally insulting that my husband is getting called a drunk because he can’t breathe!!! WTF!! Then there were “not enough beverages ” we were told in ATL during the stop after we finally boarded!! That only about 25 ppl on board could get the bottle water!! WTF AGAIN?!
On the next trip to FL we paid, flew first entire way…well another incident in ATL broke out..The male flight attendant actually forced my husband’s seat back upright as we were grounded 45 min for errors! Now with his condition, its hard to breathe in that exact position. When he reclines he can breathe easier. This caused my husband to cough. And cough. And cough. Now another pushy attendant comes by and threatens to “ask my husband to leave the plane!!!” My husband said “well like I told u I can sit upright while grounded but it causes my COPD to flare up. So the other attendant said “ok recline back until we are ungrounded should be 15 min”….well not even 4 min later the first p***k comes back and FORCEFULLY pushes the seat back straight up and reaches on his private crotch area and buckles his seat belt!!!!! The guys says, “im NOT telling u again! Put ur seat in upright position!!!” WTF DID I JUST WITNESS??? Totally bizarre and insane AF!!! Now my husband’s first a drunk, then belittled, now he’s assaulted?? DO BETTER DELTA!!! OR YOU WILL BE BANKRUPT….I PROMISE YOU!!!
Wow! So, I assume there were fellow passengers/witnesses on that next trip to Florida. What happened when you got you their information and contacted a lawyer or law enforcement?
We haven’t heard the agents side.
Delta provided us a statement.
My story wasn’t AS bad but for me it was! I purchased a first class seat on DELTA last July flyong from Chicago Midway. Before I got to the airport I got a random text message from United. When I got to the DELTA line the agents there told me the flight was delayed beyond the point of keeping me on it. They then told me I had no choice but to fly a United flight out of the other airport a hour away. They assured me that they would pay for the ride there and that my seat was guaranteed. I specifically asked them was it a first class seat. The agent lied and said she couldn’t tell me that since she did not have access to United systems. Long story short – it was a nightmare at United. A rude agent over there. Another agent confirmed all airlines have access to each other’s stuff. And no, they did not book me into a first class seat. I actually ended up paying to get out of the lowest seat to one with leg room. I’m 5ft 10. No one at DELTA cared that they ruined my trip. Man, many calls and waiting on hild with several lying dlDelat employees. Oh, and the original flight I was booked on at DELTA took off hours before the very delayed United flight. Delta gave me nothing for my troubles.
This happened to my husband a month or so ago – not to Hawaii, sadly, but on a domestic first class flight home. The gate agent told him that the in-flight entertainment screen for his seat was broken so she bumped him back to main cabin. Way back to the last row, middle seat. We paid for the seat (in actual money not miles or points), but no refund on the fare difference. We’re only Gold Medallion but still. A pretty rough seat when you know you’ve paid a few thousand dollars for the privilege.
He asked why he couldn’t watch the safety video (her reason for the unsafe seat) on the seat next to him but she wasn’t having it. Seems very sharky to me but we are a bit trapped with Delta due to our location as a regional city where everything feeds through ATL. We get pretty steamed thinking about it.
You are definitely entitled to a refund of the difference, plus you should ask for additional compensation, as well.
If they make issues, file a DOT complaint.
He should have definitely been compensated for the harassment. A real apology and not just a blanket statement for someone who especially spends a lot of money with delta. Two first class tickets anywhere he would like to go especially since he’s a first class frequent flyer with delta. You know customer service is not what it used to be sometimes in certain places. This sounds like maybe he wanted the seat for someone else. I’m not sure but why leave the seat empty? Whoever idea it was to harass this customer should have been suspended and go through training before coming back.
That’s outrageous. Flying coach for $7.5k is highway robbery. But not surprising. I don’t have Delta One money, but I did book a comfort+ seat on a transatlantic flight. Upon boarding, when they scanned my boarding pass, there was a beep with a “seat change.” I was bumped to regular coach and a middle seat on top of that, no explanation given. I called Delta and the agent wouldn’t do anything even though there was a substantial fare difference between comfort+ and coach. I asked for a supervisor who issued a $250 voucher and 10,000 miles. Their policy is terrible.
NY JFK to Athens Greece (12 hour flight), my friend and I (both Gold Medallion) had our paid Premium seats yanked at the gate, were moved to Coach and separated with no explanation or compensation from Delta. Gate Agents acted like we were late, we were sitting at the gate 2 hours before flight and stayed there. Pretty sure they sold our seats. Corrupt as heck.
@Nora – When was this? Would like to follow up.
Welcome to the world of airlines where they are allowed to do whatever they want with no consequences. But if a client complains can be detained, banned, put in a no flight list etc.
very good that during pandemic we asked to bail the airline companies, the same companies that treat everybody like the flight tickets are for free.
And let’s not go into overbooking.
These industry needs to be regulated way more on their side and bring some accountability. If I don’t get to the flight they don’t wait for me but I need to accept all their delays, cancelations, overbooking and so on. Time to respect our money and call out their bs. They behave like mobsters.