Fuck Delta

[ShoogarBear]

So last week I flew to Salt Lake City for the NCAA 1st/2nd rounds (more on that later in the College Sports forum).

Delta has the only non-stop from BWI to SLC. The flight out Wednesday is relatively uneventful. The flight leaves an hour late because of . . . some shit, I don't know, weather in Utah, I think. We arrive in SLC and it takes 45 minutes for the baggage to get to the claim. Only an inkling of what is yet to come.

I fly back this morning. It's starting to snow, but because I'm sharing a cab with friend, I get to the airport 1 hr 45 min prior to departure, way early than I ever am, so I figure I'm in good shape. Go to the self-service kiosk and when I put my credit card in I get "Your reservation requires help from a representative". WTF? The desk agent informs me that they have "taken control of the flight" at the gate, so I have to go there to get my boarding pass. But she checks in my bag and gives me my cliam ticket.

Then I go to security, which is a line stretched out approximately back to the hotel I just left. I guess it's the combination of the tournament and people returning from Spring Break skiing. The line moves pretty well, though, and I'm at the gate over an hour before my departure.

Well, it turns out they have overbooked the flight. No biggie, it happens, and because of the snow connecting flights from Reno and elsewhere are running late, so I should be in good shape. (They were looking for volunteers to give up their seats but I really had to be back at work Monday.) The lady at the gate tells me she'll call me in a few minutes to update my status. I wait, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, now they're boarding group 1 . . . group 2 . . . lalala . . . group 9. Finally, I go up and say, hey am I on or not. They look at me blankly and oh, yeah, I guess we can get you on. WTF #2? If I hadn't gone up there again I'd probably still be sitting at the gate.

Now on the plane. I'm looking at the snow and ice on the wings and thinking, hey don't they have to get that shit off. The flight attendent is like, oh, no we already took care of that. Okay. Except that we sit on the tarmac for another 90 minutes os they can . . . de-ice the wings!

Flight arrives in BWI, which is under reconstruction so we walk about a half-mile (no exaggeration) to the baggage claim. And wait for, again no exaggeration, 50 minutes for the bags to appear. Lalala . . . bags come through . . . except . . . mine. Shit, perfect. I walk to the Delta baggage office, pull my claim check out of my pocket, look at it for the first time and . . . Spokane? And it's not even my name?? WTF #3. Stupid woman tagged my bag with somebody else name! Never had that shit happen before.

It's not in the computer (she said it takes a few hours to pop up in the system), but they're supposedly going to track it down and get it back to me in the next 24-48 hours. Yeah, right.

In the meantime, some asshole is probably posting on a Sonics board about the vacation videotape they found in my bag.

[CubanMustGo]

Welcome to the sad world of American aviation. And it will only get worse.

[1Parker1]

Ouch, that sucks big time, Shoog. The worst part of it is, even if you call their customer service to complain, I bet nothing would get done and they probably wouldn't offer you anything more than a keychain for your troubles.

And they wonder why airlines like Southwest are taking over.

[ChumpDumper]

That bitch!
http://www.broadwayworld.com/columnpic/Delta%20Burke-21.JPG

[Kori Ellis]

In the meantime, some asshole is probably posting on a Sonics board about the vacation videotape they found in my bag.

:lmao

But sorry about your trouble. Everytime the airlines have lost my luggage, I've gotten it back within 24 hours -- so good luck.

[angel_luv]

:lmao

Poor Bear

[Extra Stout]

Ouch, that sucks big time, Shoog. The worst part of it is, even if you call their customer service to complain, I bet nothing would get done and they probably wouldn't offer you anything more than a keychain for your troubles.

And they wonder why airlines like Southwest are taking over.
I don't know how any of those airlines continue to exist. You pay more to get longer travel times, more delays, worse customer service, and they do things like lose your bags and/or your reservation more often.

And now they want to do things like charge extra for aisle seats.

It's as if General Motors were running an airline on the side.

Is there some rule that says when you join a union, you have to shove your head up your ass and keep it there the whole time you're at work? And what's up with the management? Does every barely-passing doofus at Yale who joins Skull & Bones get to run a major corporation/global superpower as a birthright?

[1Parker1]

It's as if General Motors were running an airline on the side.

:lmao :lmao

[T Park]

Continental > Delta

[slayermin]

Great story. Hope everything works out.

Sometimes life is

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002J11.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Vashner]

Well at least they didnt' take off with ice and blow your body into a pile of smouldering ashes in a fireball crash.

It's fun to fly with 40,000 gallons of JET A under your feet... sweet saudi juice.

Read the accident PDF in this thread http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35031

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

:lol

I feel your pain brother.

[ShoogarBear]

They still have no clue where my bag is.

And something just clicked. The last name on the claim ticket they gave me is Morrison.

Going to Spokane.

I bet it's a relative of that Gonzaga asshole. :lol

[Melmart1]

That sucks, Shoog. I have twice had luggage issues with Delta. Once was on the way to Seattle, they said my luggage got switched to the wrong plane in Salt Lake. So they sent it to Seattle, and delivered me someone else's luggage to my dorm (I was in class at the time, so couldn't claim it). So I called them again, and they finally bring me my suitcase- soaking wet with yellow-brown stains on everything. Apparently the girl they gave my luggage to couldn't be there for the pickup, so she left it on the porch. Need I remind you this is rainy Seattle? Everything white was ruined and the darks had to be washed three times to get the moldy rainwater smell out. I was livid! They gave me $250, but that was hardly enough to replace all my whites, especially in Seattle where the cost of living is much higher than SA.

The other time was from Virginia to SA via Atlanta. I wanted to fly Southwest, but they didn't go out of Norfolk at the time, so I was forced to take Delta to avoid going through snowy Chicago. The result was only slightly better- they didn't lose my luggage, but it was severely damaged- and there was some strange bra in my luggage! It was a very ugly pushup that was way too small. It was the same suitcase as the Seattle debacle so I retired the suitcase, bough new luggage- and haven't flown Delta since.

And that is just the luggage issues with Delta. I won't even tell you about the other ticketing and plane issues. Worst. Airline. Ever.

[ShoogarBear]

Just got the call; my luggage is Spokane for! http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smielephant.gifhttp://www.spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smielephant.gifhttp://www.spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smielephant.gif

So it SHOULD be here tomorrow.

[ShoogarBear]

That sucks, Shoog. I have twice had luggage issues with Delta.
Almost every survey I've seen about airlines, Delta is at or near the bottom.



they didn't lose my luggage, but it was severely damaged- and there was some strange bra in my luggage! It was a very ugly pushup that was way too small.
See now, if you subscribed to Shoog's Bra Exchange Database(TM), you could have found that puppy a home. Or, rather, found some puppies who could have made it a home.

[Melmart1]

:lol See, this is why Shoog is the site pimp- no bra left behind with him.

I would offer the bra up to your database, but i threw it out. I might borrow a skirt or blouse from a friend- but I refuse to wear someone else's undergarments. Gross!

[Vashner]

Someone had a Gulfstream parked at the Port A airport during spring break ...

I didn't think the runway was long enough? Someone must have some serious cash.. VIP??

[Duff McCartney]

Coincidence? I think not....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_re_us/airlines_missing_baggage

Group: Airlines Lost 30M Bags in 2005
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago



GENEVA - If you've ever been frustrated after an airline lost your luggage, you're in the good company of millions of others. An estimated 30 million bags were temporarily lost by airlines in 2005, and 200,000 of those bags were never reunited with their owners, according to an industry report released Monday.

The report by SITA Inc., a company that provides technology solutions for the air transport industry, also noted that "the problem of mishandled baggage is worsening on both sides of the Atlantic."

The 30 million misdirected bags comprised only 1 percent of the 3 billion bags processed last year by airports, up from 0.7 percent in 2004, said SITA, which is promoting technology it says would reduce the problem.

Last year, mishandled luggage cost world airlines $2.5 billion, compared with $1.6 billion in 2004, SITA said, in a report released before Tuesday's airline and airport passenger services exposition in Paris. The jump partly reflects improvements in data collection, but also the increasing costs resulting from inadequate baggage management.

Greater airport congestion, tight connection times, increased transfers among airlines and stricter security are all contributing to more late or missing bags, said SITA, a Geneva-based company that is owned by the airlines, airports and other international air transport industry companies.

But the biggest problem is the growing number of passengers, whose additional bags cause delays and complicate handling, it said.

"Growth is welcome but it has to be better managed if airlines and airports want to improve the passenger experience by eliminating delays from the system," said Francesco Violante, SITA's managing director.

Mishandling during baggage transfer was the largest single cause last year of a bag failing to arrive with its owner at the intended destination. Other bags were temporarily lost because of airport personnel failing to properly load baggage, ticketing errors, problems with loading or unloading, and weight or size restrictions. Only 3 percent of all misdirection of baggage occurred due to tagging errors.

On average, bags are returned to their owners a little over 31 hours — or 1.3 days — after they are reported missing, SITA said.

There is no industry standard for permanently lost bags, and items in some countries are later sold at auction.

In the United States, the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, sells more than 1 million items each year. Most of the merchandise sold is clothing, but also includes cameras, electronics, sporting goods, jewelry and — of course — luggage.

To help the airline industry cope with more passengers and more bags, SITA is promoting use of a tiny computer-style chip on luggage tags that it says will reduce the number of misdirected bags. The luggage labels, known as RFID for radio frequency identification tags, allow for tracking of luggage at all times over wireless networks.

The RFID chips also allow for quick removal of baggage from airplanes when the passenger who checked them fails to show up for the flight, SITA said. But the chips are used at only a limited number of airports so far.

"The industry needs more sophisticated baggage reconciliation systems and greater use of self-service such as check-in through kiosks and on the Web," Violante said. "This will all help to simplify travel, reduce delays and baggage misconnections."

SITA also promotes new technologies aimed at allowing mobile phone use on flights and offers applications for air-to-ground communications and fares services. It had revenues in 2004 of $1.58 billion.

[T-Pain]

hey theres a good chance of that Morrison having relations of the Gonzaga star.


so did you get your luggage back?

[ShoogarBear]

hey theres a good chance of that Morrison having relations of the Gonzaga star.
Yep, that's what I was thinking.


so did you get your luggage back?
I got the call. It's supposed to be on its way.

[Vashner]

That's why i'll just stick to carry on if I can. Forget luggage hassle...