DL and NW filed for Chapter 11 on the same day - 9/14/2005.

So this is kind of scary. I have 3 tickets to fly to Germany on June 1st. Unfortunately they are non-refundable. Does that mean I lost all this money for our trip and have to pay on top for tickets with another airline? I tried to get an answer from Delta but they keep on "refering" me and so far I have NO answer. This is a trip where we have all our reservations made and paid for in germany.

chyna, thing is nobody knows anything yet. The next deadline is April 15 and if things do not go the pilots' way nobody even knows if they will strike, with or without the 30 day cooling off period.

So for now we all just have to sit back and wait. Handwringing will only wear out your hands.

lol...I'll try not to have worn out hands. But also hope I don't have a worn out wallet. Would they reimburse if they go under or would they put us on another carrier? Or is that something that also nobody knows? ~trying to keep hands apart~
Thanks

chyna - I have the same dilemma as you. My tickets with Delta are non-refundable. So if I cancel and re-book with someone else, I'll have lost $$ on the first set of tickets and have to shell out more $$ for the second. Gah! I hate being in this limbo. I think I'm just going to cancel Delta and end my misery.

Liquidsunshine...I feel for us...waaaa...but I'm not ready yet to throw in the towel. I'm still hoping that things will be settled peacefully. No other airlines have this perfect route. All others I would have to change at least twice. So, fingers crossed and no hand rubbing

I just want to say that my husband is a pilot for ASA which is a delta connection. We do not believe the pilots will strike, if that means anything at all :)
A strike would be murder/suicide as we all know and if the pilots lost their jobs, many would have no place to go. They have a lot to lose.

Does this mean maybe we will get a heads up on a possible strike date so we can make alternate plans just in case?

ATLANTA The head of the Delta Air Lines pilots union is seeking authority to decide when and if a strike is to happen. Union chairman Lee Moak is to meet with other union leaders today, now that they've voted to authorize a strike.

Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, is operating under bankruptcy protection.

An arbitration panel must decide by April 15th whether to void the pilots' contract.

Delta has said such a strike would force it to go out of business.

Any strike decision would likely prompt a court challenge by the company, which would almost certainly seek a restraining order. Moak says in an interview the union will "do what is legal."
__________________

We have tickets to/from Ireland in May, and tickets to/from Italy in June. I am considering getting a refund and booking on other airlines. According to Delta's fine print on my etickets, you can now return for a change, or a full refund (minus some administrative fee). I just don't trust them anyway. This back and forth "strike - don't strike" foolishness is frustrating.

As far as I am concerned, the airline just has no credibility. And if it isn't pilots, it's the mechanics. If it isn't the mechanics, it is the air traffic controllers. And if it isn't the air traffic controllers, it will be someone else. I've never seen such greed. Not just with airlines, with many companies.

It's revolting.

I just skimmed this thread and hopefully, I am not being redundant. I have found a fare I can live with and the flight times are just right. Would you buy a ticket from Delta right now for the summer? Inquiring minds want to know!

No

Wren,
YES -- I would buy. They are not going to strike, and you will end up with a great deal. And possibly an empty seat next to you because of all the naysayers!
I have a domestic and an intl flight both with Delta in May and I am looking forward to the extra room because everyone else booked elsewhere. :)

wanderlust,

When you purchased your Delta tickets to Italy, were they nonrefundable or refundable?

Where is the fine print you mention: "According to Delta's fine print on my etickets, you can now return for a change, or a full refund(minus some administrative fee."

You have my full attention on this one.

Wren- Yes I would.

Dear I am Kane

I am cutting and pasting in the exact terminology used on my eticket from Delta which was literally just issued last week:

Thank you for choosing Delta. We encourage you to review this information before your trip. If you need to contact Delta or check on your flight information, go to delta.com, call 800-221-1212 or call the number on the back of your SkyMiles® card.

Now, managing your travel plans just got easier. You can exchange, reissue and refund electronic tickets at delta.com. Take control and make changes to your itineraries at delta.com/itineraries.

--- You can see there that they say "REFUND" now --- in addition to exchange etc.

That's IF you purchased a refundable ticket.

Hi wanderlust5,

Thanks for the specific wording from Delta; however, I would still like to know if you had purchased a refundable or nonrefundable ticket.

For various scenarios, I would also check with credit card company. There is some protection for purchases made and not received - all sorts of varying fine print regarding how long you have to file claim, time from purchase to non-receipt, blah, blah, blah - but it is worth checking either recent agreement (available on-line) or making a phone call. I know some people received reimbursement from credit card when Independence Air disappeared. (do not actually think Delta will disappear)

While will not get you to your destination, at least it will protect the money.

If I recall, someone correct this, when American Express made the large loan to Delta last year they set aside several hundreds of millions of dollars in a fund expressly for customer reimbursement in the event of a shutdown. Probably only applies to AX card charges, though.

If true and if you charged on AX, you will be ably to apply for a refund should Delta fail.