I can't believe it - Delta
 

Back in Feb. my father in law flew to Greece using FF miles on Delta. Because he very specifically did not want to transfer anywhere he took a train from Philly to NYC to fly out. Through a mistake by the ticketing agent he missed his plane and had to fly on another airline (still free). But, he was delayed for hours and had to transfer in Italy. He was quite livid when he came back and wrote a 20 page letter to Delta detailing not only this trip, but one he took 10 YEARS ago where he was forced to buy a new plane ticket on Delta because his Visa had been stolen, delaying him in Athens.

Let's just say that English is my FIL's third language and he would not take any help in shortening his letter or summarizing his complaints. I thought he had a snowball's chance in heck of even getting a courtesy reply from Delta and instead he got a letter of apology and a check for $1,000 the the ticket he had to purchase 10 years ago.

I seriously can't believe it! I think I'll have him write all of my service complaint letters from now on. :)

Speaks very highly of Delta I must say. Congrats to your FIL on having this matter resolved on his favor.

Wow - a good Delta experience to relate for a change!

Very cool - thanks for sharing.

I can't believe it either, especially given the 20 page letter ;)

I have a good Delta story as well. I was planning to take my sons to DC for spring break in March, 2005. The day before we were to leave, there was a death in our family. The agent at Delta was very kind and waived all fees on our non -refundable tickets and told me that I had one year to use the tickets. So, this year, at the last moment, I decided to take the boys for the trip we had not taken in 2005. I called to make my reservations and was informed that my tickets had expired as the one year period extended from the date of issue, not the date of travel. The tickets were one week out of date! I was quite shocked and upset at losing that much money! I got no satisfaction from any agent and when I asked to speak with a supervisor , was curtly told that I would simply be told the same thing. I asked for corporate's phone number, which they said they did not have, but they did direct me to make my complaint by email to the main office in Atlanta, adding that it would be at least a month before I received a reply! Well, spring break would only be a memory by then! But, I did as directed and presented my case in an email and sent it off. Then I went to a financial web site and looked up Delta's symbol on the stock exchange and from the symbol I accessed Delta's corporate informaton, with names, addresses, phone and fax numbers. I faxed my situation to every executive on the list.This was on a Friday. Monday came and went, not a word from Delta. By Tuesday afternoon I was ready to concede defeat. Delta was within their rights to deny me permission to fly. The error was mine, as I conceded in my fax and email. Then the phone rang and a woman on the other end said that she was with Delta, she had been given a copy of my letter, and when would I like to fly? Astounded, I answered that we could go ASAP. She put me through to a ticket agent who helped me book a flight out to DC the next morning! My boys and I had 4 wonderful days in our nation's capitol!
Weeks after we had returned home, I received an email from the corporate office, stating that they were sorry but that policy clearly stated that tickets could not be honored past one year from the date of issue.
I learned two valuable lessons. The first, understand the terms of carriage, even in the event of cancellation under traumatic conditions, and secondly, don't stop with the person who turns you down. Take your case higher up, be polite, and beg forgiveness if you are technically in the wrong. The worst that can happen is that you will be turned down. I am now loyal to Delta and look for Delta flights first when booking a flight.

Has the check cleared yet?