Update:
Thank you to everyone who has participated in the recent conversations on baggage allowances for active duty U.S. military personnel. We appreciate all of your thoughts and insight, and want to share an update on the soldiers involved as well as changes to our official policies.
First and foremost, we want you to know we’re continuing to work with the soldiers individually to make this situation right for each of them. We regret that this experience caused these soldiers to feel anything but welcome on their return home. We honor their service and are grateful for the sacrifices of our military service members and their families.
After careful consideration, effective immediately, U.S. military personnel traveling on orders in First Class and BusinessElite can check up to five bags at no charge and 4 bags in economy class. This change also adds dependents traveling with active military on orders. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm), which offers added flexibility over the standard 50 lbs. and 62 linear inches (157 cm) allotment. Because of weight, balance and space constraints, Delta Connection carriers will accept up to four bags at no charge. You can read the updates to the travel policy on delta.com.
We hope these changes to our policies reflect the true respect we hold for our service men and women and again demonstrate our appreciation as both a company and as individuals who benefit from the freedom our troops defend. We also hope this echoes our commitment to listening, learning, and our continued dedication to constant improvement.
As an Army wife and 12 year Delta employee I also want to take this opportunity to shed some light on the additional ways we work to support U.S. Military personnel and their families throughout the travel process as well as in the community. We are a longstanding supporter military support organizations such as the Fisher House Foundation and United Service Organization.
At the airport, our employees are also committed to providing comfort to our military travelers on the plane, at the gates and in our Sky Clubs. We actively carry thousands of military personnel and equipment every week. I’m also proud to say that Delta is comprised of thousands of military service men and women—actively serving, retired, reserve, National Guard and more—and it’s another reason I’m passionate in Delta’s efforts to support our soldiers.
I want to again personally thank you for your passion and for participating in the discussions on our social media channels and beyond, and look forward to continuing the dialogue.
Rachael R.
Manager, Delta Social Media
—————-
We realize many of you have questions regarding members of the United States Military traveling with us on active duty today from BWI, and we want to take this opportunity to answer some of the recurring questions we’ve been hearing in our social media channels, as well as share some insight into our policies and procedures.
First and foremost we want you, our customers, to know how deeply Delta respects and admires the men and women who fight every day for our country. On a personal level, we as a company have very strong ties to the armed forces, with countless employees, family, friends and loved ones serving actively or on reserve, and many more who are retired from military service. I myself am the proud wife of an Army reservist here in Georgia. We at Delta understand what it takes to travel as an active duty member of the military, which is why we worked hard to ensure our policies allow active duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling with us additional flexibility.
Currently, Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel traveling on orders may check up to 4 bags in First/Business class and 3 bags in Coach for free both domestically and internationally. Additionally, to help with the travel process, we allow each bag to weight an extra 20 pounds over the standard allowance. You can read more on this policy on delta.com.
In the case of today’s situation, we would like to publicly apologize to those service men and women for any miscommunication regarding our current policies as well as any inconvenience we may have caused. We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.
We thank you for your questions and remain happy to answer any additional questions you may have. We’ll also be sharing updates along the way to keep you informed.
Rachael R.
Manager, Delta Social Media
June 7th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
How un-American can Delta be? These troops were not traveling for the hell of it. They were trying to go home. Then you have the nerve to charge them $200.00 for a single bag! I will never fly delta, both for myself and the military, ever again.
June 7th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
I really think your policy should be looked at. You should realize that the US Military personal can not afford to fly first class because our US Goverment does not pay them enough. I have make more in a month than my son does as a LCPL in the USMC and that is because he has a wife and child so he does get the extra allowance. You should consider the COACH class should be allowed 4 bags. They must carry their weapons to defend themselves and defend our freedom. I pay for all my son’s flights home when he does get leave and I will continue to use UNITED AIRLINES since ALL of his baggage is free as long as it is his military bags.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:00 am
Delta, you need to fix this immediately!!! Our service members deserve better than to have to pay out of pocket for equipment that they are required to have!!! If you haven’t already done it, you need to refund every penny that they paid!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:11 am
I have shared this story with my friends on Facebook, along with the request that they don’t fly Delta. Delta’s actions in this case, and its company policy regarding our troops, are beneath contempt. Even if you make this particular case “right”, the fact remains that your company policy still exists. Whoever thinks this is “good business” should be ashamed of himself or herself.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:12 am
I’m a Vietnam vet and will never fly delta air lines again unless all of the fees are returned. I don’t care what your policy is and it is an insult that you would even quote them on your blog.
When I came home they spit on us and I vowed then that would never happen again and here you are disrespecting our Military.
I hope you noticed that I didn’t capitalize delta air lines but I did capitialize the word Military. That’s were you company belongs on the food chain.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:16 am
It’s a no brainer the troops should fly for free check bags for free and whatever else they want for free! It’s disgusting that Delta would charge! Do they charge Delta when they pay with their life everyday? Just so you can go to work and charge them? Really? Shame on Delta! And your response should not be one of reaching out! It should be a position of reimbursement and a whole hell of a lot more! Unbelievable!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:17 am
I will not be flying with Delta anymore because of the treatment of our Soldiers today. I am a SKYMILES member. I have used DELTA for all my business travel.
I really do not care what the policy is, these men had orders that allowed them 4 bags, you should have taken it up with the government. You should have just allowed the bags.
These men were returning from a war, fought on your behalf and on the behalf of all citizens, that we might never again watch airplanes (LIKE YOURS DELTA) fly into buildings and murder our citizens, that we might never again watch airplanes fall from the sky into fields taking the lives of all on-board. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN DELTA!? HAVE YOU?
If you must bleed people for extra cash, BLEED us civilians, and cover the costs for the men and woman ensuring that your planes fly in safety and security! SHAME ON YOU DELTA! I do not care what your stupid contract says. THOSE 4TH BAGS SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED! They have been bought with blood and sweat and tears!
There is no excuse. Yes they will be reimbursed..eventually but they are all short 200$ tonight and 200$ is a lot of money for most all of them. They wont be taking their wives out to dinner, they won’t be doing much of anything until the 15th rolls around, because you took 200$ from each of them.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:18 am
You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Embrace NWAs long history of doing Desert Storm charters. Checked bag fees for anyone shouldn’t be an issue, let alone our men and woman in uniform. Let them bring as much as they want or need if they are coming home or on orders. Delta is running a business, not a charity, I get thats why you have the checked bag fees, but have some class when it comes to people fighting and serving our country.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:18 am
It is very sad and sooooo wrong that it took our soldiers doing a video to expose what Delta did to them and bring awareness of this situation to the entire world. It is even more sad that it is only now that Delta realizes how wrong they are and will address this situation. I realize there are rules and contracts but these should “go out the window” when our military is returning from the horrors they experience fighting for our freedom.
It is also interesting that all comments have been deleted from this blog.
Delta, I hope you make this situation right and will never have our military face this again. These men and women do not have extra money to pay for their bags. Unfortunately you have, through a very bad decision, damaged the good name of an airline which has always been one of the top ones.
I pray that this will never happen again.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:19 am
Another thing I only fly Delta fir the past 25 years! But this…well I know how to make Delta think was it worth the $2,800! I spend that in airfare a month! Not to mention my family and friends! Perhaps it’s time to reconsider! I’m just outraged! Embarassed and ashamed! Come on Delta…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:20 am
Having been deployed three times in eight years, I have never had to pay out of pocket for bags on other airlines. Flying with Delta has always been a crap shoot. We can never tell when there will be an issue with baggage, especially once the major airlines got together and started soaking all passengers for baggage fees.
If given a choice, I fly my Soldiers and I on other airlines, because I’ve never had a problem with them. Even when other airlines’ policies do not allow for certain baggage accommodations, airline personnel are usually willing and empowered to bend the rules for us.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:20 am
Delta, How unAmerican can you be? Our serviceman are risking their lives daily for our country and are away from their families AND you are charging them for their baggage? I’ve never flown DELTA and I never will. YOU NEED TO RECONSIDER YOUR CHARGES AND REFUND THE SOLDIERS THEIR MONEY, THEN DO SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:21 am
Talk about stepping in “it”. HOW do you charge people for their belongings who are coming back from a war zone who are protecting your right to exist! You really need to quickly move on this otherwise your airline is going to see a dramatic drop in traffic when the family and freinds of military start boycotting your airline for this atrosity!
DISGUSTING is not a harsh enough word for this!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 am
Ridiculous! US…You should be thanking them not charging them!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 am
I have been a loyal customer of Delta Airlines for 15 years! I am displeased with how this has turned out. I also served in the USAF and have deployed numerous times overseas. 20 lbs extra weight is not enough. I recommend it be raised to 50 lbs with the some leeway given to the agents processing the bags at their point of origin. I understand aircraft weight and balance but this is REALLY bad publicity for Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:24 am
Sure there has to be control over the amount of luggage a passenger carries. But do these soldiers say “Sorry it’s quitting time, we’ll go back to fighting terrorists tomorrow morning” Delta should be proud to support them as much as they can, rather than bring embarassment to their company.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:27 am
Too little too late, Delta. Why in the world do you have restrictions for members of the U.S. Military to begin with?! I guess your bottom line means more to you than the freedom you seem to take for granted.
Delta…NEVER AGAIN. Boycott, boycott, boycott!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:27 am
Well bless your heart for trying to “connect” with the angry mob of people, by stating you are a “Reservist” wife, good for you. I am not trying to down play your husbands service, “Reservist” or not he still serves. My husband, is Active Duty Army, and is currently deployed, and I would be beyond livid if this was the treatment he received from your company. If you “Value” the military, then why were they even charged the $200 for their over bags, what where they supposed to do, decided on whether or not to leave their A bag or their case carrying their weapons? I am pretty sure leaving their gun around would have been against your policy as well. No matter where the service member sits, they all should be allowed the same amount of baggage. I flew with Delta back in Sept on orders, and they made an service member on orders pay for his third bag, while the person behind him, who was one of your privileged fliers, was allowed to fly their extra bag for free. Delta is a ridiculous company, and I would be ashamed to work for them, I will never fly Delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:27 am
I do not care what their “policy” is… Policy should not apply to these situations. These men and women are returning from war-zones (after risking their LIVES for a greater cause) and cannot exactly always control if they will have to have that extra bag- let alone if they will be in first/business class or coach. If traveling on military orders- (again) ESPECIALLY returning from a war-zone ya’ll (ALL OF DELTA and their employees) should be ashamed of themselves to have the audacity to demand funds be collected to check the extra baggage. Especially being a wife with close relations to the military Ms “Rachel R” you sound like an ungrateful little girl. I really hope you are just saying what you wrote to save face and keep your job.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:28 am
So… Was this press release simply not true or was there a later press release limiting what was said earlier?
ATLANTA, Aug. 15, 2008 — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced that effective immediately it will waive all excess baggage fees for active military personnel traveling on orders. The fee waivers apply to baggage quantity, weight and size, allowing active servicemen and women to travel with optimum flexibility.
Your blog makes it seem like you see the problem as simply a failure on the soldiers part to fully understand your policy.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:29 am
We do not have questions…. we have requests that the men and women who are laying their lives on the line every single day… be given the respect and honor to NOT HAVE TO PAY for their gear to be brought back home…. That is what we are asking, no demanding.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:33 am
You should be ashamed of yourself. these brave soldiers are fighting for your freedom and safety. What is wrong with this country and its ungrateful attitude. What has happened to integrity and character in corporations? I have flown Delta frequently but this will change immediately. It is not hard to stand up and do the right thing. Those soldiers are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice…and Delta just cared about boosting their bottom line.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:35 am
You have got to be kidding me!!! These men and women have just sacrificed not only their personal lives but have put their lives in grave danger time and time again for all American’s and to give us all our freedom. Delta you should be ashamed of yourselves and I only hope that every American feels the same way as I do. Maybe when you have been boycotted and have no passengers at all will you begin to see the insult you have bestowed upon our military personnel.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:37 am
My son has traveled the world on Delta, and I’ve racked up plenty of miles for business, myself. You shouldn’t have to look any further into the situation… this should have never happened to our men in uniform. Our guys go months without the comforts of home, and the first time they really get the feeling they’re coming home is often in your terminal. You need to work on making this a great experience for them. When was the last time any of your employees slept in the back of a HumVee or went without a shower for months on end? Train your employees to show some compassion! We’re nearly ten years into these wars so you should have policies set in stone by now. Shame on you.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:39 am
Yeah, because lots of military members returning from Afghanistan have the opportunity to sit in First Class. Clearly your policy was misleading, because as an active duty Soldier I know those Soldiers were given correct guidance and were instructed to take four bags, thats how the policy was interpreted. However, even if a mistake was made in understanding your vague policies Delta should have had the understanding to waive the fees for these returning Soldiers. You have no idea how bad theses Soldiers had it or how bad they lived or how long they saw each other suffer or if their friends were seriously wounded or killed. All you worried about was the money. There’s no making up for this egregious mistake. And to the writer of this blog, you as a Soldier’s spouse should be furious, but you have more of a dedication to some airline’s policy than you do to the men and women protecting your ability to generate excuses that neither make Delta look better nor suffice in respecting the fact that these men and women protect your right to be complacent and inconsiderate. Stop with the excuses and compensate these Soldiers.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:43 am
Delta, Goodie for you! You have a contract with the government. You need to adjust your baggage policies when it comes to OUR servicemen/women. When the baggage check policy maker can put his/her life on the line to defend our country, then and ONLY then can they deem military bags as simple “baggage”. I have had one son serve three tours to Iraq…another that just enlisted. Shame on you! I expect better treatment of our military from the airlines they protect in order to have those airlines
operate!!!!!! Delta has a LOT of PR fixing to do. This NEVER should have happened!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:46 am
These people were returning home after serving in a freaking WAR ZONE, you idiots. Would you rather they had brought the weapons into the cabin as carry-ons?
This action on your part was phenomenally disrespectful and offensive, and you aren’t getting a fraction of the grief over this that you deserve.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:47 am
The video said this was a contracted flight, not that these soldiers were flying just on orders. Any soldier can fly on orders and the policy they quoted would apply. But if this was in fact a contracted flight then number of bags allowed would be covered in the contract and would not have been based on whether or not the soldiers flew coach or first class. Regardless, this should have been handled between Delta and the Contracting Officer-not the soldiers. Welcome Home Soldiers! Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 am
You should really consider looking at this policy again. Come on- when do active duty soldiers on orders ever fly first class? If they are flying on orders then the Army is paying for it and they are not going to pay to fly these soldiers first class. They should be allowed however many bags that they need. They are not going on vacation- they are on orders and are most likely going overseas and need whatever the Army tells them to bring and should NOT be charged personally for any of it. Or at minimum they should be allowed 4 checked bags, no matter where they are sitting on the plane. That is ridiculous. They are just coming back from serving our country and this is how we welcome them home! My husband is currently in Afghanistan and if we get charged for a bag- I will be livid! I will never fly Delta because of this situation. You need to take care of the people who are taking care of us! I personally think that the Army should take their contract somewhere else.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:53 am
As a retired Vet, I will NEVER fly Delta again. It makes no difference if they refund the money, change the policy, etc. This uncalled for error happened. Management knew about their policy, saw no reason to alter it, so I see no reason to fly Delta ever again.
Don’t blame it on the employees making the reservations, don’t blame it on anyone except Upper Management–the people that put the policies in place.
Good Bye Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:53 am
I can’t add anything that has not already been said. As a mom of a military man I agree to boycott Delta and tell all I know to do the same. A policy like this should not exist and other airlines do not have it. I will pay attention to the other’s policies regarding those that sacrifice to serve their country. What does your CEO have to say????!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 4:52 am
My comment is awaiting censorship! LOL
June 8th, 2011 at 5:01 am
I also cant add much that hasn’t already been said, but I’m disappointed that they risk dying for our country, and then a company is willing to squeeze every penny they can out of them. I will also not fly Delta again, and would like to see a comprehensive follow up on this story…
June 8th, 2011 at 6:01 am
I also served, many years ago, was twice wounded in combat, lost many friends and returned to hostility instead of the care and consideration generally and rightfully afforded our service men and women today.
The issues, as I see them are multitude. First, is poor corporate leadership. Poor policies should never see the light of day. A companies leaders are responsible to have all policies carefully reviewed prior to implementation. Next, is a lack of empowerment. In the face of a situation like this, the local agent should be empowered to see the situation for what it is and make the necessary changes. Finally, there is culture. In a corporate culture in which “right thinking” is supported, employees are encouraged to place customers first and enabled to better serve the best interest of both clients and the business; policies like this seldom exist, are soon revoked or are disregarded by employees who anticipate the disastrous consequences and have the authority to make immediate changes.
This is a prime example of “Managing by Mandate,” the policy comes first. “We agree but we can’t do anything about it, it’s company policy.” Additionally it speaks to how companies in this country are finding unfortunate new avenues of revenue that are evidently supposed to fool their customers into thinking that rates aren’t going up. All this type of thinking leads to is anger and dissatisfaction, if for no other reason than the assumption that we are really that stupid!
Even the apology was poorly done and that is really worrisome because it is doubtless made by a highly educated and well trained professional in media/customer relations. Never apologize by adding language that tries to mitigate your error. Be honest, apologize, state that you are making the necessary changes (restitution, etc) and stop there.
How much will Delta loose in business and good will compared to the income from these baggage fees?
Poor leadership, poor critical thinking, lacking empowerment, poor customer service. Ouch!
June 8th, 2011 at 6:02 am
This might clarify a couple details: First Class is reserved for Officers, Warrant officers, and E-7 to E-9. The reason they are allowed 4 bags is beyond me. Coach is reserved for E-1 to E-6. However, some circumstances have allowed E-6′s in first class. No, I do not agree with the “baggage fee” that’s placed on a weapon(s) the service member carries to do his/her “job”. As an OEF / OIF Vet, my heart goes out to those that have had to pay out of pocket so they can carry “tools of their trade”.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:10 am
The policy that Delta has for military personnel returning from a battle front is awful. These people are coming home from a combat zone not traveling for fun. To charge them any fee for baggage is something Delta should be ashamed. Short of a tank they should pay nothing for baggage. After all they are putting their lives on the line, wether you agree with Afghanistan war or not, they are our troops. Refund the money
June 8th, 2011 at 6:14 am
I think people are being a little hard on Delta…Come on. They were following their policy- A policy that has been made clear online for over 2 years and has been made clear to the military for over 2 years. The soldiers were authorized 4 bags on their orders- This means the government will reimburse them for the 4th bag, which should have been paid for. It’s our money anyways (Taxes).
Now do I think they could give more of a baggage allowance? Yes, not because its for soldiers who are fighting overseas (just a job choice, I’ve served as well) but because the government contract tickets are EXPENSIVE! We are talking over $1200 for Orlando-Baltimore round trip.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:14 am
Disgusted beyond words. DISGUSTED. These brave men and women are lucky to be returning home with their heads still attached to their bodies. Do you have any idea in how much acute danger these individuals were living every single day? The absolute horror going on overseas is something that none of us can even begin to imagine. Soldiers are committing suicide daily because they simply can’t deal with it any more. So what does Delta decide to do? Charge these brave souls, these survivors, almost THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS to return home with their bags. I’m so disgusted that I feel nauseous. Thank God they’re finally home. That’s all I can say at this point. I am forwarding this story to all of my relatives (including my uncles and grandparents who are vets) and I can assure you that we will go above and beyond to never fly Delta again. They are un-American, money-hungry sickos.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:16 am
These comments are moderated, it seems, so I’m guessing that a lot of stuff is not going to get through. Might explain why there’s only 30 comments here so far when most of the other news sites covering this atrocity have thousands already.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:16 am
Do our service men and women every get to fly first class? They should be the ones in first class on all flights. They are the ones out in the “war zone” getting a measly extra $190 a month to be on “hazardous duty”. This is really the only time they are separated from their weapons, it would really be nice if they just had a comfortable seat to sit in and relax on their last flight (possibly) to get back home to their loved ones. Why do they have to worry about this added stress!!!!!!! What happens if the soldier doesn’t have the extra $200, are they forced to disassemble their bag to try and make it all fit into the other 3, and in the meantime be humiliated in front of onlookers because Delta won’t allow a 4th bag.
That’s real nice Delta, my family will not be needing your service anymore. I really hope that my soldier will not end up on one of your flights. Good Day
June 8th, 2011 at 6:17 am
Delta.. shame on all of you.. my son has been deployed 4 times … Why can’t your over paid executives pay for these troops coming home. You and your policies are part of what is wrong with America. You and your upper management need to apologize asap, return the money with interest.. and ensure this stupidity will never happen again… maybe next time they can leave their armor and guns behind to meet your stupid requirements..
June 8th, 2011 at 6:23 am
I have actually written in the past to compliment Delta on how well my USMC son was treated when he was traveling on the airline last year. At that time we were told “military baggage flys free”. I am now completely shocked and disgusted at how these particular service members have been treated. Delta, you just lost a paying civilian customer. I will boycott Delta from here on. I WAS planning to take Delta for my next trip in August. Needless to say those plans are now changed. Shame on you for the shabby treatment of these fine Americans.
A very disgruntled USMC Mom.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:26 am
SHAME ON YOU, DELTA. I will NEVER fly delta airlines again nor will my son who is proud to serve in the United States Air Force. I can’t wait until this soldier’s video is shown on the national news. I hope everyone boycotts your airline. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on delta airlines.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:30 am
This used to be an airline worthy of respect. What you did was garbage, and it’s obvious what you have become. “Make it right?” You don’t even have the right to ask.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:37 am
I’m not too worried about the servicemen as I am told their unit will reimburse their expenses.
However, I am fascinated by this blog post. You write “In the case of today’s situation, we would like to publicly apologize to those service men and women for any miscommunication regarding our current policies.” No where in the post do you make it clear you will immediately refund the fees.
You are talking about less than $3k and this is the response you go with? You done goofed, Delta PR. It’s so bizarre that you spend so much on advertising and attempts to build good PR but you neglect to consider the first things about how to avoid bad PR (one thought might be: issuing a real apology, not one where you apologise that /they/ misunderstood your ‘policies’ and additionally, refunding the bag fees, erring on the side of caution, while you ‘look into’ things and announcing that straight away).
Crazy what this PR misstep is costing you. If I were to boycott Delta over this incident, it would actually not be because you disrespected 14 soldiers, it would be because if your PR department is this incompetent, perhaps your mechanics are as well. However, I refrain from starting such a boycott because I am already botcotting Delta and have been for 10 years, simply because you have always been incompetent.
Cheers.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:39 am
Absolutely disgraceful Delta. I’ve been a loyal Delta customer for 10 years. As a flag carrying US carrier this is unbelievable. Fix it immediately.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:41 am
Platinum Medallion member here. Million miler. Atlanta native. You know, the kind of traveler who pays Delta’s bills.
I’m disgusted with what I used to be proud to call my hometown airline.
Look, this is really simple: Look up the August 15, 2008, press release quoted by Bill at #20. That should be the complete policy. If a returning soldier wants to check seventeen bags and a live goat, the Delta agent should say “Absolutely, sir (or ma’am. Anything else we can do for you? Thanks for serving, and welcome home.”
Delta employees used to be empowered to use their brains and common sense to do the right thing for the passengers (all passengers, not just military) and to figure out the paperwork later. That airline, sadly, died long ago, and the Northwest acquisition seems to be dancing on its grave. Now it’s rules, HQ policies, and bland corporate-speak. How sad.
You know, a reserved seat just isn’t worth it. Southwest DESERVES to eat your lunch.
I wonder how much informal-boycott revenue Delta will lose because of that $2800 in fees they collected?
June 8th, 2011 at 6:47 am
I have almost exclusively flown Delta for 30 years accumulating and using lots of Skymiles. Unless this is resolved with a full refund to these soldiers and a change of policy, I will fly anything but Delta. Today I have to take a flight to Washington, DC. I will be on a United flight.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:48 am
My personal experiences with Delta have always been positive, and because of that, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that it was probably a newer employee who greeted the returning troops. Otherwise
Delta would probably have talked with the contracting agency. I fully
expect Delta to change their policy where members of the armed forces returning home from serving their country should be allowed an unlimited
number of bags of equipment, whether the flier is on a contracted flight or on orders. They should also allow them to carry a substantial amount of personal items with no charge as well. I’ll keep my eyes open for that!!
I’m glad that Delta responded quickly to the situation and the outcry.
And MANY THANKS TO ALL OF OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL! I’m so glad you came home alive!!!!! Thank you for all you do.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:49 am
Really Delta?
I am going to be flying Delta unfortunately today…only because I have to know, because it is the only airline from Traverse City to Buffalo…so I am stuck…but in the future I may just drive or fly into a different airport and drive from there just to avoid using Delta. I am sure you guys will eventually give the money back, but that is not even the point…it should not have happened in the 1st place. When does common sense take over? The person at the check in counter should have used common sense and allowed these men to travel without paying…and taken it up with the higher ups later…if they were reprimanded, they could have brought it to the media themselves and shown how heartless Delta is! Unbelieveable….Good Job Delta!
June 8th, 2011 at 6:51 am
Thanks for risking your life for your country. Now please pay us so that you can come home. Really? And you’re “currently looking into the situation”? What needs to be looked into? It seems pretty obvious to everyone else. Let our service men back into the country with their bags for free! My family, also, will not fly with Delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:57 am
31 comments? Is that all? Wait for it…thousands more are coming. You’ll earn your pay today, Rachael. This is the kind of horrible word-of-mouth that can very easily bring an entire corporation to its knees. I’ve flown Delta for years (the last five times of DOD orders), and am not abandoning y’all, but my goodness. I hope whatever ground crew people responsible enjoy their new jobs working for other airlines.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:59 am
Disgust is about the only word that comes to mind. I will never fly delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:00 am
It’s bad enough that you did this to our soldiers, but then to have the disingenuous apology “….any inconvenience….” as if it isn’t patently obvious they were far more than just inconvenienced.
Not only should the idiot on the line who took this action against Delta policy be immediately fired, the person who wrote this pseudo-apology should be sent to the baggage handling department until he/she learns what a real apology sounds like.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:02 am
Thanks for nothing Delta. As a disabled vet, I will NEVER fly Delta again. This is outrageous and I will pass this info on to all military personnel that I know. Have fun. By the way maybe the government should look at seriously dropping their contract with you. Hopefully someone will think twice about this in the future.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:02 am
As a military mother of 2, I travel alot to see both of my girls for the past 9 yrs and mostly with Delta.. and NOT EVER AGAIN!! I am TOTALY OUTRAGED that you could charge our soldiers, out of their own pockets mind you.. this charge for carrying the same weapons that protect our country and give us the FREEDOM that keep us in a comfortable free world that we call HOME… HOW DARE YOU! I WILL BE FLYING AMERICAN AIRLINES WHERE THEY WELCOME THEM HOME THE AMERICAN WAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Thank goodness… and thank you troops and sorry you had the bad experience from Delta but WELCOME HOME and GOD BLESS YOU!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 7:07 am
You are charging military members you know are returning from a war zone for bagage! Yet a perk for working on the airlines is free travel for some of your employees! Do all of your employees pay for their baggage? I think not! Yet, these men and women, put their very LIVES on the line EVERY day! YES, every day and they have to pay to bring back their personal belongings because they made it home! You people who made these rules are SICK! Your employees live a relatively normal life, our military risk their lives for our FREEDOM so we can have that NORMAL life! As my husband’s old drill instructor use to say, go to supply and request a glass belly button so you can see where you are going with your head up your (you fill in the blank). You must understand, I am a retired Army wife and love our military members as if each and every one were a member of my family. I take what you have done as a personal attack on my family. Now whoever is making your policies needs to sit down, and decide who should recieve free stuff from your airlines. Those who do just their everyday lives, yes your employees need to be given recognition, or those who live and die and for ALL of us to get that recognition. There is a compromise. You can give BOTH your employees and our MILITARY what they deserve! God bless our MILITARY!
June 8th, 2011 at 7:13 am
As a retired US Navy vet FROM Maryland and living 5 miles from BWI, I am disgusted by the treatment of these soldiers. Delta MUST remember that these soldiers did not make these flight arrangements. The US Army transportation office did. They did NOT choose to fly Delta. Military transportation offices typically book COACH. SO, it’s not their fault that they flew coach and Delta limited them to 3 bags. I’m sure they were informed they were allowed 4. I say, DELTA, refund this immediately and make a public apoligy to every single one of these soldiers. AND, give them each a FREE round trip ticket to anywhere within the 50 states, or US territory. Delta screwed up and I too, will never ever use Delta again and will never recommend Delta to anyone AND tell everyone to avoid DELTA from now on.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:14 am
OK, CBS just reported that Delta made a public apoligy, however, it did not way their money was refunded… until everything is resolved, I stand by my previous post!
June 8th, 2011 at 7:18 am
Delta should be ashamed of themselves! Also this gobbledygook about working with the soldiers is bologna. Every military person involved should have every penny refunded to them in cash, immediately, no questions asked.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:27 am
As a full time travel agent and a military mom, I am sickened that there isnt a better policy in place and that Delta Airlines personel only follow policy and do not realize that the reason they have the freedom and grace to wake up in a safe enviroment is because of these very men and women they punish for bringing their belongings that they have aquired for probably one year in Afganistan defending their freedom to be safe. I am personally banning Delta and will find alternative flights for my clients.
Delta, you better fix this fast. I am sending the article to every Travel Agent I know and posting it on facebook.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:41 am
I signed up for this account just to say how upset I am with Delta. I am sick over these outrageous charges. These men and women risked their lives for you and you re-pay them with a BILL. Outrageous! I will never fly with Delta EVER again! Hope you like your $2,800 dollars. I will pass this on to everybody I know. Shame on you Delta!!
June 8th, 2011 at 7:42 am
You would do this to the very people who put their lives on the line for every citizen in the USA? You would do this to the very people who already are underpaid, under insured, living away from family and loved ones because they believe in your right to live free?
Without them, where would your freedom be?
Without them, who would guard your shore?
Without them, how many comments would this blog see?
Without them, need I really say more?
June 8th, 2011 at 7:45 am
Simply said…make an exception and correct the error! REFUND the money!! Do the right thing…
June 8th, 2011 at 7:46 am
I would first like to thank our troops for all you do………. the simple act of appreciation is something that is complete non-existant in quite a few of our Major Companies and Industries…..
Delta needs to change its entire philosophy in customer service.
I personally traveled Delta exclusively, one almost EVERY occasion I had reason to fly, both for business or pleasure…….
In the past 5 years, Delta has ripped people off, destroyed the term CUSTOMER SERVICE, and continues, as in this example, to show us just what they are made of.
I am sorry for what the soldiers had to confront, after returning from serving out country……… but Delta is, in my opinion, no different than any terrorist group……. hopefully the citizensds of this country will wage war against this one specific airline.
I laughed hysterically the other morning, when I saw their ned ad that tried to tell us just how much they care……. LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Delta, you should be ashamed of yourselves……. yes all of you!!!!!!!!!!
Shame on you.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:53 am
Shame on you for the incident and double shame on you for such a mamby-pamby, CYA response. I’m sure your agent was just having a bad day, but wait, I’ll bet none of his/her co-workers got blown up by an IED last week, or lost an arm or a leg or an eye due to combat.
Wake up, grow a pair and make sure the troops know you’re really apologetic.
June 8th, 2011 at 7:54 am
What a shame. This already beleaguered airline just can’t stop making mistakes. This one is outrageous and from all the comments people are outraged and they are loyal customers. I do sit in first class and once on Delta last year, a General was supposed to sit next to me, but he gave up his seat in first class to a brand new soldier. I almost cried. It was on Delta and the general had miles for an upgrade. My son served two tours in Iraq in the Marines. Their travel contracts must be different than the Army. Their batallions flew on chartered flights from Le Jeune, point to point and back to Le Jeune. I am unfamiliar with the Army’s use of Delta for travel except for what I see in the Atlanta airport. Delta could do a whole lot better there. When I see our soldiers coming off a long flight from Iraq-horrible- sitting for hours waiting for a flight to get home to visit their families, it breaks my heart. The Army and Delta need to do a better job. These airlines are able to fly thanks to these soldiers’ keeping the terrorists tied up in the middle East-lest we forget!
June 8th, 2011 at 7:57 am
Outrageous. Shameful. And I am not even talking about Delta’s actions or its policy, I am talking about Delta’s response.
Whether or not Delta thinks its actions and policy are wrong (they are, of course, wrong are despicable), the response compounds Delta’s public relations nightmare. The response should have addressed the customer service debacle directly. The only way for Delta to move beyond this and save its reputation would have been to immediately apologize and make reparations to the service members – a refund and a free ticket would have cost much less than the lost business this incident will cause.
The gross insensitivity of Delta is well represented by the response, and was compounded by the fact that the response did not even come directly from a senior manager. It comes across as a self-serving load of patronizing doubletalk. The response seems to say “Hey, we couldn’t have done anything wrong; some of our best friends are soldiers!”
So much for Delta remembering its roots. So much for Delta being a “world class” company. So much for Delta getting any more of my travel dollars. So much for Delta.
Oh, and my personal apology to these service members as an American citizen. I hope these service members will keep the public posted about this. Delta, this is not going away. I suggest you get a new head of your social media operations; you can start by having them watch the United Breaks Guitars videos on youTube.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:00 am
What Military person is really going to fly 1st class??? They’re not worried about what “special things” they can get. They just want to get home to their family.
I personally will NEVER fly Delta again, and My father n law who usually always flys you and is part of the Crown room…..Im positive you will never get his business again!
Thank you all Military Men & Women For your Service! And Thank you to the families who have to be away from their husbands/wifes/lovers
June 8th, 2011 at 8:12 am
Shame on you !!! Military personnel should not have to pay for their baggage at all !!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Nice way to thank them for their service….NOT !!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Will encourage my husband (serving since Vietnam), my son (serving in Iraq now) and my entire family find another airline…
We travel a lot.
We pay fees when not on orders.
I am sick of corporations making money at the expense of the sweat and blood and sacrifice of the American military and their families.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:18 am
Well, Delta, time to pack your bags now! There is no way you will stay in business after this press. You could have eaten the cost of a few bags for the soldiers, now you will have no bags to charge for!! You won’t even have any passengers. Everyone will know about this. It will spread like wildfire! Shame on you Delta!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:18 am
Your customer service representative exhibited an incredible lack of judgement and common sense–hope you lose your GSA City-Pair contracts with the government. . .we’ve been in a shooting war since 9/11 and our Armed Forces have been extensively deployed around the world since the early 90s–there’s simply no excuse for jerking our troops around like this–do you think we carry loose change and extra cash home from combat?
For those of you not in the military, these travelers most likely will be reimbursed by the government for what they paid out-of-pocket if Delta doesn’t step up. In a situation like this, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines on orders can file a travel claim under the category of “Excess Baggage”. Given the notoriety of this incident, there’s not a military finance specialist who would have the guts to say no. . .
June 8th, 2011 at 8:19 am
As the mother of a soldier in Afghanistan, I will do my best to never, never fly Delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:19 am
I have been using Delta more lately, but now I am going back to American Airlines. Boycotting over your policy to take advantage of our military.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:19 am
As you can tell – I created this account simply to express to you my complete shock at your disgraceful conduct. In case you care ( but I’m guessing you dont ) I found out about this little incident just in the nick of time!
My husband and I were meeting with our travel agent tomorrow to arrange a trip for the family to Disney. I WILL REFUSE TO TRAVEL ON ANY DELTA FLIGHT THERE OR BACK! I will tell her why – I will show her the video and you can bet I will encourage her to tell ALL HER CLIENTS about YOU.
Hope that $2800 you stole from our returning SOLDIERS is worth it! You may have lost that much from my family alone!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:19 am
I am embarrassed and ashamed of your company, that you would charge these service men and women for the extra bag.. (” Buts it’s our POLICY “) These men and women put there lives on the line . So that you (delta ) have the FREEDOM to operate. Next time you need help abroad call the Afgans or somebody else. I am a firefighter and have booked a flight to New York City for the anniversary of 9-11 along with 7 others from our station, on you airline I will be looking into changing airlines…HOW UN-AMERICAN can your company be…
June 8th, 2011 at 8:23 am
I’m not sure what bothers me more, the fact that you are going against a well-known government contract, or the fact that you simply are screwing our military. This bugs me more, not only because I am a military wife who’s husband served overseas in this conflict, but I also know you give military VIP boarding treatment. What a hoax this is. If the contract is in place for four bags, all you are doing is bilking those fine military men and women out of money on orders.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:27 am
Classic example of “penny wise, pound foolish”. If only 10% of the people who stated above that they will not be flying Delta on their trip (never mind forever), should represents well oiver the $2,800. in questionable bag fees. Just refund the fees NOW forget the “investigation” and post it before more people are angered. This is Marketing 101 folks.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:31 am
How Un-American! What happened to honoring those who sacrifice their lives so we can go about our daily life without worry? I’m a Delta cardholder and frequent flyer and provide cards for those who work with me. After today, I will not be. Thank you to all the service men and women who put their lives on the line for us. You are honored and appreciated. No more business for those who don’t seem to have the appreciation and understanding of what you have given to each of us.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:32 am
How about bumping our brave heroes up to First Class? Then you can keep your policy the way it is. Those that are fighting for our freedom deserve to be treated to as much comfort as we can give them on their way home from battle. How about it, Delta?
June 8th, 2011 at 8:34 am
Oh Delta! Who was the person or persons that DID NOT KNOW YOUR OWN POLICY, find out who they are, correct them and then make restitution to our fighting men and women. How ridiculous to charge our military extra for ANYTHING! Where would we be without them willing to fight and protect our freedoms! Shame on you Delta! Make it right, FAST!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:34 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_borufk9RTc&feature=player_embedded, for all of you who didnt get to see it here is the video from the actual soldiers that had the issues. I do believe after serving 8 1/2 yrs myself with the 101st airborne that if anything like that happened to us we jujst like these soldiers would be highly upset and would be looking for some retribution, I think its only fair that delta reimburse them. what does everyone else think?
June 8th, 2011 at 8:35 am
I don’t care if each serviceman/woman had 10 bags. If they fit on the aircraft, they should have gone…..free. Where’s the common sense in your company? I won’t fly Delta again. You say you respect and admire those that serve our country? Your actions STRONGLY speak otherwise. Disgusting. I am the proud mother of a Marine. I certainly hope he isn’t scheduled to fly Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Thank goodness this situation took a group to make this public. The very same thing happened to my daughter when she was returning home in February. There was even a sign behind the ticket counter that read “Delta Supports Our Troops”. I wanted to rip the banner down. I received a survey from Delta and I complained but I never got a response. Not even an “I’m Sorry”. This is disgraceful for our service men and women to have to deal with such a company that is only interested in making a profit. I hope they will change their policies to be more courteous to our troops! God Bless each and every service member
June 8th, 2011 at 8:38 am
I have been a Delta FF since the progam began, I just turned in My account and will NEVER FLY THIS OUT OF CONTROLE AIRLINE AGAIN.
They can reissue my very low FF # for all I care.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:38 am
As a Marine who has been in 8 years and been to Iraq, I can tell you how important it is to have the feeling of support from your country. I believe this situation reflects poorly on Delta on how they treat servicemen. I most certainly support a boycott of Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:39 am
I had to read this article more than once to believe what I read. This should never have happened! But, since it did, Delta should have rectified it immediately, and given all the soldiers involved an extra incentive to stay with Delta. Most of these soldiers can’t afford that extra money, they send their pay home to their families. I know when my son flew home the few times, he wouldn’t have had that. What should have been a happy homecoming now gives our soldiers something to worry about. How to get by with that shortage! By the time Delta gets around to fixing the problem (which they better do) some of these soldiers will be back in Afghanistan and won’t be with their family. Thanks Delta for all your compassion. I will be passing this on to everyone I know and posting it on facebook.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:41 am
As a loyal member at the highest level of Delta’s frequent flyer program I am appalled at the current policy that is in place for military personnel traveling on orders. I know that when I check in at an airport kiosk when it asks for number of bags that there is a button labeled “traveling on military orders”. I assumed (obviously incorrectly) that there was not a limit on the number of bags that could be brought onboard before incurring additional charges. For those of us who travel for leisure or business go ahead and charge us, that’s bad enough. But, for the members of our military who travel you must adjust your policy to reflect a no charge policy as it’s the right thing to do. Maybe your management should watch some of their own planes being boarded and note the flight attendants who carry four bags on themselves. Trust me, I fly three times a week and see it all the time. Shame on you Delta; I am confident that you will refund any monies spent by these soldiers and beyond. Do the right thing.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Delta as a AMERICAN FLAG CARRIER should be ashamed of themselves. Our fighting hero’s deserve a little compassion, and all Delta thinks of is the $$. If your airline was run better, you would not need to nickle and dime our service men and women. It is bad enough that these people risk everything so we can continue our every day life. Many people do not appreciate what they do, that is sad. If Pan Am was still flying, you could bet that they would wellcome our troops with open arms and not worry about an extra bag. I WILL NOT FLY DELTA AGAIN, YOU DO NOT DESERVE MY AMERICAN DOLLARS. I hope you choke on the baggage fees you collected, and you should remove the American Flag from your aircraft, you do not deserve to have in on your aircraft.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Seriously….uh…”Rachael”…..nobody gives a crap about delta’s “thoughts”. Delta sucks, period. I have flown delta once, but I can say this: never, EVER again. Nobody should fly them any more. It’s because of what our troops do that you can even BE in business. I hope the Federal government cancels that contract because you do NOT deserve it!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Shame on Delta or any other airline that charges active duty personnel to bring however many bags they need. They are serving so that you don’t have to. How about every policy wonk at Delta spend an year or two on active duty with people shooting at them every day and then see if you can really justify any type of fee for anything that the soldiers need or want. You should be treating them like heros not common people.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:48 am
This is much more than a military issue now. All the airlines would have done the same thing. Luggage fees are out of control and passengers have been at the mersey of an uncontrolled change of baggage policies in the name of saving fuel, not raising ticket prices and security excuses since 9/11. Sky Caps at the air port will tell you that there is no reason for these charges and that the airlines are making a fortune. The whole system needs to be looked at and regulated ands this incident could and should bring this about.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:48 am
After having a few bad experiences with Delta before my opinion of them was not that great to begin with. But WoW Delta, you have sunk to new lows, have you no shame.
GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES! these people are dying for you, and you are trying to nickle and dime them to boost your bottom line.
Delta And Staff Are A Disgrace to this country and i for one will not be using your services any time soon…
June 8th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Me – Delta – Never again! I would rather walk to my destination. Pretty low! By the way, how much money did your CEO make last year?
June 8th, 2011 at 8:51 am
Delta, you could have saved a serious public relations disaster. Perhaps you should require everyone on your public relations team to go to YouTube to view the video entitled “United Breaks Guitars”. Even though the soldiers involved can possibly claim your charges on their government travel voucher, just think how much it will cost in company time to communicate with each soldier involved as you have promised to do. Add this to the adverse publicity in the news and even on Flyer Talk. Was all this worth the $2800?
June 8th, 2011 at 8:51 am
I am a mother of a Marine you people are a disgrace I will never ever fly Delta again nor my family and friends. Even if you rectify this the fact that you charge them anything for protecting you to have your jobs and your freedom is beyond words. This is an outrage nationally. I hope to see Delta go under for this there is nothing that will be acceptable, for me or any other American for what these men and woman have been through and have died for, that will change what you have done. This should never have happened actually these men and woman should never have to pay for a flight, meals, BAGGAGE they should have VIP Status when they return home from WAR. GOODBYE DELTA AND YES THAT IS MY REAL NAME FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME….
June 8th, 2011 at 8:52 am
A few years ago Delta was the most respected airline in the US. Then they got A new CEO and he fired most of the customer service and ramp agents . Replacing them with lower paid contractor employees thinking customer service wouldn’t suffer. Now Delta is probably one of the most disliked airlines in the US. GOOD JOB CEO I HOPE YOU ARE PROUD OF THE JOB YOU DID !!!!!!
Retired airline employee (not Delta)
June 8th, 2011 at 8:52 am
Wow, as a military mom and an old soldier myself I can not beleive this has happened. How un-American towards our soldiers returning from war.
Delta there is no looking into this, FIX IT NOW, and then take it up the policie with the Army later.
Army get a new airline.
Delta just because our solders “solder on” dosen’t mean you should treat them like crap, SHAME ON YOU! You should look at WW1 and WW2 treatment of returning soldiers and “train-up” on how to treat returning soldiers.
And just so you know your coach passangers are the enlisted soldier not an officer that can whip money out but even officers shouldn’t have too.
If you don’t fix this ASAP you are no longer my airline and I will make sure everyone I know, knows why. “America’s airline” you are not.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:52 am
Georgia Boy, Army Brat, Vietnam era vet, married to a Vietnam era vet, retired reservist and beyond mad.
If you think “United Breaks Guitars” was bad publicity, you haven’t begun to feel the pain.
It doesn’t matter if the agents were correct or incorrect in policy interpretation. It doesn’t matter how many Delta employees are reservists or married to reservists. What matters is a stupid general policy was even more stupidly applied, and Troops were screwed. Delta blew it big time.
Fix it fast Delta! For this time and the future. How well you do and how well you publicize your new policy will determine if I ever fly Delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:55 am
I’d fly a crop duster before stepping foot onto another Delta or Delta owned flight again. Disgusting corporate greed pure and simple.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:55 am
Disgraceful!! Whoever is in charge should make a clear and definite statement saying this policy will be changed and then DO It! Delta I am ashamed of you and neither myself nor my family (including my son’s company) will ever fly your airline again….
June 8th, 2011 at 8:55 am
Did DELTA use Govt. Money for a Bailout?
Sad what a big company does to men and women of the military. I am starting an effort to boycott DELTA on all the blogs, forums, E-mails, phone calls I can.
Maybe a call or two to members of the Armed Service Committee in Congress might make them drop the contract with DELTA.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:57 am
Shame on you, Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:57 am
Shame, Shame, Shame!! While your top management and policies & practices gurus are sitting on your collective butts – these MEN and WOMEN of the United State MILITARY protecting YOUR and my lives and country! How dare you?!! How can you possibly justify your lack of judgment, sensitivity and just plain COMMON SENSE in charging these wonderful, amazing PATRIOTIC service men and women a NICKEL for their baggage or any other doggone thing they need. I say GIVE them FREE first class seats and the respect and honor they so richly deserve!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:57 am
What a disgusting disgrace! Good-bye Delta. Neither I nor my 2 enlisted sons nor our families will fly Delta again. The thought of those soldiers standing in line to pay Delta to bring their bags home after being in that hell hole makes me want to vomit.
June 8th, 2011 at 8:58 am
Your policy needs serious review. I flew Delta all last year for my travel . . . I’m scrapping my thousands of miles and flying with someone else.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Sorry Delta, but your culture of inflexibility and steadfast refusal to do the right thing is going to cost you. I am flying round trip from the East Coast to the Middle East soon. That flight was planned for Delta. Despite the fact I am a Skymiles member, I will be purchasing a ticket on United instead. Figure out what your lost profit is on my fare and consider it your punishment for charging an exhorbitant fee for United States Army Soldiers bringing their personal weapons back from war.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:02 am
I have already sent emails around to people, and hopefully they will forward them around as well. Shame on you! You shouldn’t even be charging these people anything at all! They barely make a dime for what they do for YOU! SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!!!
Now some of them still have to get home when that plane land! How do you expect them to do that? Hitch hike? They still have to eat on that journey! How do you think they will accomplished that? Beg? You have taken options away from that you fools! Food and Shelter taken from them Shame on you!!!
I hope all of American shines the light on you to show how you disrespect our soldiers over money!!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:06 am
DELTA,DELTA,DELTA. It takes only 1 Oops moment to create 1,000,000s of negative marketing press. Consider this your 100,000,001 = I will never travel Delta Airlines.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:09 am
I also am surprised at this situation. Delta definitely should have recognized these soldiers for there service with service and up graded them to first class. These men and women sacrifice there allot to defend our country. I also believe that they should fly for free or at least a discounted rate, but understand that Delta does have to make money to survive in the cut thought airline industry. That does not mean that both the US Military and delta air lines do not have to step up in this situation and make this rite very quickly and reimburse these fine man and women and apologize to them.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:10 am
I hope the $2800 in baggage fees was worth all this bad PR your company is receiving as a result of this. I’m sure the ticket agent was just doing his or her job by strictly applying the rules of the contract, but there is such a thing as common sense. That’s what you need to be teaching your people. Active duty military in uniform flying on orders, returning home from a war zone or being deployed to a war zone are a special case…and how many ever fly first class? This issue should not have been taken up with the soldiers, but with the contracting people at Delta and the Army. Go back Delta and review your policy and retrain your agents in customer service. The cost to your company is now a helluva lot more than $2800.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:11 am
I just joined this blog (I haven’t ever blogged before) only to express my dissatisfaction with Delta and their “policy”. I am a mother of an Air Force Staff Sargeant who served two tours in Afghanistan and I intend to boycott Delta too, Maybe then they will understand the impact of what they did to these poor soldiers trying to come back home.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Deltas policy considering military personnel, kids who are going to war, is unbelieveable. And to charge these kids coming back from war for baggage on top of that?? Total Disgrace!!! But I am not surprised….my son paid $700 for ticket to come home before being deployed. He had to cancel the trip and he had bought the insurance in case of emergency because anyone in military knows that alot of times you dont find out you can go officially until the last minute and if you wait til then to get tickets they are even more expensive….but he did not see the line that said insurance would only pay in case of sickness. Delta cancelled the flight for him but would not return his money said would give a credit but had to be used within a year….he of course has been deployed and will probably be gone for a year….so this kid who spent money with delta has pretty much lost the $750 because he has gone to fight for our country and wont be back before the time allowed expires. And deltas response to me was “if we did that for him we would have to do it for everyone …..cops can use the excuse they have to be in court, etc. etc.” Which I understand, but court can last what a day or maybe a month, not a year. Not that those professions are not important, but I would think its a little different. The only way I will ever ever fly Delta again is if I have an extreme emergency and cannot get another flight with another airline or cannot drive.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Will never take Delta again until you change your policy on our service men. Shame on you!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Well by now you know that the stuff has hit the fan. As a returning Vietnam Vet, I too know what it is like to be shunned upon return to the States. I just thought that there was no business that valued their reputation, that would employ anyone as insensitive as the gate agents referenced in this article, or have a policy as ridiculous as the one you’ve stated. If you are that hard up for cash even with the government subsidizing your industry, change the quote on your contract. Or maybe the next time one of your planes is on approach you may hear the controller tell you “I can’t clear you for landing until you pay an extra $200.00 as your plane is too heavy”. I do hope the $2,800.00 helped your bottom line. However I do think choices have consequences.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Stationed here at Ft Rucker, home of Army Aviation, you better believe I have shared this story with ALL my friends here! This news will sure travel fast and Delta will be forced to change this policy or be boycotted by numerous military members, their family and friends. You should be HONORED to have the men and women of the US Armed Forces traveling with you! Charging them ANYTHING when returning home from war makes me sick! How dare you Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:16 am
The downward spiral of Delta continues.
You are moving backwards with your military policies, just as you moved backwards with your peanut policy by allowing them on planes. With life-threatening peanut allergies on the rise, you should not be serving them on your planes.
You may not get it, but your customers do, and they will show you through sales.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:18 am
My son is currently deployed in Iraq and I can tell you from firsthand experience that these service people send back to the States as much as they possibly can before they come home from deployment. So the bags they are bringing back with them are things they have had to keep with them before returning home, such as their weapons.
What if they hadn’t had the money to pay this fee? Would you make them leave their weapons behind?
The only time my son has ever flown first class since being in the military was because an airline (not yours) bumped him up to first class for free just because he was in the military. That’s the treatment our military deserves!
If the government has a contract with Delta Airlines for our military, I certainly hope they pull that contract immediately! The only reason Delta is sorry about this is because they got caught and they know how much the publicity from this will hurt them. I wonder how many times this has happened before that it was not made public? And this “apology” is not an apology at all. You are trying to make it sound like those are your rules and you were right in charging them because they weren’t flying first class.
I am ashamed of Delta Airlines.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:18 am
First of all, I signed up just so I could comment on this. I may make a difference, or I may not. I will never know for sure.
Dear Delta,
You have the power to make a difference. I want you to think of your families. How would you feel if they no longer lived in a free country and had to hide out from terrorists? I bet you would be hiding out too. It wouldn’t feel very good, would it? NO! Well, what if you were in the military and you were coming back from a tour protecting our country. You slept in a tent with 6 other men for who knows how long, you had no facilities, you rarely slept, your food was aweful, and you haven’t seen the ones you love in months… Not to mention you were defending yourself and your team and were “on call” literally 24/7 with no sick or vacation days, how would you feel? How would you feel about paying $200 just to have the weapons you defended yourself, your country, and other Americans (including people working for Delta)? You’d hate it! You’d find it unAmerican.
Shame on you! Shame shame shame on you! You guys are being so unAmerica it’s shameful. I am ushamed and I am not even part of your organization. I will tell you what I am. I am the daughter of a US Retired Navy and I have seen the effect war has on the soldiers and the families.
So what if you lose a little money, retain your dignity and reputation, these are soldiers, the essence and the core of America coming through your terminals! You should be proud! Change your policy, Delta, or no American will fly with you again. I may not be able to do much but I’ve got a mouth and other resources to spread the word. As of right now, I will NEVER fly Delta, So help me God!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Dear Delta,
Can’t you see how much business you are losing over this? Way more than the cost of the extra bags, I assure you! Count me in as one who will not be flying with you anymore. Wow, the leg room is getting smaller, the service is getting grumpier, and EVERYTHING has a separate cost. And now this? What do you think that these military members are carrying in these bags, suntan lotion and beach balls?
Please let your PR people know that having a Reserve wife posting this does not take away from the sting of what you have done. I am a Reserve wife, too, and I am not okay with you slapping these brave men and women with this type of fine/fee after a long and exhausting tour of duty! We understand that the all might dollar is your focus, but having respect for the people who fight to allow you to keep making money would be nice. Perhaps you should rethink your policies!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:19 am
PS- Give them as many bags as they need! It’s not like they are on vacation!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Delta had the military contract and it is now with United Airlines. My guess is that poor service was the reason. Hopefully Delta will NEVER get a government contract again.
Boycotting Delta will not change things. Delta knows this. Just remember, when you have to fly Delta, know that you are flying a carrier who cares less about our troops, despite what this Delta representative claims. Delta, as a corporation, does NOT respect our military. Their claim is a lot of hogwash.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:23 am
This is nothing but corporate PR at its finest when it comes down to it its all about the money. They deeply admire getting into your wallet deeper and they don’t care who you are. Wonder if any of them had to pay extra to carry their wheelchairs. Look at the prices of their ticket vs other carriers. Fly Southwest.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:23 am
SHAME ON YOU! This is beyond appology and I hope it hits you DIRECTLY in the pocket just as you intended it to do with our soldiers.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Wow, $2800 in baggage fees sure bought Delta a ton of negative publicity. The new Delta sure looks a lot like the old Delta in this situation. Like all the rest I’ll vote with my pocket book and support those airlines that truly do care about the men and women to give so much for our freedoms.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:24 am
I don’t understand Delta’s calculus with respect to charging bag fees to active members of the military. In the aggregate how much can those fees amount to even with that egregious $200/bag fee? Enough to offset the acrimony that they produce? I bet not.
Delta has a choice: they can waive the fee for active military or be prepared for hundreds if not thousands of YouTube videos depicting the contents of the bags in question, the local Delta agent’s refusal to waive the fee and the consequential payment by the soldier.
Your greed will lead to your eventual undoing.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:25 am
This is sick! I’m sending this link to every traveler I know.
Hey Delta…..you don’t support American troops…America doesn’t support you. “It’s our policy”.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:28 am
There should be NO looking into this. Delta you need to sincerely apologize with out trying cover something. Delta’s CEO should travel to Ft. Polk and personally apologize to each and every service member AND return their money. Delta you should also throw in a free round trip or better yet a tropical vacation all expenses paid to each and everyone of them + a guest! Bottom line there is NOTHING you can do to correct this situation other than make sure it never happens again. Step up to the plate and do the right thing! God Bless all of our military personnel and GOD BLESS AMERICA!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:30 am
I fly Delta all the time- my husband is a US service member- my son a veteran and both grandfathers are vietnam vets- however I do not feel that we or they are entitled to special treatment-
Delta’s policy is a good one- and there was a communication error in the orders delivered to the Service members.
also it is also well known in the military community that these men and women will be reimbursed on a travel claim for thier costs-
why is it that so many feel that the members and thier actions are correct, when they obvioulsy did not do thier due dilegence with thier travel orders?
whay are they not responsible to ensure thier orders were correct and followed the rules of the airlines they were traveling?
June 8th, 2011 at 9:31 am
You’ve lost my business. Not that will mean anything to a large non-AMERICAN corporation. My dad was a vet, my nephew is in active service. How can I support you when you don’t support the very country you are in?
June 8th, 2011 at 9:33 am
BAGGAGE FEES??? REALLY. Shame on you delta…. I will also never consider your airline, while this policy remains, and the soldiers are out of their hard-earned money. I have also posted to FaceBook and called on all of my friends to also boycott… SHAME!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:34 am
With the amount of money that the Department of Defense has, they could easily pay for these bags. The soldiers should have never been asked to pay. It is the responsibility of the company that they are employed by, which is the United States military. They definitely have the money in the budget to cover it. The military budget for fiscal year 2011 is $964 Billion dollars. Education $129.8 Billion. Let the government pay the bill and don’t be mad at Delta for trying to run a business.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:34 am
I cannot believe what I am hearing. My husband has been deployed to Iraq 3 times. We have friends who have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. These men put their lives on the line, going without any comforts of home, living in a war zone knowing that they are missing out on precious time with their children and wives that they will never get back. Good for you that your husband is a reservist, thank him for his service. I don’t downplay what it means to be a reservist, but you mention this fact as if you are trying to connect with people and say, “oh, my husband is in the reserves, I know how you feel” but really, that does not justify Delta policies on this matter. I don’t care how many employees of yours have spouses in the military, that does not make us feel better about your policies, or agree with them. Your response to this matter is not to standard and does not meet expectations. What you have done here is inexcusable. Because of that $200 you charged the soldiers returning from a war zone, not only have you lost business with many loyal customers, you have put a financial strain on them. They won’t be able to take their children to the zoo when they get home, they won’t be able to afford to take their wives out to a nice dinner, they won’t be able to drive to visit relatives, or FLY to visit relatives. Good job, Delta. Thanks for showing our military how much you truly “appreciate” them and the sacrifices they make. We have a flight from Georgia to Alaska scheduled for next months, 5 seats. I can tell you, I am going to call right now to change to another airline and will never fly Delta again. For $2800 you have shown the American public how you take care of the men and women returning from war, and in return, we will show you how we feel about your “policies” and how much we appreciate your consideration in this matter.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:37 am
This is just disgusting Delta. My family and I will not be flying Delta again and you better believe this will be posted on all social networks I am part of and those of my friends as well (we are military spouses, by the way, so thank you for the slap in the face).
June 8th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I’m a Platinum Medallion. I have put up with shrinking service, growing groups of elites, and the Delta-fication of everything that was good about NW. I have seen the change in employees and their empowerment to handle a situation. This is another change where corporate greed and ineptitude has clouded a situation and made it completely unacceptable. I was contemplating a move to AA, and have made that decision firm with my annual $30,000 spend. That’s over 10x what you made on the luggage charges for this group. I will be sending receipts of my ticket purchases to headquarters along with a copy of this news story. Congratulations DL….I am so glad you have policies.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Delta, you should be ashamed of yourselves. These young men and women, my son included, are serving this country and our rights. Wherever they are stationed, requires a lot of gear, most quite heavy. They cannot pick and choose what to take like a tourist heading off to a week on a beach.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:39 am
What in the world was your employee thinking? Does Delta airlines realize the bad publicity this is going to cause for you? Do you realize that by taking that measly $200 extra per Soldier you are now going to loose millions of dollars in business? It does not matter if you are looking into this situation as you describe. The damage is done. Whether you reimburse the Soldiers or not the mess has been made. The public is and will continue to look at this as a “how dare that airlines disrespects our Soldiers by charging them for their extra bags” situation and I have to agree with my fellow public on this. It may or may not be the case that these Soldiers can submit for reimbursement from the DOD however why does your airline put itself in this situation in the first place. You need to empower and teach your employees to make decisions that will avoid these kind of mess ups, especially with our Soldiers. Put our flying Soldiers on the plane, check all of their bags, upgrade them to first class when seats are available, give them access to your airport lounge and sincerely say “Thank You” to them. That is the proper way to treat the men and women who protect you and all of us in the United States every single day. They do not ask for much but deserve plenty.
Please feel free to contact me via my profile email if your airline has any questions on what should be common sense matters. Loosing millions of dollars because of one employees very stupid moves (even if it follows your company policy) is really ridiculous.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:39 am
As a mother of a soldier currently stationed in Afghanistan I am outraged at what happened. These young men and women are not paid enough for what they do for us, and to have to pay that much money, well, Delta, you need to quickly refund their money and reach out to the military community for your mistake! I will NOT fly with Delta or any of their affiliates.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:39 am
not going to bash delta as an airline, but you really need to open your eyes and make amends for this one!
1. Enlisted personel do not have the cash to fly first class.
2. Enlisted personel do not have the extra $200 dollars for a checked bag of personal protection devices like their rifle.
Deltas gate agent had the option of not charging the $200 for the extra bag and should have been enpowered to do so. Delta should refund the soldiers the $200 bag fee as a cashiers check or money order immeadiatly, not a flight voucher that is basically worthless. And then on top of that show some patriotism and give them an unrestricted flight voucher for anywhere in the US with no expiration date.
I’ll leave this out there for Delta to ponder. We have about 2000 people in our company that fly everyday out of 16,000. Our president is ex Navy, word will get out, you will lose business. Social resposibility is and action that should be done ahead of time with thinking, not a reaction to what has been done without alot of thoug and them must be fixed. I myself fly over 75k miles per year and will make sure it nevr happens on Delta again after this.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Delta give it back. Give it all back now, along with free flights. Change the policy or don’t accept the government contract.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:41 am
WOW!! Amazed this is even an issue Delta. I guess I am not surprised though. I have no problem with Delta’s dash for some cash approach to business. Take whatever you can get from your legions of regular customers. If they are willing to shell out the bucks for your attempt at balancing your budgets that’s fine.
On the other hand you, should consider it an HONOR to carry these ACTIVE DUTY SOLDIERS. Nobody is expecting you guys to give them free seats. We do expect your company to do the right thing and return the fees and create a new policy that will show our military the respect they deserve. I am quite sure they have earned it.
I can’t boycott an airline I won’t fly, but if your company doesn’t do the right thing here, I know social media will take a substantial bite out of your bottom line.
God Bless Our Troops!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:45 am
I dont fly much so my decision to not fly Delta again has little impact on Delta. However I do live in Norfolk, Va which has a huge military presence and have forwarded this story to all my friends many of which are military. I am sure they will forward to all of their friends. What a disgrace Delta is. !
June 8th, 2011 at 9:45 am
The people of Delta feeling good about themselves today? Has it sunk in yet that your company just made a fatal business mistake? I am OUTRAGED….absolutely outraged at the treatment that was given to our military people coming home from WAR! HOW could Delta charge them ANYTHING at all for their baggage. Your policy?? Your kidding, right? You got the money for the FARES of 30-some people but that wasn’t enough. You had to soak them for more?? Your company ought to be ashamed of themselves. IF IT WAS NOT FOR THOSE PEOPLE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM….YOU MORONS WOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS! I will never do business with your company and I will make sure that no one else does either. I am going to write about this atrocity in my BLOG and publish it to the masses. And your LAME public relations excuse…”we are looking in to the situation”……give me a break!!! It never should have happened! They all just got done with an eighteen hour layover and then you drop this on them? And one man’s FOURTH BAG were his military weapons! You charged HIM TO BRING HOME WHAT HE NEEDED TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND US?? REALLY???? BAD BUSINESS! UN-AMERICAN companies like you should not be allowed to carry our precious military members!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:45 am
These are not high porfile, overpaid corporate executives packing their non-deserved bonus in that fourth bag!
These are our country’s young men and women packing only their necessary supplies, having had to live in stink holes for 1-2 years, while making it possible for those executives to rest all comfy and cozy!
These are our soldiers trying to survive and support their entire families , when the majority earn below the poverty level to the extent that many qualify for food stamps!
Even if the government does step up to the plate and reimburse them…they do not have the extra cash to fork out on the spot, only to wait and wait for a possible refund.
OUTRAGEOUS!!! DELTA WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???
June 8th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Never let facts get in the way of a good rant. Good for Delta. The contract is between Delta and the government. If more bags are needed, they should of course be paid for, though I hope the military would reimburse the soldiers for the out-of-pocket expense. If the military will not reimburse them, THAT is the policy question that needs addressing.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:47 am
the only thing that delta wants are the “Bucks”, It’s all about money with the airlines, no matter what is right. These Men and Women should be praised, and given cart blanche by the airlines, and extra perks for what they do for all of us. I will not say i will not fly Delta, but i will try for other airlines before i book delta. You should be ashame as a company, how you support the military and what you did
June 8th, 2011 at 9:48 am
I hope you give these men their money back. Shameful … to charge these men who are coming home from protecting you and your country. Better let us know what you decide to do in this matter or you may end up with fewer customers in future.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:51 am
I stopped flying Delta a while ago due to rude agents. This only affirms why I will never fly with them again. Delta owes these soldiers more than an apology and a refund. I would love for the agent that charged them the 200 to go do their job.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:52 am
Rachel, you need to take this to the top. The Social Media Manager should not be handling a situation like this. I agree that the CEO needs to take a stand or someone in a waaay high position with Delta. I’m sure PR is working furiously on it.
Bottom line, Delta was dead wrong, unpatriotic, unfeeling and plain dumb. These guys make NO money – an apology doesn’t come near to covering this. They should IMMEDIATELY be credited their money and given a free ticket for each and every one of those soldiers. That way, their wives may get a chance to come see them when they’re off training somewhere and get a day or two off.
I have too many people that are related to me that are in active duty now. Let’s try and show these men and women that we care for them and what they have done for our freedom (and yours, Delta, to charge large fees for everything).
GET A CLUE!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:57 am
As a 30 year employee of Delta and a Veteran, I’m sure Delta will right this wrong and recompensate our servicemen/women and change our policy to allow service members to check unlimited bags, as it should be.
I know Delta has a strong commitment to our service personnel and have seen it play out time and time again through the years. One “boneheaded” decision shouldn’t ruin the good reputation Delta has with the Military.
Nate51 U.S. Army 1973-79
June 8th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I think this is terrible…. I’ll NEVER fly Delta again and they use to be all I flew…. OFTEN…. on my own dime. BAD MOVE DELTA. You really need to think about what HONORING our Troops means!!!!!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I love everything people have written. “your policy”. is disgusting.
You need to give them a refund plus a free round trip ticket.
Why not toss in a free box meal you have.
Look where these soldiers came from?
By the way, on this flight, did they have to pay for their boxed snacks?
So this is what you think of US soldiers?
I would not travel on Delta, and continue flying United Airlines.
I am going to let as many people know what you have done.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:01 am
The air crews are wonderful with soldiers, it’s the terminal services that dropped the ball.
Somehow you can’t tell me that someone, anyone that works for Delta at BWI has no clue? The simple fix would have been to allow the soldier to have the weapons cases as a CARRY ON! I’ve been on contracted Delta fights for the military and was please with the service, we had the entire aircraft and YES we had ALL our weapons stored under our seats and in the overhead bins! Unloaded the crew even joked that it was a “No Hand-grenade Flight” it was all in good taste and gladly appreciated.
I’m not sure who the senior person is at check-in in BWI but you need to get your stuff squared away and yesterday. Delta will spend far more then the $2800 to un-spin the mess, and it should because I’m sure it’s not just one person at BWI that was part of this.
I’m deeply saddened by the lack of lack of forethought. The real question is, How many times has this happened in the past and it just didn’t didn’t get posted!?
June 8th, 2011 at 10:02 am
I am platinum medallion with Delta, and I find this policy outrageous. I’ve placed the link to this story on Facebook and with any luck it will go viral. I do hope this will cost your company millions of dollars in lost revenue, as this seems to be the only language your greed will allow you to understand. You should not be looking into the matter, you should be giving the service members an immediate refund and placing a public apology on your website. It’s corporate “policies” such as this that helped put our economy in the state it’s in at the moment, IMHO.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Delta, you should be ashamed of yourself – you reported over $1 BILLION IN PROFITS last year, not to mention the investigation that Atlanta’s WSB-TV did recently that found you gave Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and 5 other politicians free upgrades to platinum or gold frequent flyer status, including access to special security lines, far more frequent flyer miles, and free upgrades to first class, which, of course includes free baggage checks. The news reported the value of these upgrades was close to $10,000-$15,000 a year per politician. So we know who Delta values most – politicians – our poor soldiers don’t do much for Delta’s bottom line.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:09 am
You should be ashamed of yourselves. That you are stil looking into this matter. There is no matter to look into. All military personel should be exempt.PERIOD.
By now you sould have said that they were getting refunds. Shame on you.
I have not used Delta in a very long time but I now assure you I will never fly with you if i had a chance to.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:09 am
I only signed up so I could tell Delta Airlines that they SUCK and SHAME ON YOU for being SO greedy. You charge your customers enough to handle the cost of a military person’s weapons to be shipped. Or better yet why don’t they just leave their weapons where they are leaving from so the terrorists can use them. Delta Airlines is a bag fee terrorist! BTW putting that YouTube video on my Face book page for all to see.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:11 am
I have booked corporate travel for the past 11 years. I have always found your fares to be the most unfavorable and your connections to be the most missed. I have never been a fan. This solidified my already low opinion of you. I will do everything in my power to keep from ever booking with you again. You should be rolling out the red carpet for these service men and women. Sad day in our wonderful country when our returning service people are treated like this. You should be ashamed.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Thankfully I have other options to fly rather than GREEDY DELTA. I can’t beleive that your company is so money hungry and uncaring that this ever happened in the first place. This is just like politicians and other businesses in our society. You do this hoping no one hears about it and then are only sorry once you get caught or discovered. With all of the airlines financial troubles recently and the problems encountered, you would think good customer service would be a priority to try to keep and attract passengers. With a policy like this, it is an indication of how little Delta values its service men and its passengers. As stated previously, BYE DELTA!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Major FAIL! As a vet I can not find myself to fly this airline again. Just this morning my wife and I were making vacation plans and about to book our flights with Delta. I then read the article and we then did the right thing. No support for an airline that treated our troops in such a manner. Common sense has left the building….
June 8th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Delta, you have NO respect for out fighting men and women. You have no respect for your civilian customers either. You can get Donald Sutherland to puke out how great Delta is, and how you “have the passengers back” and how Delta people “put themselves on the other side of the counter” all you want. But, the “reality” of it, is that the “solutions” Delta has decided upon are to treat your passengers badly and rob us at every turn with fees. Delta operates on the backs of passengers and treat us with disdain from across the counter whey you demand more money for this bag and that pillow. All a person has to do is fly your airline one time to learn that. You have some of the highest fees in the country. Before you know it we’ll be expected to either, hold our breath or provide our own air because you’ll charge us for that too. Your Execs don’t care about the passengers, only themselves and their golden parachutes. You’ve lost my business and that of many others.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:18 am
What is there to look into? Give them their money back and change your policies. How many returning military fly First Class, do you suppose? They’ve been too busy protecting America and risking their lives on the front line to rack up airline miles.
Rachel’s passive-aggressiver response apologizing for “miscommunications” puts it back on the soldiers and only makes it worse. Man up, and do the right thing.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:18 am
I personally fly frequently, as my family is far away from where my husband is stationed. I really hope Delta loses a decent amount of business over this. It’s so expensive to fly in the first place, and they make SO much money off of civilians, the LEAST they can do is give back to the people that are putting their lives on the line, so they have the ability to make all this money in the first place.
My husband is stationed at Ft. Bragg. One of the largest bases, that is about to get even larger. And Fayetteville airport is TINY, only serving US Airways and Delta. I hope people see Delta in a new light and move their business to USAirways. Or, drive to Raleigh and fly from RDU– I know I will be.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Viet Nam was my war, so I know from my own return just the feeling experienced by these soldiers on their return. I’m sad to say I experienced it more than once in my 21-year military career. I’m also a 17-year Northwest Airlines pilot who, until today, was proud to have been assimilated into the Delta family when the two airlines merged. With NWA, I flew every military charter flight transporting troops and cargo to/from the Middle East. Having seen both sides, I thought I had witnesssed every mistake an airline could make. I was wrong. This ranks right up there with the agent who put a famous 7′ 1″ college basketball player in the last row of coach seats for a 2-hour flight in my DC-9 — with a companion, no less.
Remuneration for these soldiers is a given. Anything beyond that will be difficult, because we’ll never be able to get these men and/or women or their families back onto a Delta airplane. Whoever made the decision that this charge to mlitary personnel traveling on orders was acceptable would no longer be a decision-maker if he/she worked for me.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:21 am
I am getting more and more disillusioned with Delta. I understand that they have a business to run. However, there has to be a point where you do something not based solely on monetary considerations but because it is right, morally and ethically. What our men and women of the military are doing goes way beyond what a traditional traveler does. It is there service that allows Delta, as well as this nation, to exist. I hope Delta’s CEO recognizes this and makes the hard decision to do what is right and perhaps not profitable. It is often hard decisions that define who we are and what we become in the future.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:26 am
I hope Delta MORE then makes up for this! I stopped flying Delta YEARS ago because of their horrible customer service. You owe these people their money back, and then some. It’s not like they were bringing souvenirs back for their family! It was WEAPONS. Weapons issued by the United States government to protect themselves, citizens of the countries they fight in, and everything else around them. This is a DISGRACE. I hope a lot more people join us in boycotting Delta from now on.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I am appalled that Delta would stress our service men and women in any way when returning from serving our country abroad. Until I am satisfied that this policy is changed, I will avoid all business and personal travel on Delta. Reading the comments above opens my eyes to the undue stress placed upon our warriors as they return home and/or fly while serving our country. NO EXCUSES can explain this — CHANGE THIS POLICY immediately or know that Americans will choose to fly with other airlines (some of whom will undoubtedly rise to this situation by HONORING our warriors with military exceptions for baggage). Delta — step up the the broken plate!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I am disgusted by the actions of Delta Airlines. My son will be traveling home soon on post deployment leave after just getting out of Afghanistan. I am so glad that I did not book Delta for him, and I can assure you that I never will book Delta for him or anyone else in my family again. This is the SECOND time that I have heard negative comments regarding Delta and our Military. Just this past year, my nephew, who is in the Navy was going home for a long 4 day holiday weekend. After being held up at security, he was 2 min late for final boarding call. The doors were STILL OPEN, but they would not let him board. He missed the flight, which was the LAST flight of the day, had to stay overnight and couldn’t get another flight until 6 pm the next evening. He missed 2 days of his 4 day leave. It’s a Disgrace. NEVER AGAIN DELTA! You need to remember who is defending and protecting the airlines from Terrorism, its the Military that you are screwing over!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I am appalled that Delta would stress our service men and women in any way when returning from serving our country abroad. Until I am satisfied that this policy is changed, I will avoid all business and personal travel on Delta. Reading the comments above opens my eyes to the undue stress placed upon our warriors as they return home and/or fly while serving our country. NO EXCUSES can explain this — CHANGE THIS POLICY immediately or know that Americans will choose to fly with other airlines (some of whom will undoubtedly rise to this situation by HONORING our warriors with military exceptions for baggage). Delta — step up to the broken plate!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Rachel R., you are a complete moron who doesn’t have the fortitude to come out and say that this is wrong nor do anything to correct it. Your ticket agents should be told that effective immediately there will be no baggage charge to ANYONE in uniform and the money your money-grubbing airline charged in the past should not only be refunded, but you should give eack soldier an extra $200 to apologize for being anti-American. I will NEVER use Delta and I will be sure to post on every social network site that your company doesn’t have any respect for those that are fighting for our freedom.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Well, Delta… I gotta say that I will not be booking any flights with your airlines if I can help it. However you want to mold the situation that occurred to those military men and women to be in your favor – can be your delusion. I hope the people who frequently fly your airlines, if only boycotting you for a little while will show our gratitude for your policies and decisions your company made on that day….and prob. on many other days. Delta, it’s your company -your rules – but I’m glad that other people that are not in the military now can make their decisions on flights and airlines they want to be on with eyes wide open.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:36 am
I now regret the fact that I have tickets to fly out in July. I think what you can gather from all of the feedback you have received is not that you need to re-visit your policy or that you did not communicate the policy appropriately – but you need to NOT have the policy to begin with. I also cannot believe that you actually posted something about a solider being able to fly in first class…I know I gawk at the price you charge for a first class seat – that was just embarassing.
I think the public is speaking loud and clear – get rid of the policy.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:36 am
I have passed the video on to everyone that I know and shared it on Facebook. Delta you have some serious ass kissing to do and I suggest that you get moving. Don’t review your policy suck it up and change the damn policy and call those soliders and their families and say you are sorry for taking their hard earned money for something that should not have happened in the first place! NEVER I don’t care if the ticket’s are $50 or less I will NEVER fly your airline unless you change this policy. Who fly’s 1st class in the Army? If you want to collect your money for bags fees then I suggest that you take that up with the contract office and NOT the soldier returning from a WAR ZONE! You need to sit down and have brief your personel that is at the check in counter that this is to NEVER happen again. Expalin to them if they do not know how to read military orders to determine WHERE they are flying from. And they shouod say if with a big THANK YOU SMILE on their face.
Don’t review your poilicy CHANGE IT!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:37 am
So yet another contractor-which Uncle Sam is allowing to serve our country and paying them for the privilege-is busy sticking it to the little guy and parroting procedure when they get caught. Back in the dim dead days of our country’s heyday, we used military (gasp!) aircraft to fly military personnel to and from the places they were ordered to go, and needless to say, this sort of thing never happened. Don’t bother to tell me how much cheaper flying commercial is-you’ve just demostrated one of the reasons why. Congratulations, Delta, on pulling ahead of the pack in the contracting race to the bottom.
“The only shame is to have none.”
Blaise Pascal
June 8th, 2011 at 10:37 am
I will never fly Delta again. I have shared this story with all my family and friends and have encouraged them to never fly delta again. Sorry policies can be changed. There should not be one for our military personnel. They have put their lives on the line for us. Delta should be ashamed of themselves. My husband is a Navy vet, and it disgusts me the way Delta treated our military personnel.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:37 am
What a disgusting display of greed you have shown Delta! My older brother is in the military and will be heading to Afghanistan very shortly. I pray that they don’t have to use your pitiful excuse for a company as a way to get home or fly overseas! I will never use Delta as a way to travel, and will go out of my way to make sure everyone I know knows about your greedy ways. DISGUSTING!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:37 am
First and foremost we want you, our customers, to know how deeply Delta respects and admires the men and women who fight every day for our country.
Deeply enough to charge a soldier $200?
Rachel R. you’re fired!
First and foremost, charging $200 for a 4th bag is an outrage against every Delta customer, but not waiving the fee for a soldier traveling on orders is beyond stupid, somewhere there was malice involved.
Now the favor will be returned. Nice going Delta!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:38 am
This is just another example of how ridiculous they are getting with these “convienience fees”. It is outrageous to pay $500 + for a ticket only to get to the airport and be FORCED to pay another $100 for the fees. I fly Southwest and will continue to as long as I can. We all need to send a message to these bastards that the “bottom line” they are trying to achieve needs to include Customer satisfaction and actually providing a service for the extra money.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:39 am
This is no “miscommunication” as you put it. It’s Delta trying to squeeze a few extra dollars out of our military. This is the kind of bad PR that can’t be undone.
How hard would it be to let them check 4 bags for free? Or 5? Or any number of bags? They’re coming back from a war. Delta’s CEO should be at the airport personally kissing their asses individually.
Seriously, Delta could be seen as a company that loves the military and does whatever it can for them, or a company that’s nothing but a bunch of douchebags who make a buck at every opportunity. Guess which one people see you as.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:40 am
I’m a vietnam vet, Delta skymiles PLATINUM medallion…over 2 million miles. Most of my miles were from NWA…I can assure you this treatment of our soldiers would NEVER have happen at NWA…I remember flying on a NWA 747 with a huge yellow ribbon painted on it for our troops.
All I have to say is Mr Richard Anderson CEO shame on you and DELTA AIRLINES.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:44 am
I would like to publicly say that it will be a cold day in hell before I ever fly your airlines again. Obviously $3000 is more important than accommodating our military members who have served in Afghanistan and just want to get home. Your representative said, “First Class and Business Class passengers are allowed four bags; Coach Class are allowed three.” Frankly, I find this offensive beyond belief. If our military are not “First Class” then I don’t know what is. I sincerely hope the $3000 extra dollars you earned was worth all of the ill-will you have created and will cover your losses when the American public boycotts you when booking future travel.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:45 am
Oh, and one more thing: Delta can backpedal, issue statements filled with socially conscious catch phrases, and do everything else they can think of to mitigate the storm of protest they’ve created, but the fact remains that the real issue here is not that they are bending over backwards to fix the problem but that they were arrogant enough to create the policy that caused it in the first place. Reputation is doing the right thing when everyone is watching; character is doing the same thing whether any one is watching or not. My family, past military members all, have been flying Delta since 1963, but I think we’re done here.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Just another reason to NEVER FLY DELTA AGAIN. The bad service was one thing. The nickel and diming baggage policy (evidently does not apply to families with children who get to freely gate check mondo-sized child gear) also very annoying. The requirement to self-check in while gate agents stand idle 5 feet away….well, you get the picture.
I urge all consumers – and especially people with any connection to the military to BOYCOTT Delta. They deserve it.
(Like being in a war isn’t bad enough…they have to hit them with excessively high baggage fees… After the flight? And without shame…the comment from the Delta PR hack is as vague and non-informative as possible.)
Just stop it, Delta
June 8th, 2011 at 10:47 am
As a company you should be completly ashamed of yourselves. How many of the service men and women have personally put their lives on the line for each and everyone of your employees. My family has used Delta as our only way to travel for years, that all ends today! We will no longer fly and airlines that does not value their military.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:49 am
Actually, it looks like I may have to eat my own words and Delta itself may be confused about how many bags are required.
From the Delta page on baggage allowances: http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
“Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).”
June 8th, 2011 at 10:50 am
While we all appreciate what our military do for us, if the US government contracts with a company to transport these troops, then the conditions of carriage or the contract apply. If there is a requirement for significant over age on the baggage, and Delta is already generous, the US government should take responsi bility for these extra costs. If I travel on business and am charged baggage check fees, my company covers those. It should be the same here. In fact, other reports in the media indicate that the government WILL reimburse the individuals involved. Don’t blame Delta for this mess, blame the government for not making the correct arrangements in the first place – but then we are slowly learning that the government is not very good at organizing our lives.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Just another example of corporate greed over-ruling human decency. Delta needs to reimburse these soldiers and change this policy ASAP.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Service members can’t afford to fly in First Class any more than they can afford to pay $200 for a bag they were required to deploy with. They aren’t on vacation – their bags aren’t full of souvenirs – they’re full of the equipment that kept them alive. You have lost our business, and I hope others will join us in finding a different airline to use from this day forward.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:54 am
As a frequent business traveler in Atlanta, I have been ignored and treated poorly by delta gate agents and flight attendants more times than I can count. I try very hard to fly other carriers.
Delta has reached a new low in the disrespect that the gate agent demonstrated to these service men. I only wish I had been in line behind them to both pay their fees and to allow them to go on their way and stay and fight the battle with Delta on their behalf.
I hope the gate agent who mistreated these two brave men will be held accountable for their actions. I am sure Delta could care less, but ultimately we are all judged for how we treat others in life.
For the service men involved, I truly appreciate what you do for my freedom and apologize on behalf of the IGNORANCE from Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:54 am
What a joke you have become Delta. I have for some reason defended you to friends and co-workers as to why my company continues to use you, but I am done as is my company I own. I wish the service men and women could in turn send you a bill for defending your freedom and liberty…even if those liberties include trying to screw over the people who are trying to defend you
June 8th, 2011 at 10:55 am
Military personnel should NOT be charged for ANY baggage, whether they have one bag or 100! Not only should there be NO CHARGE for extra baggage, they should be allowed to fly for FREE to and from home and points of service! At least rethink your baggage policy for the military, Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Mark my words, this is going to be a PR nightmare for you, Delta. Not just because you charged U.S. Soldiers, for whom you are contractually and morally obliged to provide service, but for the tone and candor of your meek, self absorbed press release. After an impassioned video from heroic soldiers returning home, how dare you refer us to policy forms on your website.
All you had to do was issue a straight apology, say someone at the gate was doing their job wrong, that you would make sure something like this would never happen again, and people would have gotten over it. But you had to wait until the fourth paragraph to get to the apology.
And the apology read like you were saying you were sorry the soldiers didn’t understand your Delta baggage rules for soldiers.
And I can’t even believe you mentioned the bit about allowing for an extra bag for soliders travelling first class.
I don’t take time to write in comment sections on the internet, but I was outraged first by the treatment of soldiers by you, then by the shockingly ignorant way you decided to handle this mess.
Every newspaper and TV station in the country now is going to be calling you and every U.S. Soldier whose ever flown Delta in the past decade to see how many times this has happened and how much money you’ve greedily snapped up from U.S. Soldiers returning home from battle.
Not only that, but expect lawmakers who’ve paid US airlines billions of dollars to stay in business to take notice. I would encourage everyone reading this to contact their local congressmen on this point.
That you don’t grasp the hole you’ve dug yourself is startling, and I’m going to enjoy watching you try to claw your way out now.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Just disgusting
also 5th place really Delta 5th place
also please retrain your flight crew i fly BC on Delta and your crew all act like i am lucky to even have them serve me plus i love when they have on dirty uniforms that is so nice or a tear in the shoulders (woman) and the males who look as they just got out of bed did not shave and missing the tie and give you bad service now i see why you all ranked number 5
June 8th, 2011 at 10:57 am
I find Delta”s response unacceptable. I am offended by your suppose ..”going to look into thi matter and correct it…” Simply reinburse our soliders the fee that was charge for the suppose extra baggage–DO THE RIGHT THING. WE SUPPORT OUR SOLIDERS!!
God bless the USA!!
June 8th, 2011 at 10:59 am
I think everything has been said that can be said on this. Delta screwed up, bigtime. Put your money where your mouth is and cancel anything you have with Delta, I did. Don’t support a company that doesn’t support your military. If it weren’t for the military, they wouldn’t even have pilots to fly their plane or safe skies to fly them in! Absolutely disgusting.
June 8th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Obviously Delta is not “un-American”. Other airlines have similar policies (and even worse- my brother is in the military and Continental charged him for having an extra bag since only the first two are free. He was coming back from iraq.) The company apologized right away and I’m sure the person at the gate was just trying to do their job.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Sorry for the tyos–and missing letters on my posting. I was angry and dissappionted by the way these soliders were treated!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:01 am
I’m enraged that as a spouse of someone who serves web if it is only part time that you can try to justify this injustice with a policy. Is this what my husband goes over to fight for so you can charge a soldier, the person defending YOUR freedom $200 for a bag? I’m really hoping he doesn’t get stuck on Delta comin home for R&R and you can be sure that more then just our military will be boycotting your airline. I have shared this story on Facebook an it’s traviling fast through our military, I don’t care if I have to pay an extra $200 to fly another airline, Delta you will NEVER have any of mine or my husbands hard earned money.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:01 am
The ONLY thing Delta respects is CASH.. Spin this anyway you want, but at the end of the day its simply pure greed. Delta’s supposed financial troubles (as they cry about often in the press) are of their own making. COME ON IN SOUTHWEST AIRLINES… It can’t happen soon enough. I agree with the boycott. It’s the only way DELTA will ever learn a lesson. The only reason they are addressing this is because of the video. What another GREAT job or military personnel have performed. Exposing these greedy pigs. May god be with these and ALL of our military personnel as they keep this country safe every day.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:02 am
WOW… as a military mom gotta reply to this one! You guessed it…. I am a SKYMILES member that is NOT HAPPY about this either!!!! Or… perhaps, I WAS a SKYMILES member? This should be resolved by Delta ASAP! I would like to personally say sorry to these service men & women that they had to endure having to pay out of their pockets for the tools they use to protect and serve our country. I often marvel about how little my son and others in the military make for salary for offering their lives to protect our freedom… especially compared to Delta’s Chief Executive Richard Anderson’s 2010 $8 million dollar compensation package. Wonder if he has to pay for extra bags?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:02 am
All airlines have similar policies. If it was a contracted flight, it is a completely different situation. If it was not contracted (meaning it carried passengers other than military personnel), then normal rules would have followed. Although an inconvenience, the military will reimburse these servicemen and women for these extra fees as long as they turn in their receipts. It will not really come out of their own pockets in the end. Speaking as a military wife, my husband has flown on various airlines coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and he typically must pay a fee for his extra bags (which are usually military equipment), but he understands that it is just the airlines policy and doesn’t expect any special treatment or exceptions. And he knows he can just turn his receipt for the military equipment extra baggage charge and be reimbursed. Aside from that, they all have government issued credit cards that should be mandated that everything be charged to, it does not come out of their own checking account.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Seriously, this is such a crappy post. I work in public relations. I help clients handle crisis communications issues. And I focus much of my work in the realm of social media…
And this post is such a non-response. It essentially says, “screw all you guys – sorry YOU were the problem.”
Man, I expect more from a big brand like Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:04 am
This is really deplorable, not only is the policy an insult to the men and women in the armed services but its very bad that the culture of Delta is such that the onsite manager couldn’t be empowered to waive the fees, or even make a note and then claim from the government rather than have the soldiers have to pay. Really poor Delta, I won’t be travelling with you if I have a choice.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:05 am
GA’s pocket politicians voted to extend Delta’s corporate welfare of $20 Million for 2012 and $10 Million for 2011 on jet fuel tax, during a state budget crisis originally enacted in the wake of 9-11, when they faced bankruptcy and needed help, despite their posting $593 Million in profits last year. Maybe they could use that corporate welfare fund to help a soldier out.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:06 am
What a horrible story! To add insult they send out this response that they are looking into it. REFUND their money!! They fight as soldiers to protect our rights as well as the rights of others yet we so shamefully treat them as if they have none. These men and women are HEROS and Delta should treat them as such. Mistakes are made it is what we do to correct those mistakes, time to step up Delta and make this right.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
I would like to congratulate Delta for not only committing one of the all-time most boneheaded moves in business history, but doubling down with a PR follow up that appears to have been written by a small child with a severe head injury. In response to criticism over charging soldiers returning home from a combat zone $200 to check their belongings, Delta has managed to to leverage sneering indifference, a complete lack of contrition and a martinet’s unthinking adherence to ridiculous policy to form a special blend of stupid heretofore undiscovered by science. Years from now, the nation’s B-schools will be using this as an example of inept public relations. As though your bankruptcy (and attendant cancellation of all outstanding SkyMiles at the time) weren’t confirmation enough, this cements your position as the biggest box o’ crap airline to ever darken the skies of the world.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
So how did this “miscommunication” happen and how can it be prevented from happening again?
Was it a matter of your employee not knowing the policy, or something else? You need to be specific so that there is no misunderstanding about your policies toward our service men and women. Otherwise the public is free to believe the worst. There are some who are getting the idea that there are people in various organizations that allow their political prejudices to govern their actions. I hope that your organization addresses this possibility.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
How dare YOU (DELTA) charge our military for ANY baggabe when returning from service in particular!!!! I will NEVER fly DELTA again. I’d walk before I would fly DELTA. You not only need to appologise to these Americans as well as return their charges with compensensate them for the inconvenience and insult.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:08 am
I am stunned. I am flabbergasted and just sick. I find, too, that I cannot even express myself in words–typing then erasing only to do it again and again–I am just so … stunned. Delta should be ashamed from its CEO to the janitors… Delta should be ashamed!
As an American I am ashamed of you…and for you.
I will never fly Delta again unless each of these brave soldiers receives their money back in full and a PUBLIC apology.
Angela Kalnins
Las Vegas Nevada
June 8th, 2011 at 11:08 am
It was disgusting to find out that these servicemen were charged this extra baggage fee. As the wife of a US soldier, I have to say everything in all 4 of those bags were a necessity!!! They have to travel with ALL their gear and weapons at all times. I personally am amazed when I see my husband empty his bags and the amount of items he’s required to travel with. Just the “battle rattle” and simple gear alone take up an entire bag. Are they kidding $200? Do you understand how much $200 is to a military family? That’s groceries for my children! Shame on you Delta. This is the reason we DON’T fly Delta and never will. Everyone I know I have also told since long ago not to use Delta. I really do hope this comes back to slap you in the face, just the way you did to our boys! Also Rachel, being the wife of a reservist you yourself should have been ashamed to post this blog.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:09 am
What makes it worse is their response to this whole situation. It came across as defensive and patronizing when it should have been apologetic and nothing else. Do not explain your policy. No one wants to hear it. All we want to hear is that our military service personnel are taken care of. Period.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:10 am
” We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.”
This should have read “We are currently contacting all of the soldiers to return their money ASAP”.. plain and simple… they fight for our freedom and protect our country they should be treated with dignity and respect.. and FREE LUGGAGE.. as many pieces as they want PERIOD…
Delta will certainly not be the way of travel for me nor my family.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:11 am
I’m not much of a flyer but have encounter minor conflicts with service agents at bagging. Though we must be grateful for the guidelines that do try to keep passengers safe. The neglect that a simple customer service gesture was overlooked is discouraging. The mere fact that these soldiers are giving up their freedom and sadly their lives to keep The United States out of harms way is reason enough to have granted a variance in policy. If it were not for these soldiers, our service industries (Delta) would be at a terrorist demise (9/11/2001). Perhaps next time this sort of conflict arises, be it with Delta or any others company policy…remember what is keeping your country, your family, your dreams and most important our future. THANK YOU SOLDIERS FOR YOUR SERVICES, GOD BLESS YOU & YOUR FAMILIES!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Really Delta? You guys suck as an airline if you think it’s cool to charge US servicemen for extra bags when they are coming home! Delta may be the largest carrier but don’t forget, there is still choice out there. Our government may contract you to fly our men and women, but the American people; who are fiercely supportive of our troops will see this behavior as a slap in the face and will fly with someone else. FIX THIS!! not just for these guys but for ALL men and women in uniform who serve our country. Need some help?? How about NO excess baggage fees for these guys. ugghhhh!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:16 am
This is especially mean-spirited because Delta recently (May 2011) provided Republican lawmakers from Georgia with platinum upgrades and then received a $30 Million Tax Break. How about helping the little guy out now and then, Delta, especially those in service to our country?
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/20/168087/delta-ga-gop-lawmakers/
June 8th, 2011 at 11:16 am
My husband deployed back in March, each member had HUGE bags with all their gear for their trip. 3 bags each that weighed alot because of their required gear. Each member was charged $500 for excess bagage. Load of crap if you ask me when a member is under orders to deploy and they HAVE to have the gear. I will never fly Delta again because of this!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:16 am
I don’t want to read how you’re going to look into this situation. I want to read that you returned the soldiers’ money, ALL the money you scammed from all our military personnel, and that you have issued an apology to each and every one of them! I also want to read that all military are treated equally, regardless of where they sit on the plane!!
So, your spouse is in the reserves. What’s your point? Did he get charged $200. for an extra bag?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:17 am
I first saw this on facebook and even after reading Delta’s side of the story I am still glad I reposted it. How anyone can have the guts to stand infront of that many soldiers (or even one) and basically ask them to pay to come home is beyond me. My husband is on his third deployment with the army and this time around will be missing out on his first born. I know there are many men and women in similar sitchiations and sacrifice for our country and the men and women at Delta are part of that. So why not sacrifice whatever it takes to get these soldiers home with out the stress? Im sure all of the customers you are losing and bad publicity was not worth the money you charged for those bags. So please do what is right and pay them back and do not do this again. Learn to welcome your troops home the right way.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Shame on you Delta. Return their money and never let a policy stand in the way of doing the right thing. It is because of our selfless and dedicated military that the US enjoys the freedoms we have today. They should be honored when they return to their homeland soil, not penalized. How unAmerican can you get?!?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Earlier this year I had my own horror story with Delta while trying to get a college-age student to England for a semester abroad. The bureaucracy and lack of responsiveness was a textbook case for how not to treat customers. A pretty stupid business strategy, I thought at the time. However, treating our soldiers in this way is beyond stupidity. Maybe we should send all those Delta executives involved in these policies and their administration to Iraq or Afghanistan for a while to learn a bit of compassion.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
This is from your own website. I see 4 bags for economy… unless I’m reading something wrong?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:19 am
First, the number of you who’ve ranted “Welcome back to America!!” and meant anything negative, consider the reality of your statement: welcome back to the land of simply excitable, reality ignoring, consumers. One mis-information and it’s “bwowr wI’ll never fly Delta agAIN!” Do some research, be reasonable. And you’re saying it’s unAmerican? You mean it’s not American to be a company that charges for services to pay to fly you somewhere? Flight is expensive. It’s really hard work to get a metal behemoth airborne with a bunch of heavy Americans as its payload.
This sort of ignorant excitability is the reason we’re in a war at all and the reason most of my freedoms have been compromised in the name of “patriotism”. If we’d just acknowledged the 9/11 tragedy as a tragedy and absorbed it peacefully, these troops wouldn’t have to be flying home, they wouldn’t have to have been in combat.
Quit behaving like easily spooked cows, you’re humans–at least some of you.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:19 am
There is nothing more to add really. I just want to say that this is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself. These are the men and women that fight for your right to be free American citizens. I hope that you realize that you have lost a lot of business over something you should have been doing to begin with. Used to be you could get away with things like this because the word could only get out by people talking to each other but now we have the internet and in the blink of an eye, the whole world knows what you have done. You need to right this wrong and change your policy ASAP before you lose any more business because you have already lost business over this. The public should not be shaming you into changing your policy, you should do it because it is the right thing to do! The military should stop booking flights with airlines that don’t treat their personnel the way they deserve to be treated, like heros!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:20 am
This is a case of an employee making a very poor decision – but then Delta corporate failing to correct it!
What would you propose to these Soldiers with an extra bag? That they “pack lighter” next time they go to war?! I mean…do you really need both that M4 AND that 9mm? Maybe you could have left the body armor at home?
Wake up and fix this.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:21 am
You think this is bad? I travel with an Iraq war veteran who is a triple amputee. Lost both legs and his right hand to an IED in Bagdad in 2005. In the late summer of 2009, his baggage was misplaced (prob stolen) and we filed a claim. He had to pack his Mac book, Ipod and charger, prostetics charger…since it’s impossible for him to ‘carry on’ these items with only one hand. His claim was denied since it’s Delta’s Policy that electronics are not to be put in checked bags. We tried to explain the circumstances to numerous individuals at Delta and actually sent a letter of explanation to their CEO, Daniel Carp. He, of course, didn’t respond but the response we got was sorry, but our policy…and they sent a $150. travel voucher. So much for helping the soldiers that have given so much so companies like Delta can maximize their profits on the backs of these individuals. Needless to say, we never flew Delta again…and never will.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:22 am
I am a Vietnam veteran and I might just have a little “baggage” of my own about how we were treated when we came home. Please, do the right thing and give those men their money back and a little bit more for their trouble. Your decidion to allow 4 bags for the Colonels and Generals who can afford 1st class is pretty generous and I am sure you will be getting plenty of business from them. Others, I suppose, “need not apply.”
June 8th, 2011 at 11:22 am
Hi, I am wondering if anyone who reads this blog may be able to help me. My husband is active duty military, and we are stationed in Cairo, Egypt. At the end of January, I was evacuated with one suitcase. I sat in an empty house with 4 pieces of furniture until my husband could ship some personal items to me from Cairo (on Delta). This shipment contained clothing and paintings that my mother in law painted before she died last year. They are irreplaceable. Unfortunately, Delta has lost this very important shipment, and we have been running round in circles for a month trying to find my shipment. Does anyone have any contacts in Delta who can help me? The call center is unhelpful and I am very frustrated. I need Delta to find these paintings. Any help anyone can give is very much appreciated. Thank you
June 8th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Delta – shame on you!! I know that I will not personally fly Delta and I will not let any of my employees fly Delta until I read your sincere apology to these brave men and women of our armed forces (not the crap you tried to spin in this blog), the extra baggage charges have been returned, and free flight vouchers have been issued to every service man/women who was charged for the 4th bag. Only then will Delta be re-instated as an approved airline for my employees and for me personally. These soldiers paid their fees (and so much more) in the deserts and mountains of Afganistan.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:24 am
I think the military should give that contract to an airline who will let soldiers fly home with all their belongings and not charge them for it. As a navy wife, I would be furious if this happened to my husband. Kudos for Delta for making $2800, hope it was worth the loss of business you will see due to your actions. This is viral, it is all over the web, and people are PISSED. Your BS blog by a “reservist” wife, who will “look” into the matter is not going to cut it.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Just ignorance. To Delta….maybe you should wear a servicemens equipment on a daily basis for a few days. You would then realize that it doesn’t weigh the same as a bikini. These men and women are not on vacation. Idiots. My husband has been deployed 6 times since this war has begun. He doesn’t have much choice on what airline he flies, but if he did…I am sure he wouldn’t fly with one that had such disreguard for what he and all the other service men and women have sacrafised for our country.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:24 am
The fact that you apologized for miscommunication is a cop-out. Apologizing that the receiver didn’t get your message (communication consists of message, medium, sender and receiver) is no different than apologizing that someone else’s feelings are hurt because you chose to do the wrong thing.
Delta, you can take my SkyMiles and my loyalty and shove it up your cargo hold. I have no choice but to fly your tank home this weekend, but that will be my last. You’ve scored for the last time with this soldier.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Wow, “We’re sorry you didn’t understand our policy. We’ll call you to clear it up for you.” Talk about getting a black eye, and well deserved at that. Servicemen don’t always have controll over how many bags they return with and I doubt very many are flying first class to get that fourth bag free. Here’s what you do — refund the bag fee and the airfare for the servicemen impacted. Change the policy so that military personnel never pay a fee when travelling on orders, especially from a war zone. And have the CEO apologize for this, it was inexcusable. As for me, my new policy is never fly Delta unless they are at least $200 cheaper than anyone else.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:25 am
Blah blah blah… those of us that had to fly commercial while in the military (20 years) had to abide by commercial rules. Believe me, you know the rules before you ever get on the airplane. Maybe all you bleeding hearts should take up a collection, or better yet, serve some REAL time in the military.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:25 am
Has anyone here considered who ought to pay for the transport home of troops? Should it be the airline they fly home on? Or like every other instance of service use (car rental, hotel, etc.) of any business or organization, should it be the organization (read: military) who budgets money for trips and pays for their personnel? How much sense does it make for a service (the airlines) to foot the bill of someone else because their organization sends them somewhere? About none.
If you go on a business trip and your company only gives you $60/night for lodging but you have to stay in a hotel for $100/night, who are you pissed at? The hotel for their price? Or the a-holes who shorted your travel expenses. Think, people. If anything, be pissed at the military for not taking care of their men, not Delta for their policies meant to keep a capitalist business afloat.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:25 am
It’s unfortunate that the military has a contract with DL on this route. They’re HAVE to use Delta because someone’s decision at the Pentagon. I used to work at a military travel management office on a very active base and I’ve NEVER heard of anything like this before. I can’t believe the counter agent didn’t allow this to slide by. BWI (Baltimore) is a gateway airport for our military members so it’s not like they haven’t seen a person in uniform before. I’m astonished and ashamed of Delta. The military will reimburse their soldiers for this avoidable expense, but it’s embarrassing that DL took money from our military to benefit them. $200.00 a bag?!? Really? I bet I could find a flight cheaper one way from BWI to ATL. Their bags could have received a seat and a snack for that price.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:25 am
I agree that I can not say anything that has not all ready been said, but WOW! What is next for your airlines, charging people for being dressed in military clothes vs plain clothes becuase it draws attention to your airline? How about extra fees for using a ticket counter vs going on line? You have been screwing all cilivilans and now the military. The only thing left to do is bring it up a notch. By the way you’re welcome for me and the countless others that are or have served to protect you and preserving your way of life. I will notify as many people as I possibly can to NEVER fly DELTA or NORTHWEST again. I hope along with the rest of country boycottong your airline you go out of business!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:26 am
You have not apologized. You issued the usual insincere, corporate/political, conditional, damage control non-apology. An “apology” for “any miscommunication” and “any inconvenience we may have caused?” Any inconvenience you “may have caused?” So it isn’t clear to you whether or not confiscating $200 from a soldier returning from a war is inconvenient? You think that it might not be inconvenient? You can’t be sure?
What is called for is an unqualified apology for the shabby treatment our soldiers received from delta. Not for their lack of understanding of your policies, or on the off chance some one of them may have been inconvenienced. You need to apologize for straight up mistreating them.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:27 am
Wow Rachael R. it seems like refunding the excessive bag charge would go a long way in quelling the outrage over Delta’s policies. The bag overcharge was what $2,800. How costly do you think the thousands of hits this story is getting in the press are to Delta, I’m guessing its more than $2,800. Seems to me that it would be a small price to pay to smooth this over. It’s one thing for a ticketing agent to make a stupid mistake in the heat of the moment. It’s quite another for the company, after due reflection, to come forward and attempt to defend an idiotic policy. I for one won’t be flying Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:27 am
OK…This is from YOUR webiste: http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
So where’s the truth?! Next thing you know you will charge for the air passengers consume on the flight.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:28 am
In addition to a personal apology owed to each and every service man and woman Delta has charged to check baggage, as well as a revision of its policy to do so in the future, if Delta Airlines wishes to retrieve even a portion of the respect it once had, all monies charged military personnel should be returned post haste!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:28 am
I served in the United States Navy. I was disgusted to hear that you charged service members baggage fees to fly home. This is the same government and country that bailed out your failed company from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I will never fly your airlines again and I will tell everyone I know the same. In this tough economy and the age of the internet only the best survive. I hope Delta goes down hard for this one.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:28 am
We have 2 family members serving in the miltary, the thought that this could happen to them just makes me furious. I will never travel Delta ever again nor any one else in our family and we have a very large extended family- Your loss Delta
June 8th, 2011 at 11:30 am
After making almost 4 billion dollars on baggage and meal fees one would think you would honor your contract with the military to carry 4 bags per soldier. whoever made this poor decision has surely cost your airline more than you made on the fees. I will never fly Delta again even if it costs me a bit more to fly with another carrier. where is your sense of decency? You must refund the soldiers charged fees and promise to keep from doing this again in the future. It is too bad businesses can’t feel shame, but you will feel a squeeze on your bottom line from all the customers you will lose over this policy
June 8th, 2011 at 11:30 am
As a military officer I can only say, Wow, Delta….just wow. Since you’re so concerned about business you might want to calculate how much money this blizzard of negative PR will cost your organization.
I am going to post this story on every social media page I use….and as I am sure you all know….the Internet is a very big world, but also a very small one.
Decisions yield consequences — so enjoy what’s coming your way. You’ve earned it!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Really, Delta? What more can one say about Delta’s treatment of our returning military personnel? After enduring the hardship of a deployment to Afghanistan, this is a cruel welcome home by Delta. I can not believe that Delta would allow this PR disaster to spin out of control in the media. I read the story online and heard it on the radio on the way to work. Delta can recover from this. Do the right thing for our troops Delta: Admit you were wrong and fix it.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:31 am
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Under contract – 3 bags for coach and 4 bags for first class/business class? How many soldiers have the opportunity to fly first class?! These guys just want to get home after doing their job in a foreign country. Delta Airlines should apologize and refund every cent charged for extra bags. You can bet your last dollar I will never fly Delta again and will encourage friends and family not to fly on your airline.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:33 am
I think the source of the erroneous information about the 4 free bags should be traced back to the source. If, in fact, it turns out to be the U.S. Army, perhaps the U.S. Army should pay the charges?! If Delta gave the erroneous info, by all means they should more than refund! I don’t think Delta is unAmerican, but I think a lot of people who have posted comments are! An airline is a BUSINESS, after all. Perhaps the U.S. ARMY should pay for any baggage fees to begin with?! I AM AN AMERICAN and do not apologize for my opinion.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:33 am
Thank you for picking my airline of choice, Yes it is not Delta. Your handling of the military travelers is ridiculous and just plain stupid. Yes I have posted anywhere that I can to boycott Delta. These men and women fight to protect us and this is how your show your gratitude? What a joke. Maybe the leadership of Delta should put on the uniform and go fight for several months for an attitude adjustment!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:33 am
I JUST READ OF THE HORRIFIC TREATMENT BESTOWED UPON OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR MILITARY WHO WERE TREATED SO HORRIBLY BY THE EMPLOYEE OR EMPLOYEES CHARGING A BAGGAGE FEE UPON THEIR RETURN FROM WAR. A WAR TO KEEP FREEOM ALIVE!!! To say that I am so deeply saddened by this treatment is a vast understatement. I cannot in my heart believe, believe number one, that you would have that policy in place for ANY and I do mean ANY MILITARY PERSONNEL let alone those coming home from the horrors of WAR. A war that they have selflessly given of themselves to protect US here so that we may continue with our day to day lives. Obviously the management has ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT OR HEARTFELT APPRECIATION for these individuals. You should be so ashamed that you HANG YOUR HEADS for the IDIOTIC policies you have put into place. HAVE YOU NO BRAINS IN YOUR HEADS? I WILL NEVER FLY DELTA AGAIN AND WILL MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE I COME INTO CONTACT WITH KNOWS OF THIS HORRIBLE, UNTHINKABLE TREATMENT OF OUR MILITARY. YOU SHOULD HAVE HALF THE GUTS THAT THESE BRAVE INDIVIDUALS HAVE. PERHAPS YOUR THINKING WOULD NOT BE SO CLOUDED WITH THE NEED FOR GREED….I can only hope that every person who hears of this turns to other airlines so that you can truly feel the effects of that STUPID, STUPID decision. SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:34 am
Delta should be ashamed of itself. How much business do you get from the military? It would be a shame if they took their business elsewhere.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:36 am
How dare Delta for trying to defend this policy. Fix it now!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:38 am
As if it was not enough to charge the gallent soldiers additional baggage fees, delta adds insult to injury with Rachel R.’s post attemting to explain and justify this policy and mentioning that Delta was “reaching” out to our servicemen. Talk about not getting it. Delta doesnt need to explain nor reach out. They need to refund these charges immediately. Then it might be possible for people like myself to reconsider if they will ever fly delta again. This airline (actually Northwest) has abused travelers for years as a result of having a monopoly for a long time on minneapolis travelers. Shame on them. They dont desrve our business.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:40 am
Your reply should have come from the CEO rather than a PR flack and it should have been, “We screwed up. We’re sorry. We will fix this so it never happens again, including changing our policy. We’ll refund the soldiers. We love our troops.” Instead we get a CYA, callous, long-winded reply that makes it worse. What’s wrong with you people? Delta Airlines = DAL = DISGRACEFUL AND LAME. I will NEVER fly your airline again and I’ll tell everyone on FB and Twitter why my opinion is that you don’t deserve your government contract.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:40 am
LAME, HORRIBLE, WEAK, COPOUT respsonse from Delta. The blog should read- We screwed up, refunds on the way. Free tickets for your family to relax and reconnect. It will never happen again.
There should be NO LIMIT. Period. These soldiers are protecting us from people that shoot planes out of the sky. That is more expensive than baggage fees. Corporate greed, shameful.
Do over Delta. I fly ALOT and will not be flying you.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:43 am
SHAME ON YOU DELTA!! This is absolutely appalling! What a great welcome home to the USA after serving for YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES! I hope you all can rest easy tonight knowing the dishonor you have done to our men and women in uniform!
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL ARMED FORCES WHO CONTINUALLY FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM! YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT PRAISE AND HONOR! I’M SORRY THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU!
PROUD ARMYWIFE…(who will never fly with Delta again)
June 8th, 2011 at 11:43 am
This story is disgusting! I’ll never fly Delta again. It’s a good thing our soldiers don’t have a policy against fighting in combat to protect Delta’s stupid ass. I’m sure Delta will reimburse this money because they’re getting so much bad press — but reimbursement isn’t the issue. This never should have happened in the first place. Enjoy your $2800 Delta — These soldiers are willing to give their lives to protect all of us — delta employees included. Solders: The rest of us love you and welcome you home! God bless you!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:44 am
To our Soldiers, thank you, thank you, thank you for serving. You are heros. To Delta, the life lessons I will teach my kids have changed now; don’t cross the street without looking, don’t talk to strangers, say please and thank you, and don’t fly Delta.
Delta, Really?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am
And why aren’t soldiers coming home from COMBAT automatically in first class anyway????????
June 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am
You call that an apology?! Delta you need a new publicist if that’s the case. I don’t care what the current policy is, any service personnel returning from war isn’t going to return home with a crap load of luggage. Regardless of whether or not it’s First class, business class or coach, they shouldn’t be charged. It’s not as if the plane is going to have to go out of it’s way to carry it. Geesh I notice that in the statement, not once did it mention refunding the money, only that they were going to ‘reach out’ to them. EPIC FAIL Delta
June 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am
How much more dissapointing can this be? Being retired from DL where has the common sense gone? Could it be that our front line does not have the authority to wave this charge? Cannot anyone see the coming firestorm of bad publicity this would generate? I am amazed at the lack of customer service we always preached years ago. On a radio program this morning driving in I listened to 3 minutes of Delta bashing which I see and hear too much of anymore. Where has Delta gone?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:46 am
“…will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced.”
Hogwash. Delta doesn’t need to “reach out”; just give them their money back. Does this PR twit know what soldiers earn? Does she know what coming home means? I remember Pan-Am carrying troops home from Vietnam (that other war). Great crews, nothing but care for the troops. No bags weighed or counted. Cram it in and get ‘er off the ground. God, what a horrible attitude by Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:46 am
I am extremely Pro Military. All of those saying that they will never fly Delta again, did you happen to check the policy of other airlines? I did and US Airways, Delta, and Continental all say 3 bags free. So will you be boycotting those too? Perhaps all airlines should make a policy that all bags are free for active duty service men and women.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Do your on site ticket agents have any discretion to wave this policy given a particular set of conditions such as what happened here? Certainly any policy maker at Delta would now agree that the 2800.00 dollars earned was not worth the ill will your company is now receiving. I’m stunned that whoever was in charge on site at the time couldn’t see this turning out badly. I’m also surprised there wasn’t a riot because if I were standing there and knew what was happening I would have started one. You should have read your response one more time…discussing the particular details of the policy which the soldiers didn’t quite understand was a bad move. With dodging sniper fire and calling in air strikes for a year they most likely didn’t have time to pour over your baggage policy and pointing it out and rubbing their nose in it was a major mistake. Here’s what you should have said: We were wrong and are deeply sorry. Please forgive us. It will never happen again.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Shame on you Delta! As another mom of a military man I agree also to boycott Delta and to pass on this blog to all my family and friends. And you probably go to bed feeling safe at night!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:48 am
seriously? Talk about spinning the story to make Delta appear military friendly by saying it respects men and women in uniform??? there’s really nothing other than a complete apology and refund to the soliders for the extra cost of bags that is needed by Delta Airlines… honestly, $2,800 bucks is not worth all the BAD PR this causes the airline… no matter what Delta does from here on out, they have blown this big time… given the day, time of year, this story will be in news cycle a lot longer than Delta thinks… other than a possible total boycott of Delta airlines by military and non military passangers… we’ll see how that 2,800 dollars really means to Delta when they lose thousands if not millions of customers who simply refuse to fly an airline that is penny wise and pound foolish…
June 8th, 2011 at 11:50 am
As a former Marine and the son of a retired Marine, I have to say that I am truly DISGUSTED by Delta’s treatment of men and women who choose to serve and put their lives in harm’s way so that you, Delta, may reap financial profit that these people will most likely never be able to accumulate. Theirs is a life of faithful service, often with pay that can never equal the sacrifices they and their families endure, and instead of a handshake and a “Job well done”, you instead reach into their already modest pocketbooks?
I have unfortunately already booked several flights in the near future on your airline, as it is the major airline here in Atlanta, but I promise you, once those flights are completed, I WILL NEVER fly Delta again; I will deal with a less convenient flight schedule so as not to not give you my business again; I will happily discard any and all Delta SkyMiles I’ve accumulated; and I will make sure that I make as many people as possible aware of your shabby treatment our men and women in uniform.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Delta agent stated he was only following orders. Where have we heard that before?
June 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
You should remember that the men and women who serve this country provide you the freedoms you have to charge such outrageous fees to begin with. You should be ashamed our policies and your company. I for one will never fly Delta again. I will drive before I fly your airlines. You are sad sad Americans !
June 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Stop with the PR ”junk” and get on with it. Never mind ”addressing their concerns”………….RETURN their money and APOLOGIZE big time………over and over.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
I also agree to boycott Delta. This makes me sick at my stomach! These soldiers should not have to pay ONE DIME! Good Lord!
I have already posted this on my Facebook page and I will encourage everyone I know to NOT FLY DELTA!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Neither I nor my family are military members, but I will never fly Delta again either. This is a national embarrassment.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
I think it is disgraceful that any Military personnel would be asked to pay a dime out of their own pocket to check their bags on Delta Airlines. Their money should be refunded immediately! I don’t care how many bags they had or how much they weighed their bags and the soldiers should fly free! I read Delta’s statement and it only made me even more mad! To say you have only the utmost respect for these soldiers but still make them pay out of their own pockets it terrible. Our military personnel do not make that much money. I know I grew up a child of an Air Force service member and them married an Army service member. I hope very soon to hear that all their moneys were refunded to them or I personally will never and will tell everyone I know to boycott Delta Airlines! It is simply disgraceful!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:52 am
If soldiers always have 4 bags of equipment with one of them being army equipment that ‘protected’ them in the field, the ARMY should be paying the baggage fees. I’m surprised the items the one soldier said were in the bag he had to pay for are even allowed on a commercial flight of any airline!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Oh, and change this ridiculous POLICY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:54 am
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Our soldiers are sacrificing their lives for our country and are paid very little and you have the nerve to charge them! I am EXTREMELY upset because I have a flight scheduled with Delta next week to go and see my son in basic training. I should have known from the moment I spoke to them on the phone. First the woman said they do offer parents of military discounts but of course not on the day I was going. It is Family Day and 200+ families will be going out to Fort Benning. When do you offer it then? The representative also charged me $25.00 per ticket for making reservations over the phone, never disclosing it to me. The only reason I called was to see if there was a discount and she said she could help me schedule my reservation. The charge came up on bank statement and I immediately called to find out what the extra charge was for.They told me to go and look at their policies. Sorry I failed to read the small print before I called them. They gave me a voucher for next time. This is my first and only time with Delta and now I am livid because I can’t cancel my reservation and go with another carrier. This is absolutely DISGUSTING and UNPATRIOTIC.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:54 am
This is more than embarrassing, its shameful but it doesn’t surprise me. On my subsequent trips home from Amsterdam NL to Boston I will forego the efficiency of using Delta with the only non-stop direct connection. I rather have to transfer somewhere than give Delta another cent of my money. And I will make sure that all my friends and business associates learn of this story so they can hopefully make the same decision. Shame on Delta!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:54 am
Apparently Delta is No. 1 with regard to traffic, passing American Airlines… Not for long.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:55 am
So Delta overrides their normal policies and offers 3 free bags in coach (on normal ticketed flights) and they face all this blame? Why doesn’t the military cover the cost of transporting the necessary items of troops on orders? As great as it is that private companies are willing to make reasonable exceptions to their policies for our military with no or low marginal cost to the business (as they ought to) it seems like the onus is ultimately on the military to make sure their soldiers can get all of their bags back home. If I was traveling for work and I needed to carry extra bags, you’re darn right I’d have the company pay!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:56 am
It is hard to beleive that the soldiers didn’t strongly question the policy of charging $200 per bag so why did the agent not have enough sense to call someone at Delta that was higher up the food chain? The CEO of the Delta Board and the President of Delta need to get their buts to the military base where these brave men are stationed and personally apologize and one of these people should have written the apology instead of Rachel R.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Rachel R. I hope you get fired and Delta bankrupts! Honestly????? Defending a ridiculous policy that makes it difficult for our soldiers to come home from combat, and then making it sould like THEY misunderstood this insane policy. You’re an disrespectful idiot.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Delta Airlines, you should be ashamed of yourselves!! These soldiers were returning from a war zone and you had the unbelievable nerve to charge them for their baggage??? They weren’t on their way home from Disneyworld!!
I will NEVER fly Delta again and I will be sure to tell my friends and family to do the same!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:58 am
I have never felt compelled to comment on a blog post before, but this one I felt was necessary. Shame on you Delta. I will never travel the “friendly” skies with your airline ever again and I will be sure to look at other carriers when helping my family members with their airline reservations too.
June 8th, 2011 at 11:58 am
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
You have a contract with the US Government which means you accept our taxpayer dollars. You know you are returning soldiers and US equipment home. If you didn’t do your due diligence to understand what that meant in terms of people and baggage you shouldn’t have agreed to profit by taking our tax dollars.
You have created serious hardship for some of our most vulnerable families — those who have had to live without one or more parents for an extended period of time and who often are not the highest ranking or paid military. Your execs may have forgotten what it is like but sometimes $200 is all the money a family has to eat for a month.
Our soldiers are coming back from a war zone and you expect them to have their credit cards or wads of cash at hand. Tell me — where in Kandahar is the most convenient ATM for those soldiers to get cash to pay to bring their belongings and their military issued equipment home?
Notwithstanding all of that, the extra baggage represents US equipment issued to soldiers and yet you require them individually to bear the cost of bringing it home. Our soldiers have risked their lives and safety. Their families have sacrificed greatly as a result and Delta rewards them by adding stress and financial hardship to the lot.
Delta wants to welcome you home! Now pull out your wallets!
Your PR BS and damage control cannot overcome the ugliness of this event. Policy-shmolicy. An exception could have been made and should have been made.
SHAME ON YOU!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 11:58 am
To Rachel R., Manager Delta Social Media,
You may want to visit delta.com, hover over “Travel Information” for the drop down box, click “Baggage”, click “Checked Baggage” and scroll down to “Check Baggage Exceptions” and read the last bullet point which says:
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
If appears if there were any miscommunications, it was between what Delta people are saying and what is posted on Delta’s website. In Delta ads, phone recordings and even onboard announcements, we are always told to go to delta.com for more information. It appears that someone did and informed the servicemen that they were allowed 4 bags as stated on delta.com. Delta should reimburse our servicemen the fees they had to pay.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
The proper response is not “we will look into this matter”. The proper response is the soldiers will immediately be refunded the charges. How embarrassing and what an offensive response. I am sure Southwest and Jet Blue would have dealt with this matter promptly and in manner that would have been appreciated by the soldiers.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
what is wrong with you people??? this ‘rachel’ (who i’m sure doesnt really exist and who apparently has a last name of “R”) tries to explain away this lousy company’s treatment of servicemen with a blog entry about their POLICIES??? and your oh-so-generous offers of whoa! three bags! whoa! and extra twenty pounds! wow … THANKS SO MUCH!
what is wrong with you people?? how bout i offer a new policy for Delta Airlines (now the most hated airline in the world). Attention Delta Workers: If you see a man or woman in desert fatigues trying to get somewhere THROW YOUR LOUSY POLICIES OUT THE WINDOW AND HELP THEM HOWEVER YOU CAN.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
This is exactly why I fly AirTran
June 8th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Ms. Rensink,
I’m actually not surprised by Delta’s draconian baggage policy – I’ve come to expect such behavior from all airlines. What I find absolutely incredulous is the massive PR blunder that Delta, and you in particular, would choose to commit by posting this blog response. While you’ve collected $2800 from our servicemen, Delta stands to lose MILLIONS in this gross breach of goodwill with your customer community. Someone in your public relations department needs to be fired. I hope it’s not you.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Hey, come on, it’s not easy for an airline to make $3.7 BILLION in ancillary fees (which include charging customers for food and baggage) like Delta did last year.
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2011/06/01/airline-fees-topped-21-billion-in-2010.html
It takes having the courage to gouge our brave service men and women to bring their things home from service in Afghanistan in order to make such a ridiculous profit on “fees.” What an absolute joke. Delta should be ashamed. And notice that they apologize for “miscommunication” that may have happened, not for charging them. Here is an idea….how about changing your policy to allow service men and woman an extra bag? What, you might only make $3.6999999 BILLION in 2011 if you do that?
June 8th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
“We are currently looking further into the situation, and will be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they have faced…”
So let me get this straight. When Delta “looks” into it, will they find the money that each one of these HEROES paid out of their pockets in order to get back? Or will it be an “unfortunate occurrence,” that will be swept under the rug?
It sickens me to discover that the soldiers had to videotape this in order to show the rest of us just how Delta treats our returning heroes. Just like everyone else, I will NEVER fly Delta again.
CEO of Delta, where are you, and what do you have to say for this? Speak up, ’cause we can’t hear you over the noise of your stock price screeching down the scale…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I’m sorry, but this is an outrage. I am extremely furious at Delta over this. If American Airlines can afford to let all military personal bags fly free, then every airline should do the same, as a courtesy for our Military. As a military wife, I am NEVER flying Delta again. Delta’s contract with our armed forces should be revised for all bags to fly free instead of this stupid bull-shit policy like the one they have now.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Has Upper Management on Delta Airlines lost their mind? Have they forgotten that these soldiers are out in the front lines sacrificing their lives for the love of this country? YET…. DELTA AIR has the nerve to fleece whatever monetary amount they can to fill their bottom line. I suppose that by charging these soldiers coming back from the WAR front is one way DELTA AIR sticking it to our men and women in uniform. To the CEO, COO, and CFO of DELTA Airlines…. SHAME ON YOU!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
What the heck Delta. Is it not enough that your greed has now cost all of us who have no option but to fly to be further scammed by all the extra charges you impose? As a Daughter, Wife and Mother of military Vets you need to rethink your ideas. I am so glad that I was not there to LOUDLY voice my same on the way you treated those who are fighting for your right to charge all of your little extra fees. I hope that all of you at corporate Delta enjoy your lavish lives and the freedoms that you enjoy at the cost of taking what little amount each of these returning soldiers had in their pockets. Further more may the Karma of it all bite you where it hurts worse in your wallet. I will never again fly with an airlines that is so Greed hungry.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Looks like the baggage allowances were updated… yesterday, per Google cache, the page I posted a link to showed only 3 bags in Economy and 4 bags in First Class. Maybe this has brought about a change in policy already…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
This could have been a great hero story for Delta. Too bad! I WILL NEVER BOOK ANOTHER DELTA TICKET FOR MY FAMILY OR MY ENGINEERING FIRM. HOW CAN YOU CHARGE OUR SOLDIERS RISKING THEIR LIVES TO BE CHARGED FOR BAGGAGE. I STRONGLY BELIEVE IF THET ARE RETURNING FROM A WAR OPERATIVE THAT YOU SHOULD WAVE THE FEE. WAR-TIME IS VERY SERIOUS AND YOU SHOULD GIVE OUR WARRIORS SOME KIND OF LOYALTY AND CREDIT. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO PUT PROFIT OVER SOME THINGS. I THINK YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR MARKETING MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES IN REGARD TO OUR SOLDIERS RETURNING HOME FROM WAR OPERATIVES. THE SOCIAL MARKETING ORIENTATION SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF MARKETING TO ACHEIVE GOALS FOR THE SOCIAL GOOD.
YOU REALLY HURT A LOT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, IT ALMOST BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES. I HAVE SEEN SOME OF MY FRIENDS KILLED, JUST TO PROTECT ATTACKS ON AMERICAN SOIL ESPECIALLY AIRPORTS.
PLEASE MAKE IT RIGHT, AND WAVE THE FEE FOR TROOPS, OFFICERS RETURNING FROM WAR TIME OPERATIVES.
EVEN IF YOU MAKE IT RIGHT, YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS:(
GOD BLESS AMERICA
June 8th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Where do you think our troops were coming from a month vacation at Club Med?
Corporate Greed has surpassed nauseating.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Really Delta??? You should be ashamed of yourselves. I will never fly your airline again and well recommend the same to any and everyone who will listen.
This is the way you say THANK YOU to our troops?
June 8th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Wow. I am an Atlantan, and have always tried to support Delta, even as they wandered in the wilderness the last few years. But this is the last straw. Welcome to Atlanta Southwest Airlines, you have my business now.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
If Delta Airlines is a contracted carrier for the Dept. of Defence, then all of these comments about their policy should be referred to each and every Senator and Representive in Congress! Let them know how one of their contractors is treating our military personnel. Maybe that contract should be voided and let to another carrier.
I flew Delta going to and coming from Vietnam (a long time ago), and have flown on business many times since, but you can bet the farm that I won’t fly Delta again!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Nice going Delta! As a veteran and the mother of TWO veterans and 1 currently serving their country, I can GUARANTEE you that I will NOT be flying Delta in the future!
It is NOT the public’s responsiblity to train YOUR employees! If you TRULY cared about how service people were treated, you would have made it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR to your employees, what your policies were!
Say goodbye to this family’s business!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Really shameful on how your employees treated the men and women who served our country. I will BOYCOTT your airlines and tell all my 5000+ social media friends to do the same. Sometimes, a simple apology is not enough and actions need to be taken.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Shame! Hope that $2800 was worth all the business you will lose because of it.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I travel all the time. I make it a point to not take Delta because they consistently suck. This is just another example of a horrible company doing what they do best.
Air travel in general is lousy. No one likes it, but Delta is the new standard of crap. Don’t expect to get any of my money or any company I’m working for. I refuse to be associated with such imbeciles.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
This is another reason to keep patronizing Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran. I will continue to NOT use Delta’s services. This is pretty sad because my prediction is that, as their profits drop from fuel costs and movements like this, they will lay off their workers farther down the chain of command. The CEOs will take the decline as an opportunity to create a soft landing for themselves. What is needed is an “American Spring” where the other 98% of the country rise up.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
As a Diamond member with Delta and over 5 million flight miles with the airline, my last paid mile will be next month. I will not tolerate the blatant disregard for those serving in our military. Someone should have stepped in and seen to it that these men and women were accommodated without incurring additional out-of-pocket baggage fees.
Delta may not miss my business – 100% of which was in First Class – but I am sure another airline will welcome it. Semper Fi !
June 8th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
With everything that our troops go through to protect the country, I can’t believe that Delta would willingly add any stress or complication to their travels. The fact that this situation was not immediately remedied is completely unacceptable. I will not be booking flights on Delta for myself or any of my clients in the future. I will be asking all of my friends, family, and colleagues to be doing the same.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Big fail on the part of Delta. It just reinforces that you “don’t get it”. Your out-dated mentality and focus on cost/profit and not on the customer will drive you out of business. Have fun flying those planes without customers.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
The fact of the matter is, these guys should have been flying first class and served steak dinners and champagne and given the royal treatment. They had been in 125 degree summer heat of Afghanistan with no A/C, and eating cafeteria food for a year. They should have a hero’s welcome home because they are heroes.
It is not common civilian knowledge that military families qualify for PA, including WIC and food stamps and free/reduced lunches at public schools. That is how little they get paid for the crap they go through. How do I know this? I am a PROUD military wife. We barely survived when my husband was first enlisted, making $1100/month before taxes, for a family of 4. Even now, after 8 years and a commission, we still qualify for reduced lunches for the two of our 4 kids who go to school. $200 is a lot of money! When he recently came home from deployment, $200 meant we could go do some fun things as a family during his R&R. $200 means we could get our 2 yr old glasses. $200 is our bi-monthly grocery budget, or gas money to go see family, or paying out of pocket for our preemie (who was born during her daddy’s deployment) to go see a real pediatrician because our tiny base clinic doesn’t have one and they won’t write a referral for her to see one.
Shame on delta for charging these guys!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
You made a BIG BOO-BOO!!!! You’re going to reap what you have sown!!! Don’t mess with our Military. My wish for you is that ALL AMERICANS stop flying with your company.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Wow. We will never fly Delta again and I am sending this onto our company travel office in the hopes that Delta gets dropped as our preferred airline for business travel.
Delta, you’ve made a huge error. Or returning vets deserve EVERY courtesy a grateful country can provide. You are an American Flagship carrier. Put your “business” concerns aside for once and just try to be part of a grateful nation welcoming our returning warriors.
Disgusting behavior on the part of a company interested ONLY in the pursuit of profits.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
The military should not be responsible for paying these fees which will require more work on the part of the soldiers just to submit the paperwork to their CO’s. This is reprehensible – I’d like to see a message from Richard Anderson about this and not just a social media spin doctoring of policy about fees. We as tax payers have long footed the bill for bailing out airlines and intervening as early as the Reagan administration on their behalf. It’s bad enough paying the assorted “fuel tax” fees which never returned to pre-fuel price spike values but to shoulder further burden on those who’ve served is inexcusable.
And the snide “social media” blog to address this issue disgusts me. Delta Airlines disgusts me. Make this right for those who’ve sacrificed time with family and friends to serve.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
This is completely unacceptable! As spouse to a US airmen this sickens me to think that troops are paying out of pocket to being home the very things that protected them and saved their lives. You want them to pay $200 to bring their weapons home? Or better would you rather them leave them there for terrorists to use? Did you consider that concept? Did you forget they’re protecting YOUR freedom? My brother is currently serving overseas and I promptly warned him and his entire unit about your “policy’s” which sound like a bunch of BS to me! I posted that video on my Facebook and on my companies website. As a military wife and sister I can assure you that until this policy is ratified and this perticular situation rectified I will not fly with your company EVER and neither will anyone else I know. Our entire base has been informed due to networking so I hope you are aware how much you royaly screwed yourselves! Good day.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
WOW THIS IS just wrong. FIRST Rachael R. You should Make sure that this so call three bag policy is clearly stated on your website. Because I know for a fact that on this page http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
It says
“Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm). ”
That clearly states up to Four Check bags in Economy Class. Not the three you claim it states. That on your site as of this posting and has been up there for a long time.
Then bottom line Delta has messed up badly and the fact that your not even aware what your own website says after this mess speaks even more volumes.
To me it says. We are delta and we pride ourself in racking our military service members return from defending this country by charging them $200 for a fourth bag when I our website says it free. What next charge $100 for tables. Or perhaps $300 for carry one bags. Or maybe even charging another $500 for bother to show up and fly in your seat that you paid for.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
I, too, am a longtime SKYMILES member and have flown Delta often since it is one of the primary airlines serving the places I go most often. That being said – I WILL AVOID USING DELTA AGAIN UNLESS IT IS MY ONLY OPTION because of this incident! My husband just retired from 26 years of active duty (Army and Coast Guard) and if this stunt had been pulled on him they would have had to call security to get me out of their faces. Whomever is responsible for charging them the OUTRAGEOUS sum of $200 per extra bag should be sitting in the unemployment line NOW! Not only should the soldiers be compensated for the fees they paid, Delta should give each and every one of them at least $1,000 in FREE travel vouchers to use their crappy airline again! Somebody needs to be held accountable for this outrageous incident! I have posted the video on Facebook for all my my friends to see, and they are re-posting it. Good luck with your PR campaign, Delta! And in the future, if the plane is overweight with baggage, throw some pompous civilian’s bag on the tarmac to lighten the load! Pretty sure you can get it to them on the next flight out!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
You need to look at the check baggage policies currently listed online:
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
I’ll copy the relevant section:
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Additionally, military personnel traveling on personal business will be allowed two checked bags up to 50 lbs (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (158 cm) at no charge.
I don’t think this was considered personal business as they were on orders. If I’ve misunderstood something please by all means point out how this policy doesn’t apply.
Delta has been my preferred airline for the past 15 years. I’m not so sure anymore.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
I am an active duty Army officer, who has deployed & redeployed many times – this story is inaccurate & inflammatory. Unfortunate that our Soldiers are misinformed, resulting in such unfair publicity for Delta.
For redeployment, we are authorized excess baggage, so any fees incurred are reimbursed as soon as we return to our duty station (in this case, Fort Polk) and file a travel voucher. Payment is normally received within 5 days of settling. These Soldiers likely paid cash for a meal or two at one of the airports – they will be similarly reimbursed a per diem rate for food and other incidental expenditures.
As hundreds, if not thousands of service men and women have traveled in this manner, I’m sure these particular Soldiers will find that their initial understanding of their situation was wrong, I hope they also issue a public apology for inconveniencing so many on what is really a non-issue.
Also, as many Soldiers under my own command have experienced, Delta has been more than gracious in their recognition of service members traveling even on unofficial travel – military members are exempt from baggage fees for personal travel, we’ve been upgraded several times, and used Delta’s premier travel club with just our military IDs.
I hope that many of you will reevaluate your position on this – Soldiers do not pay out of pocket for these expenses. I’ve been with the Army for 21 years, I fly Delta routinely, and will continue to do so.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
In a month, and it is only June 8th, that revealed bad behavior on the part of the rich and the politicians, Delta has managed to raise the bar on bad behavior. While the rich and the politically well connected made me want to shout”WHAT were you thinking!”, Delta Airlines has made me scream “For SHAME’! Pay back the disrespected soldiers ( with extra money for pain and suffering) , get you priorities straight and then educate your staff. Don’t charge troops for extra bags….it’s that simple!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Delta,
You don’t get it. When travelling under orders you should be carrying all their gear, no charge. The idea that they should have to pay for bags because they are not travelling 1st class etc., is truly sad. The issue is not a lack of communication about your policy, but your policy itself. Truly clueless.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Delta does it AGAIN! Lousy customer service! I live in the Atlanta area, which is Delta’s home city. I no longer fly with Delta. If they want to fix this….. First, Delta should refund all money and apologize to each service person. Second, Delta should run a full page ad in all major newspapers with apology. Third, fix its customer service, a.k.a. no service (flight attendants, ticket agents, policies) by teaching them to treat people with respect and kindness. Come on Delta! This was no brainer! Use some common sense. You get more flies with honey!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I guess your CEO did not respond because he is sitting in his office calculating how much of his year end bonus he will get off of charging for the extra baggage! Servicemen do not travel business class and therefore your policy would not cover them. I love it when a corporation hides behind a “policy” and their media lawyers. That is what is wrong with America today. Instead of empowering your ticket agent to do the right thing and use some common sense judgement, they stuck to the policy and created you a media nightmare. Maybe you get your CEO off the golf course or out of the executive dining room long enough for him to respond, or is he “too busy”
June 8th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
We are a great company and soldiers are not exempt from paying excess baggage fees. We charge fair fees and they are responsible.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Delta, you messed up. Find each of those brave soldiers and refund the money, and give them vouchers.
We have spent many years fighting this war, and the troops have been too often forgotten. Your team had a chance to remember them when they were coming home, and you botched it.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I’m rather disappointed in Delta’s treatment of the soldiers defending this country and I think this blog post and apology is more insulting to the soldiers than anything. The apology says they apologize for any miscommunication and that they will address their concerns rather than saying Delta will refund the charges immediately. The issue here is not that your policy is not clear it is that the policy needs to change to allow members of the United States Armed Forces to bring any and all baggage they would like/need to on the plane without any hassle. I strongly encourage Delta to adjust their policy accordingly and make it as easy as possible for the people protecting our country to travel. As a frequent traveler I will be avoiding Delta until this policy and situation is rectified and I encourage others to do the same.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
I will never fly Delta airlines again, and I am passing along to my family and friends as well. These military men and women are fighting for our freedom. I accepted that we have to pay for lunches, water, peanuts, pillows, but this is an outrage. I do hope that SATO and all service member’s travel angencies refuse to book Delta. This is horrible. As a former Marine I know who money was a crunch, Delta, this is one big slap in the face. I am furious…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Amazing how Delta just qiote a stupid policy rather than take action here.
I URGE EVERYONE TO BOYCOTT DELTA UNTIL THEY OFFER A PUBLIC APOLOGY TO ALL SERVICEMEN AND REFUND THE $200!
I have had many bad experiences with Delta over the years, and wish that Southwest covered more of the country.
Ask Delta why every flight out of Pasco, Wa. cost $1000? Because they own the friggin airport! That is why!
Congress needs to revoke the monopoly Delta has in many airports, and stop charging for bags!
Wow, you clowns know how to make your customers angry, does your millionaire CEO give a crap about customer service anymore?
Or the many millionaire VP’s at Delta who approve charging for bags, and cutting services to the bone give a crap about us?
I think not, it is a bad business model, propped up by lobbists on K street!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I will NEVER fly Delta again until three things happen. ONE… I want to see a VERY puplic appology to these soldiers! TWO … I want to know every single one of them had their money for those bags REFUNDED! THREE……Delta puts it in STONE that when ever a soldier is traveling, and produces orders regarding their bags, that they NEVER charge a soldier if there is a conflict with some deal they have with the US Government! CHARGE the government NOT the soldiers! SHAME on you and SHAME on the mornons at the gate!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
God forbid Delta should make an exception for anything. I understand they are trying to run a business but they are notarious as having the worst customer service of any airline. Why? As with any business, it starts at the top. People would not treat customers and especially veterans they way they do if their supervisors and managers did not permit it. Maybe delta needs a little congressional investigation into their contracts.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
I think that is so messed up. They are coming home from a deployment and then get slammed with having to deal with fees when Delta has a contract with the government! I mean come on! Not only are these men and women risking life and limb but now they are going to come home to a hey you have to pay for you bags to come home with you when it’s gear that they have to use! I am an Army wife and this just makes me sick. I hope that the government pulls the contract from you people that are so greedy to get rich off those that are trying to good in this world. So SHAME ON YOU DELTA GIVE THEM their money back and maybe even some free airline tickets and a great big thank you for serving your country!!! Not fees which you like to charge! You do that so well.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
In case you don’t realize the military is NOT AUTHORIZED to fly business class INCONUS. We don’t reimburse military for flying in first class and everyone knows it, it’s taboo, something you just don’t do. Since your company has worked closely with the military throughout the years I find DELTA’s statement “up to 4 bags in business class” a cover for your unwillingness to do the right thing. You only started sticking your hands in our wallets 3-4 years ago for bags fees. You must realize the airlines are the most hated business in America. This kind of crap only reinforces our feeling about you and your company. No more DELTA Airlines for my business or personal travel–EVER AGAIN!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Everyone keeps mentioning active duty military. What about the hundreds of DoD civilians that are also deployed? Do they get the same 3 bags free allowance? If we are issued 3 duffel bags of individual equipment and have a personal bag or suitcase why are we being charged for an extra bag? The government requires the 3 duffel bags, not us…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Wrong answer all around DELTA. you should have waved the fees for these AMerican Service people and sorted it out later. You know you can wave fees when it suits your purposes. Most service people can not fly first class, though they should be given that courtesy when returning from combat. It is just beyond understanding how you would insist on such a p0licy knowing the situation these soldiers were in, knowing some of them have escaped with their lives, and lo and behold the same corporations and beauracracies who salute the air and say they support the troops are the first to want to assault them with charges for weapons bags. Unbelievable. I recommend this statement by Andrew Bacevitch, a fellow GOLD STAR parent and analyst who says, despite the hype and jingoism, America is willing to screw its troops everyday. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-28/memorial-day-how-america-screws-its-soldiers/?om_rid=CjQKTn&om_mid=_BN4kEAB8bb2Tqd I would like to hear that DELTA contacted the soldiers , refunded the fees and gave their families free ticke.ts to visit them. from, Celeste Zappala Mother of SGT Sherwood Baker, KIA Baghdad, 4/26/04
June 8th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
From Delta Checked baggage policy on Delta website.
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Additionally, military personnel traveling on personal business will be allowed two checked bags up to 50 lbs (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (158 cm) at no charge.
Well Rachel R. apparently you do not know your own policies. Here is the link so you can “update” your knowledge.
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
June 8th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Hey Delta, way to add insult to injury. Refund their money, apologize profusely, and FIRE your entire PR department!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
It is those people who fight everyday to make sure your planes are safe and you wanna charge them 200.00 for one bag?? honestly i used to fly delta all the time but from now on, I will not. I refuse to fly by any company that treats our military members as horribly as this company did. I say we all should Boycott!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I would like to share my experience with DELTA. In 28 Jun 09 I left Pheonix Intl heading to Norfolk to catch my flight to Kabul Afghanistan. We had a transfer in Atlanta. Upon my arrival in Norfolk I was informed that my bags did not make the flight to Norfolk but they should be on the next. I waited for 4 more flights before having to move to the NAS Norfolk to catch my flight. When I stressed to the lady behind the counter that I was leaving that night and I needed my bags she told me and I Quote “do you think you are the only one with lost baggage?” No ma’am I realize that I am not the only one but my baggage contains my weapons that I have spent the last two months training with. That are sited for me that are going to be used to protect my brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces. I spent 3 weeks in Afghanistan with nothing but the items on my back. The Army unit I was attached to was kind enough to allow me to wear one of their uniforms while I was hand washing my Uniform. I was also loaned a 9mm and M4 when we were on convoy missions. I wrote Delta a letter personally from Afghanistan and got a reply with we are sorry for your inconvience Delta is here to serve you. Thanks Delta!
On a seperate note. I work deployments that is my job. When members are traveling on orders we do not fly first class! We fly the cheapest military rate that is 99% of the time prebooked for us. So your 4 bags for first class is a joke. Say what you want to but realize that you know 99% of military members fly coach! So Delta your policy is flawed! I’m glad this video came out to expose you. I too had to pay the 200 dollars for the extra bag which contained my weapons. I also got to eat the expence of having to purchase shirts, undergarments, socks etc…
June 8th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I’m confused at the fact there’s THIS link on Delta’s site:
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp#intl
…that indicates travel to and from duty stations will allow FOUR checked bags for economy (coach).
How does Delta answer that discrepancy?
June 8th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
The news could have been “Delta Air Lines went above and beyond their own policies to waive $2800 extra baggage fee for active duty soldiers returning from Afghanistan.”
June 8th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Ashamed… that’s how you should feel Mr/Ms Delta Airlines! These pitiful words of explanation, and that’s all they are, are so hurtful. I would be extremely happy to have the president of Delta stop by my home in Douglasville so that I could express myself properly. Of course, the president won’t come by, being the bottom-crawling piece of cold dog puke that he is. Had one of these poor individuals been my own 2000-2008 veteran son I would have taken it personally and as any Marine knows, when you take something personally it just has to be settled personally. As it is, I will pass this article and lame blog posting to all I know, never again fly your god-forsaken airline, thank that same god for the speedy arrival of Southwest to whittle down Delta’s stanglehold on Atlanta and hopefully knock their sorry butts right out of business, and just hope that somehow, sometime, somewhere, I get into the same room with Anderson, Bastion, Gorman or any or all other of the seniors at delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
DELTA CEO and other management doesn’t care! SHAME ON YOU DELTA. Return that money. NOW! Despicable! These men have put their lives on the line for America…for you too DELTA! Do you understand….or JTSTL?
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve EVER flown DELTA…but proud to be a VET who can exercise my choice of airline and that choice won’t be DELTA.
Just makes me SICK!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Dude seriously? I’m an Airforce Brat, and both my uncles served in the Marines. Why in the hell are you people charging the soldiers on active duty or not ANYTHING for their bags?????
June 8th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I love how you guess put that for business/first class you get 4 bags, and in coach you get 3 bags. I’m sorry but.. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU THINKING!! My husband has been deployed 3 times now, and has had(forced by military because they pay for the ticket) to fly delta. They do not get to decide if they want to fly business/first class or if they want to fly coach. They do not get the luxury of picking their own seat. They are told that this is your seat and this is where you will sit. This is sickening. Obviously if the service men and women that get lucky enough to fly business/first class have four bags and they were deployed with the people who got stuck in coach, then the people in coach will also have four bags. I think that it should be a standard amount of bags across the board for every service member coming home from a deployment, or even moving due to the military. Get your head out of you butt and do something about it instead of placing the blame on everybody else. Delta.. I will never fly with you again. I use to only fly delta because you were cheaper, but now I will pay the extra money to fly a different airline.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
This is absolutely wrong. For crying out loud, Delta, you already have a contract with the US Government. If you don’t fix this wrong, I do pray your contract isn’t extended.
I have family members in the military, and my nephew served in Afghanistan. If I learned you charged him $200 for an extra piece of baggage, I’d never fly your airline again.
Readers … post the following site to your Facebook account. Perhaps an all-out boycott will shake some sense into Delta’s corporate, greedy heads.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/delta-troops-afghanistan-baggage-fees_n_873027.html
June 8th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Might want to doublecheck your policy before you blog. Ok someone made a mistake, I’m sure they’ll get their money back, but in the future make sure you know what policy is posted on your delta.com website!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
And this is what America has become… utter corporate greed.
Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen should fly for FREE when leaving home to go on duty or coming home from fighting to protect worthless wastes of skin like the board members of Delta… not to mention the Luggage these honorable men and women have to lug halfway round the world. That should most Definitely be free. These people ensure the freedom you have to rob the rest of us with your silly policies. I sincerely hope you go out of business Delta. I’ll do my part by never flying with you again, nor my family… nor my friends… my circle’s pretty big.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I never served in the military but I did buy 10,000 shares of Delta in March of ’09. I am ashamed to be connected in such a way to any extra profits. I will be dumping my shares and I hope other stakeholders do as well.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
this is what the troops should feel like when returning home,,,
Vew this and hopefully Delta will feel as small as they are,
BOYCOTT Delta airlines and it’s partners…
http://youtu.be/6N1DetO0RGI
June 8th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I don’t care how many military service members and family members you may or may not have working at Delta. I would HOPE you know the difference between written policy and what is morally right. I am a veteran as well as an active duty Army wife … I can see that policy working for when we PCS to different duty stations, but soldiers who have just come home from a war zone having to pay is ridiculous. NOTHING they are packing is for leisure. That one soldier was paying for his WEAPON to get on the plane. If I were that soldier I would have told that ticket agent to keep my weapon and when the terrorists need to be fought off then they can take of that situation. By the way, the military pays for family members and service members to fly on orders. When do they put a soldier on a plane in First Class? You have lost mine and my families business and if by chance the Army issues us Delta tickets to get to our next duty station I will decline them and be HAPPY to pay my way to our next assignment.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Absolutely disgusted by this story. Are you kidding me? Shame on you for doing that to our soldiers. My family and friends will make sure not to fly Delta EVER again!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Doh! is all I have to say to Rachael R and Delta. You had the chance to make it right, but you didn’t.
P.S. Most active duty soldiers are not going to be flying First or Business Class. You should extend you policy to give our troops in ALL classes of service the benefit of being in F or C class and allow them 4 bags.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Unbelievable. Take a look for yourself. Your own website conflicts itself.
http://www.delta.com/help/faqs/baggage/index.jsp
U.S. Military personnel on active duty with travel orders may check in THREE bags in Economy Class and up to FOUR checked bags in First/Business on Delta aircraft or Delta Connection® carriers, at no additional charge. Each bag has a maximum weight of 70 lbs (32 kg) and size of 80 linear inches (203 cm).
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to FOUR checked bags in Economy Class and up to FIVE checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
I will never fly with Delta again and neither will anyone in my office.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I believe that Ms. R. needs to read Delta’s policy again! The Staff Sargent was right about the policy. Here it is….DIRECTLY FROM THE DELTA WEBSITE that Ms. R. sites!
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
June 8th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
This is BULL CRAP! Especially since these particular soldiers you (Delta) are talking about right now that posted to video, had to pay for their weapons to get on the plane that they used to defend themselves in war in Afghanistan! I DEFINITELY plan to NOT use Delta if I can help it! Sadly though, it’s the airline that the military uses! Hopefully after all these mishaps, the military will change too, like we all plan to individually!!! (P.S. DELTA, ALL US Military orders for service members and their families state that they are allowed to have FOUR BAGS per person up to 70lbs and two carry-ons! It says NOTHING about which class the member is flying! Because these tickets are paid for by the government for government property being transported i.e. the service members the tickets will CLEARLY only be coach!!!!!!)
June 8th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
This will never go away…..this was a hugh mistake made by someone who has zero intelligence and this person needs to apologize to each of these heros IN PERSON for his callous and cold manner by which he welcomed these Americans home. Delta needs to give him a plane and crew and send to where these men and women maybe and he needs to ask for their forgiveness.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Delta: You have the freedom to run your business however you want because of the brave soldiers like the ones you mistreated on June 7th. Your actions were disrespectful, selfish, un-American and a slap in the face to our soldiers. But that’s o.k. THEY are the reason you have the freedom to do that. I hope you at least thanked them for allowing you that freedom. RAchel R., I hope your reservist husband never has to see combat; but if he does I hope an airline doesn’t make it difficult for him to come back home. Delta and Rachel R. should be horribly ashamed of themselves. There is no way you can make that up to them. Delta, just close your doors and quielty go out of business.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
As an almost 1 million mile flyer with Delta and a Cold War Veteran, I am totally ashamed of Delta Air Lines charging these returning service men baggage fees. Delta should your real patriotism by returned the total money of the tickets to these returning service men. It is my intent to never fly Delta again. Watch to see how Delta responds. I bet they want even issue these service men a $200 voucher and a personal apology.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
My family and I travel quite a bit for both business and pleasure. I do so quite safely due to the sacrifices military men, women and their families make. I understand being competitive with other airlines by charging me for excess baggage when I travel for vacation but charging service members for excess baggage when they are trying to get home from a combat zone is taking advantage of a captured and often financially challenged audience. The hardships they and their families have endured for your benefit should allow them some special considerations. I’m afraid you have lost my business as well.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
As an American citizen I am ashamed that Delta Airlines would be treating our returning soldiers this way. I agree that Delta deserves a boycott and plan on joining the ranks of such, unless Delta formally apologizes and corrects this immediately and very publically. VERY bad business! Delta should be very ashamed of their actions here. A real mark on their company that will have alot of impact on how I view their airlines from this point forward.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
I ALWAYS used Delta until 2 years ago. As a military wife and mother in law I started a boycott with them. My granddaughter was born and ended up in ICU and my son in law HAD to report to his new duty station and had no time to drive so I called Delta. I went through the reservation process and found a one way ticket from Detroit to El PasoTexas for $800 – crazy but it was very last minute due to the fact his daughter was STILL in the hospital. I was told they gave military discounts but I had to be transferred to a different dept. so, I said,”Great!!” I get that department and was told the ticket was even higher priced?! They explained it comes with extra perks so that was why. I asked them why would I want to pay MORE and asked them to book him with the other ticket. They said I had to be transferred AGAIN. By the time I spoke to the next person the prices had gone up to $1100 from the $800 I was quoted the first time – in a matter of 25 minutes! They said there was nothing they could do. I no longer fly Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
“Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Additionally, military personnel traveling on personal business will be allowed two checked bags up to 50 lbs (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (158 cm) at no charge.”
This comes right off of your website as well, under “Baggage.” Can you please explain the discrepancy? I’m sure THIS is what those soldiers’ orders were produced based on, which means they were done correctly and Delta misguided them.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
I can’t believe that delta, or any airline, would do this to our servicemen and women!! I am extremely upset about this. They serve their country and make sacrifices both by service abroad and the way the families carry on without them at home, and then idiot companies like yours make things even more difficult for them! Those servicemen/women deserve refunds not only on their bags, but on their airfare as well. And they deserve a public apology! My son is in service, as are many other members of my family. This will be considered when booking flights in the future!! How do you sleep at night? If you sleep well and safely, thank a serviceman/woman!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Hey Rachel – did you even READ your own baggage policy? Call it up – and scroll down to the bottom – it says – in plain English:
“Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to [b] four[/b] checked bags in Economy Class and up to [b]five[/b] checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
You do not even know your own policies – your baggage policy clearly states that in economy they get FOUR – NOT three – so you are wrong wrong wrong. You can read your own baggage policy right here –
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
June 8th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
$200….what is 200 for me with my husband spc with a family of 4. about what we r able to spend on food for the month after all our nessisary bills are paid? guess that cheese burger they were looking foward to and could almost taste after their deployment wont b happening. :/ shame on you.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
I can’t add anything other than to say I am really fedup with Delta. “Atlanta’s home town airline” is a joke. “Atlanta’s GREEDY airline” is what should be advertised on the billboards and buses. Can’t wait till Southwest arrives.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
I understand the agents at the counter where following the company policy. They should not be blamed for upholding the such a rule. However, the executive team that is responsible for this policy needs to be replaced with the type of person that understands the flying public.
I vow to NOT fly Delta or any affiliate carriers until the people responsible for this policy are removed or resign. You can keep the SkyMiles, I will not be needing them.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
All airlines have military policies in place. I appreciate the service these men and women provide but why should they “expect” everything for free? Can they walk into a grocery store and say that they just returned from a war zone and expect free groceries? or a free car? No. This is not exclusive to Delta. I fly many airlines and see good gestures for military on all of them.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
SO I did what you said and went to Delta.com Your policy at
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
The bottom paragraph in EXCEPTIONS states quite clearly that these heroes are allowed FOUR bags in economy and FIVE in first class. READ YOUR OWN POLICY>
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Outrageous as a long time delta customer I tell you.. however sets policy should be ashame..period!! The day they get back–really Delta.
sickning
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
How about allowing your employees to use a little bit of COMMON SENSE instead of having ridiculously strict “policies”. This is yet another example of what is wrong with corporate America- profits take precedent over simple humane decisions. This is almost as much of an insult to your employees as to our military.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Perhaps we should all contact our Congressman and Senators and demand that any contract Delta has to transport troops be given to another airline unless this is fixed, there is a straightforward apology, and these troops are reimbursed.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Seem like Delta doesn’t know its own policy. Last time I checked, it’s 4 free bags for coach and 5 for first and business. This is listed on Delta website.
http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp
Check the last bullet under exceptions.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I am a member of the United States Military who has served our country overseas in 3 warring campaigns over the last 20 years. I can appreciate that companies are in business to make money, not lose money. Unfortunately, this specific situation is not the first occurrence I have seen while flying Delta Airlines. I’m not representing the government with my opinion. I am merely accounting for their continued less-than-hospitable tenor with we, military members…I truly wish it were different. Maybe someone can pull this DELTA out between my shoulder blades? I’ll move my ruck so you can get a better hold on the damn thing…somebody should get a grip of this Delta, anyway.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Delta, you could have covered that 4th bag for EVERY SINGLE SERVICE MEMBER who flies on your airline for the amount of money this BAD PUBLICITY is going to get you.
That agent should have spoke to his supervisor, who should have had the authority to waive that fee, right there, AT THE GATE. He should have personally ushered every one of those service members up the ramp, onto the plane, and provided what service he could, AFTER making sure those bags got on the plane, FOR FREE. Word of mouth being what it is, that would have been a positive experience for them, and your company. Instead, you have to contend with this. Many people unwilling now to fly with you, and others you’ll only be able to entice back with big discounts, costing you a lot more money that a few bags would have cost.
I’m retired USAF, a proud veteran. And I will NOT be flying Delta again, anytime in the future, if this is the way you treat our military members. There are other airlines more sensitive to what it is to be in the military.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
I served 17 years in the Army and never had to pay a penny for my military travels on civilian airlines…not even when I came back from this war in 2005.
To you, Mrs. Rachel R. you say your husband is military…how would you feel if you were a young military family and your husband was an E-2 or E-3, earning low pay, returning from this war and he had just been robbed of $200 by a profit-grubbing airline, and now you have to wait up to six weeks for reimbursement by DFAS – in the meantime bills are tight, and your family is dealing with the stresses of a family member returning from a war…probably would not be too happy with that airline. I’d really like to hear your answer…or rather how Delta would spin a response to this theoretical situation.
That you have the gall to charge troops returning from a conflict that helps ensure your freedom to pillage your customers with inane, overinflated fees, is disgusting. DISGUSTING! Yes, we read the news and are aware of the massive profit margins you make with these fees…what is next? Charging for the amount of oxygen a passenger consumes while in flight?
In closing…I actually used to prefer to fly Delta – back in the ’80s they were particularly good to me on one flight – however, you have permanently lost a customer…and I will ensure I discourage anyone I know from flying your airline.
GOOD JOB!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
You should be ashamed about your response about the $200 excess bag fee charged to the soldiers in Baltimore. Someone at BWI clearly could have seen the excess bags were Army equipment that was shipped back in bags instead of separately. They should have waived the fees.
Delta should have the contract canceled.
You should retrain your people to have some common sense. Clearly they felt making decisions would cost them their jobs or pay. Do the employees face fines for making decisions?
June 8th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Where has common sense and decency gone in Corporate America? To hear company officials trying to hide behind a “policy” that should not even be applicable under these circumstances is shameful. The people making the big bucks at Delta should acknowledge the company’s management errors and stop making excuses. While you look into a resolution, I want to suggest that you revisit your entire baggage handling and related fee schedule! My husband is a Platinum Medallion member, and right now I am not very happy that we have given Delta so much business. I am saddened that the people who fight to make America a safer place (including our skies) had to also pay money so that Delta could reap the rewards resulting from their honorable service from yet another source.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
My family just fly from Philadelphia to Sacramento and used Delta to come out for my son’s wedding and I can tell you now as a Vietnam vet that I will make sure that none of my family will EVER used Delta again!! Are you kidding me when you state that First Class/Business can carry 4 bags on and coach they can only carry three! Like these young military men and women can afford First Class! Then if that’s your policy and you state that you really respect and admire these men and women who are fighting for our country ~ then you should have upgraded them to First Class and you wouldn’t have any problems letting them bring four bags on board!!
SHAME ON YOU DELTA!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I will say this, since there is not much more to add. I have instructed my company travel agency to no longer use delta until this matter is made right. I have 30 salesman that fly quite often. I can not do business with a company that doesn’t support the people who protect my freedom and allow me to have a growing company. Also how many times does the military bring home an entire unit in first class? Sounds like delta is trying to do a little damage control.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
This bloodsucking airline needs to be banned from all future US Armed Forces contracts. It’s also shocking that after they insult our soldiers, their “Social Media Manager” Rachel R. actually has the gall to state their “official policy” on this matter. Ms Rachel, if you know the first thing about Social Media, you would understand that instead of resorting to “Officialese”, all you had to do was apologize for this affront, return the troops’ money, and make sure this never happens again.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Hey Delta — Jane Fonda wants to know if she can have a job in your PR department! She thinks she can give you pointers on how to be even MORE disrespectful to our soldiers!
Seriously, what a terrible, terrible thing you did to those soldiers. And just when we thought that was the worst thing you could have done, you made it even worse by defending it later. I’ll never fly your airline again.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I find what Delta has done to be appalling to say the least. All this advertising on the internet about how people make difference between airlines since all airlines have planes, ironically enough this incident highlights why I should no longer give you my business. The fact that a staff member who is in a position to interact with customer did not have the basic empathy to better deal with this situation speaks volumes about Delta.
I think Delta’s most recent ad campaign has given me the reason as why I will no longer do business with Delta.
SHAME ON YOU!!!
Luis Vazquez
718 419-6031
June 8th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Hold on to your hat DELTA southwest is coming soon. And your world of greed and profit will be replaced by an obituary. I miss Eastern Airlines. I won’t miss you. And the sad thing is that while I was in the USAF in the 80′s and 90′s i flew on Delta exclusively because I lived in Marietta. And I loved Delta then. “We love to fly and it shows” no longer applies.
RIP Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
An American owned company charging our soldiers, most of them returning home from deployment, a baggage fee is despicable.
Forget your review, refund the money AND NEVER CHARGE a baggage fee to our troops again. Use common sense. Did you forget these people put their lives on the line for us or are you in such denial that you forget there’s a war going on? Our soldiers should be honored and revered, not disrespected.
I fly out ATL often. Unless you reverse your policy you will never see another dime from me, my family or my business. There are other carriers and other airports.
I hope others will stand up for our returning soldiers.
By the way, take the American flag off your website; you are not worthy of displaying it until you get this FIXED.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
I, too, will never fly Delta again. I have posted a link to this page on my facebook profile and have called my family members to let them know about this story.
The actions of Delta are shameful. I don’t care about your contract or how “right” you are according to your own policies. Delta, the company, receives the benefit of a military. A military made up of individuals that have and continue to lay down their lives so that you can operate your business. What you are doing is disgusting and plain wrong.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
There’s not much more I could add that hasn’t already been said.
Delta should be ashamed. At least after being called out publicly, the policy has been changed. But it shouldn’t have come to that at all. Human decency and common sense should have been the deciding factor from the beginning, not bad PR after the fact. Disgusted.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
The idea that you are allowed more bags based on first/business for military personnel is ludicrous.
Military personnel traveling on orders are in fact prohibited from flying first class. The only exception is if someone or an airline offers the upgrade, which would not have avoided this situation, or if that individual could personally pay or upgrade based on frequent flyer miles.
On the other side of this, someone in that group should have had a government issued credit card and the fees would all be reimbursable upon filing their travel voucher.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
One more thing… I want to know how many other soldiers on countless other flights have also been exploited by Delta. Surely it’s not likely that the only one that made a YouTube video is the only flight where our soldiers were victimized by inconsistent policies, poor communication and inappropriate application of commercial flight policies to a US government charter?
June 8th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Delta airlines: You disgust me. I want you to give each soldier a $200 gift certificate that you charged in addition to their re-imbursement as an apology for your actions. If this does not get done or something similar to make this right, i will be sure to never fly Delta Airlines again. I am a frequent traveler and I spend a lot of money on airlines and never before have I been so outraged to hear something like this. I’m not a military person, just an average citizen. I have to say Rachael your response is as cold as ice and makes me dislike Delta even more. I think you should probably be re-assigned to a different department because your public relations skills are inadequate for this type of situation.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
You have the same rules on a military aircraft only the price is LEAVE IT BEHIND. At least they go to take home all their souvenirs and trinkets that will only be inspected by a dog sniffing their bags. Is that the kind of treatment you get going through customs? They get alot more perks than they’ll tell you about. Why do you think there are weight restrictions on an airplane? Try looking at all the sides of a story before taking sides.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Interesting response from Deltas Rachel R. on the number of bags active military personnel are allowed. Deltas baggage exceptions guidelines for service personnel state they are able to carry more than she has quoted and shows on Deltas website as:
“Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm).
Additionally, military personnel traveling on personal business will be allowed two checked bags up to 50 lbs (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (158 cm) at no charge”
June 8th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
I am, or rather was, a SkyMiles member. I will never fly Delta again and I will encourage my family, friends and co-workers to do the same. Shame on you Delta.
You’re going to personally reach out to the affected soldiers to “address their concerns”? Really? Don’t bother, I’m sure these soldiers don’t want to hear from you, I know I wouldn’t.
I’d like to know exactly how much money you’ve made off of servicemen and women in the last decade. Not folks going on leave or changing stations but folks DEPLOYING IN SUPPORT OF TWO ACTIVE WARS!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Delta… Do you honestly know the salary of the average American soldier?
I CHALLENGE any CEO or Business Executive to give up their First Class or Business Class seat to a service member – WORLDWIDE! Do you value your business over your freedom? You can thank the soldier for both.
Delta – I CHALLENGE YOU – To deliver a program that will allow your Delta Sky Club members to relinquish a premium seat to a service member, and be able to walk away with Delta voucher, and a little more pride in their nation.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
“After careful consideration, effective immediately, U.S. military personnel traveling on orders in First and Business Class can check up to five bags at no charge.” How does allowing personnel in FIRST and BUSINESS 5 bags help???
June 8th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Oh yeah and lastly, do you think its smart to piss off a tired soldier who just left a war zone. He’s now standing in the check-in line with a suitcase full of weapons including grenades and your going to put that type of stress on him. You must be so stupid, and its lucky these guys are well trained and wouldn’t put American’s lives in danger even though you clearly didn’t show them any appreciation. Just in terms of public relations you guys ARE HORRIBLE!!! YOU HAVE NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Delta had been my favourtie international carrier until my last trip; however, having landed in Atlanta and been greeted by less than warm and friendly personnel, and now this! I have mailed Delta’s welcome home troops to my entire list!
I hope management will immediately change Delta’s policy regarding US military personnel. It is unfortunate that these returning heroes were forced into a thank you by Delta personnel. Stop blaming Delta’s policy on the troops!…troops only follow orders! The person/personnel blaming the returnees on Delta’s policy should be reminded where they have been…they were fighting to keep evil of your/our streets!
Management should have absorbed the charges and not caused this “welcome home” situation! All personnel working this gate should be removed from their position immediately beginning with management and be sent back to basics!
Delta should also offer these troops trips with their families for a lovely holiday! That is a welcome home worth remembering…
June 8th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Rachel, please thank your husband for his service. I would have hoped that being an Army wife you would understand that the vast majority of the military will never travel first class so this new policy would not have helped these soldiers. I am appalled by Delta’s hollow apologies. This is how you welcome these soldiers home who have served this country, sacrificing and putting their lives in jeopardy? I too have shared this link on facebook and encouraged others to boycott Delta until you do the right thing by those soldiers. You need to change your policy and reimburse those soldiers immediately. If not, I say GO SOUTHWEST!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Either way, whether baggage allowances were 3 and 4 and are now 4 and 5, why would ANYONE standing there looking at military personnel with orders in their hands not question an outrageous charge of @$200 per bag and immediately call over a supervisor. Where is the Customer Service and what was/were your Agent(s) thinking????
June 8th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
No update to the coach rules???? So you’d still make these soldiers pay $200/bag if they have to sit in coach??
Honestly, what’s with you people? How many millions of dollars do you make off bag fees from the everyday passenger? There’s NO wiggle room for our soldiers??
Really??
Give me a break. Ugh. This makes me sick.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
I have been a loyal DL FF for 25 years, accumulated over 2.4M miles, a current Platinum Elite and I am shocked to hear of this after seeing many, many, many examples of Delta personnel from crews to agents to Sky Clubs going out of their way to welcome our service people during their travels and to let them know how much it is appreciated for what they do.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Delta has indicated they want me to “moderate” my comment. He is a watered down version of my complaint:
I cannot believe Delta is defending its position. Clearly, this matter should have been resolved with military leadership separately and the soldiers should NOT have been put in a position to resolve this SEVERE ERROR IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT. Delta management should be disciplined for enacting such a gross error in judgment.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Even after changing your policy, which comes a few flights and 200 dollars to late- there is no mention of return the money to “OUR” soliders! What would have happened if the guys didn’t have the money to pay the 200 dollars, each? While you are “working” with them- do the right thing, send them a free ticket to Disney and 200 dollars…the 2800 dollars you made is going to add up to a loss by the time the bee hives settles.
What a shame profit from soldiers out weights doing the RIGHT THING. The actions by Delta are well hard for me to swollow and as a tax paying American, I am tired of people like Delta taking advantage of my government and “OUR” military personal…one scam after another.
I too support a Delta Boycott!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
It seems each recent generation of returning soldiers is required some kind of indignity which is described as airline policy. Delta’s actions on baggage charges is apparently this generations. For my generation it was the indignity as a returning Vietnam veteran of being singled out for bumping on airline flights on United because I didn’t pay full fare — despite the fact that full fare for a ticket purchased as an active duty soldier while still in Vietnam. Delta, you really need to reconsider an awful policy.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
According to reports, in 2010 Delta profited over $3.7 BILLION dollars on ancillary charges (i.e. baggage fees).
Don’t you think you could allow US soldiers free baggage? Afterall, they are defending our country & freedoms. They (& their families) sacrifice much for this Country – as the song says, “Some Gave All”. Yet, Delta took $200 each from returning soldiers after not only a year’s deployment in a war zone, but after the US Senate cut their salaries.
As a parent of someone who is in the military, I will not only refuse to fly on Delta, but have also encouraged my friends, family & over 9,000 FB friends to boycott your company. You’d think that $3.7 BILLION dollars in revenue for 2010 would be enough.
Your greed is overwhelming! I sincerely hope that the $2,800 you took from our American Soldiers was worth it!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I can’t believe that you will not support our troops. How un-American can you be?
June 8th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Delta,
The only appropriate response from you should 5 simple lines:
1 – We are very sorry this happened.
2 – Every penny was refunded to the Soldiers.
3 – We have changed are policies.
4 – Thank you for bringing this to our attention and for your service to our great Nation.
5 – THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
Don’t pretend to appoligize and go on to brag about how much you support the military. An apology is exactly that, an apology. Not We’re sorry, but look at every thing else we do.
I can promise you this, if I were on that flight I would have raised Holy Hell with Delta for this PATHETIC treatment of our Troops.
Victor R. Moreno
USA / USAR
1SG (RET)
June 8th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
so, when the soldiers have to transport the US Army’s equipment, which was issued to them, while travelling on contract between the US ARMY and delta, they have to pay for it?? and, wow!!! you give an ‘additional allowance’ of a WHOLE 20 POUNDS!!!??? how generous!!! how magnanimous!!!!! how overwhelmingly greedy, avaricious, grabby, grasping, miserly, niggardly (look it up, it’s a real word!!! and it has nothing to do with race!!!!), parsimonious, penurious and rapacious of you!!!! that you nickel and dime the civilians, is upsetting, but understandable – you’re out for a profit, and you don’t care how you get it. but that you’ll do the same to returning soldiers, men and women who haven’t even gotten to their home bases, yet… men and women who still have their weapons and equipment (we’re not talking about going on leave or returning from leave… this is actual transit while on duty.) is inexcusable.
your financial malfeasance caused you to have to be bailed out… when (not if, but when) we mount a boycott, an effective boycott of your company, how will you remain in the air, in the black??
a reasonable solution for this would be to search your database, and ascertain each and every active duty service member, who was flyingunder these circumstances, and refund, with penalty, all charges to them – it’s not reasonable to assume that this was the only incidence of this sort of gouging. take the money from the yearly bonus that your ceo, your cfo and your board receives.
have you a clue as to how many people you’ve offended with this stunt? this isn’t JUST the servicemembers, but their families and friends…and THEIR families and friends…. talk about a viral response!!!!!
well, you’ll either do the right thing, or you won’t. that’s the bottom line. and if you don’t do it publicly, we’ll all find some other means of transportation – you’re NOT the only game in town!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Calm down folks. These extra bags are military equipment items & the troops will be reimbursed any extra baggage charges when they file their travel vouchers at their home station.
The question should be “Why should Delta or other airlines be forced to handle government baggage for free?” These heavy bags cost the airlines extra manpower & fuel to move & fly them around.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
I still say a big FORGET YOU to delta… You still SUCK…. this NEVER should’ve been an issue in the 1st place & had it not been for such an uprise against you… you most likely would not have done squat about this…. Our rather large & extended family still will NEVER fly delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I absolutely agree with those above, your little ” update” that says your policy has changed so that those flying First class or Coach can have the bags for free?? Do you think we are all stupid in not catching that little comment? How many men and women in the armed forces can pay for First or Coach class??? You guys at Delta sicken me. I will tell everyone I know and spread it as far as I can to never use Delta again. What you have done is beyond disgraceful!
You airline should be so ashamed of themselves, they can’t sleep at night!
After all, those people serving our country aren’t living the “HIGH LIFE,” and going home to an air conditioned home each night!
Bye Delta, I hope you guys go under big time!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I have three trips planned for this summer and I will not under any circumstances fly Delta. I have two friends who have just cancelled flights. I hope your precious baggage fees for our soldiers were worth the business you’re going to lose.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Does Delta believe that our brave soldiers should try to survive with equipment that could fit in a shaving kit? SHAME on you!!! I come from a military family that will never support such terrible practices. Talk about turning your back on the very people who provide you with safety and security.
Maybe next time they change policies they could consult someone who knows better!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Delta can make a generous gesture towards our active military who have been taken advantage of (orders allow four bags, Delta doesn’t, and no one noticed this discrepancy?!) by MAKING A SIZABLE DONATION TO THE USO, whose volunteer-manned sites serve our men and women so well in airports as they travel – including Baltimore, where they greet many of our returnees as they arrive from Afghanistan and give them a wonderful welcome. By “generous,” I’m thinking of a multiple of all the $ that Delta has taken from the personal pockets of our soldiers, sailors including corpsmen and Marines. Looking forward to seeing this, it would go a long way.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
I just can not believe that Delta is claiming support for our Troops and then charges them, AGAINST THE CONTRACT they have with the U.S.Government, extra money that some of the soldiers did not have. These soldiers spent the last year in a stressful environment and Delta wants to cause them more stress because they want to suck more money out of soldiers that have given ENOUGH. And when Delta gets caught they try to act like it was not their fault that these soldiers got screwed. I will never fly Delta again and I will do everything I can to change the minds of everyone I meet to never fly Delta. You can try to spin this anyway you want but I know you do not care about the troops. The only way to make this close to right is to FIRE the executive that made this decision and give the soldiers back their money.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
This is a sad day for corporate America. Some bone head at BWI made the decision to charge for “excess” baggage because that’s policy. Never mind that the person affected by the policy was a US soldier returning from war. Yes America, we are really at war and people are getting killed and wounded every day to protect us ordinary citizens. God forbid that a civilian make a decision that might cost Delta $200 in lost revenue. To make matters worse, Delta issues this lame, politically correct statement that they are looking into this incident. Why not say “we made a grievous mistake and apologise for being so short sighted”. Yeah, right…. Everybody’s a patriot until it costs something.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Thank you Delta for showing your true colors. I have already written an email to my congressman, my senator and Governor to display that my disgust of how our national heroes are being treated by an American company and one with a contract with the US Government. I am asking that my elected officials ask that the contract with Delta be cancelled and that the CEO and board members at Delta be called in to congress to see how they have scammed not only the government but also the service men and women of our great country.
Don’t you think that they have gone through enough? Delta I wouldn’t fly you if you were the last airline in the world. Disgraceful, plain and simple.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
I love how everyone is so quick to blame Delta for it’s “unclear and misguided policy” in this situation but they forget how much of a business we are. If I was traveling home a Military Charter/ Mobility Air Command flight. I could see where the fact that the Government controlled/owned aircraft would have some say in how many bags their soldiers can and cant check. But what people who are watching this video, reading about it in blogs, commenting on how disgraceful and horrid Delta’s actions are, fail to realize one little thing… It’s a Business. Just like the Federal Government, and if you happy about the fact that they’re comfortable putting your sons, and daughters, husbands and wives in coach considering they pay, as one person put it, “with their lives” everyday; well then you need to direct your sentiments to capitol hill. Furthermore, no commercial US carrier offers any free tickets to military members to my knowledge, I think you’re thinking of “Space A”. However Delta is the ONLY US carrier to represent the Armed Forces through their contract with the DOD allowing them access to significantly reduced fares. Its just as much a business as Federal funding, which is what I pay in taxes every year for them to do… Decide if they want to amend their contract with Delta to include one more bag, or save it and apply it towards the technology that will eventually eliminate the current need for as many personell to have to be forced to ship out to remote locations around the world. But hey I’m just a tax payer, right?
June 8th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
SHAME ON YOU!
I can’t believe what I just heard on my local ABC broadcast! You guys need to get this fixed ASAP if not I SELL MY STOCK, stop flying Delta, and create a web/YouTube sites exposing you from the CEO down, all of you, for the cowards you are! These guys risked their lives for this nation and you want to charge them? They and their bags should all fly for free, get it??
June 8th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
I have NEVER been so embarrassed and hopefully delta is also embarrassed. I have no respect for a company that decides to, suddenly, do the right thing when it’s tail is in a ringer……Are you ex-military or the spouse or child of ex-military….DON’T FLY DELTA…..EVER!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
@eric…
it’s NOT an issue of ‘flying the baggage for free’… delta has a contract with the army. it’s been negotiated, and now delta is trying to change horses in midstream…
reimbursement is great, when it eventually happens. but it has to be submitted, and approved and processed… so, give it, what? a month? 6 weeks? they’ll GET it… eventually. delta could have submitted what they felt were excess charges to the army. but, like this, they soaked the soldiers, who’ve had to shoulder one more burden.
we should vote with our wallets! boycott delta, at least until they right this egregious wrong done to our soldiers, ALL OUR SOLDIERS.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Policy schmolicy! This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard of. Delta’s “apology” is lame at best. I don’t care if these young men and women come back with 10 bags. Delta should be honored to load those bags free of charge. I do understand that this is a business and times are tough (who knows that better than our service menbers?). But we average consumers are sick of being raped by fees and penalties and charges for every nit-picky thing. Add Delta’s treatment of these fine men and women and the company adds insult to injury. This is the worst $2800 investment the company could make. I’m getting ready to book my vacation tickets. Guess which airline WON’T get my business! Frankly, I don’t care if I have to pay more, select a less than ideal departure time, or experience any other inconvenience airlines are notorious for. Delta’s just not worth it.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
I understand that Delta has to have certain rules and regulations in place so people don’t take advantage of the airline. Come on Delta! This is ridiculous! It is obvious that the service men and women that serve our country help keep this great county moving, and Delta able to operate. They should get a PASS on your imposed baggage fees. You guys are seriously ignorant for imposing such a ridiculous policy on our military heros. I know I will definitely not be flying your airline anymore until this situation is remedied. Your company needs to refund all of the service men and women the extra fees you charged them. You also need to change you baggage policies for them so they are accommodated without being monetarily punished for coming home after serving our great nation . Your company policy makers and imposers should be both ashamed and deeply embarrassed by the statement your actions have made.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I think you need to consider also that military spouses and children do not always PCS and leave exactly when our military member does. Sometimes we leave earlier or later. I think that family members shouldn’t have to pay for baggage if we have a copy of our member’s orders and our id card. The baggage fees are ridiculous high and when you have a big family it adds up.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Amazing your CEO made 8 Millon last year and Delta is penny pitching soliders for a fourth piece of luggage. You have to be kidding. I dont agree with some of these comments and I believe companies have rules for a reason. But what ever Ex. put this policy in has never served in the miltiary. Because if they had they would know that soliders DO NOT FLY FIRST CLASS. The Gov will not pay for it, but Delta has some freakish idea that they do? No, an apology will not do. I for one will not fly Delta and I will make sure all my friends will know why. I hope your CEO gets for another bonus for this mess.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Delta…. please clarify in your statement above……. Are you going to reimburse the soldiers?????????
Until I see or hear a statement from the soldiers stating that they were compensated in a fair manner for this STUPID behavior, I will not fly Delta nor will I let anyone in my company! ….. and it was STUPID.. I mean, you had to know this was going to make headlines…… where are your heads at. I know someone or many will get raked over the coals for this screw up.. and they need too.
Anyway, I do hope you make this right and I mean Really make it right!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Delta you should be ashamed of yourselfs. I will not fly Delat until you return every penny to our soldiers and drop all baggage fees for returning soldiers.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Have you had any terrorists crash your planes lately? No??? You’re welcome.
Maybe you should be thanking those soldiers for that fact, and considering their continued protection of our skies and homeland as debt paid, no matter how many bags they bring on board.
Bad form, Delta. Bad form.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
All of the domestic airlines policies on baggage are horrid. When you travel, you have bags – so the airlines decided to make some cash by charging us for the most obvious thing – bags. This is absolutely stupid and simple money grubbing. Delta, et al can’t run an airline properly so we passengers get soaked for their screw-ups. I got charged an extra $30 last week for being 1 pound over their limit. This is why I fly foreign airlines as much as I can.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
I guess I have to wonder how Delta thinks this new policy will make things better… How many infantrymen are traveling in first and business class?
The new policy is vacuous and a total smokescreen. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt to see how you would fix this huge blunder, but I see you went to the Weiner school of public relations.
Can you say with “certitude” you have changed your policy to the benefit of the majority of the soldiers flying your airline? Or is it just mumbo jumbo?
Oh, you were going to fly me all the way to LA in August for $320 roundtrip… Yet, you want to charge a soldier returning from war $200 for one bag from Baltimore to Atlanta. Who’s not going to get that $320 now? And how many others can we convince to do the same?
June 8th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Oh, and I won’t fly Delta even if I have to go thru Timbuktu to get home.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Seriously? MOST military personnel is paid in the average of $22,000 a year. Knowing THAT number (and as a reservist’s wife, Rachel DOES know that), how reasonable is it to affect a change in policy that will NOT affect the majority of military personnel traveling in commitment to their duty?
For clarity: the average military man or woman can NOT afford to travel first or busines class.
The really disgusting part of this “revamped policy” is that Delta all ready know that and is, once again, hiding behind word play.
I would also like Delta to address this: ATLANTA, Aug. 15, 2008 — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced that effective immediately it will waive all excess baggage fees for active military personnel traveling on orders. The fee waivers apply to baggage quantity, weight and size, allowing active servicemen and women to travel with optimum flexibility.
What happened to THAT policy? Just not enough cash in it for you?
June 8th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Shame on you DELTA. It is now after the fact this story got out you will refund the money. If not for our military keeping the Friendy Skies Friendly you would nto have a job. I hope the idiot you hired that pulled this on our military was now handed a pink slip(it should be Army green). I sent this to my brother who travels the world for his job and he just cancelled his DELTA fisht and went with another airline. What a great time to pull this just after we celebrate the Anniversary of D-Day.
I just have one question? If the men/women flying did nto have the $2,800 to pay for the baggage then what would have happend to their items? I can answer that, you woudl have sent them to your famous auctions or on EBay. Yes we all knwo that is what you do with all the baggage and other things you do not allow on the planes.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
The new policy should be…we will transport ALL baggage for ALL military traveling on official orders and will seek reimbursement DC…
June 8th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
You should be ashamed! Now you alter the policy to 5 bags for business and first class? How many of our soldiers are flying in that status? How about reaching out to the soldiers that were charged the extra $200 on that flight and offer a trip to Disney World, all expenses paid by Delta to their families that have been awaiting their arrival after serving in a war zone? A little financial punitive pain would be a good PR move.
Delta: I will give you some free advise on the military brain. You must make this right or people will boycott you! We are a group of highly principled individuals. There must be remorse, groveling and a sense that there has been some financial pain to your company. This is chump change to get this right! I know you would spend this type of money on a golf outing to schmooze with your board members!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
#47/Eric. Let me ask you a better question? Are you or have you ever been a service member? If so, then you know the low pay these men and women work for. I wouldn’t be surprised if some them had to come up with creative ways to hand over $200 on the spot. If not, then no amount of explanation will be sufficient for you. I don’t know that people are angry because there are baggage charges for the military (let’s face it, it sucks for all of us). The heart of the issue is how it was handled. That’s a handsome contract Delta has. Let them charge the DOD and not take it out on the service members who put their lives on the line for US and so many other innocent people who cannot fight for themselves; have worked in some of the most adverse conditions and just want to get home.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Delta, the only reason that you are making this right is that you got called out on it. Flying in 2 weeks, but certainly not on Delta now!!! Scum.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
you are pigs as an organization. may your profits be slammed due to your piggish behavior. when is southwest coming to atlanta?///CANT WAIT. AIR TRAN WILL DO FOR NOW
June 8th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Delta, u make me want to vomit!!!!! These men and women are overseas, away from Their wives, children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends. Do you even begin to understand what they give up to be over there? They are over there sacrificing their LIFE for us and you cannot even sacrifice some extra fuel or space that is going to take to get these people home? Put yourselves in their shoes. White collar! Put yourself in their place!!!! Ya’ll are a bunch of loosers!!!! Too bad GREED has the best of this country. And all I have to say is that the people who serve this country are the most unselfish people there are. Maybe delta should take a few lessons from them!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Every American should be outraged by your treatment of our returning soldiers.
Disgraceful.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
What a shame and disgrace Delta Airlines is. With the air fees you charge regular flyers, it’s not as if you don’t make enough money off of us. Do the RIGHT thing and REFUND their money. EVERY LAST CENT!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@ItsEric Delta has a contract with the government. The bags get paid for but why should it come out of the troops pockets? So they aren’t getting their bags checked free. When they have a deal with the government? Not only that it’s not like it isn’t stuff they are bring home just for fun! This is stuff they have to HAVE! Trust me, my husband has been deployed twice and just left for Korea. Their bags are full of things that are on a packing list and those bags are heavy but it is all things they NEED to take.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
While I believe Rachael R. is sincere in her comments, I have no faith at all that corporate policy at Delta will ever honor service members. This same thing happened to my father on a Delta flight back to the US after serving in Vietnam. However, there was no such thing as an ATM machine at the time, nor was credit card use widespread. So instead of being forced to pay extra bag fees, my father and the other service members on his flight were forced to leave a substantial portion of their belongings behind. My family has never flown Delta because of this, and never will.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Well, the delta watchdogs of this blog chose not to allow my first post so I’ll try again. What did I say wrong the first time? Doesn’t matter really does it? I mean those were just words being used to describe what I thought of your actions. Actions speak louder than words? Evidently not for you people. You hide behind these disgraceful words to avoid having to face the reality that your policy, and subsequent actions, are just so utterly shameful… shameful. The gods have given us all the opportunity to assist delta in going the way of other bankrupt airlines by allowing the AirTran-Southwest merget… yippee! Let’s see… fly delta who charges everyone, including active military large bag fees, or fly Southwest who doesn’t charge anyone, has a far superior record of customer service, and actually keeps to their schedule. Wow… tough question. I will repeat one thing from my first attempted post: I sincerely wish that I could get into a room with Anderson, Bastion, Gorman or any or all of delta’s senior leadership. Of course it will never happen… but I can still sincerely wish it
Oh, one more thing… I intend to be contacting my legislators, and hope everyone else does as well, to insist that the travel contract between the US military and delta be canceled .
June 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
To “ItsEric” post above (#48) — No, Delta should not be forced to handle our soldiers’ baggage. They should be HONORED and FLATTERED to handle our soldiers’ baggage. Just out of curiosity, do you work for Delta?
I think we all know these soldiers will be reimbursed. That’s not the issue. If our soldiers’ “heavy bags” are too much of a burden for Delta, I think our government should find another carrier to handle the honor of flying our soldiers home.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Thank you Delta Airlines for quickly finding a solution and for the support you give members of the United States Military.
Thank you Rachel, and your husband, for your service. Don’t take the comments personally. This will soon be forgotten and these folks will be venting at some other company or organization.
P.S. I travel with Delta a lot and have never had a bad experience. I fly Delta because I live in Georgia and you guys provide jobs where they are greatly needed. Again, thank you.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
one dumb qustion, what if that trooper dosnt have that 200 bucks, then what? pawn his weapon????
June 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
oh man. they’ll get reimbursed anyways. get a life. thanks to ItsEric for being the only one who knows what he’s talking about.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
So: you are too timid to confront morbidly obese passengers and make them pay for two seats, and you are too timid to enforce your own carry-on policy when your rudest passengers insist on bringing multiple GIGANTIC bags onto the plane, but when it comes to penalizing U.S. servicemen and women, you’re ruthlessly efficient.
This is symptomatic of a corporate culture where the leaders are not very strong or skilled, and the workers have dismal morale. You are offering up your underperforming rear-end to SWA here in Atlanta, and SWA is getting ready to kick it.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
It just doesn’t matter, Delta, what you say now. This should never have happened – regardless of the policy. The people on the ground should have and could have made a decision to “do the right thing” in spite of whatever policy might have been in place at the time. I’m so ashamed for every last one of you – the people on the ground who implemented the policy and the organization…. Unbelievable. There are just no words….
June 8th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
My husband is due back in September..just checked his flight info, thank God he is NOT on Delta. FYI, most bags they carry weigh more that even your ‘new’ allotted amount. In response to comment #47: Delta SHOULD cover the cost of extra bags at no charge to the soldiers as this was a contract flight! No way Delta would enter into a contract unless they were set up to make $$ on it!!
No apology is acceptable until those service members involved are 100% reimbursed. Do it NOW and stop the pandering.
Delta is now my ‘only as a last resort’ airline.
SHAME ON YOU!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
It was not clear from Delta’s recent posting, but I would strongly suggest Delta reimburse any of the U.S. military personnel who were returning home and forced to pay a baggage fee, as well as apologize for the mistake. The revised baggage policy should be further revised to allow for 5 free bags, whether or not they are in first or coach class. Delta and the other airlines while in business to be profitable should recognize and thank all returning military personnel for their sacrifice and hard work. This further revision may avoid any future misunderstandings.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
As a military brat (Dad USAF during three wars!), I am appalled at Delta for this lapse in judgement.
How about this as a business plan; satisfy customers before shareholders? Maybe then you will regain some standing after this PR fiasco.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
ok so modrate my comment….(not that i think i should because as extreme as my comment was so is charging 200 a bag)
fact is….200 is alot of money for our soliders. i should know being an army wife myself. that is the amount my family gets for spending/food money a month after all bills r paid. so taking 200 from these men and woman is a major burden. its keeping them from able to go out to a nice dinner they haveb been waiting for for a year. or being able to most likly do anything nice with their familys until u get that money back to them….and its aweful you put them in that situation.
its bad enough for me to get home to visit our famlily it costs about 1200. more considering i never get to buy tckets in advance because we have to wait for leave to b aproaved! but bag fees on top of that r crazy! to fly myself and my 2 kids home for my husbands deployment so we can be near family we have to pay about 1400 plus bag fees!!! crazy!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
The apology is too little too late and only because Delta got called out. Delta executives take note. This is a failure of leadership. Either your employees were not empowered to waive baggage fees or they executed poor individual judgement in enforcing them. Either way, you are ultimately responsible for all that happens in your company. Google “Delta” under the news section and you will see all of the bad press and how quickly this incident is going viral. Your PR department now has to deal with the fact that $2,800 of greed has now launched a virtual negative PR campaign. Was it worth it? I am an active duty Marine and veteran of 2 wars. I have been too busy patrolling outside the wire to learn much about business or public relations, but I have learned a lot about leadership and I have to say this is an utter leadership failure. Just be thankful your mistakes only cost money. Shame on you for failing us in a time of war. To all reading, support the troops and STOP FLYING DELTA.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Hiding behind word play will not fix this.
This cannot be the first time this “extra baggage versus military” has come up and knowing that Delta is only responding after social media brought this to the attention of so many is all I need to know about how deep their appreciation really is.
Hey Delta? If you’re not willing to truly stand behind our military, feel free to stand in front of them. It’s all about perspective.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Delta you should be ashamed of your policy. I will not only boycott your airlines, but will make sure I send this news about our service men and woman to everyone of my business list serves. Shame!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
I am also on active duty with the Navy and have used Delta for all my flights to go home to visit family and friends. I have another trip planned for the 4th of July and after hearing this I will NEVER fly Delta again. Hope you guys are happy with yourselves. Good Bye Delta!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
This incident should never have become an issue. Delta has disappointed and embarrassed the entire country. There is NO apology that could ever begin to erase this incident. I fly American, thankfully, but if ever on an itinerary only served by Delta, I’ll either drive or stay home. I’m ashamed of any American business that would inflict this type of insult on the men and women who fight to protect our country. Very, very unAmerican, Delta. I truly hope this single incident places you in unrecoverable bankruptcy. You deserve nothing but punishment and failure.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
your “NEW” policy effective immediately, allowing U.S. military personnel traveling on orders in First and Business Class can check up to five bags at no charge and 4 bags in economy class.. is ridiculous. Tthe military soldiers deployed overseas DO NOT TRAVEL FIRST AND BUSINESS CLASS!
The ONLY ploicy Delta should have is to waive all extra baggage fees for military soldiers…. period!
Delta should bill the government for the extra baggage fees if they have to collect them…. not expect the soldiers to pay for them upfront!
SHAME on DELTA!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I am an Active Duty Marine, currently in Afghanistan. I am extremely furious! I can promise you that out of the four bags (not including my weapon) I brought out, there is only about 15 pounds of “personal gear.” Everyerything else is what I was ORDERED to bring. If I don’t return with all of my gear, it comes out of my pay! You really had these soldiers over a barrel! They had no choice but to pay your money-hungry fees! Your management should really be ashamed of their penny-pinching policy.
I really question if your company would have given a DAMN if the soldiers hadn’t made their video… I bet you would have been sitting there, very pleased with yourself, counting your money, and NEVER would have changed your policy without all the threats to boycott your ungrateful company.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
A lot of emotional reactions here from people, but not a lot of rationality. Why is it Delta’s responsibility to move the bags of those traveling on government business? I’m sure glad they do it, but it’s above and beyond their responsibility. Ultimately it’s the military’s job to make sure their bags move.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Wow. I understand weight and space constraints. How many would be willing to leave their luggage to make room for another passenger to check excess baggage? The US military gear should be transported and the fees paid by the government. That way we all help to pay and support our troops and their travel. From what I understand, this is what happens when a receipt for a baggage charge is turned by the military traveler.
I am a Delta diamond member and fly constantly, though I have had my own issues and trials at times, Delta does respond well to inquiries and complaints and I have seen policy adjustments occur when warranted. There has to be rules that apply and there needs to be room for occasional exceptions. I believe Delta has tried to address this and I do notice that the service people who had the bad experience are not the ones writing these nasty responses and boycott urgings.
As I have said, I have had my share of issues with Delta but I have also had many very good experiences. Airlines are a business after all and need to remain profitable to continue to provide service to their customers and jobs and benefits for their employees.
I do agree with the earlier post asking Delta to create a policy for those of us who may want to give up our first class seats for military persons. The idea of a voucher as a thank you to the customer that does this is a nice gesture and also gives Delta another opportunity to support the troops through their customers.
Thanks for the chance to respond.
Respectfully
Mary Perrault
June 8th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
This is sad. You might have success in making right the financial wrong, but the emotional damage is far beyond any repair effort. This should NEVER have happened in the first place. Policy or not!!! Along with all the other blood-boiling scenarios taking place in this country, you have to add insult to injury with this! I can’t speak for anybody but me. Therefore, my days of flying Delta are over. I would walk first.
Bill Sterchi
MTC(SS), USN, Ret.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
My husband has flown Delta for years….has always been a hit and miss, especially in Atlanta. We had a terrible time in Baltimore when he came home from Afganistan due to his weapon. He and others had done the loading overseas but there was not enough staff when the plane arrived to get things done when they arrived in Baltimore (again the military was not a priority) so he had to wait behind an opaque window for over an hour before seeing his daughters that he had not seen since being deployed…..it was so hard and so unnecessary. He and other servicemen offer to help but of course were denied even though they had loaded the equipment on the other end. Policy, you know! After this current incident I will never book a flight on Delta myself and I will inform everone I know not to as well.I hope that people boycott and it gets you where it counts. You do realize that these service men and women are on your planes because you have that wonderful huge contract with the government!!! You also, I hope, realize that you can fly through the skies without a worry because they are safe due to the diligence of these wonderful servicemen and women that you treated so poorly. Keep that in mind!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
“As an Army wife and 12 year Delta employee”
Rachael,
thank you for being an Army Wife, and for your husband’s service to our nation.
But, beyond the fact that your gate agents were either so ignorant,
with a pathetic lack of inclination to circumvent these rules, (or to
ask a superior to do so), I believe you should investigate
to confirm that they were not anti-military/politically motivated
(I sure hope it wasn’t racial).
I have seen first hand, that stories such as these go one way or the other;
complete accommodation, or clear disdain for military personnel.
Most disturbing is this;
You have not posted on this blog in months,
but management asks you, “…an Army wife…”,
to handle this one.
Hey Rachel’s boss, we’re not that stupid.
The only thing you came up with “After careful consideration…”
was having an Army wife take the hit for you.
This incident was such a no-brainer that you need to consider
the instinct (or motivation) of your Baltimore gate crew,
and the competence of the person hiring them.
Thank you to the unit for your service.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Not good enough Delta.
You enjoy the freedom to operate your business BECAUSE of these men and women in uniform. Your lack of understanding that identifies that maybe you aren’t the right carrier to operate in America.
So, like any good American, with the freedom of choice afforded by our military, I’ll choose to support companies like Southwest who don’t charge for baggage.
We ask these men and women to go out and sacrifice, and yet, this is how you treat them. Change your policy ONCE MORE.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Hey, I read all these hateful comments. Shame on you. To my experience Delta has always been very appreciative towards military personnel. On many flights flight attendants make a special announcement thanking the soldiers.
The Military has negotiated these baggage allowances with airlines. The NPR article even mentioned that. And the Military reimburses the baggage fees the soldiers have to pay.
Somebody there said that UA allows more bags to go free. Here are UA rules from ua.com: “In addition, U.S. military personnel (and/or dependents) who are either active or traveling on leave in conjunction with a permanent change of station (military ID required) are exempt from the third bag fee, may check baggage up to 115 linear inches (292 linear centimeters) without paying oversized baggage fees, and are allowed to check baggage up to 70 pounds (32 kg) without paying overweight baggage fees.”
Delta’s rules were the same, even though now they have updated the rules to allow 4 bags in the economy class.
I will continue to fly on Delta Air Lines. Delta is my favorite airline. Thank you Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
For #47 Eric:
These soldiers had military orders allowing 4 free bags and a ticket home. This was a contract cost – the “cost for the 4th bag” was included in the cost of the ticket they paid.
These soldiers don’t have credit cards or extra cash to pay for UNEXPECTED and duplicate charges. They were told by their commanding officers that they could check 4 bags and were caught by a delta ambush.
Eric, your comment ‘not to worry, they would be reimbursed in their travel vouchers’ is pathetically insensitive to say the least.
Just imagine being told you cannot check a 4th bag that your orders say is covered unless you pay with money you don’t have… imagine how those soldiers felt…. no doubt like a “welcome home soldier, we don’t give a cr*p about you and your service – $200 or move out of line”.
Frankly if it were me, I’d have just sat down with the whole unit, 32 soldiers, and refused to get up until a supervisor was called and the charges waived, as they had already been paid when the tickets were purchased.
I also cannot believe that the delta agent was so pathetically stupid that she/he couldn’t figure out how to handle this situation…. bad news for delta.
And from Victor Moreno, #45, whom I thank for his service to our country:
I am repeating your words because they deserve repeating, over and over again:
The only appropriate response from you should 5 simple lines:
1 – We are very sorry this happened.
2 – Every penny was refunded to the Soldiers BY OVERNIGHT MAIL.
3 – We have changed our policies.
4 – Thank you for bringing this to our attention and for your service to our great Nation.
5 – THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
delta, shame, shame, shame on you………. you blew it big time………..
June 8th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Delta after hearing this story and reading your solution, I cant help seeing that you still don’t get it! Do the right thing and get rid of the baggage fees for all incoming and soldiers, this means no limited on the amount of baggage they need.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Simple fix for me: I WILL NEVER FLY DELTA UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
I am the mother of an Army daughter and I got my first taste of the frustrations when she and her son were sent to Germany on military orders. The weighing of each bag so that they would not be charged for extra luggage. The wondering of what could be carried on and what needed to be shipped by US post office later. Not to mention that household goods and car was shipped several weeks before they left. Then Delta airlines makes it worse by charging for extra bag when they come home on military orders. Let me tell you Rachael R., even though your husband is a reservist you have not gone through what these soldiers have gone through. These military men & women can not live out of 4 suitcases for 6 months until their extra uniforms, boots and necessities get to them that are shipped by the military in containers. What they are taking with them has to substain them until their other things get their. Replacing personal toliteries, socks, etc is not affordable on a salary for a job that they are on call for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays.And the $200 Delta collected from each soldier makes a BIG difference in wether they eat, call home or walk to them. Sometimes a soldiers’ pay gets screwed up when their military orders are changed and they are really in a bind then. And in my opinion Delta must have charge this out rageous fee to other soldiers or this group would not have been taking a video of it! And come on. You can not tell me that Delta would not be supporting the military programs if there was not a tax right off involved, other wise this policy of extra baggage fees would have never applied to soldiers if Delta really supported them. Our soldiers need more appreciation and support than we could possibly ever give them. They are well trained in their jobs. Too bad you aren’t Rachael R. or you would have understood that we military supporters did not buy your load of crap.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
I agree with the person that says they will never fly again.
I know most corporate people cannot imagine how grueling a year long deployment can be. They are so tired and anxious to get home. I could care less that they will be reimbursed…they had to go through significant stress to come up with that money in the first place.
The only reason Delta stepped up is because of the You Tube video!
I fly once a month from SF to Baltimore and an annual trip overseas. I will never ever patronize a business that does not bend over instantly to help our soldiers returning from war. Also, I will never patronize a company that has employees that would not have immediately done everything possible to help our soldiers.
It is terrible what you have done and I am notifying everyone on my Linkedin file, facebook, and email. We all have a choice in flying other airlines thank goodness, and I am encouraging everyone i know never to fly Delta again. You should have never put returning soldiers through any amount of stress. YOu should have been thanking them every step of the way.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Rachel R. Please stop talking. You’re just making it worse. Just the fact that you are defending Delta’s stance on bringing our soldiers home if they pay a fee first makes you every bit as despicable as Delta. It’s not like their extra baggage contains surfboards and golfclubs. You should be honored to be a service to them instead of sitting in your air conditioned office while they are in horrific conditions in combat. Obviously Delta sees our soldiers as nothing more than a potential profit and marketing campaign. I hope bankruptcy is on the horizon for Delta. It’s sickening that you think the problem is the public outrage and not Delta’s actions.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
How dare you and how un-American of Delta Airlines. You are the laughing stock of the airline industry and the nation right now. These men and women are fighting for your freedom to do business and to stay in operation, yet you have the absolute audacity to charge them an extra $200. Do you have any idea at all how much that sets them back financially? They only get paid twice a month.
You have NO RIGHT to do business period after this disgraceful incident. This is a disgusting and unacceptable situation on Delta Airlines’ part. You and every other airline already bleed the American public dry when it comes to fees for baggage check-ins, fees for amenities such as blankets and pillows, fees for meals on the flight, etc. What gives you the right to overcharge these soldiers for this when their orders specifically stated 4 bags? You, as the AIRLINE, should have taken it up with the Government and allowed the soldiers to proceed from Baltimore to Louisiana without being charged. I certainly hope Delta refunds them immediately and allows them to fly free.
You are a disgusting, money hungry airline that obviously cares more about making a quick buck than taking care of the men and women who put their lives on the line and sacrifice so much for this nation. Delta Airlines obviously does not care at all about the troops, and it certainly does not support them in any way. I will NEVER FLY DELTA AIRLINES EVER AGAIN AFTER THIS INCIDENT, AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE I KNOW TO NEVER FLY DELTA AGAIN. You, as the airline, have slit your own throats with this incident. You have lost the respect of the American people. You deserve to be shut down and go out of business. May bankruptcy fall quick and swiftly upon your company. I will never travel with your airline EVER again.
DELTA AIRLINES MAKES ME SICK!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
The damage is done Delta. You blew it. Common sense should have prevailed when the troops checked-in. Your company made $3.7 BILLION in food sales and checked baggage fees in 2010, you really need to also take money from our military when all they are trying to do is get home? You’re pathetic. Also, the allowing an extra bag in First Class vs. Economy is hysterically funny. You’re a bit out of touch with reality if you think our service members can afford First Class tickets. Will never step foot on a plane of yours again. You can’t undo stupid, ignorant and greedy.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
What a disgraceful pit corporations have dug themselves into–all in the name of the almighty dollar! Delta and others like them know what they are doing when they write their policies. It is only when they are caught and challenged that they give a second thought to losing business–and, OH! the apologies and efforts to apologize that follow! Our military should always be able to fly to and from battlefield destinations first class and with no charges whatsoever. Delta’s policy making, millionaire CEOs need to be sent to the battlefield! ¡Que vergüenza!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Delta, you state that there is aircraft weight and balance to be considered, but some how it balances out if we pay for extra baggage… I agree, you are all unamerican… and to have a military wife write that blog is an even bigger insult!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Was just looking to book tickets when I saw this story on the news. I immediately cancelled my transaction for the 4 round trip tickets I was going to purchase. i hope that the small 2k loss will in some small way let you know that your policies should be correct from the start and not corrected after you get away with for years and then get caught. BTW what are you going to do about the young people that have paid your fees in the past few years? Maybe an open recall so they can file valid claims? I bet not. I seem to remember that in 2003 your CEO was at the forefront in wanting the government to help your company. Such irony?
June 8th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
you HAVE NOT FIXED THE PROBLEM – you are still limiting the number of bags! STOP IT – coincidentally I just got a call about getting a delta credit card today – I said NO THANK YOU – I will do my best to not fly Delta or it’s affiliates ever again – UNLESS the COMPANY gives a SIZEABLE donation to a veterans charity and does not take it as a tax deducation, ALL BOARD MEMBERS give a charitable donation and do not take it off of their taxes (which I am sure most do not pay) that the top ten percent of the company earners give at least 10% of their income to a veterans charity this year – without taking it off of their taxes – you should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES
June 8th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
This Delta million miler will fly anyone else from now on. I hope Delta need the money more than those who risked lives so they could fly the still friendly skies. This is nothing short of shameful. Yes I’m embarrassed I flew them last week. Even though you did lose my luggage that happens, this is on purpose. I’m gagging.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
My faqmily and I and all the friends that we can influence will NEVER I repeat, NEVER fly delta again. My grandchildren who visit me this summer will fly another airline. Enjoy the money that you have made from our military because it will ber the last money you make. Expect your airline to fail…the law of karma is in effect.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Unless Delta issues a FULL REFUND to our soldiers, I will fly other airlines and tell all of my friends to boycott Delta. Period. What a disgrace Delta is.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Greedy Greedy Greedy Delta- I guess to you Freedom really isn’t Free.
I hope everyone adopts a new slogan, ” Don’t Fly Delta”
Stupidity is no excuse.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Rachel R. and Delta, we just want to see Delta show remorse for their greed –all Delta has done is change the way they will make a profit. We just want you to be proud to be of service to THEM without you seeing their homecoming as an opportunity for profit. At this point, I think we all just want to see Delta close their doors for good, and to see our soldiers come home on a different carrier that is HONORED to provide this service to them.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I fly approximately 40-50 times a year and if I don’t see confirmation that these soldiers have been reimbursed not one of those flights will be on Delta. Being ex-military I am ashamed and in the same breath embarassed for you as a company. We understand and are fully aware of your baggage fee gouging but at some point you as a company have to try and do the right thing. You as a company have ALOT of rear end kissing to do and you better make this right. Reimburse them and offer them a few free flights for your inconsideration. Our military protect the skies that you fly in and this is how you show your appreciation. We AMERICANS love our men and women in uniform and I’m sure by now after reading some of these posts you have a clear understanding that we are not playing games. I’m very thankful that these soldiers videotaped the incident and have truly exposed the moral fabric of your company.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Gee Rachael, how many active-duty military members do you have flying First or Business class?
“Consessions” like allowing the first class military travelers (of which there are none, right?) to check extra bags cleary point out your insincerity and the phoniness of your “support.”
Maybe you could actually try to DO something right instead of waisting your time on really bad PR. Really bad. Saying nothing would have been better than to pretend the military flies on first class tickets.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Hey Delta…I’d like to see ANY of your employees get sent away from home for a year and then pack everything back up, that was used to survive and stay sane with, in less than 4 bags to come home with..from AFGHANISTAN!!! You should be grateful every day that YOU aren’t the ones sporting combat boots and coping with the nightmares these brave people will have to endure for the rest of their lives. And this is how you show your appreciation for their sacrifices?
Not only did you show your complete ignorance to what’s going on around the world but your company is completely out of line by benefiting yourselves by transporting military members. It doesn’t matter that they are getting reimbursed by the Army…they shouldn’t have been charged in the first place!!! The appropriate statement from your ticket counter should have been “welcome home, are these all of your bags, thank you for your service and have a nice flight”.
What makes me even more upset is the poor Delta employee that had to tell all of these guys to pony up the cash in order to bring their belongings home with them. Nothing like being hand cuffed into corporate loyalty in order be able to care for your own family while having to strong arm people that you know just went through hell…and having to be the one to make the experience harder for them.
Shame on you, Delta; I hope that $2800 that you fleeced out of these guys made all of this worth. After 21 years of service in the Air Force, I will NEVER fly with you again. And if I can help it; none of the amazing people I work with won’t fly with you either.
I know that your company is scrambling to back peddle from this situation with a policy change but the fact of the matter is that this policy should have never been implemented in the first place.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Rachael,
The response from Delta was appropriate, but sadly late in coming. The policy that Delta set before getting exposed on YouTube sadly reflect the attitude and values of the Delta leadership team who set those policies. That they would so quickly move to cover their previous policy with a new “soldier friendly” one only serves to highlight the failure of those values.
Actions speak the loudest – so as CEO of my firm I have directed our travel team to no longer use Delta for company travel if another airline is available. I am encouraging my circle of fellow CEO’s to do the same.
Jim Trudeau, CEO
Inanovation
US Army 1969-1977
June 8th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
With summer just around the corner I will telling everyone I know to spread the word and Boycott Delta Airlines for this shameful matter. Sure you changed your policy after the public outrage received but this will never diminish the fact that you completely insulted our country’s troops. From this point forward Delta will never in my eyes be recognized as an American Company!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Hey Delta, I didn’t read anything about you giving these guy/girls their money back after you robbed them so they could being their bags on board. Really, this is your policy change? I think you shoudl revisit it!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Thank you for showing us Corporate America at its most repulsive. How many returning soldiers have enough money to fly first class? I will be SURE NEVER TO FLY DELTA AGAIN!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
The Delta Experience, aside from the indignities suffered yesterday by soldiers returning from Afghanistan, can be addresses thuslky and succunctly:
“AMTRAK is ready when you are.” Here’s why:
-Large comfortable seats, and sleeping spaces if you want them.
-No TSA goons
-No groping at security checkpoints, no porn Xrays, and keep your shoes on.
- No nickel-and-Delta charges for luggage.
- No long cab ride into town – you’re already IN town.
- Amtrak treats active-duty soldiers with respect and gratitude.
-Need more? There IS more. Lots more. Check out http://www.amtrak.com and see
June 8th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I have been a Diamond level flyer for the last two years. Due to the generous upgrades I have received, I have gladly given up my first class upgrade to a soldier in uniform. I proudly served as an officer in the military years ago.
No I am sickened to hear that a soldier is charged a baggage fee when I give up my seat and all my bags fly for free. Any soldier returning from service deserves to be treated as good if not better than any Diamond level flyer.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Wow. Delta, you treat us medallion members pretty well… I think you should do the same to our servicemen who are coming home, too. It’s a small gesture but not doing anything to fix it is turning this into a bigger PR nightmare.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Delta forces me to log in with my employee number, so there is no protection or anonymity here. However, I am retired employee and also Veteran, and with two offspring on active duty, and another child in a military family. This is not the first time family members have advised me of ill treatment of military members by Delta. It is embarassing that this happened. The employees involved seem to be more interested in “revenue enhancement” than treating the military members with respect. Delta should know that military orders take precedence over individual employees’ agendas. In any case, common sense should have prevailed rather than taking advantage of combat veterans trying to get home as soon as possible. It will take more than a new “policy” to fix this. The cost of additional training should be authorized and will help fix this serious situation.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Absolutely shows how much Delta employees truly honor and respect our soldiers. Thank you for serving and keeping our country and skies safe, now pay up your baggage fees.
Unfortunately, it takes a bad PR story like this for them to change their policies. Fortunately, I can fly another airline.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Yes, Delta has regrets. Delta regrets word of this got out. Delta should not only reimburse these servicemen and all others it has charged any baggage fee, it should immediately provide them and their families free flight anywhere for life. And the president and board of Delta should express the airline’s regrets, not the lady who runs the blog…
June 8th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Dear Delta Airlines: This causes the memories of every wretched experience I’ve ever had with Delta to come flooding back.
These men are Warriors – men who have dedicated their life’s purpose to protecting the way of life that allows you to go home at the end of the day to your airconditioned house and lean back in your easy chair while eating a fine meal from the supermarket.
This incident is not just a reflection of your policies. It is a reflection of the the mindset of your people. If your front-line people think nothing of treating returning servicemen this way then you disgust me.
I need to make another business trip soon. If Delta is the only airline flying there then I will drive instead.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I think you can easily see the consensus is that Delta just commited a major big time FUPA!! How many thousands of people will NEVER fly Delta again because of this one stupid incident? I have a suggestion: if you REALLY want to make amends and undo some of the damage this fiasco has caused (and will CONTINUE to cause) – then when the airline is aware that soldiers are returning from a war zone deployment, automatically upgrade them to FIRST CLASS with all the perks and priviledges. That way Americans will know that Delta puts its money where its mouth is and really, truly CARES about our military men and women. Will it hurt the bottom line? Possible – a tiny bit. Will it help to assuage the fury of the American people – almost certainly it will HELP. It won’t fix this mess, but it will HELP. But remember talk is cheap and we are used to politicians flapping their lips so we aren’t very impressed by ANYTHING Delta may say regarding this issue. You BLEW IT. Now FIX IT.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I think the whole situation is appalling! I also think that your response to the issue is half-hearted at best. You know what would go a long ways towards making it right? What might actually have military members/families/friends forgive you some time in the next century?
*Because I can guarantee you, almost EVERY American falls into one, or more, of those categories. I personally am the daughter of an Army serviceman who faught in Korea. I then went on to join the Army, but was injured in BASIC. I have friends currently serving overseas, and if you treated them the way you treated THESE soldiers, you’d find out just how much like Toby Keith’s Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) I could be! I’m already three quarters of the way there, and I don’t even KNOW those men!*
Right now, the only thing that will fix your image is going to be a hard pill to swallow for you… But you did this to yourselves! Okay, are you ready for it? Every service member who is flying on orders (not JUST overseas/returning home), and their dependents, are BUMPED UP TO FIRST CLASS – at NO EXTRA CHARGE. Yes, you heard me right!
You want to make policies like “First class members are alllowed blah, blah, blah” and then chuckle to yourselves that you’ll never have to back it up because only about 1% of soldiers may actually make it to First Class? Well… Put your money where your mouth is. I will NEVER use Delta again, unless you do something drastic. And I’m hearing that from a LOT of other people, even after your “apology”. So it might be time to consider my proposal… Because you’re going to need something BIG to make up for what you’ve done!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
What I want to know is how many stupid Delta personnel, including supervisors. have been fired from their jobs because of this act of stupidity. If they haven’t been, their sorry asses should be fired immediately. I am a long time Delta FF but no more if Delta does not do the right thing and fire these jerks who were responsible for this act of stupidity. As a matter of fact, I’ve decided I will NEVER fly Delta again and I will encourage others to do the same. These young, brave military personnel should be paid triple damages by Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
So many ignorant comments on this blog…
For starters, the soldiers weren’t going to be responsible for the $200 fee anyway–the government would have reimbursed them.
Second, yes, there is a small chance military personnel can afford a first-class ticket, but Delta’s separation of first-class vs. coach baggage restrictions is purely logistical. Both tiers were bumped to 5 and 4 bags respectively, but anybody who can afford first class will get an extra bag.
Finally, all of you suggesting Delta and other airlines “don’t support our troops” because of all this need to stop overreacting. There was an insufficient policy in place, and Delta corrected it. Furthermore, the extremists suggesting airlines should let these guys fly FREE is downright insane. Do you really expect them to supplement (potentially) hundreds of thousands of flights in lieu of paying customers? We live in a pseudo-capitalist society! The government pays for the troops’ transportation, so the airlines’ flexible bag policies are a good compromise in demonstrating support while staying economically afloat.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
This is to Rachel: I offer you an apology.
I do feel badly for the parts of my posts that addressed you on a personal level. I don’t think I should have singled you out in my responses (and I’m referring to the ones posted and the two awaiting moderation – no, three counting this one).
I mean, I do understand that as an employee of Delta you are doing your job while as a wife to a reservist, this had to hurt on a personal level.
For each time I brought Rachel into my posts, I apologize.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
I am appalled. The apology/spin is a day late and a dollar short. The decision to charge these soldiers, though it was probably made at a lower level and without thoughtful management review, still reveals an overall culture lacking in common sense and focused only on profits.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
ItsEric,
Members are reimbursed for allowed baggage as indicated in the orders. But, here is the thing. Only certain carriers are used by the government. The military rate is higher than the average civilian rate. No one is forcing Delta to do anything. Delta is contracted to fly military and they are paid well. How about just doing what their policy on the website states?
Active duty U.S. military personnel traveling on orders to or from duty stations are allowed up to four checked bags in Economy Class and up to five checked bags in First and Business Class on Delta and Delta Connection® carriers at no charge. Each bag may weigh up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) and measure up to 80 linear inches (203 cm)
June 8th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Shame on you delta!!!!! No matter what you do or say this should have never happened to our soldiers. My husband is currently deployed and will be flying home soon and pray that he gets the respect that he deserves on his way home. Our soldiers put their lives on the line and leave their families behind to fight for our freedom. I cant even describe to you how angry I am. I have posted the video on my Facebook and also emailed the video to everyone I know. My friends and family are spreading this as far as we can. As a Army wife I can say that $200 is alot of money to us. I would like to see the head of delta get on tv and apologize to all of our soldiers for this horrible situation, but truthfully thats still not enough. I will never fly Delta again and I highly doubt that any of my family or friends ever do either. I hope that $2800 was worth it because you are about to lose a whole lot more than that!!!!!!! Boycott Delta!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
I love how everyone is so quick to blame Delta for it’s “unclear and misguided policy” in this situation but they forget how much of a business it is. If I was traveling home a Military Charter/ Mobility Air Command flight, I could see where the fact that on the Government controlled/owned aircraft, they would would have some say in how many bags their soldiers can and cant check. But people who are watching this video, reading about it in blogs, commenting on how disgraceful and horrid Delta’s actions are, fail to realize one thing… It’s still a Business. Just like the Federal Government, and if you unhappy with the fact that they’re comfortable putting your sons, and daughters, husbands and wives in coach considering they pay, as one person put it, “with their lives” everyday; then you need to direct your sentiments to capitol hill. Furthermore, no commercial US carrier offers any free tickets to military members to my knowledge, I think you’re thinking of “Space A”. However, Delta is the ONLY US carrier to represent the Armed Forces with the DOD allowing them access to significantly reduced fares. Its just as much a business as Federal funding, which is what I pay in taxes every year for them to do… Decide if they want to amend their contract with Delta to include one more bag, or save it and apply it towards the technology that will eventually eliminate the current need for as many personell to have to be forced to ship out to remote locations around the world. But hey I’m just a tax payer, right?
June 8th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
DELTA SUCKS!!!! In all aspects. Zero customer service. RUDE employees. Horrible on time record. High Prices.
This is just the icing on the cake. I had already vowed to NEVER fly Delta again and this just confirms I made the right decision.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
They should not have to pay at all!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Wow, $2800 in baggage fees sure bought Delta a ton of negative publicity. The new Delta sure looks a lot like the old Delta in this situation. Like all the rest I’ll vote with my pocket book and support those airlines that truly do care about the men and women who give so much for our freedoms.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
To the people saying you wont ever fly Delta again:
Who are you going to fly?
American? They allow even less free baggage for military.
United? They also allow less than Delta for military personnel.
US Air? Allows 3 bags for military-Delta now allows 4.
Airtran? They allow 3 bags as well.
You were all ignorant to the fact that this happens everyday, on just about every airline. Just because the news covered Delta, not all the other airlines that do the SAME THING, you hate Delta. Thankfully the military fights for your freedom to have your ignorant opinions.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Note to my comment:
Weight restrictions are important so the airplane can take off. If military personnel could check as many bags as they wanted, it could turn into a big issue with load control. Imagine, if there are 30-50 military on one flight and they all check 5, 6, 7 heavy bags! Do you know what the price of fuel is???
And still the Military has negotiated the rules with airlines and will reimburse the charges that the soldiers incur.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
#47….do you truly believe what you said? Does our military personnel ask us if they should be carrying the burden of freedom for all Americans when they go to battle? No! They do it with pride and without prejudice and put their lives on the line every second of every day. As the mother of a US Sailor, I know for a fact he doesn’t make enough to fly first class. He barely makes enough to fly home at all. And if you think they all get reimbursed then you are mistaken, and the ones that do have to wait months to get anything. #47 I can only assume by your comments that you are either an employee of Delta or some other airline. Why else would someone make such a ridiculous comment? You should be ashamed. Hopefully no one will calm down until this monstrosity has been resolved and every member of the military has received full reimbursement. God Bless our troupes and God Bless America!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
my comment is still being “moderated” after 2 hours now. I wonder what “moderated” means.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Unbelievable Delta Airlines! Unbelievable! The 1:06 P.M. 06-08-2011 “update” is pathetic!! PLEASE! The United States Department of the Army ALREADY had agreements in place (prior to the 06-07-2011 flight 1625) for provisions for up to four bags. Why didn’t Delta honor their preexisting written agreement with the United States Department of the Army? How about an apology from Delta for its violation of written agreements with the United States Department of the Army? How about a refund the our public servants?? When folks are returning from SERVING us?? How absurd! Can you imagine a similar scenario of a serious automobile accident requiring a medical helicopter to land on the roadway, then its pilot being fined by a “flashlight cop” for illegal parking after the team of flight medics SAVED the cops mothers life?? I find it equally difficult to believe that incompetence of this magnitude is tolerated by Delta Airlines. Perhaps this type of occurrence is more frequent then we are led to believe. Delta will certainly NOT be my first choice because of their poor unethical behavior and SERIOUS lack of good judgement. Furthermore, I will do everything in my power to ensure that neither I nor anyone from my business flies on Delta. Delta, it was nice knowing you, but it sure is a pleasure to move on!
June 8th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Dear Richard Anderson, (CEO Delta Airlines)
I am never going to fly Delta again. I own a business. We will never fly Delta. I will to denying you my business (even at my own expense) and discourage others from giving you business. As you can see, I’m not the only one.
Your continued abuse of your customers as evoked such ire that it is amazing that anyone flies your airline at all. Business-minded people everywhere look with astonishment at Delta’s inefficiency of operations, inhumane rudeness / apathy of employees, and poor quality of your service and wonder how your company survives. I genuinely hope for the good of the our servicemen, the traveling public, and the airline industry as a whole that this most recent affront to basic decency turns enough customers against you to put you under for good.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
What a joke you have become Delta. I have for some reason defended you to friends and co-workers as to why my company continues to use you, but I am done as is my company I own. I wish the service men and women could in turn send you a bill for defending your freedom and liberty…even if those liberties include trying to take those service men and women to the cleaner for a cheap couple of bucks.
Hope those $200 charges help reach your quarterly numbers which appears to be all you care about.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Rachel – I totally respect that you, as an individual, clearly would do whatever you could to support our men and women of the armed forces. I also believe that you believe that Delta feels the same. Unfortunately, because this policy existed in the first place, it is clear that Delta does not. The only reason that this has changed is becuase Delta was exposed in the media. The amount of thought that went into creating a policy that said that armed forces members seated in first class were treated better than those in coach shows the company’s utter disregard for our military members. It is disgusting.
While I am glad to see that the policy has changed (after you first DEFENDED it), it does seems to be a case of Delta being caught doing something they hoped nobody would see. Please consider my eyes wide open, and that I will most likely not be re-qualifying for Silver Medallion status in 2012 (as I am now) because I will make all efforts to avoid Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Until it is publicly acknowledged that the person who authorized charging these men is fire, I will find alternative airlines. and yes, I am a delta ff with a few hundred thousand miles… but principle trumps.
they were wrong and keep digging themselves deeper
June 8th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
here is the problem still at hand delta. the ones in coach are the lower enlisted soldiers. they are limited to 5 bags? they usually have more bags than first class or business cuz those are officers. so please tell me how this is going to help soldiers. I was a us army soldier and i am a vet. i will never fly delta again. I do knowthe contracts you have with our government and the astronomical amount they are paying you to fly our military home.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
It’s time for Delta to drop the ‘Large Corporate’ image here and actually look around. Their neighbors, friends and their families are all affected in some way by the way the Military is treated. Just because you have a government contract does not make the individual soldier any less important than your best First Class Customer.
Delta needs to do more than apologize and reimburse. They need to acknowledge the turmoil, stress added, personal hardship these soldiers may have faced with the sudden decision and need to pay $200.00 out of pocket.
Delta should at least be faced with a harsh Government Penalty as well as a personal gratuity to these soldiers, not just reimbursement!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
There is NO REASON in the world for any fees,charges – forced upon our soldiers. They have laid their lives on the line for us.. They should always fly without restrictions… The airlines can afford it. Its the least the airlines can do.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
I hope you all realize that Continental and USAirways will be out of the question for all you boycotters, too, since they also have policies charging $200 for a 4th bag for military personnel (and Continental charges for the THIRD bag).
It is NOT the responsibility of a private business to pay for the government’s initiatives. Do I think they should make allowances? Sure. But do I believe they’re required to do so with no compensation? Absolutely not.
Like a previous poster said, it’s expensive to transport heavy, excess baggage. So while the soldier’s shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket, SOMEone should be paying the airline. And guess what? That’s what’s happening. Every penny those soldiers paid will be reimbursed by the US Government.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
First I want to say that I do understand the annoyance, inconvenience, and frustration these troops must have felt and experienced over this situation. My husband is active duty and has deployed. I am sure they were exhausted and the added stress of this situation was the last thing any of them wanted to deal with.
BUT….how is this Delta’s fault? They do alot more for troops than alot of companies do! They have employees to pay, bills to pay and so on as well.
In the video the soldier talked about his guns and other equipment that he used to “save his life”…why is the Army making him carry this sort of thing back personally anyway? And if it is MILITARY ISSUED EQUPIMENT then the MILITARY should pay for it. It is not Delta’s job to cover the MILITARY’s travel/shipping expenses!!!
Plus it must be nice to been able to have that many bags at all since when the USAF moved our entire FAMILY overseas on a PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION orders we were still only allowed TWO bags and then got to wait for 6wks to THREE months for our other stuff to arrive and if we went over our ALLOTED weight restriction we got to PAY FOR IT!
Delta, I am glad to see in your blog post that you recognize this is an issue and are trying to do something to make sure it doesn’t happen again AND you are working with those soldiers affected to fix their individual situations.
I know my opinion is and will not be the popular one and I am sure people will cuss my name since I disagree with them for not giving Delta a hard time, but I just don’t see how this is ALL Delta’s fault.
Plus since I still can not find any hard core facts about EVERYTHING that took place in this incident, I am not willing to just jump on the “boycott Delta” band wagon especially since the US GOVERNMENT uses Delta for so many of it’s “missions” to get soldiers from point A to point B and those soldiers have NO CHOICE but use whatever means of transportation that the US GOVERNMENT chooses to use at the time!
Since I was NOT there to see how Delta’s “agent” dealt with these soldiers and I was NOT there to see how those soldier re-acted and treated Delta’s agent and I don’t know what OTHER steps the soldiers did or did not use in order to fix this situation BEFORE deciding to plaster a a video all over the internet! I not going to pass judgement on Delta!
Because since I am a military spouse who has dealt with MILITARY ORDERS for a move and have personally LIVED thru the chaos and confusion that the US MILTIARY has caused my family by ever changing policies, flat out giving us the WRONG information, giving us NO REASON why they will not re-imburse something that the AFI says they will, for just plain not telling us the IMPORTANT things we needed to know about a INTERNATIONAL MILITARY MOVE and how much to expect to be OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET WITH NO RE-IMBURSEMENT (the most the USAF would do was LOAN us or ADVANCE PAY us and we had to pay back and go without on most things) at all. But instead wasted our time in briefings that proved to be basically USELESS because even their tips on how to be OPEN-MINDED to the host nation’s culture and ways of life were seriously out-dated or flat out WRONG!
So as far as I am concerned if all the stuff these soldiers were carrying were authorized by MILTIARY ORDERS (something that has NOTHING to do with Delta’s business or policies!!!) then the MILITARY should have made sure to do any number of things FIRST…. 1.)they could have made sure Delta understood what was needed and how it would be “paid for” 2.) they could have made sure the soldiers had the means to pay for it if needed 3.) they could have flat out PAID for it when the tickets were purchased 4.) baggages limits/requirments SHOULD have been verified BEFORE the soldiers ran into this issue in the first place or 5.) they could have just flat out told the soldiers what was REIMBURSIBLE.
And since AGAIN…I was not there and can not attest to what the military did, what Delta did, what these specific soldiers did and I personally can not say if all or any of the above ideas where used, I am NOT going to say “Shame on Delta”.
What I want to know is 1.) Did these soldiers & Delta’s agent treat each other with MUTUAL RESPECT and COMMON COURTSEY? 2.) Did the soldiers speak to the Delta agent’s superiors? 3.) Did they attempt to contact Delta’s corporate office or customer serive about this matter BEFORE posting a video trashing them on the internet and in the general media?
Because in my PERSONAL OPINION if these soldiers had the time and opportunity to make this video and post it online then they also had the opportunity to get on Delta’s website and research their policies for themselves and if they were right then they also had access to Delta’s contact information to discuss this situation! Then if necessary Delta could fixed the problem and everyone would be happy.
Instead everyone is just hollaring “Shame on Delta” and “Boycott Delta” with only knowing part of one side of the story. All we as the general public know/knew was what was on the video which gives very little detail and the few articles online on what was on the news on TV….all of which we know does not mean it is all FACT!
So instead of dumping all over Delta, I ask all the above questions to Delta about the situation and I ask the MILITARY why they didn’t make sure their soldiers had everything they needed to get all of their personal and military issue equipment home with them?
Signed,
A USAF wife and daughter of 30+ yrs!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Never in my 5 years of service have I had to pay for luggage. Heck, even on leave, I normally get a free upgrade to first class on domestic flights (obviously on other airlines…). Baggage has never been an issue for my father (retired ACTIVE Army, 24 years) or myself. Big difference between the Guard/Reserve and active duty. You don’t depend on air travel for Permanent Change of Station orders, especially going overseas or going home for the holidays because you probably live near your family. Rachel, you claim to know what being a military spouse is, but you’re only exposed to about an 1/8th of it.
This is absolutely disgusting. Never will I fly your airline, even if this matter gets fixed. It never should’ve happened in the first place. Retrain all your airport personnel. Clearly nobody at your organization knows what it means to selflessly serve and put yourself in harms way. Great PR move, guys. Bravo…
Cpl B, USMC
Lt B, PFD
Oh, by the way, you get to sleep in your own bed at night and enjoy the simple things while men and women like us put ourselves in harms way to ensure that you get to enjoy those liberties. You’re very welcome, but I’ll definitely pay an extra $200 for a bag while coming out of a theater of operations. Classy.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Hey Labigus – the soldiers DO fly coach. That’s the cheapest class available.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
A comment I made on FB: “Yeah, they’ve already stepped in it big time; now it’s damage control mode for them. I think the only way they’re going to get out of this even CLOSE to even is a big *public* apology and a (publicly given) buttload of high-end freebies for the vets they screwed over.”
The first response: “I rather doubt they’ll do that – they probably think this will pass and people will fly their airline anyway. I never have had good experiences with Delta so I won’t even bother looking at them anymore.”
followed by:
“Their bad ONLY because the public got wind of it and it went viral.”
June 8th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Delta should certainly rethink their policy on baggage especially when our military are involved. I come from a military family and know that when my husband came back from Iraq all but one bag of his military gear (it’s not like they have a choice to leave it or ship it). $200 is a lot of money to most people these days, especially military who are not paid as much as they should be.
I will from now on be flying other airlines and will tell all of my friends and family to avoid Delta. Maybe you will look at your policies a little better once profits drop.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
This situation could have been fixed so easily. A simple apology and a refund would have gone a long way. Instead Delta has scrambled around and issues such a weak non-apology trying to cover themselves and hoping the situation would be ignored. “We’re so sorry you misunderstood” is such a sad way to go about it. Surely “A mistake was made, we’re so sorry for the inconvenience our returning soldiers faced, we’ll happily refund the fees, Delta is proud to fly our troops, ect.” could have been managed.
We live in a city with a Delta hub but I think I’d check United first.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
As an Active Duty Army wife who’s husband has been deployed multiple times, I find what happened to these soldiers completely unacceptable. What is just as unacceptable is Rachel R.’s attitude. If you think by bragging about all your company has done to support the military in any way or form makes up for what happened to these soldiers and what’s most likely happened to others before them, you’re wrong. We will NEVER again fly with Delta and thankfully with the beauty of technology and the saviness of these soldiers the whole world will now know what a horrible airline Delta really is. I am going to guess Rachel R’s husband is not active duty and my guess has never been deployed, otherwise she’d be quitting this crappy company who’d even dream of treating men and women coming home from war like this. Disgusting.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Our tax dollars pay Delta well for each seat our military takes on their way home from war. Delta should treat these men and women atleast as well as they treat their frequent fliers! If there is a discrepancy between what the military tells the soldiers and Delta’s policy, Delta should take it up with the military. Charging our military who are coming home from a war zone $200 out of their own pockets for a bag they would allow frequent fliers to take on free is disgraceful! I would love to see our govt. cancel all contracts with Delta. They don’t deserve our business.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
This is too little too late. delta should have never charged our Military members in the first place ! This was nothing short of a slap in the face for every man in uniform,standing in that airport.
Changing policy now,in an attempt to save face is nothing more then trying to save the company from losing anymore business. Too bad. You’ve lost my business,my companies business and any member of my family,of which all travel a great deal.
Contract or no contract with the Military,I hope that they drop your airline and find one that appreciates the job that they do.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Your policy in general SUCKS….. I have had 4 flights since you decided to charge me 125.00 for one bag, because it was 4 pounds over weight…. I have and will not fly Delta unless it is a last resort….. Period!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
I want to thank you all again for your participation in this conversation. In my haste to update you all with the new changes I inadvertently left off the updated coach baggage allowance from 3 to 4 bags. As you can see I have updated that and thank you for those that brought that to my attention.
-Rachael
June 8th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
I currently live in Salt Lake City Utah which happens to be a hub for Delta Airlines. Flying Delta has been good in the past, but after this experience I will no longer be flying with Delta Airlines. Did it say anywhere in the article that those troops were refunded their money?? How about a little compensation- free trips for their families.
I WILL NEVER FLY WITH DELTA FROM HERE ON OUT.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Rachael R. a little advice, when you issue an apology, don’t follow it up with tales of how great you are. It just makes you look insincere. You’re “continuing to work with the soldiers individually to make this situation right for each of them.” How nice. I notice you didn’t say that you were refunding the fees plus something for their trouble.
Too little, too late combined with a humble brag. No class.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Rachael, I can appreciate the PR nightmare that this has turned into, and your unenviable position in having to make a public statement in an attempt to quell the well-deserved anger you’re seeing. However, your response is very self-serving and weak in its scope, most likely indicative of Delta’s upper management’s desire to make this go away and not really take any real action to compensate our warriors who had to endure this humiliation.
Simply returning their overcharges is not enough. I would suggest at least a free, round trip ticket First Class ticket for them and a family member as a token of Delta’s gross behavior. And, you made no mention of any corrective action taken with the Delta CSR who was personally responsible for this outrage. What corrective action was taken with this Delta employee?
If my Marine son had been treated the same way upon his return from Afghanistan, you can bet there would be no shortage of Marine families with picket signs in front of Delta counters at every local commercial airport. As it is now, Delta’s response (through you) has been at most lukewarm, and you seriously need to make this right with those who were overcharged.
Oh, and fire the numbskull who put our warriors through this!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
It would be nice if the US Government defers using Delta for any official travel for a period of 3 months. I give my kids a time out when they act badly why not Delta. I have used Delta MANY times traveling back and forth to DC and I think I will look at other carriers a little more.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Thank God Southwest is coming to Atlanta.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
In a word – DISGUSTING!
Had it not been for the gutsy move on the two NCOs behalf, nothing would have been done about this. How many soldiers have you screwed over before this nasty business came to light? If you have a government contract, and you are charging for something that’s already been paid for – THAT’S FRAUD & IT’S A CRIME!!! I hope that a full investigation is called for to look into this matter and see how far and deep your company’s greed goes. Changing a policy that was WRONG and most likely illegal to begin with, after your hand has been caught in the cookie jar isn’t going to do you much good! There is no way you are going to “spin” this and come out looking anything but greedy and disgusting!!
Don’t “look into it”. REPAY WHAT YOU STOLE from our troops – IMMEDIATELY!!
I’m one of many who have blogged about this, and put it on my FaceBook account. We’re on to you Delta – and you aren’t going to wiggle out of this one!!
The the brave soldiers – Hooah! And job well done!!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Once again common sense escapes Corporate America. This is what happens when the Suits don’t listen to their customers. I stopped flying Delta a while back and have all but cut out flying except in the event of an emergency. I have a Son in the Air Force stationed in Europe. When he came home in April for a visit and I returned him to the Airport….the Airline he was flying…treated him like a KING!! In fact, on his return trip frim Dayton, Ohio to Frankfurt, Germany, they gave him a free upgrade to First Class all the way to Germany!! Not to mention there was no charge for any bag he had! Now THAT’S how you treat our Military….Are you listening Delta???
June 8th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
To itEric and MyThoughts, if this is a Military contract then Delta should bill the Military for the extra bags, not the service personnel. Out of simple respect for their service they shoud waive the fee.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I think it is a disgusting case of greed that the airlines charge so much for baggage, let alone that you are charging military personnel returning from a war zone. There are major restaurant chains in this country that give free meals to active duty, retired and just plain vets on Veteran’s Day every year and you want to charge military members for BAGGAGE? I am in the transportation industry (and a vet) and will urge every one I meet to boycott Delta Airlines.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Thanking everyone for comments will not make this story go away!
How dare you even charge them for flying at all! Let alone changing for baggage. They are keeping you, America, and Delta safe. I won’t ever fly Delta again.
My Grandfather was in WWI and my Dad in WWII, and close friends kids are in the Middle East now.
I would never want a child of mine serving this country to run into a corporate nightmare like Delta made them go through. They were coming home for God’s sake….what is wrong with you people???
Do you really think, “Oh, we are sorry and we will LET you carry on 4 bags for FREE” makes a difference now? Well, big deal! These kids are losing legs and eyes, and having to be away from their families, this is just a shame.
Bad move, Delta! You lost some more customers.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
After viewing the video and reading the press release from Delta, it is apparent that Delta does not value nor appreciate what our service men and women have been through when deployed. I would be appalled if ANY airline thought it was acceptable to charge the military for their baggage when they are on “Orders”…this is a disgusting show of how the almighty dollar is more important than a person’s sacrifice for their country.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Despicable! Your policy changes don’t go far enough. Soldiers need NO weight/size/number of bags limit when traveling to/from deployments. Work out an agreement to charge the military, not the soldiers, for their gear. If Delta can’t offer ZERO FEES to our men & women in uniform, then don’t take our military’s money to fly them. Those boys give Delta Airlines the freedom and the right to operate in a capitalist democracy. Delta is “reaching out” to “address their concerns”, which better include making full restitution for this insult. If those soldiers aren’t singing Delta’s praises after the remedy, you have done your Country a huge disservice.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Delta Airlines Nips PR Crisis in Bud…
Rules are rules, but c’mon. Should an airline charge soldiers returning from Afghanistan $200 to check-in a fourth bag that they thought was eligible to ride for free? That’s what Delta Airlines did to soldiers traveling through Baltimore Washington I…
June 8th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I am happy to report that I am now a former Delta Airlines customer. I WILL NEVER FLY DELTA ever again. The extreme stupidity and lack of patriotism and common sense Delta showed in this instance has dumbfounded me.
All major airlines with the exception of Delta allows active duty service members to fly their bags free. They don’t even have to be on orders. It is their way of saying “Thank You”…There is nothing that Delta can do to get me, my family or my friends to ever fly with them ever again.
Respectfully,
Former Delta Customer
June 8th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
@rachael,
has delta refunded the money to the soldiers, yet? there’s been plenty of time to do it, that is, if delta is actually serious about fixing this snafu (you DO know what a ‘snafu’ is, don’t you? it’s an acronym, for ‘situation normal, all f’d up’)
so, IS delta actually serious about fixing this? it still CAN be fixed, it definitely SHOULD be fixed. all it takes is PUBLICLY refunding the money to the soldiers – all the soldiers, involved. it’s easy, call a press conference, and give them back the money. once that’s done, many, if not most of us will shut up and go away (though, there ARE those of us who feel that this is just the tip of this particular iceberg, and wonder how many more soldiers were soaked in this little scam – you know, i bet we could find that out! facebook, myspace, twitter, whatever… there are enough social networking sites, to insure that everyone who MIGHT have been injured in this manner be found!!! )
in case you haven’t noticed, rachael, boycott is being mentioned with greater frequency. and, there are other carriers out there, who WILL learn from your mistake.
again, either delta will do the right thing, or it won’t…
June 8th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Rachel,
As CFO for a global manufacturer I’ve instructed our Marketing team to
blacklist DELTA permanently. We will no longer be using Delta for National or
International Travel and will gladly pay additional fees to any other airline
as a direct result of Delta’s actions.
Delta’s attempt to implement damage recovery is an insult. It is a direct result of bad publicity-not regret. You insult everyone who lives in the U.S.
by this pale attempt to restore face….
June 8th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Seriously delta Airlines? I know several of your employees who would be ashamed to be working for your company due to this policy, along with all the pay cuts, etc they’ve received over the years from the early 90′s to the present. I know they totally respect and enjoy when military personnel fly with them. What an idiotic company policy. BTW I also emailed them a news report about this as U.S. Army Staff Sgts. Fred Hilliker and Robert O’Hair original video has somehow been deleted. Just because the video is deleted does not mean it still does not exist. NICE TRY.
BOO delta!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
As a platinum level flyer for all but one of the past 15 years, I though I had seen everything with how Delta can screw up in their handling of even minor issues. But this takes the cake! Once again Delta’s approach is to bury us in verbiage with empty apologies and reference to their “sacred” policies. The following is taken from a recent press release:
News Release
Delta Air Lines Announces $929 Million Profit Excluding Special Items
Company reports GAAP profit of $363 million, after $185 million in profit sharing expense
Oct 20, 2010
ATLANTA, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported financial results for the September 2010 quarter. Key points include:
Delta’s net income for the September 2010 quarter was $929 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, excluding special items(1). This is an $878 million improvement year over year.
Delta’s GAAP net income was $363 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, for the September 2010 quarter.
Results include $185 million in profit sharing expense, in recognition of Delta employees’ achievements toward meeting the company’s financial targets, bringing total profit sharing expense for the year to date to $275 million.
Delta executed $750 million in debt reduction and delevering initiatives during the quarter and ended the September 2010 quarter with $5.5 billion in unrestricted liquidity.
Enough of your crafted BS apologies! Give these soldiers their money back! You can certainly afford it!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
No offense, Rachel but this isn’t much of a conversation. I find one or two comments out of 60 which don’t accuse delta of mistreating a group of soldiers. You respond by quoting policy, unilaterally downgrading the whole thing to miscommunication (no doubt not on delta’s part) and some possibility of inconvenience, generally ignoring the sentiment expressed here, and basically talking around us. That isn’t a conversation.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
My direct comment is that in the first graph of your 2nd post, you said we
‘want to share an update on the soldiers involved …’ I did not see a resolution to the issues faced by these ‘individual soldiers.’
More generally, after 37 years in the not-for-profit sector PR biz, and now using social media more than I want…it seems Delta put you – the Manager of Social Media – in charge of the communications crisis using a blog, with little direct mainstream media contact. I’m sure the evening news will be rife with this story.
What I missed the most was a quote from executive managment about how sorry Delta is that this happened. That would seem to be at least as important as your ‘social media’ – almost personal – posting.
I, too, appreciate your husband’s service, and your dedication as a military wife – My wife just retired after a 27 year USAR career and I, too, have been left at home with a family when she was deployed to Afghanistan. I feel your pain and that of all the people who serve our counjtry so valiantly.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Refund those soldiers, now! I’m a vet and am offended! Don’t you have any common sense? United, here I come.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
I am appalled. The apology/spin is a day late and a dollar short. The decision to charge these soldiers, though it was probably made at a lower level and without thoughtful management review, still reveals an overall culture lacking in common sense and focused only on profits.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
I am responding to #47. Correct that when we travel on military orders, we can file a travel claim to get reimbursement for expenses incurred while on official duty. However these airlines have a contract with the US Goverment to allow people travel on military fare ticket additional baggage allowance, which includes bigger bags, and more weight. Delta did not honor this contract. Another thing that people need to know that it is common for us not receiving our reimbursements for some of our official expenses. It is a lot of hassle to follow-up to get our money back. Many of us do not have that kind of money to pay up front and wait for reimbursement, especially the lower rank. $200 is a lot of money for them.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
What an awful way to treat our soldiers! Delta you should be utterly ashamed of yourselves. I’m thoroughly and completely amazed and astonished that that a mega-company of your size would do something like that. I will make it my business to ensure that every person I know will never fly Delta again. I hope Delta goes bankrupt. again..maybe Southwest will take over and treat our Soldiers like they deserve to be treated. All they want is a no hassel return from their duty, not to be surprised and embarrassed by a conglomorate corporation like Delta. Shame on you!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Your company is a disgrace. Your reversal of your policy is too late, too little.
You should have never charged these guys anything extra and if there was a mistake, it should have been corrected through your contract with the military.
Maybe your airline should be charged a fee for the extraordinary service, sacrifice and pain these soldiers have had to endure in the service of the USA.
As for myself, also a veteran, I will do my best to avoid ever traveling with
Delta again.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
First Class? Business Class? Are you serious? I have a family friend who is a Unites States Ambassador and is REQUIRED to fly COACH unless he pays for the difference himself! The only times he is allowed to “upgrade” on the taxpayer’s dime is when he’s flying with the Secretary of State or the President (on Air Force One!). I’m not pulling your leg.
To assume that military personall are flying First Class or Business Class is incredibly ignorant on Delta’s part as well as spokesperson Rachael R.
Delta should immediately refund the bag fees for these service members. My future use of Delta will depend on how quickly you refund these soldiers’ bag fees.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
First, thanks for changing the policy. As a retired military member, it is important that our active duty forces receive the appreciation from us that they deserve. It may be corny, but they risk their lives so you can have yours. This incident should have never gotten this far if you had followed the lead from the other carriers. While I do appreciate that you changed your policy, it should have been changed because you truely care, not out of embarrasement. You left yourself in a no win situation and it doesn’t take an MBA to figure out how this could have been avoided.
I mean, first class for enlisted? On orders? Somehow your companies logic escapes me.
-Leo
June 8th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
While it is possible that the Excess Baggage matter could have been handled better by the airline staff at BWI (we weren’t there) the soldiers actions in response were over the top. I am a current service member. While I certainly appreciate and understand the sacrifices we/they make for our country, I must also chide them for using their status as returning “Heroes” to put themselves in the spotlight. We in the military are taught to resolve issues at the lowest level. These soldiers did not do so. It appears that they unilaterally elevated the dialogue to the bully pulpit without giving Delta Airlines Management a chance to make it right first. Despite this incident, I have never in my nearly 30 years of flying found Delta to be anti-military. In the future, I challenge these soldiers to attempt to allow Delta Customer Service or Mgmt the opportunity to resolve any issues before going to the social and news media.
It was tasteless at best, counter to military protocol and disruptive to good order and discipline for these soldiers to post unsanctioned rambling videos on YouTube slamming Delta because they were frustrated about the Delta baggage issue, the long trip home and an 18-hour layover in BWI for which Delta was not responsible. Whether we like it or not whenever we travel, speak or interact in public while in uniform, we represent the whole of all military services, and should always conduct ouselves accordingly.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
You would do this to the very people who put their lives on the line for every citizen in the USA? You would do this to the very people who already are underpaid, under insured, living away from family and loved ones because they believe in your right to live free?
Without them, where would your freedom be?
Without them, who would guard your shore?
Without them, how many comments would this blog see?
Without them, need I really say more?
initially posted June 8th, 2011 at 7:42 am@ # 32 4alltheworld2c it still Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Delta, hang your head is shame, your “apology” is hardly worth the scrambled electrons. Rachel, it appears you have updated the policy. Frankly, any service person returning or traveling on orders deserves unlimited accomodation.
I would take a bus before I ever take Delta.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Funny how DELTA only changed their policy after they were publicly humiliated on YOUTUBE.
If the soldiers hadn’t posted that video, DELTA would have gone right on merrily ripping off our men in uniform.
In the past DELTA has been my airline of last resort, because of their wretched customer service.
Now I’ll just boycott DELTA entirely.
June 8th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
”Enhancement to out military baggage policy”????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There should not have been an enhancement needed!!! Have you refunded the money to the Soldiers yet? I bet the answer is NO! If you really want to show your “support” give the guys back their money. You and all the other airlines are ripping people off when it comes to baggage fees. With as much money as a ticket is, we should NOT have to pay extra for a piece of luggage. Could you explain to me how a family of 3 is able to go on vacation anywhere in the US WITHOUT luggage, never mind going to Europe for 4 weeks with one piece each? Oh wait, you don’t give a damn about everyday people, military families or Soldiers. You care about NOT upsetting the Business customers, since they travel more often and who mainly travel with carry-on only. If you need more money, raise the ticket prices for EVERYBODY, including Business Class and First Class so its fair for everybody. Your hollow and politically correct “apology” is a JOKE!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Oh, and unless Delta is the only airline flying to the location I need to go to and only if I have no other choice but to go to that location will I fly Delta Scamlines again!!!
June 8th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
It frightens me how uninformed so many posters here are, how about some facts:
Before yesterday, Delta had the same policy that all the other airlines have. This can easily be found on the carriers’ websites. Furthermore, just like many of us who do expense reports in our civilian jobs, The US Army will reimburse them for the excess baggage fee.
I actually kind of feel bad for Delta, the soldiers (and many here) may have misunderstood the baggage limit and made the video out of frustration, but Delta didn’t do anything outside of their policies day in day out for other soldiers.
And where is the thank you for the extra treatment I see Delta employees making to active military every time I fly? Those saying “I’ll never fly Delta again” should think about how well Delta and their customers often guest these guys and gals into the lounge, buys them drinks, trades First Class seats, and generally makes accommodation for those in uniform.
(And before someone says I’m with DL PR, I’m not. Folks should be spending their emotional energy on something that Delta is NOT competitive with other airlines on: the Sky Miles program and it’s subpar award ticket costs.)
June 8th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
lovesmysoldier sa