Delta sued for $1 million after ruining elderly woman’s birthday

by Jeffrey White on

A few weeks ago I asked, in relation to a man’s $2 million lawsuit against JetBlue for being forced to sit three hours in the toilet, whether that wasn’t a wee too much money to be seeking.

Now, from the New York Post, comes a report that a Manhatten man is suing Delta Airlines for $1 million for…ruining his mother’s 80th birthday.

Richard Roth’s suit claims that a Delta worker caused him and his immediate family to miss a flight to Buenos Aires, leaving them stranded in Atlanta and forcing the family — Roth’s wife, two children and 80-year-old mother — to drive to Miami to pick up another flight, the Post says. Then Roth alleges Delta lost the group’s baggage.

The story, reported here in full in the Post, sounds like a real nightmare. Roth had arranged to fly a good portion of his family, including some cousins, to BA this past December. After arriving for their connecting flight in Atlanta, Roth says his party was barred from boarding the flight as the gate had just closed. Scrambling, Roth found another flight on an Argentine airline, leaving out of Miami, but Delta did not deliver the party’s bags until after Christmas.

Roth sought $21,000 in reimbursement from Delta, which, perhaps not surprisingly, refused to pay. “I tried so hard not to sue,” Roth told the newspaper.

No word yet on how $21,000 turned into $1 million, though Roth — an attorney — is claiming, among other things, that Delta caused his mother emotional distress.

Delta shuttering nearly a dozen members-only airport lounges

by Jeffrey White on

In another effort to cut costs, Delta Airlines says it is closing down nearly a dozen of its exclusive airport lounges worldwide.

These are places that you, loyal Delta travelers, pay as much as $600 a year to have access to. And it seems that some significant hubs will be affected: Delta says lounges in Boston, Phoenix, London, Denver, Kansas City and Seattle will close in the next few weeks, according to the Boston Globe.

An airline spokesman says that Delta intends to focus more on reciprocal lounge privileges available through agreements with Continental and Northwest, the latter being the airline Delta merged with last month.

No word on how much money Delta hopes to save by doing this.

Delta has a total of 42 lounges in airports worldwide.

Delta’s baggage fee to be applied retroactively

by Jeffrey White on

As we’ve reported before, Delta will begin charging a fee for checking more than one piece of luggage starting on May 5.

But the twist at Delta is that the fee, $25 per additional piece of luggage, is being applied retroactively. Delta is waving the fee for passengers who booked their tickets between February 4 and April 4, but if you booked on Delta before then — as many have — be prepared to pony up some cash at the check-in counter.

Though it remained quiet on the fee a little more than a month ago, Delta is now finally announcing the fee on its Web site. Not surprisingly, however, it doesn’t mention that it will be retroactively applied.

Traveler “Jason” is angry about this. He tells the Consumerist that he and his wife booked on Delta in January and are planning on checking two bags each. They now face paying an additional $100 for those extra bags on the round trip flight.

“If I would have known that when I booked, I may have thought twice about Delta,” he tells the Web site.

Funny, I’d think whether I really needed four suitcases for a vacation. But hey, that’s just me.

Delta flyers: Get double elite miles through June 30

by Grant Martin on

You’re probably tired of me yammering on about elite status and how useful it is and how I wear my collar popped every time I go through airport security. I apologize. But there are a lot of benefits to keeping loyalty in an airline that you just don’t realize until you’ve reached greener pastures.

If you think that you can’t get to the minimum 25,000 mile threshold to reach status and you fly on Delta Airlines though, this could be your lucky break: the Atlanta-based airline just started a promotion giving passengers double Medallion Qualifying Miles for any flights booked before April 30 and flown before June 30. Those are miles that specifically count towards your exalted status.

This means that if you only need to travel 12.5k miles in order to achieve elite status, which is a pretty fantastic deal. Even if you’ve got only a few trips planned before June 30, these miles will give you that extra boost to hopefully get up to 25k by the end of the year.

Clarification before you register though: this is for double Medallion Qualifying Miles, not Skymiles. So you won’t technically earn more miles with which you can fly places, proper. You’ll earn more miles with which you can accrue status. Follow? Think of them as points towards a goal that you can use to fly places. Kind of silly, I know, but all airlines do it. It’s a crafty way to divide earned and status-gaining miles so that you get the least amount of benefit. I can get to that in a later post of you guys want.

Register on Delta’s promo website and make sure you have your frequent flyer number attached to your reservation before you travel — otherwise you’ll have a hard time getting your miles — and double miles — credited retroactively.

Delta Airlines: That second checked bag is going to cost you

by Jeffrey White on

Flying Delta in the coming months? Checking a second bag is going to cost you an additional $25.

But Delta hasn’t felt the need so far to tell you that.

A glance at the baggage guidelines on Delta’s Web site still shows that you’re allowed to check two bags to your destination. Luckily, the Washington Post, presumably acting on a tip, called Delta and a spokeswoman confirmed that beginning May 1, the fee will go into effect.

And get this: It doesn’t matter whether you booked your flight well before that date, the Post notes. If you’re flying after May 1, you’re paying for that second piece of luggage.

The fee affects both domestic and international flights (though business- and first-class and SkyMiles holders won’t have to pay).

United also plans to start a $25 fee for a second piece of checked luggage, beginning on May 5.

My question: Why doesn’t Delta feel the need to bring its baggage information current on its Web site?