Delta's Fees Could Wreak Havoc with Your Travel Plans

I flew to Brussels, Belgium, with Delta, on my way to Antwerp and Brugge, Belgium for a business trip. I didn't know, that on my return flight, I would encounter a difficult situation with Delta's, apparently, changing policies on fees. It was a change in policy which could have threatened my safety.

When I go to Antwerp I stay with my friend Mia, who has a Bed and Breakfast in the Jewish District, which is also the Diamond District. Her home is a twenty to twenty-five minute walk from the train station or the bus stop for the Brussels Airport Express. This is an area I've been walking for years with and without my full luggage.

When I returned on the route this last time, it took more than an hour to reach the bus stop. It seemed like my checked suitcase became a living thing, similar to an octopus. It grabbed onto everything I passed and tipped over or lost the suitcase that was piggybacked on top of it. It also twisted around and fell down in a jumbled mess that took time to untangle.

Then, just one quarter of a mile from my destination, the telescoping handle completely disconnected from the suitcase. I switched the suitcases and made it to the bus stop easily since the other suitcase rolled a lot easier.

I missed the correct bus by twenty minutes and had to take the next one, which got stuck in traffic.

When I got to the Brussels Airport I had obviously missed the longer recommended time and the shorter recommended time. However, I hadn't yet missed the bare minimum time set by the airport when I arrived at the Delta check in counter.

Even though I was already checked in and my flight was delayed I was told that I was not allowed on that flight to Atlanta. But for an additional $250 fee I would be allowed to take the NY flight which would be boarding in twenty
minutes. As my new flight was rolling down the runway, my original, earlier flight was still in the gate for another hour.

The thought that repeatedly crosses my mind is, "What if I had refused to or couldn't pay the $250? Would I still be stranded in Belgium without a way of returning home?" I've just missed or almost missed flights before, with other airlines as well as with Delta and they have always put me on the next available flight without charging me.

Now you could say, "So, you didn't quite make it. So why are you complaining?" After I got to New York's JFK International Airport, I was standing in line to buy a couple items. I happened to be telling my story to a fellow passenger when another passenger, interrupted and asked if my offending airline was Delta. She then told me about what had just happened to her and her husband that day.

This lady, who didn't give me her name, and her husband flew from Jerusalem on El Al to connect with one of Delta's flights. When they got to the line for the check in counter within the recommended short minimum of one hour the agent refused to allow them on their plane. She demanded that they take another flight for a $50 fee each. They had the same flight path as mine, to the same airport, out of the same airport as I.

Her husband went to the manager and got their original flight back with no fee. The agent also tried to charge them for their luggage which the husband also referred to the manager and they were not charged.

When I arrived in JFK I went to the information desk to get some answers. The agent was nice but unhelpful and basically told me that I was less than truthful with her. She said that the Brussels Airport does not allow for the bare minimum of forty-five minute time of arrival in the airport. She insisted on this even though I told her that I had read it with my own eyes on the Brussels Airport website, the night before. I never suspected that I might need to know it.

My own experience isn't the only reason I'm writing this article. It's the fact that I and two other people all went through similar situations on the same day with a similar flight plan and same destination with such different outcomes. Our situations could have turned out to be potentially threatening to our safety.

It seems that a systemic corruption is taking over some of our favorite airlines, such as Delta. The charges and the outcomes ought to have been the same. There should have also been some consideration to our safety, especially since we were not in our own countries.

This is the Delta who used to brag about being so nice and considerate to their passengers. This is the same Delta that their passengers used to say the same thing about them. I know. I was one of them. I started flying Delta in 1986. Now, it seems like they might view us more as cash cows than as valued customers.

Complaining to the airlines hasn't done any good. It seems that they just bury it somewhere. I've complained to Delta and the other airlines for their various offenses with no effect.

But maybe if enough information about their behavior is put on the Internet with enough public pressure perhaps something can be done. Which seems to be happening with the latest problem with TSA, their machines and pat downs. Many of us have also complained about this with no effect.

In the meantime, to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation as I, I would suggest leaving even earlier for the airport just in case of any situation that may arise. I would also recommend regularly checking your suitcases for travel worthiness (Although that doesn't always help, since I had no way of knowing about the handle before it disconnected and the wheel didn't give me a problem until on my way home from my trip.). In any case make sure that you have an alternate source of finance just in case it's needed. That would be especially helpful if you're a female and not traveling with a male companion who might get more respect from the airline personnel in some parts of this world.

When I got home I found a $20 discount tag for Samsonite luggage attached to my checked suitcase. When I unpacked the bag, I found a loose screw rolling around between the lining and one of the wheel wells. It's time to get new luggage so that those twenty to twenty-five minute walks to the bus stop don't expand into over an hour again. I don't want to find myself in another situation that could be potentially less than safe for my welfare. This is especially applicable since the airlines have developed a new passion for fees where ever they can find them regardless of passenger safety.

Sources:

http://www.airportexpress.be/

http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/

http://www.delta.com/

http://www.brusselsairport.be/en/

http://www.elal.co.il/ELAL/English/States/General/

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/

http://www.jfkiat.com/

http://shop.samsonite.com/info/Landing_Luggage