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DFW

(54,050 posts)
Sat Dec 27, 2014, 08:40 AM Dec 2014

The sun must have risen in the west yesterday: Delta got us to South Carolina on time!

Of course, being Delta, they couldn't do it entirely smoothly. We all (4) checked in for the 10 hour Düsseldorf-Atlanta flight together, but when we got to Atlanta, only 6 of our 8 checked bags showed up. My 2 were nowhere to be found. The Delta baggage agent put them into his computer and verified that they were in Atlanta "somewhere," but didn't know exactly where.

Hoping that my two pieces of luggage hadn't snuck out for cocktails in Buckhead, I inquired if there was a chance they would make our onward flight to Charleston. They said there was a slim chance. Our flight to Charleston was leaving on time (as opposed to the traditional 5 hour delay), so I asked at the Charleston gate (at the other end of the Atlanta airport, of course) if my bags had been found and brought to the correct flight. Nope, but I could hang around until the last minute, and they would keep trying to locate them. No reminders of my (apparently useless) elite Platinum-for-life status etc etc could make them materialize, and I finally boarded the plane resigned to making due without my luggage.

But lo and behold, just before the door was closed, the guy from the check-in counter ran into the plane and told the cabin staff that my bags had shown up at the last second. So, for the first time I can remember, all of our bags made it and both flights were on time. I assume I won't live another year, because I have been given to understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

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The sun must have risen in the west yesterday: Delta got us to South Carolina on time! (Original Post) DFW Dec 2014 OP
Excellent post! Being in ATL, Delta's hometown, it's love/hate with them. CurtEastPoint Dec 2014 #1
Delta is the only airline that has ever lost our bags. mnhtnbb Dec 2014 #2
I'm glad the handlers had time to go through your bags. :) Sancho Dec 2014 #3
It wasn't the handlers. It was these guys: DFW Dec 2014 #5
I have a feeling that you'll be around for many more years. panader0 Dec 2014 #4
That's a helpless feeling, isn't it? Tobin S. Dec 2014 #6

CurtEastPoint

(18,549 posts)
1. Excellent post! Being in ATL, Delta's hometown, it's love/hate with them.
Sat Dec 27, 2014, 09:13 AM
Dec 2014

I support the bejeesus out of them and fly them almost exclusively and over the years have found that they really do try hard, and often succeed.

Several years ago I was on a flight from Copenhagen to Atlanta (now you have to change in AMS) and we were diverted to Montreal due to a passenger becoming ill. Of course, we were delayed but it couldn't have been more than an hour or so.

About a week or two later, they wrote to me, unsolicited, and apologized, and added 2500 miles to my FF account (sadly, only Silver).

mnhtnbb

(31,316 posts)
2. Delta is the only airline that has ever lost our bags.
Sat Dec 27, 2014, 09:46 AM
Dec 2014

And they have done it repeatedly.

One time it took 4 days for the bags to get home to us (if you are going to lose them,
homeward bound is better).

I will not fly Delta with anything other than carry-on luggage. We even did a 2 week trip to Italy
several years ago--flying Delta--and I managed to get by with only carry-on.

One time I BEGGED other passengers to please move some of their stuff so I could stow my
carry-on overhead. Put stuff belonging to someone else under the seat in front of me. Made
those arrangements on my own--no help from flight attendants--who were about ready to throw
me off the plane. See, one time, coming back from NY on a shuttle they managed to take away
my carry on, not put it on the plane, and that was the time it took 4 days to catch up with me.

So glad they caught up with you!

Tobin S.

(10,418 posts)
6. That's a helpless feeling, isn't it?
Sat Dec 27, 2014, 12:34 PM
Dec 2014

I used to fly a lot and my bags have gotten lost before. We're not talking just clothes, either. I had a job that required the extensive use of tools. I had a tool bag that went on every flight. I probably had at least $400 wrapped up in those tools and I could not perform my job without them. That means that if they got lost I'd lose money for being unable to work, as well.

And talk about getting flack from the TSA! I'm glad I don't do that job anymore.

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