Bait and Switch
 

I had a reservation this morning and two Delta agents clearly assured me today -- one this morning and one at 9:22 PM PT -- that the price would be $641 as long as I purchased the ticket by 11:00 PM. I called at $10:00 PM, and the Delta agent told me they were wrong, and the price was $801. That's bait and switch. I could have gone to another airline in the interim. Supervisor Terry Matthews told me two Delta agents didn't know because they hadn't tried to ticket the reservation.

Fares
Are
Subject
To
Change
Until
Purchased

That's not what most of the Delta agents I spoke with told me. I filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation.

Delta is saving money by not training their agents properly, their agents are giving people bad information, and then Delta is not standing behind what the agents tell consumers.

Your reply doesn't change the facts of this case.

It's not just Delta. Many US airlines seem to have the same problem. With American, I've pretty much discovered that if you don't like the answer on a policy or fee, all you need to do is call back a few times and you'll get a different one. The same concept sometimes even applies to baggage fees at the airport. There are two problems: (1.) it's crazy how inadequate the training is for APO agents and telephone reservationists, and (2.) all the rules have become so complex and convoluted that even if agents WERE properly trained they'd never be able to keep track of everything. The US airline industry needs a major business model overhaul. Personally, I think allowing foreign competition is the only way that's ever going to happen.

It's not a problem to Delta, if telling you the fare is guaranteed through a certain date and time — what all of the Delta agents told me — gives you a false sense of security and you don't go shopping at the competition. They're making money making false representations and inducing people to buy tickets from them, ultimately at a higher price.

Delta has the most airline complaints.

You are right.. Airline employees lie regularly.... Especially Delta. I guess all you can do is tape the calls...they are liars

Delta's computer programming makes liars out of their agents. The agents see the reservation and the fare and tell you it's there. They tell you it will stay that price until a certain time and date, not knowing they're wrong -- and misleading the consumer with false statements.

It's not until you try to pay that the agents discover they can't sell you the tickets at the price you've been told it would be. So, once you're ready to pay, they refuse to sell it to you at the price they've assured you the price would be, and ask you for more money. That's bait and switch. If Delta were losing money, rather than making money with this scam, they would fix their computer program or expend the expense of training their employees.

Delta's reservations systems are crap. Their website even more so. I've had the same issue myself not only with Delta but other airlines as well. When you were told 11 PM were they specific as to what time zone? Delta has several call centers both in the US and abroad. It also would depend on your time zone as well. If you were trying to purchase a 14 or 7 day advance fare the timing would be crucial. The final pricing would be based on Atlanta time. So if you were calling from the west coast at 10 PM your time it's already 1 AM in Atlanta so the computer will price the ticket as if you were trying to purchase it the next day and if it's inside that 7 or 14 day window it will not reflect the lower fare.

I've won this argument a few times by telling them it is not yet midnight in the city of departure so therefore the fare should still reflect a 7/14 day advance purchase based on where I'm flying from. Next time stick to your guns and request a supervisor or manager if the initial agent can't override the fare.

Unfortunately with respect to your DOT complaint A320FAN is correct. No fare is guaranteed unless purchased. Your DOT complaint will be registered statistically against Delta but there is not much they can do for you. Also, Delta has a 24 hour cancellation policy so if you were undecided you could have purchased the ticket on the first call and then cancelled for a full refund within 24 hours.

heres my question...did you call at 10pm eastern time? example if you called at 10pm central time then it would have been 11pm eastern, maybe thats why the fare changed. i dont know, just thinking and saying. avoid delta anyway. my company put me on a delta flight from dfw-msp-ord with a 30 minute layover in msp...yeah ok i'll make that. delta is dumb and no good. so im either going to miss my connection or my bag is going to get lost when i still have 7 days of reserve at home. so irrated!!

The Delta agent I spoke with when I tried to pay for the ticket told me that I had to have paid for the ticket last Sunday by 9:00 PM, rather than yesterday, contradicting what other agents had told me earlier that day (looking right at the reservation). It was not a time zone issue.

The agents that gave me the bad information didn't know that when I tried to pay for the ticket, the agent I called wouldn't be able to honor the price I'd been quoted.

Delta agents tell you you have until a certain date and time to pay for a ticket, and then when you try to pay for your ticket, they claim they don't have to stand behind what their agents have told you, and ask you for a higher price. In the interim, their competition's prices have risen or sold out -- but you've stayed with Delta, thinking you have got a good deal. If they were losing money, rather than making money -- due to a problem they know exists -- they would fix the problem, but it's not a problem to them.

Delta sent me a $75 voucher describing it as a "gesture of apology," rather than an admission of guilt.

They know about the problem.

Standard delta behaviour. You have to stop flying with them, they to get their monopoly fortress hubs broken up. Nothing will change until they are.

Bait and switch
 

Last night I went to the Delta.com website to make reservations for two from GSP to MDW. I had a specific time window in which to fly, so I knew I was probably not going to get the lowest fare, which I was okay with. However, upon finding a fare and flight I wanted ($454), I clicked on 'Pay with Miles.' The next window opened up but I was dismayed (not my true emotion) to see the fare was now $741. Literally a single mouse click "bait and switch." Twenty minutes on the phone with two agents and online help agents gave the same lame story, that someone else must have purchased tickets at that fare (despite the message on the screen indicating 3 tickets at that fare remained). Despite my need for the specific time window for flying, I changed my work plans and took an earlier flight at a better fare ( which will cost me more in reality since I had to change my work schedule.).

I feel that this is a real form of bait and switch fare gouging.

I plan to file a complaint with Delta, the DOT and the FTC. Anyone else have a similar issue?