[Ombudsman]

Originally Posted by BobTuba

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.

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.