Houston IAH: DELTA 6588 First Class
NYC JFK: DELTA 6585 First Class
My wife and I are 85 years old. On 12/10/2010 for a Christmas present to my wife, I bought 2 first-class Delta tickets from Houston IAH to JFK in NYC; I paid $1,703.90 per ticket (which was immediately charged to my American Express card even though the flight was not scheduled until April 8, 2011).
My wife requires a wheel chair as she has great difficulty in walking. Delta wheelchair assistance was excellent at all levels. However, I was appalled to find the equipment for this 1,500-mile trip was nothing more than a beefed-up third-class commuter plane. My wife had to get out of the wheel chair and climb 7 steps at JFK (although I realize that this was a JFK gate problem, it seems to me for a flight of this length and with a wheel-chair passenger, Delta could have insisted upon a gate with a ramp). No movie on either flight nor was there even a meal served for the JFK-IAH return flight; and, most infuriating, my wife almost collapsed trying to walk to the single lavatory at the tail end of the plane!!!
I'm truly disappointed--and even angered--at what we had to pay for Delta's so-called "First Class." Aside from the 4-seats in a row configuration in the tourist section (as compared with the 3 identical seats per row in first class), the flying experience (on both flights) was much more like third class and says a lot about Delta Airlines
The basic issue I raised with Delta was simply this: If full information about the flight were available before ticket purchase, why would you expect someone to pay $1,700 per ticket for a flight on a commuter-class aircraft when (1) the only toilet for a passenger over a four-hour flight is at the very back of the plane, and (2) an economy-class ticket with only trivial differences in amenities can be purchased for under $800 per ticket?
In response to my emails to their top executives, Delta offered me $800 in vouchers that could only be used on Delta flights in the next 12 months (in one reply they noted that “our industry's revenue environment has permanently changed, and we must operate our airline accordingly” --- very customer oriented, indeed! At our age my wife and I are unlikely totravel Delta in the next 12 months or know who could use the vouchers.
So I hope you and others will think twice—or thrice—before booking a flight on Delta.
Please let your friends know.
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