[Kclarella]

I made a reservation far in ADVANCE and was not given the option to book a seat for my returning flight. My returning flight was for 6am on Monday morning. I got there on time and since I had a ticket that said "Seat Request", I went to the gate counter and told the attendant that I was there for a seat. The attendant kindly said to take a seat, which I did, until I was called and everyone had boarded the plane with a seat. I waited and waited and started to notice that the door to the airplane was closing. When I got up to the counter and asked they said that they had called me and that my seat was given to someone else.

There was NO WAY that they called me! My last name is VILLAFANA! I have never changed my last name nor is it common! They never called my name and I was sitting in the first aisle WITH A BRIGHT ORANGE SHIRT ON!

After raising hell, I was told that all they could do was put me on standby for the next 7:15 flight. So I waited, only to find out that the flight was full and that I would not be able to board that flight. Then I waited till the next flight at 8:30 on standby. Luckily, I was able to get on the flight and was the LAST PERSON to board.

MY QUESTION IS - WHY DID I MAKE A RESERVATION, ONLY TO NOT HAVE A SEAT ASSIGNMENT, NEVER GET CALLED FOR ONE, AND BE ON STANDBY FOR 2 FLIGHTS THERE AFTER, WITH THE OPTION TO FLY ON A CONNECTING FLIGHT TO GET TO WHERE I WAS GOING AND REACH LATE?! NOT TO MENTION I WAS TRYING TO GET BACK FOR WORK AND HAD TO TAKE A HALF DAY AND LOSE MONEY!

THIS WAS THE MOST ABSURD EXPERIENCE, AND I AM NEVER FLYING DELTA! BACK TO AIRTRAN I GO!

[jimworcs]

This is a very typical Delta experience... you are right to change airlines. They lie routinely and abuse their position.... I hope you will stick to your guns and avoid them in future.

[Matt_FLL]

Ms. Villafana,
Yikes! I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you. How frustrating considering that you did everything right. And you even had a bright orange shirt on! I hope you are able to get back on schedule from missing a half day of work—and that the rest of your interrupted itinerary was tolerable.

First, I suggest that you try and determine if you are eligible for compensation based on the Contract of Carriage (you “signed” this contract with Delta when purchasing your ticket). Here is a link to each document: http://www.delta.com/legal/contract_...iage/index.jsp. FYI, if your travel was subject to the Domestic General Rules, you could be eligible for 200% of your fare (up to $650) if you met the conditions outlined in that document (see page 44).

Normally the gate agent and/or a Supervisor would handle the compensation process at the airport. Please contact Delta immediately if you feel that your situation met the qualifications and you were not compensated. Otherwise, if you believe that your experience did not meet the qualifications, I certainly suggest that you still write in a letter to Delta. It is likely that they will compensate you in some form for that experience (perhaps a voucher).

Also, I do fly on Delta a lot. Many Delta gates have a TV screen which cycles through several screens—one of which is called the “Cleared List”. Passengers without a seat assignment appear on this list once your seat is assigned. If you decide to fly on Delta again and don’t have a seat you can always use that as a backup. You may already be familiar with the Cleared List and/or there was no TV screen at the gate, so apologies if this is not new information.

Please keep us updated on what happens. We are all anxious to hear!

Best of luck,
Matt

[Crocky]

I have flown on Delta where I was lacking a seat assignment a few times, and it was never an issue with me. Granted, I was in a very small airport whenever I needed a seat assignment (CWA), but when I was flying Delta over the Thanksgiving holiday (MEM-PIT-MEM), the gate agents were VERY clear as to who needed to pick up updated boarding passes with their seat assignments a good 5-10 minutes before boarding.

Methinks that you were the exception, NOT the rule.