I have to give Delta credit where it is due.
I generally avoid flying them as their miles are so pitiful compared to the other carriers. Delta has so little respect for their mileage collectors that they don’t even publish an award chart anymore. The price is what they say it is and it’s likely to be astronomical.
But people that do fly Delta report a level of customer service and timelines that’s a big step up from the other major carriers. I just can’t bring myself to fly an airline that hates their mileage collectors to such an extent.
But credit is owed to them in honoring fare glitches.
American and United have refused to honor several glitches. United’s 4 mile island (though some DD readers did get to fly on that one) and $45 first class London tickets come to mind. People that held $442 business class tickets to Asia on American found their reservations cancelled.
But Delta’s track record is awesome.
–They honored $150 tickets to Europe in 2011.
–They honored thousands of $50 round-trip first class fares from places like NYC to Alaska, California, and Hawaii in 2013. They even honored the tickets of thousands more people who didn’t receive ticketing confirmations.
–They honored $10 fares from Vancouver to Los Angeles in January of this year.
Lots of readers bought Delta tickets sold via Virgin Australia from Sydney to Los Angeles earlier today. Time will tell if these are honored as well, though that decision will rest with Orbitz and Virgin Australia, not with Delta. Stay tuned!
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39 Comments On "Delta: The Most Reliable Airline…For Honoring Price Mistakes"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Will we know before tomorrow at 11pm ET is the will honor the VA ticket ?
I only fly Delta when they have glitches but I agree that they are the best of the big 3 airlines (United, Delta, & American).
Regarding their miles – I was able to book a ticket from Miami to Pittsburgh for 7500 miles one way on March 1st. That’s pretty good in my book.
@yitz:
Many times they don’t say anything, after a few days if they don’t say anything then you’re good…
@Sandy:
And what was the price of a paid ticket?
There is absolutely no airline that can hold a candle to delta when it comes to customer service and dealing with problems/changes etc. Yes their mileage program sucks, but the ease in dealing with them almost makes up for it.
$106
in business class to London they are very good they charge 62500 miles plus 5.60 best deal ever
@Sandy:
Not bad. Not amazing though.
@dans fan:
How in the world is that the best deal ever?
There are many cheaper ways of booking that.
how ?
@dans fan: For sure not best deal ever. I got Business class to London for only 50K Alaska miles.
@dans fan:
AA, Alaska, Alitalia, ANA, Singapore, etc, etc.
Besides it’s flying back from London when they get you.
but aa charge 441$ in tax
Was in Florida last week. FLL delta counter, arrived early, asked to be put on earlier flight. $50 PP, please. No thanks.
Went to Sky Lounge, told flight delayed, asked to be put on earlier flight. NO PROBLEM – economy comfort NO CHARGE.
I LOVE DELTA
@ anonymous 50k alaska is worth 600& when delta 62k is worth 550 so i think delta is better
My flight from SYD is a codeshare on Delta… So can DL have an effect on it being cancelled??
@dans fan:
Only if you select a BA flight.
@mendy:
Doesn’t change the terrible mileage program.
And other airlines would do the same in that situation.
@JohnnieD:
Probably not.
@ dan on there own flights they dont have a good selection on business
@dans fan:
Look into the other airlines I posted. 62.5K is nothing special.
OK thank you very much
My father dealt with them last night in TLV when he had to change ticket back because his mother got sick and was in the hospital. They changed it for him and even got him an aisle seat on a packed flight with no change fee. Go get ElAl to do that.
Looking for a good deal to London in March any recom??
I’m a frequent flyer (Gold – Plantinum seventh year now), and I stay with Delta for this reason alone. I’m treated very well, and in all my years of traveling I have never had a single delay (aside from severe weather). That is worth more to me, than miles.
Agree with CM. I use Delta for all my business travel, where price isn’t an issue. Delta definitely has the best customer service I’ve experienced. I could definitely get better bang for my buck in earning miles if i switched to AA or United… but the travel required to earn those miles is valuable time and should be spent in comfort. Their hubs also just work for me
Delta takes good care of their elites. UA, AA, B6, and WN don’t even come close.
Hi there,
Actually having major issues with their customer service team right now. Been on a 3-month long back and forth over charges that should not have been as per their partnership(star alliance) with AeroFlot. Big mess!
Anyone know someone there that could help me?
I have quite a long email thread…
There are many partners that make flying on DL a great deal when using points…KE/FB immediately come to mind
@MosheD: KE/FB…? who are these?
Dan, I’d like to thank you for saving me a significant amount of money, as a trip back from Australia was in my plans already! What is the likelihood of this being honored? What one point are we in the clear? No news is good news at what point?
Dealt with Delta customer service recently, for the first time in years and I have to say, they were great. I was able to book a July, round trip, first class ticket to Paris for 110k miles and $104. I know some might find a better points/price, but I needed specific dates (only flexible by a few days at either end) to attend a wedding. I originally booked the flights for 160k miles (online), but needed to make a change within 24 hrs of booking. It took some time on the phone, but the agent was GREAT, got me the exact flights I wanted, for 50k less than my original ticket, and less $$. Actually, I was trying to get rid of my Delta miles (164k) because I’m unable to travel as much as I used to and it was becoming too much work to keep up with all of the different programs. I thought Delta was one I could give up. Now I may re-think that and start using that Delta credit card again, rather than dumping it, as I had planned.
Does anyone have any recommendations on what miles from any airlines would be best to use from San Diego to Sydney? If not LA would work too thanks! Is 40K plus 27 dollars good from United for example?
I always thought that Delta charges the most miles. But about 2 months ago I booked my upcoming trip to Israel from NYC with Delta miles and it was compatible with other airlines. Going coach = 40k miles + $31 and retuning business = 70k miles + $63
i booked the 250 miles glitch with the hope that they would cancell and offer compensation (voucher etc…) did anyone have succes doing this?
Not onlyis delta good they are great. I booked many Canada flights from toronto to NY and Montreal to NY first and regular class over the next few moths for 250 miles. Some of those tickets already honored. Actualy I had one for today from montreal to NY for this eve. Flight got delayed due to weather. So they let me switch ticket for free no change fees. I got the cash credit for the ticket to use right away and booked NY to MIA instead. Paid the difference in ticket about 100 Canadian dollars which is 60 usd today. So I’m flying with my spouse. For 250 miles and 60 usd round trip. they have great servicem. The company is emoyee driven with a profit sharing plan. They actually earned more than 5 Billion dollars this year and paid their (all) employees. Bonuses of 1.5 billion of that. Which was almost 20 percent of their salaries. Go Delta
Yes do not cancel ticket. If flight cancelled they will honor for full dollar amount. If you cancel they will refund miles.
Orbitz is canceling the tickets
Hi dan,
Thanks for the heads up… Just received this email … Strange …
Dear Orbitz Customer,
We regret to inform you that, due to a technical issue, we were not able to issue tickets on your reservation. As a result, we have canceled the reservation and reversed any credit card charges.
Each airline governs the number of characters which fit in the passenger name area of their tickets. Even though the reservation system accepted the number of characters in the name(s) you provided, the airline prevented the ticket from being issued due to too many characters.
We recognize that this may be frustrating. As much as we appreciate your business and want to be of service to you, we have found that the most effective way to resolve this is for the customer to call the airline directly to make new reservations and purchase tickets. You and the airline can then work together to determine if it is possible to shorten the name to a length that is acceptable in their system.
We apologize for any inconvenience. The number of airlines for which name length is a critical issue is very small, and we look forward to other opportunities to serve you in the future.
Sincerely,
Orbitz Customer Service
Off the topic of Delta last week you mentioned United and their mileage program. Are they still not going to fly into JFK? Trying to book a mileage ticket with United from LAX to JFK seems they only fly stopovers into LGA. Why? Maybe with your positive influence they will reconsider flying into JFK nonstop. Are they losing so much business? Usually airlines only do stops to fill up their flights.
Hi,
It’ gets stranger… After initial email letting me know it’s not going to happen… I received an email that my Lax-Syd leg is issued! However called Orbitz for Syd-Lax leg and they told me the fare had expired so could not issue it …Dan any of this make sense?
@Abe
I would open a DOT claim this explanation sounds BS