Delta is evil

Used to be, I had a policy about flying. See, I flew Delta. I'm a VERY loyal consumer, and it takes something drastic to make me change brands. With airlines, I will always - even if it's slightly more expensive - fly Delta. Period.

Given the current state of their balance sheet, one would think Delta would put a HIGH value on loyalty of this nature. I guess we can say I've learned a lesson about Delta's values. Loyalty ain't one of 'em.

Over the weekend, Mr. Mac and I packed up the girls and went to visit Grandma in RDU for the weekend. A nice weekend - we took in some hoops at the annual scrimmage. We skipped the football massacre. We had a great visit with Grandma and a fair number of friends. On Sunday, I checked us into our flight around 1 that afternoon, and printed our boarding passes.

For some unknown reason, I checked the flight status around 4 or so, just to ensure that there were no significant delays (due to the hurricane in Mexico). Lo and behold - our flight had been cancelled! Oy! Did Delta call us and alert us to that fact? Well, in the end, they did - at 7 something in the evening (when the flight was to leave at 8:40).

So I called them, and got a native english speaker on the 1st try, and learned our flight was cancelled: "Due to weather in the Tampa area, flights into there are cancelled".

"Oh," I said. "I see that Southwest has a flight that is still slated to make the trip, leaving an hour or so earlier than your flight. Why don't you arrange for us to fly there."

"Well, we can fly you through Atlanta," she says calmly.

Okay, I thought. That's funny. No, I didn't ask "how come the one from RDU that had open seats is cancelled, but the full ones from Atlanta aren't?" I should've.

Instead, I ask "Well, what is the arrangement for those flights?"

"The first flight leaves RDU at 7, and lands in Atlanta at 8:45. Then the second leaves Atlanta around 11:30, arriving back in Tampa at 1:02 am on Monday morning."

"Gee," I said, "I have an infant and an 8 year old. Is there any way you could put us on the Southwest flight that's direct, or at least get us in a situation with less of a layover and an earlier arrival?"

"No ma'am. We don't have any agreement with Southwest. This is the best we can do. Your flight was cancelled due to weather, and we have no obligation to you to help you get to Tampa tonight. We are being courteous to you, a valued customer, by helping you in this way."

Now, I'm thinking.... Gee, that's a whole lot of help. You cancelled my flight because of "weather", but no other flights are cancelled for this reason. You won't fly me in a similar flight with a similarly convenient schedule (even though I see availability there). Thanks for the, er, courtesy. I'm peeved, but not angry.

But, I'm not going to fight them on it, and I take my tickets with the layover from hell and haul booty to get our stuff packed so we can grab dinner and get to the airport. Grandma, by the way, was significantly impressed that I was able to pack a sprawling family of 4 in about 10 minutes flat. She wonders where I developed that skill.... I laugh.

So, we get to the airport. We get ready to board. They start pre-boarding. I go up with my baby in stroller and child lagging behind dragging her backpack on the floor, and finally followed by a husband. Then, Deb tells me that I can't board. I said, "But, ma'am, I have an infant. I need to pre-baord. Can the two of us preboard so I can get her settled?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but Delta does not allow pre-boarding for infants. You must board with your zone."

"But, Ma'am, I'm in Zone 7. I need to get her settled sooner rather than later."

"I'm sorry," she says, "But you'll just have to wait. I will not allow you to board until your zone is called."

I'm LIVID at this point. I tell her, point blank, that I hope she's content to take responsibility for Delta having lost a 34-year loyal customer. "I have, in the past, paid a HIGHER fare to fly Delta, because I'm a loyal customer. I have a history of HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of Frequent Flyer miles with you (I do! Really! I lost medallion status when I stopped travelling so much to be pregnant and have a kid!). You have basically TERMINATED this relationship here by your complete refusal to be anything other than rude. I am saying this loudly, AND HOLDING UP YOUR LINE, so that people understand that YOU HAVE REFUSED TO ALLOW A MOM AND HER INFANT DAUGHTER TO PREBOARD for the sake of some precious sense efficiency."

And then I look at the people behind me in line and say "So do you think you would have gotten on the plane faster had our friend Deb allowed me to board? Yeah, I'd wager you would have, too." And I grinned evily.

By this stage, it looked as though Deb was about to call security, so I moved on out of the way. But I stood near. I heard SEVERAL passengers tell her how unnecessary her actions were. How they were SHOCKED that she wouldn't let us board. Another passenger told her, point blank, that there is no way he'd fly Delta if given a choice after having witnessed her actions that night.

I felt vindicated. Miss M was shocked. Mr. Mac was just laughing his rear off. Miss Baby was "Ba-ba-ba-ing" and squealing.

We got to Atlanta, but couldn't make the earlier connection into Tampa, because it was full. So we played in their play area, and flew on back. While in Atlanta, I again decided to pre-board. Mr. Mac said we shouldn't provoke them, but I said I wanted to make a point. We strutted ourselves up there, and I puffed all indignantly, and held out our Zone 5 boarding passes (while they were preboarding). And my friend Bess said "Welcome Mrs. Mac. Go ahead and board with your family. If there's anything we can do to help you, please let me know."

Now, I'm flummoxed. I'm dazed and confused. They were supposed to refuse me.

On Monday, I called Delta to complain about my friend Deb in RDU. I asked "What *is* your policy with regard to families pre-boarding?"

"Oh, it really is up to the gate agent. Delta's policy is to take care of our business travelers first."

Gee, really, Delta. That's a great policy. I guess you're trying to protect your revenues so you won't end up in financial problems like your competitors who let families preboard at the expense of some business travelers? Is that right?

Oh, I forgot - you're in BANKRUPTCY. The airline that ALWAYS takes care of families, Southwest, is PROFITABLE. Another one, Airtran, is doing allright. But you keep on keeping on. And continue enjoying watching your competitors EAT YOUR LUNCH.

So now, the story goes, I will always - even if it's slightly more expensive - fly ANY AIRLINE BUT Delta. Period. I hope others will do the same.