A Delta passenger has taken to social media to share a bizarre incident that happened when a flight diverted due to bad weather. I'm writing about this because I find the situation to be so bizarre, especially given how common weather diversions are, and I'm curious what the real story is.
See. Right-wing ‘pundits’ on ‘news’ *wink wink* programs also get stranded by airlines. So, having air passenger rights legislation, like an EU261, which includes duty of care, even in weather related disruptions (no compensation for those), should be a bi-partisan, all-sides, kinda issue… anyway, I agree; wonder what the real story is here.
How much are you willing to pay for a ticket where every flight is covered by a U.S. style EU261 (including weather)? Maybe you can afford LAX-LAS $1500 RT, but I cannot.
I flew UK to South of France for $54 round trip recently so passenger protections don't need to make flights unaffordable!
Thank you, Nikojas. Exactly.
Steve, nice industry-talking points you got there, but, even US carriers know that there are profitable, low-cost carriers with unionized labor, complying with such rules in the EU and UK, already. It can/should be done, here, too.
Best yet, if airlines want to avoid owing anyone compensation, they can plan ahead and operate more reliably. And, if you, personally, don’t want any support, you can reject it (lift yourself up, etc.) A baseline for others is still worthwhile.
My experience has been that both sides of the political spectrum enjoy taking my money. One for greed and the other because they think they are doing the right thing. Both are dangerous. Let me choose how I protect my trip. People who can buy a walk up Polaris fare should not be deciding how I spend my travel funds.
The Biden protections that Trump revoked were acceptable and a fair baseline but full EU261 for a country the size of the U.S. is not possible. The world economy is on the brink of a recession. You and the oligarchs will be fine. Let me manage my limited funds. Ok?
Steve, enough with these silly false equivalencies and hyperbolic strawmen. No one is asking for walk-up UnitedPolaris, DeltaOne, FlagshipFirst, or whatever. If you want to raw-dog travel disruptions and pay out-of-pocket when a carrier ghosts you, knock yourself out (you are never forced to accept anything under EU/UK-style regulations).
No one is demanding cash for weather delays. We are talking about a sensible duty of care (clear communications; options for re-routing, even with competitors; meals, overnight accommodations, if applicable) when an airline completely drops the ball—like accidentally stranding passengers at a closed regional airport because of a communications breakdown.
I purchase travel insurance. I said the Biden proposals were fair. Our ATC cannot even properly communicate with presidential aircraft. How the hell are we going to implement EU style regulations? Airlines will pass every single cent onto consumers and add a 50% surcharge to boot.
You and other frequent commentators can afford the extra ticket prices for this utopia. Sometimes life just sucks and we have to go with flow. Personally, I’m thrilled this MAGA nutcase got screwed over. ✌️
Prices in Europe didn't go up when more comprehensive passenger rights were introduced, despite all the fearmongering.
No, Eskimo, real passengers buy tickets based on market rates, not a willingness to be abandoned at a closed airport. We pay for a service, and when the airline drops the ball, or conditions outside of their control prevent them from delivering, a baseline duty of care should apply (at least until your fully automated, human-free airline fantasy takes over.)
"buy tickets based on market rates,"
I think there's no point to continue this conversation anymore.
Crypto is a scam. Karma is a bitch.
Very Premium passenger experience Delta offers by leaving the passengers behind.
That flyover at the rugby stadium in South Africa was amazing !!
I’ve been saying in the Daily Discussion that Ben should post on that! Very ‘This Is Africa’ and also ‘who is the captain(s), now?’
I wasn't there, so I won't judge or draw conclusions, but it's very obvious that something went very wrong in communications. I hope it got resolved in a way and that the passenger got reunited with her bag in Tampa. As you said, it's just a 2 hour drive, it's early evening and it's not as if she's stranded on the moon or so.
"So I wouldn’t be surprised if Delta was at fault here". What I am sure of, however, is that there's a rant coming up from a certain individual about such a statement. 😀
That won't happen. That individual doesn't post when Delta screws something up. And if he does post, the main body of it will include endless explanations of how Delta is more premium than every other domestic airline, and that they're literally printing money because of their excellence.
Quite possible she thought she can get out there (maybe she lives closer) and found out that bags were not unloaded. Now playing victim.
Would have been more plausible if it were a lot of passengers instead of this one person somehow getting out of sterile zone. And she is supposed to be smart, teaching people to earn millions leveraging blockchain technology so not a person who never flies.
So, if we speculate further, you presume those who traffic in crypto are 'smart'... I mean, I guess such grifters could be considered 'smart' if they get away with tricking their marks, but we usually don't celebrate that as a noble 'profession' or anything. (By the way, are you *that* John who, in the past, has told me to go...)
No, you must be thinking about some other John. I never get personal in any of my comments (I hardly ever comment) and never addressed any one personally. I will add L to my name from now on so I don't get confused with someone else.
"Did the gate agent who boarded the plane to welcome passengers accidentally get the flight wrong, and was giving the baggage claim information for the Atlanta flight, without realizing this was a diverted flight?"
This seems like the much more likely scenario.
A digital asset educator on her way from a crypto conference should be treated as fraud until proven otherwise.
Ben. This article is shite. Why have you started to publish these click-bait pieces and jeopardize your credibility as a legitimate aviation blogger. Between these kinds of posts - and some new advertising scheme that is loading my screen with irrelavant ads - your site is quickly loosing its value to me. Like PYOK and VFTW, I'll be stopping the 'clicks' as I view this content as a total waste of my time. Just a heads up. Sayonara.
“Just a heads up. Sayonara.”
Yay! Another public flounce! It’s like the laziest, worst commenters are self-cleaning themselves off the blog! And announcing it! Let’s have a parade to celebrate!
The story still has some good entertainment factor and has insights about operational matters. So, all in I liked it.
There is something totally off about this story. Usually upon diverting the Captain will advise that decisions will be made upon landing. If the crew has time usually it's wait out the weather, gas up and go. If not, then there's going to probably be an overnight. The GA is going to be explicit with instructions and I don't think the GA got this flight confused. Diversions are a biggie, everyone involved is on "high alert" for next steps from operations. The FAs are going to tell passengers to remain seated until instructions are given because they won't know what the plan is.
Why she ended up in the baggage area (seemingly alone) who knows. Also, this was not late at night. Was TSA really gone? I would think the last of the flights probably go out between 8-9PM.
Based on her tweet, the passenger clearly has an issue with processing information:
"After flying 20 hours in a row,"
No, you had a layover at LAX. That's not flying 20 hours in a row.
"I was diverted to Fort Myers because the plane ran out of gas."
If the plane had run out of gas, you would have crashed.
"The flight attendant then told the flight to go to baggage claim."
I've never been on a diverted flight when the FA told the pax to go to baggage claim. They usually ask pax to remain seated so the flight can depart as soon as possible after cleared to its destination. She clearly misunderstood the announcement. I'll give her benefit of the doubt because she had been "flying 20 hours in a row."
On a related note, last night's thunderstorm was spectacular... torrential rain and heavy wind for nearly an hour.
On something like this where you're 100 miles or so from the destination you might be given an option to deplane, presumably because you're close to your destination and can drive/uber/get a ride.
HOWEVER, that determination would only be determine/announced by the gate agent and not the crew. Furthermore, the gate agent would need to take you off the flight in the system and you very likely would not get a checked bag back. No one is going to take the time to climb through the cargo hold to find your bag(s). Like I said, something doesn't ring right about her story.
Not surprised that a low information, low IQ Newsmax talking head managed to be a total moron here.
She flew for 20 hours "in a row"....holy wowzers all IN A ROW!!!! What a dip. Hope she enjoyed Ft. Myers.
I think what happened is that when she arrived at LAX, all passengers were reminded to collect their bags even if they were making a connection, before going through Customs. Bradley Terminal does have a Carousel 7. She was tired, and this stuck in her memory when the next plane landed at the next airport.
On domestic flights, I am often among the first off the plane, and I don't recall seeing any gate agents meeting flight attendants with baggage-claim information. The door opens, no one enters, we leave.
Oddly enough, the LAX website says that baggage claim for DL 88 (which arrived half an hour ago from Hong Kong) is at Terminal 3, Carousel 4. Maybe this is a glitch in the system, and flight attendants make a point of telling passengers not to rely on this online information. The arrival gate today was 225 (Bradley). For August 29 it was Gate 133 (also Bradley).
These are people promoting and representing crypto.
"how she’s going to make everyone a crypto millionaire,"
Start as a crypto billionaire.
She sounds like a RWNJ who was Jeanine Pirroing* before the flight, and then had seven glasses of wine while in the air.
*“Janine Pirroing:” Noun. Guzzling four boxes of cheap wine before doing anything, such as boarding a flight, and then ending up in a wrong airport’s baggage claim area alone, confused, unloved, and sad. Usu. ends in public humiliation, which further confounds the Janine Pirroer.
I think what happened here is:
Whiny child posts video about her stupidity and her not paying attention to the world around her.
Story sounds fishy. Nervertheless, no premium airline. Sold me a non-stop flight in Delta One two weeks ago just to rebook me on a connecting flight including American first (i.e. premium eco) yesterday.
Ross' theory makes a lot of sense, particularly from LAX. And while I am no fan of the typical influencer, she does sound a lot more rational if not calm, and most def. not irate, than your typical influencer. Finally, if she was tired after a long international flight, not to mention the time zone changes, the directions from LAX might have lingered in her mind.
I don't think it's necessary to assume that she was overly intoxicated, although that it was one of the heavily promoted benefits of international Business/First...