I had a comically unlucky travel day yesterday. I had booked a nonstop flight on Delta from New York (JFK) to Tampa (TPA), though that’s not how things played out. It has been some time since I’ve had major irregular operations, so to be honest I almost enjoyed the whole ordeal, as it made me appreciate how smooth my travels usually are.
In this post:
Delta cancels my New York to Tampa flight
I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning for my 7:35AM flight from New York to Tampa. Unfortunately I had received a text from Delta overnight, indicating that my flight had in fact been canceled, and I was rebooked on an itinerary through Atlanta that would get me to Tampa around 12 hours behind schedule.
I didn’t want to stick around for that long, and after browsing options, I confirmed Delta simply had nothing available earlier that would get me to Tampa at a reasonable hour. So I refunded my Delta ticket, and instead booked American for an itinerary from New York to Tampa via Charlotte. It wasn’t ideal, but it would depart around 10AM and arrive around 2PM, so it was better than the Delta option… or so I thought.
A question for Delta flyers — is it normal for the airline to lack transparency about the cause of cancelations? United is very upfront about the reason for flight cancelations, but there was nothing on Delta’s website indicating why the flight was canceled. Heck, even ExpertFlyer’s flight status notes don’t show any reason.
Weather in New York was fine on Sunday morning, though I know there were some delays the evening before.
My New York to Charlotte American flight diverts
Everything was looking good. I checked in for my American flight, we took off on schedule, and we initiated our approach to Charlotte… and then we entered a holding pattern. The captain announced that Charlotte Airport had shut down due to thunderstorms in the area, and we’d need to divert to Raleigh to refuel and regroup. Just under two hours after taking off from New York, we touched down in Raleigh.
The timing here was unlucky, because the airport did end up reopening a short while later. Planes that left shortly before us and shortly after us landed in Charlotte just fine, though we were in that brief window of flights that couldn’t be accommodated.
We spent just over an hour on the ground in Raleigh. First we had to wait for a gate, then we had to be refueled, and then we had to wait for clearance to depart.
The captain did a phenomenal job keeping passengers updated to the best of his ability, and making passengers feel reassured. I can’t necessarily say the same about the flight attendants. They all seemed to be new hires, and they spent the time on the ground enjoying their own meals, complaining about being on reserve, and talking about how annoying some passengers were being. Even in first class, there wasn’t even water offered while on the ground.
Shortly after 2PM, we were cleared to depart to Charlotte. Around 75 minutes later we landed there, nearly three hours behind schedule. The only thing the pilots didn’t do a great job with was that landing. 😉 It might have been the roughest I’ve experienced in my millions of miles of flying.
The joys of Charlotte during a weather event
Charlotte is by far my least favorite American hub. Even under normal circumstances it offers a terrible passenger experience, with an uncomfortable level of crowding, and one of the worst Admirals Clubs in the system. American just doesn’t try in Charlotte when it comes to passenger experience.
When you add in any sort of irregular operations, Charlotte gets even worse. While on the ground in Charlotte, I had rebooked on a 6:25PM Charlotte to Tampa flight, since I’d be misconnecting there. I had analyzed all the flights that I could potentially rebook on, and decided that one had the best odds of departing on-time (and that ended up being true).
That did mean spending about three hours at Charlotte Airport, which wasn’t very pleasant, even in the Admirals Club. I was luckier than most, as the lines for the customer service desks must have been half a mile long.
A strong finish for the evening
By comparison to the rest of the day, things finished rather smoothly. The flight from Charlotte to Tampa boarded on-time. We initially didn’t have pilots, and on top of that when the pilots did show up, they said there was a minor maintenance issue. Despite that, we managed to depart only around 35 minutes late, and arrived in Tampa around 50 minutes late.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this flight is that there were 11 people connecting in Tampa, including the lady next to me. The group had also dealt with irregular operations, and was trying to get from Charlotte to Baltimore. The only thing that was available was Charlotte to Tampa to Washington. Fortunately they held the connecting flight for that group, or else they would have been stuck in Tampa.
Rather than landing at 10:37AM, I arrived at 8:52PM. What impressed me most is that I had a checked bag, and that was automatically rerouted onto my flight, and showed up at baggage claim. That could have gone much worse.
Bottom line
Some travel days are rougher than others, and for me, yesterday was one of those days. I was supposed to take a three hour nonstop flight, but ended up getting to Tampa well over 10 hours behind schedule. My Delta flight canceled, my American flight diverted, and then I misconnected.
Truth be told, I sort of enjoyed the day. I like flying, I don’t mind a bit of excitement, and I also enjoy observing people. There was lots of all of that yesterday.
Anyone else have a rough travel day yesterday?
It's all about attitude! Having a good attitude goes a long way when things don't go right.
Marshall
Disagree about Charlotte. I fly through there at least 35 times per year from Charleston WV. Would MUCH rather connect through Charlotte than anywhere else. It's a much shorter and easier trek if you need to get from one end of the airport to other in a hurry (try that in O'Hare or Atlanta-not happening). Admirals Club, IMHO, in Charlotte is quite nice and is a welcome respite from the boarding area. Not sure what...
Disagree about Charlotte. I fly through there at least 35 times per year from Charleston WV. Would MUCH rather connect through Charlotte than anywhere else. It's a much shorter and easier trek if you need to get from one end of the airport to other in a hurry (try that in O'Hare or Atlanta-not happening). Admirals Club, IMHO, in Charlotte is quite nice and is a welcome respite from the boarding area. Not sure what you're used to with other air clubs.
Hate you had a bad experience. American is my go-to airline traveling from West Virginia and rarely do I get canceled or delayed with them.
For what it's worth DL showed three separate cancelled flights from SEA yesterday: MCO HNL and LAS flights were cancelled (all mainline flights). Just like your experience, no reason given in Expertflyer. Weather was fine . So either DL is short-staffed again or there is a quiet labor action going on?
I can't believe Delta only offered an electronic credit note rather than a full refund! Also for that sort of delay I really would want to have EU261-style protections, it's ludicrous they get away with offering nothing.
A post on what you look for when you're analyzing alternate flights that are most likely to make it on-time might be useful.
That was our last week traveling.. It started out with a redeye that was to leave at 9:50 pm but the jet gate for our arriving plane was broken so our flight -to be -went to another terminal.. Instead of all of us going to the other terminal...they were going to tow it to us??? That took 3 hours to get towed one terminal over That caused us to miss our connection......and on and on..DL should have had us move....
Commenting that you had a rough landing in Charlotte - thunderstorms, what did you expect.
Sorry for the typos, but you get the idea.
Yes! I flew into Atlanta from Paris (Delta) Saturday night around 10p and had to wait nearly an hour for my bags. We were initially told they would come from carousel 1, and my husband's and step-dad's did. As we wait an additional 40 minutes, a baggage handler announced that our bags were on carousel 6. Sure enough, thete is my bag circling around for hod knows how long. Meanwhile, my flight is being pushed...
Yes! I flew into Atlanta from Paris (Delta) Saturday night around 10p and had to wait nearly an hour for my bags. We were initially told they would come from carousel 1, and my husband's and step-dad's did. As we wait an additional 40 minutes, a baggage handler announced that our bags were on carousel 6. Sure enough, thete is my bag circling around for hod knows how long. Meanwhile, my flight is being pushed back, so I'm thinking surely I'll make my flight. But after we exit the baggage area and make our way to the Delta international counter, we are met with hundreds of passengers who had either missed their flight (Some were on the flight from the Caribbean and had experienced luggage delays also), while some like myself still had planes that were seemingly waiting for us. To my dismay, the Delta employee seem not to know this distinction or didn't bother to let us know that there were distinct lines. Finally, I lose it because my husband who I urged to save himself and who needed to get to work was te ting me from the plane giving me a status regarding the boarding and offering me hope that I could still join him. Also, Delta sent an update stating that the flight was boarding until 11:38 p. When I make it to the counter, I inform the agent of my dilemma and that my plane was still boarding. However, she informed me that Delta had rescheduled me to 7:23 am. So, I was offered a hotel that I declined because I wasn't risking overstepping, shuttle delays or any other calamities that could arise. So, I angrily text my husband that I would not be joining him, and found an uncomfortable area where I would stay until 3:30am until I was ready to be shuttled to the domestic side of the airport. In summary, that was probably why your flight was delayed.
P.S. With a little communication from the baggage staff and agents, I could have made my flight.
Re your question about Delta telling people the reason for delays and cancellations: You have to ask them. Then sometimes they tell you and sometimes they don't. They are totally un-transparent with those issues.
They may be better with Diamond people but Platinum not so much. They are an excellent domestic business airline. Their international service sucks and I have told them that.
Ben, did you get to try any of the CLT lounges? Would love to hear your take on any of the AA lounges, the Centurion Lounge or even The Club.
I had a Delta flight yesterday to JFK that was cancelled and the agent on the phone told me there was crew staffing issues impacting flights through New York. Could be the reason for the cancellation. Delta always seems to internally have a reason for a cancellation and refuse to share it publicly which I find odd.
"What impressed me most is that I had a checked bag, and that was automatically rerouted onto my flight, and showed up at baggage claim. That could have gone much worse."
My family (me + mrs + 6YO + 2 babies) had our **9** checked bags delivered to our destination, despite flying on 3 different airlines from BOM-AUH-ORD-YYZ and having been rebooked on our last leg from United to Air Canada (and then Air Canada...
"What impressed me most is that I had a checked bag, and that was automatically rerouted onto my flight, and showed up at baggage claim. That could have gone much worse."
My family (me + mrs + 6YO + 2 babies) had our **9** checked bags delivered to our destination, despite flying on 3 different airlines from BOM-AUH-ORD-YYZ and having been rebooked on our last leg from United to Air Canada (and then Air Canada rebooking us to an earlier flight the same day). The most amazing part was that our BOM-AUH flight was booked as a separate ticket and it was up to Etihad to retrieve and transfer all our luggage from that flight and recheck it to our destination. I was AMAZED to find all our bags waiting at the belt when we arrived.
What is up with Charlotte airport? I haven't been there until last week when I flew from Raleigh to Nashville with a connection in Charlotte. Well, we landed on A and my connection was on E so it was a long walk. When I left the plane I could not believe what I saw. The place was a total zoo, extremely crowded and there was no way to even run to my gas as I...
What is up with Charlotte airport? I haven't been there until last week when I flew from Raleigh to Nashville with a connection in Charlotte. Well, we landed on A and my connection was on E so it was a long walk. When I left the plane I could not believe what I saw. The place was a total zoo, extremely crowded and there was no way to even run to my gas as I had a very tight connection. I tried my best and barely made to my next flight. I don't remember seeing so many people in an airport like I saw last week in Charlotte.
Charlotte just isn't designed for the volume it gets. The problem is the "E" Terminal, it is American's busiest regional hub in the country. So all those small planes from the smaller airports come there and then everyone transfers to the other terminals for the next destination. So way too much traffic there coupled with the fact there's no easy way to get in or out of E to the rest of the airport.
It's...
Charlotte just isn't designed for the volume it gets. The problem is the "E" Terminal, it is American's busiest regional hub in the country. So all those small planes from the smaller airports come there and then everyone transfers to the other terminals for the next destination. So way too much traffic there coupled with the fact there's no easy way to get in or out of E to the rest of the airport.
It's "hub" or atrium is too small to handle the volume that needs to pass through it. Since all the terminals are connected to it. They're even looking at adding another A terminal on and expanding B and C. Additionally they're adding another runway.
They need to seriously get some sort of tram in place like many other airports have to effectively move people around. It's good the airport is busy but its design just isn't modern enough to handle it.
"and talking about how annoying some passengers were being. Even in first class, there wasn’t even water offered while on the ground"
Were the FAs speaking of annoying passengers in F OR was this a DYKWIA re: no water in first class? If the former, I'd be writing in - unprofessional behavior (whether on F or Y). If the latter, an expectation that water should have been offered in F at least, but not Y?
Yes! Traveling Delta from Athens to NY to Seattle. After boarding first leg, we get a message that second Delta flight was canceled. No explanation
After 11 hour flight to NY, we have to stay at a hotel and back to airport at 4 am. Seco nd leg delayed an hour. We fi d out after our wakeup call at 330 am. Home at Noon Sunday instead of home Sat. night at 930 pm. No reason given. 2 drink services on 5 hour flight to Seattle. Oh yes, a cookie. Dreadful experience.
Carolyn,
I have no idea how much you fly but every so often one of the major airline hubs goes through the wringer with a major weather event.
Yesterday it was Atlanta and that did a very bad number on Delta's entire operation - just as a major storm does for AA at DFW or UA at ORD or EWR.
With the exception of a very few markets, US airlines do not...
Carolyn,
I have no idea how much you fly but every so often one of the major airline hubs goes through the wringer with a major weather event.
Yesterday it was Atlanta and that did a very bad number on Delta's entire operation - just as a major storm does for AA at DFW or UA at ORD or EWR.
With the exception of a very few markets, US airlines do not serve complimentary meals in coach/economy but might offer buy on board.
as for Steve's comment above, Delta has a water bottle at the seat of every domestic first class flight.
Please stop, Delta PR. It's shameful. In Europe, you'd have to disclose you were working on behalf of the airline. Question is if you'd have to on a forum reaching a global audience.
@Ben/Tiff, can we get this poster's real name?
My Del5a flight was delayed out of PBI yesterday because the plane from MSP was delayed by "air traffic control". Delta did not explain what the ATC problem was. I missed my connector in MSP by about three gates. It's disheartening seeing g them close the doors when your so close. I was informed by Delta that since it was an ATC issue, there would be no compensation for the hotel. If I was still...
My Del5a flight was delayed out of PBI yesterday because the plane from MSP was delayed by "air traffic control". Delta did not explain what the ATC problem was. I missed my connector in MSP by about three gates. It's disheartening seeing g them close the doors when your so close. I was informed by Delta that since it was an ATC issue, there would be no compensation for the hotel. If I was still in practice and not retired, that would have been a big deal.
But I'm retired.
Well, sorry to state the obvious, but sticking with the DL rebook would have saved you all the flying, reroutes, "crowded Charlotte airport" and the AA FA's...but yeah.
Hindsight, it’s always 20/20!
DL will never publish the reason for cancellation; though they will (begrudgingly) tell you if you ask same-day while at the station. Unfortunately, their rebooking engine is horrendous.
cancellations and delays are never really helpful to customers.
Does it ultimately matter to you as a customer if the problem is a mechanical problem or a lack of crew?
Yes, Delta agents will tell you at the gate the reasons for delays or cancellations but that information is not really relevant if you aren't there ready to go.
It is far more important to have reasonable and accurate public information so...
cancellations and delays are never really helpful to customers.
Does it ultimately matter to you as a customer if the problem is a mechanical problem or a lack of crew?
Yes, Delta agents will tell you at the gate the reasons for delays or cancellations but that information is not really relevant if you aren't there ready to go.
It is far more important to have reasonable and accurate public information so that customers get to the airport and gate or don't go depending on the time that has been published.
And I find that Delta does as good of a job or better than most US airlines at publishing realistic times even in bad operations.
Of course the reason for the delay Mechanicals happen but if they are short of crew, that’s on Delta.
It sure as shit is relevant when I write to customer care about it. Can't we have both transparency and realistic times?
honestly, tell me what difference does it make to you if a flight is delayed because of a mechanical or a crew issue? Are you going to be able to do anything regardless of the reason?
You can't. All I want is for an airline to give me an honest time and at least at the gate, enough detail to verify that the estimate is real.
ie. if it's a mechanical, then it is...
honestly, tell me what difference does it make to you if a flight is delayed because of a mechanical or a crew issue? Are you going to be able to do anything regardless of the reason?
You can't. All I want is for an airline to give me an honest time and at least at the gate, enough detail to verify that the estimate is real.
ie. if it's a mechanical, then it is appropriate to say that mechanics are bringing a new part to the plane and it will take x minutes to repair the part etc.
Again, Delta regularly tells people at the gate the reasons for delays; they just don't put it on the web. I don't know of any airline that tells people at the gate that there is a secret reason for a delay.
It does nothing to know the nitty gritty if an airline can't get the problem fixed regardless of the reason.
If they do have a plan to get the problem corrected, then telling the world on the internet doesn't accomplish anything.
CLT was never made for the volume it gets. Of course, it's far from the only airport. But airport authorities rarely consider flyers but only bow down to the airlines. Every time an airline wants to jam another flight it's nothing more than "sir may I have another."
I was flying out of Tampa yesterday (on United). There was clearly an ATC issue in Tampa and maybe all of west Florida. I checked departures from Ft. Myers, Sarasota, and Orlando; all were delayed. I'd estimate that 50%+ of flights in and out were delayed by at least an hour and maybe more. Despite what you're suggesting, United was not at all clear about the cause of the delay. Our flight was rescheduled 5 different times--ultimately leaving about 2 hours late.
"... and they spent the time on the ground enjoying their own meals, complaining about being on reserve, and talking about how annoying some passengers were being. Even in first class, there wasn’t even water offered while on the ground."
This literally describes nearly every AmAir domestic First class flight.
And, should you ask for service, ther is a variety of excuces why the will not provide... ask a second time, well you may just...
"... and they spent the time on the ground enjoying their own meals, complaining about being on reserve, and talking about how annoying some passengers were being. Even in first class, there wasn’t even water offered while on the ground."
This literally describes nearly every AmAir domestic First class flight.
And, should you ask for service, ther is a variety of excuces why the will not provide... ask a second time, well you may just be threatened to be taken off the flight.
AmAir can't do / won't do service on domestic flights.
Wow, what a day! What's going on with Delta? Strangely, a friend of mine traveling home to Seattle with her husband from Germany yesterday via Delta got stuck overnight in Detroit because apparently their connecting flight didn't have any crew! Delta wanted to rebook them on a morning-but-kind-of-roundabout flight today, but they opted for an afternoon flight instead that involves about three hours flying time instead of eight! Meanwhile, they got to check out Lake...
Wow, what a day! What's going on with Delta? Strangely, a friend of mine traveling home to Seattle with her husband from Germany yesterday via Delta got stuck overnight in Detroit because apparently their connecting flight didn't have any crew! Delta wanted to rebook them on a morning-but-kind-of-roundabout flight today, but they opted for an afternoon flight instead that involves about three hours flying time instead of eight! Meanwhile, they got to check out Lake Erie. I've begun flying much more than in the past, so I suppose one of these days something similar will happen to me!
Well, this is how <3 hr trip from JFK to TPA with several daily non-stop turned into wasting an entire day.
Surprised you didnt go on Jetblue, they had 5 direct flights in the window to Tampa that all arrived on time
Interesting that you ended up landing within 2 minutes of your re-scheduled Delta flight. Not that you had any way of knowing. The thunderstorms in the north Georgia through mid-Atlantic were severe, but somewhat patchy yesterday which may have been the cause for Delta's cancellation. Typically Delta's extremely transparent about the causes of delays for pax at the airport, much less so if it's the computer generated text overnight.
What a day! Did you check to see if you would have made your connection in ATL or arrived TPA on time if you would have taken the suggested DL rerouting?
I refuse to connect through Charlotte. One of the most miserable experiences of my life and I fly a lot of 3rd world death trap airlines.
Even if I have to pay more, I avoid Charlotte like the plague.
Sunday was a bad travel day altogether. Lots of delays and cancellations everywhere. The gds flifo for Delta usually just says cancelled with a code for either weather or ATC. UA and AA sometimes show a little more like maintenance, but not always.
As a CLT area resident I question why you’d consider the Admirals Club and not go to the Centurion Lounge? It’s one of the nicer Centurion lounges and I’ve never been turned away even at the busiest of peak travel times.
@ IrishAlan -- During irregular operations more than any other time, I value having access to AA agents who can help with rebooking. You don't get that in the Centurion Lounge. Also, I've been to the Centurion Lounge CLT twice, and both times walked out, as it was crowded to the point that I couldn't find a seat. I figured it wouldn't be any better this time around, given the weather situation.
Finnair sent my suitcase on a trip of its own so I’m stuck in sweaty Bangkok with no clean clothes until they send it onto me
Does American tell you the reason for a cancellation? AFAIK United's detailed information about disruptions is unique in the industry (though if something happens while you are at the gate or onboard, Delta employees usually try to explain it, of course).
I had a 4 hour Delta delay on a flight from PNS-ATL so just decided to drive instead - but check out the route that DL2411 took from Savannah to Atlanta, which I was tracking since that was supposed to be my inbound aircraft. Took off 3 hours late and then took a 2 hour route on what should have been a 35 min flight. There were strong thunderstorms and tornadoes across the Southeast Saturday...
I had a 4 hour Delta delay on a flight from PNS-ATL so just decided to drive instead - but check out the route that DL2411 took from Savannah to Atlanta, which I was tracking since that was supposed to be my inbound aircraft. Took off 3 hours late and then took a 2 hour route on what should have been a 35 min flight. There were strong thunderstorms and tornadoes across the Southeast Saturday evening and Sunday morning (and again Sunday night here in Atlanta), which put a lot of Delta planes out of place, which I suspect was the reason for your delay as well.
I think you're right. I'm an ATL native, except for a a couple 1-2 hour windows the thunderstorms yesterday were pretty bad. Started late Saturday and kept going until the wee hours of Monday morning.
The Southeast was an operational disaster yesterday due to thunderstorms including in Atlanta for Delta and Charlotte for American which can easily be seen by Flightaware.
Given that a number of parts of Mississippi and Alabama suffered severe storm damage over the weekend, it is remarkable that the major air hubs in the SE did as well as they did.
It is also notable how strong the storms were in some places while others...
The Southeast was an operational disaster yesterday due to thunderstorms including in Atlanta for Delta and Charlotte for American which can easily be seen by Flightaware.
Given that a number of parts of Mississippi and Alabama suffered severe storm damage over the weekend, it is remarkable that the major air hubs in the SE did as well as they did.
It is also notable how strong the storms were in some places while others including Tennessee were clear and beautiful.
This is early spring and won't be the last of these types of storms.
"American just doesn’t try in Charlotte when it comes to passenger experience."
That could be "American just doesn't try."
Charlotte doesn't have the space to accommodate an operation the size that AA runs on a good day.
I'd rather go through Atlanta and its massive concourses and bigger aircraft any day if you have to travel in the SE on a weather day.
CLT is my local airport and I love it... I just do not fly American. Life is good over on the A-side.
Just curious; had you taken the substitute flight from Delta (that would have gotten you to TPA 12-hrs behind schedule), would Delta have owed you anything (per law)? Or would you have had to make specific loss claims (e.g. late to meeting, missed concert, cruise, etc.)?
There was weather in the mid Atlantic so flights from NY to Florida were taking an hour longer than usual to fly around the system. That's probably the reason for the cancellation.
“ Just under two hours after taking off from New York, we touched down in Charlotte.” You probably meant Raleigh.
You said, 'Just under two hours after taking off from New York, we touched down in Charlotte.'
I think you meant Raleigh.
@ Mike C -- Indeed, thanks! Fixed.