Delta sucks!

[Psychoholic]

Probably all airlines really, but I'm just particularly tired of Delta lately.

Couple weeks ago I was flying to Vancouver and had a layover in SLC. I thought it wouldn't be too bad, just a quick 45 minutes to get from one terminal to another (I tend to forget that Atlanta is a gargantuan airport and the most others would fit in one terminal). Get off the plane, rush like hell, get on the other plane (did get to walk onto the plane via the tarmac which is always cool) and sit there. We taxi out, get all the way to runway and they turn us around and head back. Apparently one of the valves that controls pressure to the cabin had seized up and they needed to try and fix it or get us another plane. After 2+ more hours they give us another plane and we head out. I'll leave the getting harassed by customs part out as it wasn't their fault. I finally get to my hotel some 5 hours later than I should have. Granted I am glad they caught it, but finding another plane shouldn't have been that hard.

This past week I had to go to San Antonio and to Austin and ended up flying out of Austin. We get to the airport at about noon local time, plane leaves at 1:15, so we've got some time to kill. The queue for security is shorter than the line at Starbucks in Atlanta and all is going well - until I have to sit there for another 3 f'n hours AFTER we should have left. I didn't get home till after 11 pm friday night (I should have been at my house at 5:30)! Completely ruined my plans for the entire weekend.

It's just getting on my nerves that every time I travel something goes wrong. Not much of a rant, but I guess I'm not as pissed off as I was 2 days ago.

[Morella]

There is a train that goes from one concourse to another at Atlanta, if that helps at all in the future. I feel your pain...you had a long way to go and there was no other way to get there. I've had no choice but to fly commercially sometimes, but I'd almost rather hitchhike. Going commercial often takes as long as driving.

Unlike cargo, they don't give a shit about passengers. They'll let you sit on the ramp and sweat for 8 hours, or cancel your flight and tell you to go to a hotel. I made it from Boise to Tucson in a Piper in ten hours, half of the 20 hours that it took Tony to make the same trip commercially. Hell, you can drive it in 20 hours.

Whatever advantages the airlines have in higher cruising speeds and better resistance to weather, compared to small planes, is usually lost on the ground in delays. If it's less than 500 miles or so, you might as well drive, have some legroom, enjoy the scenery, and not be pushed, shoved and disrespected " in other ways ". I always get a cold or the flu after I fly pax as well, from the diseases in the crowded terminal and on the plane, and it could be worse. I worry about what might be brought in from other parts of the world.

I took Amtrak one time, and it was slower than UPS Ground, but I got decent food, enough legroom, and I could walk around, sleep, sit at the bar and get drunk, or just enjoy the scenery. I haven't done it in many years, but I might give it a try again and see if it's still pleasant. I'd like to turn off my cell phone and just hide in another world for a few days.

-denise

[Scary Guy]

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security is fun

[BIGEVIL]

The planes won't go back to the gate for 1 big reason. The entire crew won't get paid. Once you change planes, you get a fresh crew. The old crew goes home without receiving a dime (even though they were stuck with you on the tarmack for hours)

[Vampirate_Maiden]

Ok. My turn to complain about Delta. I just learned that Delta is now charging for the first checked bag! Why?!? I have a trip comming up soon, and I wonder if they'll charge me a baggage fee even though I bought my ticket before this went into affect. I would've checked it already, but the site is being all screwy. Oh well.

[Psychoholic]

They must have done that this morning then - I flew yesterday and the first bag was free.

It didn't stop the army of inconsiderate people from bringing on what should have been checked luggage taking up every single place in the overhead bins, by the time zone 6 (of 9) were called there was nowhere to put anything and I had to sit with my laptop bag under the seat in front of me - I already take up every cubic inch of space given for me in a 757-200, and having nowhere to comfortably put my feet for 4 hours really began to piss me off.

They should keep the first checked bag free, and enforce the 'one carry on bag per person'.

[Vampirate_Maiden]

Oops! I think I read it wrong before. The baggage fee starts on Dec 5th, not now. But that still sucks.

Luckily for me, I only bring just one suitcase, so I don't have the trouble of looking for space for a carry on. But I can imagine how annoying it must be, especially for somone who has to wait for zone 6 to be called to go on. Also, because people usually have all these carry ons, it usually takes me a while to actually be able to finally get off the plane dispite the fact I don't even need to wait to get a carry on.