how bad is Delta???

[LuvLuvLuv]

Love Delta!! I'll fly with them over Southwest any day!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We flew Delta for Gay Days this year. The round trip fare, total, for all 3 of us was $722. Fares on American and SW were $1400-$1500. Going to MCO we had to switch planes in Atlanta. Coming back they were going to send us to Detroit to switch.

A few months before the flight they switched the plane to a smaller model, so I called and screeched about it. I really wanted to come home through Atlanta, so I figured I would see if they would change us. Nope. So I called back and spoke to a really sweet guy who DID switch us to come home through Atlanta AND the flight didn't leave Orlando at 8 AM like the first one.

I do not like to change planes, but for an $800 difference in fare? Yeah. I will switch planes. We arrived both at WDW and back home with all of our luggage.

 

[glenpreece]

It all depends on your expectations and then how well they're operating that day....oh and the weather.

I am biased - my partner works for Delta - has for 18 years...so we fly mostly Delta. They recently topped the other major carriers in LEAST lost luggage as reported by the DOT. They do their best to get you there with your bags. Odds of misconnects do happen with tight layovers/connections - so if you have a good amount of time between flights, you should be OK.

Staff is hit or miss - but you get that with any carrier. I find the inflight staff is nicer and makes an effort more than other major carriers. I fly internationally for work and don't think Delta's the top in International service for Europe or Asia - but they're by far NOT the worst.

Hope things work for you and you have a nice travel experience.

My layover in Minneapolis is just over 2 hrs and my detroit layover on the way home is just over an hour. So hopefully that's enough time to ensure my bags will be coming along with me.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Delta is one of the legacy airlines - been around a very long time. They are my preferred carrier - the least-bad of a pretty lousy lot.

Pretty much sums it up.

My friend isn't used to the abruptness and lack of niceties (for lack of a better term) that we as North Americans are. .

Seriously...and they're French? I've flown Delta and Air France, numerous times and honestly, AF has better food, but the FA are a bit...haughty.

 

[glenpreece]

Pretty much sums it up.



Seriously...and they're French? I've flown Delta and Air France, numerous times and honestly, AF has better food, but the FA are a bit...haughty.

I know I said that to him when he told me about his times on Delta. Oh well my layovers are decent times so hopefully everything will go smoothly.

 

[ImDMous]

I've only flown Delta once, but we didn't have any problems. Yes, their seats are pretty cramped and even at 5'3" my legs were hitting the seat in front of me, but we got there on time with all our stuff. We were flying San Diego to Orlando on a red-eye in late spring so there weren't any weather issues to deal with. We switched in Charlotte, had about a 1 1/2 hour layover each time.

Good luck! I think you'll be fine.

 

[OKW Lover]

My layover in Minneapolis is just over 2 hrs and my detroit layover on the way home is just over an hour. So hopefully that's enough time to ensure my bags will be coming along with me.

That will be plenty of time. You'll probably be glad you have 2 hours in MSP since, at least in the 3-4 times I've flown through there, its a messy place to get around. DTW is a nice new terminal and easy to find your way from one gate to another.

 

[jeanigor]

That will be plenty of time. You'll probably be glad you have 2 hours in MSP since, at least in the 3-4 times I've flown through there, its a messy place to get around. DTW is a nice new terminal and easy to find your way from one gate to another.

And unlike in the city, the monorail is useful and actually takes you somewhere.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I know I said that to him when he told me about his times on Delta. Oh well my layovers are decent times so hopefully everything will go smoothly.

Delta is an American carrier, so definitely inferior.

I love listening to the French insist, their art is better, than the Italians. And, the Germans claim superiority, over everyone. So, Americans are at the bottom of the food chain, except when it comes to SUVs. It's just the way it goes.

 

[downontheBW]

I don't see any real difference between Delta and other legacy carriers. The smallest seat I ever had was on American; haven't flown them since.

We fly to the west coast every year with Delta and usually end up in Minneapolis or Detroit and both airports are fine. Actually DTW is my favorite; beats Ohare

Had luggage delayed a day when returning from Key West two years ago but probably would happen on any airline; I think the issue was with Key West.

 

[ppony]

I'm in MN so I've done Delta a lot, or, more Northwest before it was purchased. Not my favorite, in fact, the only airline I've flown that I liked and in this case LOVED, was Midwest. Holy buckets, were they AWESOME! And the seats (at least from MN to MCO and back despite connecting in Milwaukee) were HUGE and leather! Now that that's gone, I've been trying various airlines. Delta feels far more cramped to be than the other airlines I've flown. Seat sizes may be the same width, but something about those cabins feel rreally closed in, something I'm particularly sensitive to. As for connecting, that's the price of the cheaper flight. One of the hubs is in MN too so you'll see that a lot w/ Delta. The less out of your way, or no connections are costing a great deal more these days. Ive been watching our fares for a year now and that's been really consistent. If I wanted to save a hundred or two, I'd have to connect to Denver or even Seattle! MN, to Seattle to Orlando? Yeah, that's pretty out of the way. On the when we fly out of the smaller terminal because I LOVE the main terminal.

OP, can I ask you about Airtran, I just got flights for us on that and we've neer flown it before.

 

[KSBelle77]

For my next trip in August I got a really cheap flight with Delta, I have a layover in Minneapolis on the way down (makes absolutely no sense to me what so ever) and a layover in Detroit on the way home (not as absurd). So how bad is delta I usually fly Air Canada or Westjet but the delta flight was over $200 cheaper. I've only flown Airtran as far as American Carriers goes. I hope i can find the Earl of Sandwich in the Detroit airport So how bad is Delta???

Let me tell you two stories to sum it up
1. In high school we flew to England for a theater trip. We flew Delta. The lavatories over flew and sewage was seeping down the aisle. Need I really say more????
2. Our high school marching band was on our way to San Diego for a compition. We flew Delta. There were snow storms in Salt Lake and they cancelled our flight. The storm stopped and there was a new flight that they were getting ready to send off. there were over 30 open seats on this flight and they were NOT going to put a single one of us on it. They had over 70 high school students were left to sleep on the floor of the airport with nothing more than the pillows and blankets from the plan. You think it stops there NO. When we got to San Diego we discovered ALL of our equipment was damaged. They refused to compensate saying we didn't pack it correctly.

Hope this helps.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't think, I've ever had a bad experience with Delta. We had 25 wedding guests, fly to Italy on 7-8 different flights. Only one bag and a carseat were scattered from Amsterdam to Paris. Actually, the loss was on NWA (codeshare), but it was handled well. They arranged for a carseat and $1000 to purchase necessities. I'd think, if there was a time to mess things up, would've been the wedding.

I don't have, an issue with the seat size or legroom. But, I'm 5'2" 118lbs, so not a problem.

 

[glenpreece]

I'm in MN so I've done Delta a lot, or, more Northwest before it was purchased. Not my favorite, in fact, the only airline I've flown that I liked and in this case LOVED, was Midwest. Holy buckets, were they AWESOME! And the seats (at least from MN to MCO and back despite connecting in Milwaukee) were HUGE and leather! Now that that's gone, I've been trying various airlines. Delta feels far more cramped to be than the other airlines I've flown. Seat sizes may be the same width, but something about those cabins feel rreally closed in, something I'm particularly sensitive to. As for connecting, that's the price of the cheaper flight. One of the hubs is in MN too so you'll see that a lot w/ Delta. The less out of your way, or no connections are costing a great deal more these days. Ive been watching our fares for a year now and that's been really consistent. If I wanted to save a hundred or two, I'd have to connect to Denver or even Seattle! MN, to Seattle to Orlando? Yeah, that's pretty out of the way. On the when we fly out of the smaller terminal because I LOVE the main terminal.

OP, can I ask you about Airtran, I just got flights for us on that and we've neer flown it before.

When we flew Airtran it was ok, they overbooked the flight so they kept asking us to bump but we refused. Seats were kinda cramped but the service was good.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I would spend $200 more to fly another carrier than Delta. They are by far the worst carrier around and that is no joke. Get to whatever airport you are flying early as they have a history of having staff dissapear from the counter when they can bump you.

Lost luggage? Delta has to hold the record for this. Everyone I know who has flown Delta they've lost their luggage.

Don't want to make you worry, but there are better choices than Delta in my book. I will never fly them again and made that statement 7 years ago and never have. Even paid more to fly another carrier and would do it every time.

Interestingly, D.O.T. actual statistics belie the bolder perception http://www.fly.com/blog/travel-tips/lost-baggage-stats-and-tips/
Top 5 Airlines Least Likely to Lose Luggage
In 2011, AirTran was by far the best when it came to keeping their passengers’ bags accounted for and safe. AirTran averaged just 1.63 reports per 1,000 passengers. No other airline was below 2 reports per 1,000 passengers.
Interestingly enough, JetBlue was the next best, despite not charging extra for checking baggage. It just goes to show that with airlines, paying for bags or another extra product does not always equate to better service. Rounding out the top five, are Frontier, Hawaiian and Delta.

On the other hand, like the quoted poster I do technically (sometimes even bottom-line) pay more to fly another airline: jetBlue is, to me, worth paying a higher price for the ticket. But my only 'complaint' about Delta is that they ended the Song division.

 

[glenpreece]

So my flights with delta weren't bad. For the most part uneventful except for the trip home from dtw to yyz. The flight was delayed 2.5 hrs due to mechanical issues. Ok understandable. Then the changed the gate 3 times. The first 2 gates we close but the final gate way way over in another terminal where there were no seats. Overall a good experience.

 

[sirJeffrey90]

I've flown Delta on all my cross country trips and I've never had a bad experience. I guess the leg room is a bit snug, but, like someone said previously, pay a small up-charge and get a larger seat; it'd be worth it I suppose. I'm 5'10'' and have a good bladder, so just sit me against the window and I'll be fine for 4 hours lol.

As for US Airways...HA! I will fly ANYTHING but them. Less leg room, HOT conditions and no film or headphone jacks! Yikes!! Always packed with trashy people because of the low charge. I'd rather shell out a few extra dollars to fly Delta or something else.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

I live in Seattle so primarily fly Alaska Airlines but since Alaska has partner agreements with American and Delta, I tend to also fly those airlines. As a tall person, I've found Delta to be the worst (of the three) in terms of leg room. I recently flew Delta, Seattle->Amsterdam in a window seat and my legs were pretty much frozen in place by the end of the flight (oil can....oil can)...and there were no upgrades available...absolutely packed flight. Other than the seat pitch, they're pretty comparable to most other large U.S. carriers. Good and bad customer service, nearly always packed.

PS. I HATE flying through Atlanta. The few bad experiences I've had with Delta customer service have all been in the Atlanta airport. With the ambiance of a Greyhound bus terminal.

 

[CLKnCA]

I think this is all a matter of opinion. Everyone has their favorite “go-to” airline when they fly, and any jet, jetway, or customer service representative that isn’t part of that fleet tends to be put under a microscope and compared to that preference. People tend to remember details about experiences that are either REALLY good or REALLY bad, so when flying these other airlines, those highs and lows probably stand out even more.

I suppose that I hold a special place in my heart for Delta. I flew them the first time I went to WDW back in 2003, and have maintained a loyalty to them ever since. Funny that a friend of mine flew American to WDW for his first trip a few years earlier, and that became his carrier of choice (a pattern here???). I’ve had trips with Delta that were good, and even some bad, but most were uneventful and run-of-the-mill flights that got me to where I needed to be. I don’t remember all those flights. I remember the bad ones, though.

I had my luggage stuck on a Delta plane after arriving in Orlando because they couldn’t get the cargo hold door open after a red-eye from LA. Talk about frustrating. They said that we should just go about our day, and that they “hoped” to have our luggage delivered to our respective hotels within 12 hours. I almost got really upset, but then remembered that it’s not the people’s fault who are delivering the message. A plane is a machine, and machines break. I get that. I guess I expect “unexpected” incidents to come up when I travel, and just roll with them. True to their word, though, my bag was waiting for me in my room after a day in the parks with my friends. Had that been another airline, though, I don’t know if I’d have been as forgiving. I may have started a website about how this airline holds luggage hostage and doesn’t care about its passengers.

Does that mean that I will stop flying Delta because of that one incident, or that I will start thinking that EVERY flight with them will land me in some sort of pickle where I am having to work around some glitch that the airline caused? No way. The same goes, though, for other airlines. I have flown all the major US airlines at one time or another, and I’ve had good and bad experiences with them. When all is said and done, though, I tend to look towards Delta because that’s the airline with which I am most comfortable, most familiar, and it is just easier for me.

 

[Mariep26]

Delta and JetBlue are my preferred airlines. American Airlines I think is horrid. Again all a matter of opinion and personal experiences.