Posted on 09/02/2012 10:50:50 AM PDT by rawhide
Most travelers who are told they must pay an airline fee for some extra service just sigh, pay up and shrug their shoulders. They might complain to a friend, then forget about it.
Not Donald Pevsner.
Pevsner, a consumer advocate, retired attorney and former Concorde tour operator, has for decades filed petitions with the federal government challenging rules, fees and anything else that strikes him as unjust.
“I like tilting windmills at the people that deserve being tilted at,” he said. “And the airline industry deserves it in spades.”
Now in his sights: Delta Air Lines.
Most recently, the Atlanta-based airline landed squarely on the wrong side of Pevsner’s sharp-tongued criticism when the North Carolina resident booked a Delta flight, then found out Delta had later moved up the departure time by 24 minutes. That didn’t fit into Pevsner’s plans. But switching to a different flight would call for a $150 change fee, according to Delta policy.
In July, he filed a petition for a change in federal airline rules so passengers would be entitled to a full refund of their tickets or a waiver of change fees if their airline attempts to change the schedule after purchase.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Delta only has a $50 same day change fee.
The fee can easily be waived by a supervisor...and usually is...
Gold and above pay nothing to change flights
Delta sucks plain and simple... customer service is bad, aircraft are old, first class is second class at best and their frequent flyer program is the pits.
They all suck. American was the worst, followed by Northwest. Continental was good once, but when United bought it they ruined a great airline. I try and avoid flying as much as possible because they all suck equally.
thats standby. he booked a time and should allow him to get out of it or switch to a leter flight if they change the time
Why should a customer have to sake for a waiver?
No, thanks, I’ll drive.
I wouldn’t fly Delta, period.
The fees aren’t the issue...its the sh*tty way they treat people trying to use their miles.
If you have the Amex Delta Skymiles card, the best thing you could do is to cancel it.
They all have their problems, Delta is better than most.
The average plane in Delta’s fleet is 28.4 years old.
I’d feel safer in one of the old B-17 bombers my dad flew during the war......At least they were built to take it.
The only airline worth a damn is Southwest. Nobody else even comes close.
When flying, you really shouldn't make plans that have less than an hour leeway. Just not a good idea.
You are right about that! Six weeks prior to my to my brother’s graduation at Notre Dame I tried book a flight from NY/LI with my Sky Miles. The only flights available had at least three connections and would have taken up to 12 hours traveling time. The operator told me condescendingly that I should have booked at least six months in advance if I wanted the direct flight option. Tens of thousands of miles available and they’re practically useless.
I’ve flown Delta for years and have never had a problem.
But here another reason I quit flying: airlines treat their customers like sh!t. From the article:
In 2011, U.S. airlines collected nearly $2.4 billion in cancellation and change fee revenue, up from nearly $2.3 billion in 2010. Delta collected $767 million from those fees last year, up from $699 million in 2010.
As for Pevsner’s latest complaint about altered flight times, Delta says it has no merit and should be dismissed. “Flight schedules are not guaranteed,” Delta responded.
In his job, a friend of mine booked hundreds of thousands of miles as he flew all over the world in his job.
He’s now retired and finding out the miles don’t have near the value he expected.
Miguel de Cervantes is spinning in his grave and considering suing his ass over that.
Pevsner should read the fine print on his tickets!
Screw him!
I have flown Delta for over three decades. NEVER an unusual problem.
They cancelled our flight from Istanbul on the 13th and put us in economy. We were pissed! My husband was on the cordless phone for so long it ran out of battery power. We are now flying back on AirFrance in first, but our flight from Detroit to Louisville is in coach. We paid $7000 for those tickets, but we are lucky to have the company reimbursing us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.