Florida lost to UConn on Monday night 65-64 (USA Today Sports Images)

When passengers who were supposed to be on Delta Airlines flight 5059 looked out the window at Gainesville Regional Aiport on Sunday afternoon, they were undoubtedly surprised by what they saw.

The Gainesville Sun reported Monday night that Delta canceled the Sunday afternoon flight from Gainesville to Atlanta so the Gators could use the plane instead to fly to Storrs, Conn., for their game against UConn. A maintenance delay had grounded the charter flight the team was originally scheduled to take.

Asked to explain why Delta appeared to give priority to a college basketball team over the 50 regular customers on the Atlanta-bound flight, spokesman Morgan Durrant told Yahoo Sports that Delta’s intention was to try to get both flights off the ground as close to on time as possible.

Florida’s charter flight was originally supposed to take off at 3 p.m. and the flight from Gainesville to Atlanta was scheduled for 3:26 p.m. Delta hoped to accommodate Florida by having them use the aircraft originally bound for Atlanta, then fix the mechanical issue with the other plane in time for the Atlanta-bound passengers to take off with minimal delay.

“They used that aircraft to cover the charter because they were confident they could rectify that mechanical issue and then it’s a win-win,” Durrant said. “Maybe you take a slight delay on the scheduled side, you protect the charter and everyone is happy. That was the intention behind which that decision was made, but unfortunately the issue with the other aircraft was not rectified and ultimately the delay became a cancelation as a result of the mechanical issues.

“I want to emphasize this was done without the team’s knowledge. From their perspective, they had signed up for a charter and in cooperation with Express Jet, we got them an aircraft. We had to make an equipment swap, but they were not aware there was a mechanical issue that was going to drive cancelations over on the scheduled side of our business.”

That a college basketball team received better treatment than regular paying customers has sparked headlines on numerous national sites Tuesday morning. Durrant said that the 50 passengers from the canceled flight were able to get on other flights later Sunday or Monday and were given vouchers valid for use through Delta for future trips.

If it’s any consolation for the passengers who had to reconfigure their travel plans, the Florida basketball team surely didn’t enjoy its trip to Storrs. UConn beat the Gators 65-64 on a Shabazz Napier jump shot at the buzzer.

– – – – – – –

Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @JeffEisenberg

• Sports Recreation
• Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines has been ranked number one for the third straight year according to this year’s Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey.

The airline ranked first among all carriers in nine of 10 categories including value of relationships with account managers and sales representatives, quality of client communications, and Networks, Airline Partnerships and Frequencies.

Tweet

<!– –>

Join the Discussion

Post a Comment

The BTN Survey is voted on by corporate travel managers, who are key influencers of business travel decisions. Other airlines surveyed included American, Southwest, United and US Airways.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently gave Delta top-tier ratings in on-time arrivals, completion factor, baggage handling and customer complaints.

The airline, which serves more than 160 million customers each year, has spent billions of dollars to improve customer experiences since 2010. Its efforts included installation of full flat-bed seats on its widebody international aircraft, a new terminal at New York’s JFK airport, and a new International Terminal in Atlanta.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

<!– –>
• 
  Tweet
  
• 
  –
  A
  A
  A
  +
  

Lindsey Seavert

<!–

–>

MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL AIRPORT, Minn. — Delta Airlines and United Airlines will both increase miles needed to redeem frequent-flier tickets for many routes beginning February 1, 2014.

Delta says adjusting SkyMiles is necessary as airline invests in more products and services. United says its’ MileagePlus program since 2008.

Delta’s SkyMiles program had already drawn criticism from some customers about the lack of availability to use miles as the program currently stands.

“It’s disappointing for a family of four to go anywhere you basically unless you get really lucky 150,000-200,000 (miles) to go domestically,” said Scott Leibold, a business traveler from Eden Prairie who frequently flies Delta.

Paul Skrbec, Delta Air Lines spokesperson issued an email statement, and pointed out while the costs of flights have changed, the awards program must fluctuate accordingly.

“We regularly evaluate Award pricing and adjust it periodically. Select redemption levels have changed for Award Tickets booked on or after November 8, 2013, for travel on or after February 1, 2014. Customers can continue to book Award Tickets for travel before February 1, 2014, at current Award redemption levels. Customers can go to delta.com/charts for more information.” said Skrbec.

“I don’t know why they don’t treat us better. A hometown airline, we shouldn’t have to go to other airlines to get a better deal,” said Susan Peterson, of Northfield, also a frequent Delta Airlines flier. “They gave me the opportunity to purchase more miles with this ticket, and I refused.  I thought – why am I buying more miles when I have a hard enough time accessing them in the first place?”

United Airlines gave a specific example of the changes. Spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said the lowest cost first class ticket from the US to Europe costs 67,500 miles currently, but beginning in February, travelers will need 80,000 miles to redeem the same ticket. The airline says the changes are due to airplane upgrades, such as on-demand entertainment, touch screen technology and seats that recline into beds.

“We are increasing the number of miles required to redeem some Saver and Standard awards – the first time we’ve made such changes in several years – to offset the increased cost of providing award travel, particularly premium-cabin award travel and award travel on MileagePlus partner carriers,” said Johnson.

He added in some markets, United reduced the number of miles require for award travel.

“Customers who book MileagePlus awards, especially premium-cabin travel awards, will continue to get great value and options, with the most saver-award availability among U.S. global carriers and the greatest number of options for booking United and partner carriers online,” said Johnson.

An NBC news travel report by A. Pawlowski says, “You’ll especially feel the pain if you want to use United miles to book a ticket on United’s Star Alliance partners. Want to fly roundtrip in business class from the U.S. to Europe on Lufthansa? It’ll cost you 100,000 MileagePlus points now, but come February, you’ll need 140,000 miles for the same trip, a 40 percent increase.”

Minnesota travel expert Terry Trippler, who runs the travel website theplanerules.com – advises customers to redeem rewards while they can. He believes airlines are trying to streamline the “lower-rung” of travelers in awards programs that have grown too large for the airlines to manage.

“Cut up your card, and then you will start to really save  money because you will travel strictly on price and value, other than who is going to give you the most miles,” said Trippler.

(Copyright 2013 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A Delta Airlines flight that had just taken off in San Diego and was headed to Salt Lake City returned to the airport after hitting a bird.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter says the pilot chose to return to Lindbergh Field airport after taking off at about 5:30 p.m. Monday “after an abundance of caution.”

San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque (LOO’-kay) tells U-T San Diego that the department was called to the scene, but no one was injured and firefighters found no signs of fire or other dangers during an inspection of the plane.

Passenger Ashley Easton tells KGTV-TV that “the plane jolted a little bit and the engine started making a funny noise, so it was kind of scary.”

Delta says the Airbus A320 was taken out of service.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Newlywed Spoke of Killing Parents Before Husband’s Death, Say Prosecutors

A Delta Airlines passenger says her bag disappeared and when it was returned, it was full of someone else’s dirty laundry.

Meaghan McCord says she was on her way to New York City to show clients some pieces of jewelry that she designed. She checked her bag and admits that she should have carried the jewelry on the plane with her, but she recently had surgery on her shoulder and didn’t think she could lift her bag into the overhead bin.

When she arrived in New York City, her bag was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t until three weeks later that it showed up at her door with items inside that didn’t belong to her.

“I’m like that’s not mine that is not mine. None of this is mine. None of this is mine! Oh and what’s in this bag? Oh it’s someone’s dirty panties,” McCord told Channel 2’s Craig Lucie.

McCord wore kitchen gloves to show Lucie the other lingerie and high heels that she found inside her luggage when she finally got it back.

“I’d never wear those shoes. Are you serious? I swear they traded my stuff with a prostitute’s stuff. Look! That goes all the way down to the crotch. The shoes themselves are terrible,” explained McCord as she sifted through her bag.

McCord says she could also tell that someone tried on her clothes to see if they were the same size.

“When you take off tight jeans, they turn inside out so it was like somebody had gone through and sifted through what they wanted and put everything back that didn’t fit them,” said McCord.

Besides the missing designer clothes, the local jewelry designer says her jewelry bag was practically empty.
When McCord called Delta after filing a lost bag claim, she says she received all kinds of explanations as to why it never made it to her final destination.

“They told me that the bag was on the way, then there was car trouble and the truck was stolen,” said McCord. When she heard that the courier’s truck was stolen in New York City, she says she called the New York Police Department and there was no record of a truck with luggage being stolen.

When Channel 2 Action News contacted Delta Airlines, they told us that they are investigating the case. They took down Lucie’s contact information, but by Tuesday afternoon, he still hadn’t heard back.

McCord says a representative recently told her that it didn’t appear that anything was missing from her bag when they found it.

“When I called Delta back, they said, ‘Well it weighs just about the same,” explained McCord.
McCord says the airline sent her a check for $3,400, but when she went to deposit it, it was canceled. She says the airline is nowreissuing the check, but she feels like Delta owes her more since she can’t replace the custom jewelry that she made.

SAN DIEGO —

A Delta Airlines flight that had just taken off in San Diego and was headed to Salt Lake City returned to the airport after hitting a bird.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter says the pilot chose to return to Lindbergh Field airport after taking off at about 5:30 p.m. Monday “after an abundance of caution.”

San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque (LOO’-kay) tells U-T San Diego that the department was called to the scene, but no one was injured and firefighters found no signs of fire or other dangers during an inspection of the plane.

Passenger Ashley Easton tells KGTV-TV that “the plane jolted a little bit and the engine started making a funny noise, so it was kind of scary.”

Delta says the Airbus A320 was taken out of service.

MASSILLON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

In response to the op-ed piece dated 11/21/13, an analyst for the U.S. Department of Transportation provided the following response:

“…Based on the information you have provided, your complaint appears to fall under the Department’s rules,” wrote Jessica Ilich, U.S. Department of Transportation Industry Analyst. “We will forward your complaint to the airline and ask the company to respond directly to you with a copy to us. Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. We will review the airline’s response…” http://www.subscriberwise.com/media/delta/delta_fare.pdf.

“I appreciate the Department of Transportation’s very prompt and professional response to the serious complaint I’ve (and others) made against Delta Airlines (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131121006405/en/SubscriberWise-Chief-Files-Complaint-Delta-Airlines-Deceptive),” said David Howe, president of SubscriberWise. “I look forward to the DOT’s investigation, as well as Delta’s reply. I also remain hopeful that Delta will agree this pricing system is unacceptable. I request and encourage Delta Airlines to immediately pursue a solution so that no other customers encounter the same experience.”

U.S. Citizen to Secretary Foxx: Delta Airlines is Violating the Department of Transportation’s Rules: http://www.subscriberwise.com/media/delta/Delta.htm

About SubscriberWise

SubscriberWise® launched as the first issuing consumer reporting agency exclusively for the cable industry in 2006. SubscriberWise technology has prevented thousands of child identity thefts and uncovered the misuse of personally identifiable information for operators everywhere. SubscriberWise contributions to the telecom industry are in excess of twenty-five million dollars annually.

SubscriberWise is a U.S.A. federally registered trademark.

• Professional Services
• Business
• Delta Airlines

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) –

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines has announced it’s offering a travel waiver for customers traveling to the northeast due to a powerful winter storm.

Delta says if your travel is canceled or significantly delayed, you could get a refund. The airline also says if your flight is not canceled, you may still make a one-time change to your ticket without being charged.

The wavier applies to those traveling on Nov. 27 to, from or through the following cities in the northeast United States:

• Baltimore (BWI)
• Boston (BOS)
• Hartford (BDL)
• Newark (EWR)
• Newburgh (SWF)
• New York (JFK)
• New York (LGA)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Providence (PVD)
• Washington, D.C. (DCA)
• Washington, D.C. (IAD)
• White Plains (HPN)

Click here for more information from Delta.

Copyright 2013 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.