Last month, I bought my dad a ticket to fly from West Palm Beach to New York on Delta. His flight was delayed over five hours for mechanical reasons—in thirty-minute increments, no less, which made him even more miserable in the airport.
Since I booked his ticket using my email and phone number, I waited a few days to see if Delta would send an email apologizing. But no email came, so I pulled up the Delta website and complained, keeping my comments short but to the point and filling out all the necessary info like flight and ticket numbers.
It took Delta about a week to respond, but I received a nice call from an agent saying the airline was sorry and that it would like to give my dad a $150 gift card. Even better, they gave him a choice of gift cards instead of just the standard airline credit. The gift card choices were: Delta, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Best Western, Calloway Golf, Crate and Barrel, and Darden Restaurants.
I chose Amazon since we use it the most, and Amazon credit in the form of two gift cards—one for $100 and the other for $50—showed up in the mail a week later. If you’re ever delayed significantly, be sure to ask for compensation. I know $150 isn’t always worth five hours in an airport, but it’s better than nothing.
Related:
- App of the Week: FlyersRights.org
- Europe’s Passenger Bill of Rights: Do you know YOUR rights?
- Why Delta Air Lines paid my friend Laura $11,000 not to fly to Florida
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