r/DeltaAirlines

I have a feeling that this has been raised before but still feel strongly to add my voice again, partly because I am pretty tied to United for my travel needs and really want to see an improvement in the boarding process.

United truly needs to redesign the boarding groups.

I had to fly Delta three times recently due to work schedule and a vacation stop without United service. In my opinion, Delta’s 8-zone system is way better than the current chaos with United.

United needs to realize that the two jargons “Global Service” and “1K” do not make any sense to non-frequent UA fliers (just as I can’t remember Delta tiers). These non-frequent fliers are the exact ones who need to understand what the jargon means on the tiny black sign with little fonts of 5 categories. They are often in group 3-6 and there is no signage for their groups to line up (unlike DL lists all zones in two separate lanes). So whenever they see groups 1 and 2 start to line up, they become anxious and decide to congregate in the boarding area, usually near that little tiny preboarding sign. Then the gate agent starts to call out the long names of preboarding groups, and suddenly some people become disabled, some decide they will enlist, running children become babies, and more just believe that the agent is calling them strange names to serve the world or whatever “1K” means.

I’ve become desensitized to such chaos until I flew Delta flights recently. Shockingly, most people stayed seated until their zone was called. Having absolutely no status there, I witness the orderly boarding from zone 5. I didn’t need to understand what the top-tiers are called because they are already assigned into zone 1 and 2. So are active military personnel, babies, and people with true disability—all of which the airlines should already know at booking. So, when I joined the next United boarding again I wondered why United cannot do a simple renaming of groups to improve the process.

Just put the current preboarding groups into a few numbered groups. You can combine a few of them like Group 1 for disabilities and babies, Group 2 for GS, Group 3 for active military, Group 4 for 1K (which is sometimes the biggest group these days). Then continue with the general boarding groups from Group 5 onward.

A simple fix. I can’t think of any reason why this cannot be done. If some 1K people have such a strong ego that they must have “1” on their boarding pass, then they can ask to be put in Group 11 or 111. No?

So...I am going to be flying Delta domestic likely every month - from RDU to Moline. Delta has by far the best options. Looking at ways to start building points (this will be on my dime). I am usually a single travel, can get by w a carry on back, won't need car rental or a hotel. I used to have the Amex Gold a couple years ago and cancelled it (wish I hadn't now had I known my current situation). Looking at opening a new card for points purposes. Leaning towards Chase Sapphire. I understand Chase doesn't "partner" with Delta. But from what I can see from the research I have done here Chase Sapphire with the 100,000 points for 5K spent in 3 months (won't be a problem) and the 5X travel points seem to a good option. BUT given I wouldn't be able to transfer points to Delta directly, is the Chase Sapphire card still the best option?? I am likely overthinking this.....but this is all new to me. TIA!!!!!

i have a cat and my request to bring her on cabin got cancelled because i accidentally booked basic economy instead of regular economy and if i were to change my seat it would cost like $360 more and if i were to cancel i wouldn't be able to get a refund at all.

im going on a delta flight its a connected flight
from evansville to Atlanta - Atlanta to boston

if anyone is flying on that same flight and is able to have a cat as a personal item with them please let me know. I Will pay you for it, we can ft, call whatever before the flight. she is a very sweet friendly cat, loves people n pets.

I had a bag experience with my checked bag with Delta flying into Miami International. I lived there so I’m familiar with the terrible handling of the bags. Mine was lost for about an hour, while raining. The girl at the bag claim desk was very little help and when they finally found it, the bag was all dented, with an open lock ( even though it was not the right combination). The girl rolled out and told me I was “lucky they were able to find it”. I thought it had been pretty mishandled or even forced open to be in such condition, but she refused to acknowledge it and did not allow me to file a claim. I still contacted Delta and filed one online. Any one has had similar experiences? And what was the result?

We really need an extra plane at the airports so if theres a huge delay we can take the backup plane.

Does anyone know why the flight from New York couldn’t land in Vermont today? The flight circled and attempted landing over four times. The weather was fine. Was it a pilot issue? It landed after four failed attempts.

Has anyone had WiFi issues lately? The past 5 flights it’s been out for an hour +, and I’m getting to the point that even though I have gold status it’s not worth it if I can’t trust the WiFi situation, especially traveling for work.

hi all! i booked a trip earlier this year through a travel agency and unfortunately after booking, my boyfriend got a new job and was unable to attend. we were given an ecredit for his flight to use by january 2027. this is a pretty big ecredit, worth a few grand. we are trying to go away in september, but it wouldnt cost nearly as much as the credit. im wondering if there is a way i can use the credit for both of our flights for something? i know i saw something about booking a flight and then canceling, but when i went to book two tickets on the same flight using his credits it was only covering one...really dont want this to go to waste, any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

I booked a Delta One flight out of JFK to Naples, Italy. Spent THOUSANDSSS. Pre-flight, the woman in front of me spilled her welcome champagne and it seeped through the seat and all over the Missoni bedding package for my seat. Flight attendant told me that they couldn’t find me a replacement set of bedding so they would have to put something makeshift together (after loudly saying that if I did want them to find me a full replacement, they will have to delay the flight for everyone..). So I had no choice but to use the wine soaked pillow and a random sheet (not the bedding experience that’s typical of this section). They said someone from Delta would be reaching out to me for the inconvenience and will throw some SkyMiles in my account. A week goes by and no one has reached out to me. I reached out myself just to see how much I could expect in my account and what I thought was 35,000 SkyMiles, they told me OOPS they had a typo and it was actually 3,500 miles. WHAT’S THE POINT ANYMORE… I used to book Delta for the elevated experience and service, that’s gone down the drain unless you pay for first class. I do that and still get basic economy service and experience. What a shame…

READ: The spill was NOT the problem… The sheets were NOT the problem… It was the rectifying of the situation AFTER and Delta‘s miles offer that I have a problem with. For the amount that I paid, only 3,500 does not seem comparable. Hell, you get 2,500 just if your luggage comes a second after 20 minutes and that’s regardless of whatever fare class you sit in.

[Edit] It was during boarding so the bedding was still under everyone's seats. Which means hers was by her feet (unharmed). My bedding was by my feet, which was directly under her seat. Accidents happen – I understand that and don’t really blame the woman in front of me at all actually! Where my problem lies is that Delta is only offering 3.5k miles for the inconvenience.

Delta should be ashamed! Someone I’ve worked with and love was recently fired by Delta for helping people use not lose their Amex Companion Certificates! They explained it to me like this…These Certificates are a benefit pax are supposed to get once per year for having the Amex card, one of the only cards people pay an annual fee on these days. The certs are not supposed to have any blackout dates. They qualified that certainly they are not meant for last minute travel. The agent/
My friend stated that they started noticing that people had 5, 6, 7 or more expired certificates in their accounts because they weren’t able to use them in the one year before they expired. After a lot of complaints and a lot of deep diving into availability for people they noticed that often the revenue department had all the availability stacked in the classes of service not available for the certificate. In essence they were protecting the paid seat inventory. They also said in all their time there they never sold a senior or military fare that they claim to have! Delta cares about showing a profit and being called number one, not their pax. My friend was very sad to leave their passengers but has integrity and was not comfortable with the way they were treated! Deltas loss!

Delta, has been of no help. We caught a flight from Seattle to Amsterdam came in late because of mechanical problems in Seattle. The flight was two hours late and though we caught our transfer to Oslo our bags did not make it. I found one of the bags today at Oslo Airport. My AirTag in the other bag last updated 21 hours ago in a spot at the Amsterdam airport. Delta says The baggage is in route, but I went in person to Oslo airport today to retrieve the one bag. Found a incredibly helpful person with SAS and she finds no record of the second bag anywhere , I’m looking at trying to catch a flight to Amsterdam the next day or two to track down in person. I have some specialized gear in this bag that is still lost, for a planned Arctic trip and it’s a little difficult to replace easily. Wondering if anyone has insight as to find a way to get someone to physically pay attention to the spot on my AirTag app that shows where it is in Amsterdam.

I have been a Delta frequent flyer for 20 years. A diamond medallion 2 million miler. I have never seen these sky clubs so overcrowded. In fact the last time I was in One remind me of a mosh pit
It was so crowded that somebody actually tripped me and I went down pretty hard and fractured my elbow
Does anyone else have an opinion or experience a similar incident at the sky club?

I have a couple of $200 eCredits which will both expire before the date of the flight I want to book using them. If I should need to change that flight after the original expiration dates of the eCredits would I be able to, in effect, use the re-booking plus cash process to enable me to cancel the new reservation, obtaining an eCredit expiring after the original expiration dates.

Thanks—

Oh Wise Reddit Mavens: Delta just sent me a $12 Food Voucher for a 3 hour delay. The voucher shows a 16 digit Mastercard number and CVC code . Even though the Mastercard shows a May 2028 expiration, Delta’s terms and conditions state the voucher needs to be used by tomorrow (6/29) and receiving vendor must be listed as a food or beverage provider. I thought I read somewhere ( Reddit or FlyerTalk) that the value of unused Delta Vouchers could be transferred to Starbucks Prepaid Cards. Can anyone verify this and walk me through the process ?

On an overseas flight, an elderly couple got seated the exit row. They were allowed to board early because of the man's disabilities. He obviously paid for the legroom, but he was obviously impaired as well, possibly early stage Parkinson's. He couldn't do his own seatbelt.

Denied Reimbursement for the June 14th ATL Meltdown? Don't let Delta cite "Section 12" to duck your out-of-pocket costs.

Hey everyone, I’m looking to connect with anyone who was caught in the massive Delta operational breakdown at Atlanta (ATL) on Sunday, June 14th, and has recently had their out-of-pocket expense claims denied. Like thousands of others, my flight was abruptly canceled, and we were left stranded in the terminal for hours without answers, communication, or basic passenger care from gate agents. Because of the total breakdown in service and lack of rebooking help, I had to spend nearly $800 of my own money on emergency lodging, meals, and alternative transit just to keep my family safe and moving. I just received a flat rejection from Delta Customer Care citing "Section 12 of the Delta Customer Service Plan," claiming these expenses are "not covered" because ATL was my "destination"—ignoring the fact that it was an unplanned, multi-hour transit hub nightmare forced by their own cancellations. They also used the classic stalling tactic of claiming my clear Uber and food receipts "did not support the requested expense." Individual complaints are easy for their automated system to deny, but this was a systematic communication and customer care failure at their primary hub. If you were stranded at ATL on June 14th (or that mid-June weekend) and got a similar boilerplate denial email, please drop a comment or DM me.

First time traveling D1 this summer for a 3 week international trip. Trip leaving US is on a KLM code share. I was planning to travel with just two carry-ons. KLM allows two, but I noticed Delta only allows one plus a personal item. I have a hard side carry-on of correct size and was planning to use my 40L softside backpack as the second item. The backpack full with clothes will be closer to the carry-on size rather than the personal size limit. From peoples experience is Delta going to make me gate check the back-pack or are they likely not to care. One additional complication is I have to get to Atlanta via a short Delta flight (Airbus A321) where I will be in first class. Thanks in advance.

I’ve currently booked enough flights to maintain my platinum status for next year. There’s probably not a realistic chance that I’ll be traveling enough to reach diamond level. Should I continue to fly on delta to continue to accumulate the sky pesos or, branch out and use someone else? Some context, I have the Amex platinum so I’ve gotten the 2,500 bump in MQD’s, I’m not in any hub for any airline, all of my business travel is domestic and, i will generally do one international trip for vacation each year usually booked with miles. Any thoughts appreciated!