A New York lawyer is suing Delta airlines for a cool million for allegedly destroying what was supposed to be a fun family vacation and return to their ancestral homeland of Argentina.
In the suit, Richard Roth claims he deserves monetary compensation after he, his wife, mother, and two teenage children were stranded in a Delta airport for three days. The group was without their luggage for five days, and racked up a bill of over $21,000 in hotel rooms that went unused at their final destination as well as for replacement clothing and other expenses, and received rude treatment from Delta employees.
After their initial flight from New York was delayed, the family was not allowed to board a connecting flight in Atlanta, Roth said. A Delta employee "literally walked away chuckling that he had left them stranded," he said. After waiting in the airport for hours, Roth was told the next available flight would not depart for more than two weeks.
Roth booked another flight through a different airline and arrived in Argentina three days later than planned. Their luggage didn't arrive for five days.
While it is true that flying nowadays is an expensive exercise in frustration (and doubly so when traveling with children), I get the feeling that Mr. Roth was probably less than pleasant to airline employees in the first place. Airline employees spend their days like parents of toddlers, being yelled at for situations and decisions that are completely out of their control. We all know how enjoyable THAT is!
A friend who manages to get herself a seat on even the most crowded of flights shared some of her tips that she swears are responsible for her good luck with air travel.
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You have one shot at making a good impression, so be charming and friendly to airline employees. While no one likes a smarmy suck-up, a smile and observation on current conditions ("Wow, it looks like you're having a crazy morning with these storms!") can go a long way.
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Also, it doesn't hurt to dress nicely and have your kids looking as cute as they can.
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Before checking in with the gate agent, use the bathroom and do everything you need to ahead of time. Then check in (or get on the list if you're flying stand-by) and tell him/her oh-so-very-understandingly "I'll be right over there" and STAY IN THAT AREA.
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Don't go back in the line to check on your status, that's annoying. They know you are there and everyone flying out needs to be somewhere, so don't even try to use that line.
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If someone freaks out at the agent, try to make eye contact with the employee and offer a sympathetic smile and "Can you believe some people?!" look with your eyes. People with limited power like to use it to help the nice guy, they generally don't go out of their way for loud, obnoxious ones.
This worked for my husband and me many years ago. We were traveling with our baby when a flight was delayed. The agent apologized and said the airline was making arrangements for people to be bussed to a nearby airport, which was a bummer, but stuff happens. Another set of parents didn't share our c'est la vie attitude and became extremely..... loud while sharing their disapproval with the new arrangements and started yelling about seat belts and writing her congressman and in general just freaking OUT and making their little kids cry right in the middle of the airport.
Thankfully, that was the last I saw them. Shortly after my little family was sprinting to another gate because a couple of seats had miraculously opened up.
1. Where did you get the impression that Mr. Roth was unpleasant? I didn't get that from reading the article. Quite honestly, even if he did behave like a jerk, airline employees should know better than to chortle about stranding someone and their family until after they're out of the public eye. Also - the inability to get another flight for 2 weeks is absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe that you're playing "blame the victim" because customer service is a tough job. You've basically said that if he wanted the service for which he had already paid, he should have been nicer, better dressed and willing to stay in one place for an undetermined period of time. The fact that the article doesn't speak to his behavior at all means, of course, that we have no idea if he could have been any of those thigns.
Posted at 5:16PM on May 29th 2008 by Brenda