The Threat of a Delta Strike (all threads merged here)

[greatam]

For everyone who is worrying about paper tickets, those are the least of your concern if Delta ceases operations, which it will if the pilots go on strike, there is not enough extra capacity to get everyone accomodated in a reasonable time frame to make your cruise.

 

If there are no seats to your destination there are no seats.

 

If you are really concerned that Delta will not be flying, you need to book something else now or plan on driving to departure.

 

You might get a flight but the odds are that you won't get one in time to get to your cruise, unless you pay on someone else.

 

As previously posted, about 20% of displaced Delta passengers can be accommodated within current capacity. Your party may not be accommodated on the same flights. You may have to fly through alternate airports, make more stops, etc. You may have to fly red eyes or VERY early morning flights. You definitely should have alternate plans-driving, a rental car, the train, bus. And be very realistic that you may not make your cruise.

 

IF you are prepared with alternate flights, times, airports, etc. AND have a paper ticket, you are WAAAY ahead of the general leisure traveller, especially if Delta strikes BEFORE your vacation. IF Delta strikes while you are on vacation, you will still be further ahead than most in trying to be reaccommodated. You should NOT have to stand in a long line, at the Delta counter, trying to get paper tickets which will be needed to board another carrier's plane.

 

Everyone needs to be thoroughly prepared with alternate flights, times, paper tickets and an alternate way to get to your cruise, up to and including alternate airline tickets.

[Chat Noir]

Thank you greatam & 48is24is1 (interesting sn...:)),

I feel more confident in the tickets I hold, and will be well prepared with other information to get us on flights asap in the event of a strike. My tickets were printed at the Delta counter at time of purchase, and nowhere do I find non-endorsable. We fly out on a Friday @ 830am, ship sails Saturday @ 430pm. We could possibly fly as early as Thursday 1000pm. Life is never dull!

[cal101]

Took greatam's advice and decided to get a backup plan. Just purchased tickets with Continental Airlines and will cancel reservations with Delta and put my FF back in our account (hopefully we will eventually get to use them).

 

Now I can go back to being excited about our cruise to Alaska on May 20th.

[stlrboo]

Have been following the 'boards' and have given myself a couple options...! I am going to the local airport to the Delta counter tomorrow afternoon (kind of a lax time at the airport) and getting "paper tickets".. If I have to pay, so be it.. I don't want to stand in more lines than necessary when I'm trying to catch the ship before it departs, or getting home... :rolleyes: I would guess that they won't charge me, considering the situation!

 

I am also heading to 'southwest.com' and am booking 'fully refundable' one way tickets from my departure airport to FLL, just in case...! If they (Delta) are still on strike after the cruise (if they are at all), I will drive from FLL to Erie, PA via a rental car I will line up shortly.. :)

 

I talked to my travel insurance carrier today, and was told that everything I am doing is RIGHT! Not necessary, but prudent..!! Thanks to 'greatam', I feel much better about the whole situation... :D

[tazmanrmv]

I'm leaving on Delta April 30th to catch my honeymoon cruise later that day. Since I can't risk either having that plane cancelled or having the Carnival send me on a five city tour of the US to finally get to Tampa, I booked two tickets on Jet Blue for the same day. To me, it's 200.00 well spent just for the piece of mind.

[Kerrid]

Took greatam's advice and decided to get a backup plan. Just purchased tickets with Continental Airlines and will cancel reservations with Delta and put my FF back in our account (hopefully we will eventually get to use them).

 

Now I can go back to being excited about our cruise to Alaska on May 20th.

 

Hi - I did the same thing on Wed and had Delta put our FF miles back into our account and booked on another carrier so no more worries for me!

[Kerrid]

Hi - my DH called me yesterday from his business trip, he is working with a guy whose brother is a Delta pilot. They called this guys brother (the pilot) and he advised he doesn't see a strike coming as the talks were going rather well? Just thought I'd pass that along but I guess you never do know....

[48is24is1]

One other thing that I didn't mention is the Northwest agent told me we aren't limited to flying out of the departure city listed on the tickets, we could fly from a different airport. This will give us more options because we are in driving distance of 5 airports! If there is a strike, my first plan of attack is to try to get on a late Thursday night flight or find the 1st morning flight out. I've printed the flight schedules for these airports/airlines and will continue to monitor the situation/schedules as it unfolds.

[48is24is1]

Does anyone know if we would have to wait until our scheduled flight date to have our Delta tickets endorsed to another airline or if there is a strike, can we have our tickets endorsed on implementation of a strike? I'm scheduled to fly on April 28, if the strike starts before that date will I be able to change my flight to a different carrier on the start of the strike or would I have to wait until April 28? Thanks in advance.

[4 cruisers]

Stirboo, or any other CC...did you get your paper tickets from Delta and did they charge yoiu? Thanks for the info everyone.

[stlrboo]

Stirboo, or any other CC...did you get your paper tickets from Delta and did they charge yoiu? Thanks for the info everyone.

I'm going to the airport tomorrow or Monday.... I hate to 'jump the gun' and possibly have to pay the $20. per ticket for 'paper tickets', if I don't have to... Our flight leaves Friday, April 21... Cruise leaves on the 22nd...! :p

 

I have, in fact, booked 'fully refundable' tickets on Southwest, leaving 2 hours after our scheduled flight on Delta.. I'm pretty well covered... I had tried to rebook through Continental or Northwest, but their prices at this stage of the game made it really repulsive.. 'Greatams' suggestion of the tickets on Southwest, 'One-Way' "fully refundable" made a lot more sense... :D

[4 cruisers]

Just saw this on another link....Damn

 

sametu

Cool Cruiser

 

Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Florida

Posts: 163

greatam...

This has just been posted on the AF message board that AF will NOT honor DL tickets-paid, FF, upgrades, IF tickets were issued on Delta stock and ticket numbers begin with 006.

 

"The way it was explained to me is that, no matter the form of ticket (electronic or paper) if it was issued by DL then AF would not honor it in the unlikley event of a strike and/or total permanent shut down. If AF had themselves issued the ticket on AF paper or electronically, then they would provide assistance in rebooking my reservation. Basically, if you have any form of a ticket with a DL prefix (I think 06#####) then you are at risk of being at the mercy of the carrier at the time they make the decision."

 

I've followed your message posts and appreciate your input. The chances of getting to our cruise are becoming less every day. Went to the airport yesterday to get paper tickets and was told to keep what we have (e-tickets). Travel insurance co. tells us they won't cover our Delta flight since Delta filed for bankruptcy one month before we bought the insurance. Now, we see that our tickets start with 006. We're defnitely at the mercy of Delta!

__________________

[celmed]

Calm down! Delta will be fine. Fill your head with dreams of cruising rather than worries of cancelled flights. :)

[stlrboo]

I too, don't think anything will come of this... :rolleyes: BUT, one can never have enough 'options'... :p

The pilots know Delta can't make it past a couple days, and Delta knows that if the pilots do strike, even wildcat, it will immediately 'blow them down the drain'..

Cooler heads will prevail, and all will be well.. If I wasn't flying next week, I wouldn't be worried at all! HOWEVER, the 'fully refundable' tickets to get me to the cruise ship, sound like a very prudent move... ;)

[4 cruisers]

Thanks you two posters! Three glasses of Cabernet later....I'm calming down. Thinking positive thoughts. Sad that flying business class to Europe is such a dream for me (using miles)...but for family travel, we just can't swing 3 business seats at full fare these days (and I'd never be able to put our 14 year old in economy by himself:eek: ). Darn...this is my 50th b-day cruise...Come on Delta!!!!

 

Oh, and Stirboo, have a wonderful family reunion! A cruise is THE perfect place to do it!!!! Good thoughts and prayers from L.A.!

[wrp96]

I'm going to the airport tomorrow or Monday.... I hate to 'jump the gun' and possibly have to pay the $20. per ticket for 'paper tickets', if I don't have to... Our flight leaves Friday, April 21... Cruise leaves on the 22nd...! :p

 

Don't wait until Monday to go as that is the earliest date they may strike. If they strike on Monday you'll be in trouble.

[4 cruisers]

Isn't that just futile?....if this is the case...for Air France passengers, that is.:(

 

This has just been posted on the AF message board that AF will NOT honor DL tickets-paid, FF, upgrades, IF tickets were issued on Delta stock and ticket numbers begin with 006.

 

"The way it was explained to me is that, no matter the form of ticket (electronic or paper) if it was issued by DL then AF would not honor it in the unlikley event of a strike and/or total permanent shut down. If AF had themselves issued the ticket on AF paper or electronically, then they would provide assistance in rebooking my reservation. Basically, if you have any form of a ticket with a DL prefix (I think 06#####) then you are at risk of being at the mercy of the carrier at the time they make the decision."

[stlrboo]

Don't wait until Monday to go as that is the earliest date they may strike. If they strike on Monday you'll be in trouble.

Tomorrow it is...!! Gonna' be raining anyhow, so I can't 'play' outside....:rolleyes: :D

[greatam]

I may have some good news. It is not verified, but supposedly there is an annoucement to be made this afternoon.

 

This is the headline from the Atlanta Journal Constitution business section.

Gains Hinted in the Delta talks.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/stories/0414bizdelta.html

 

Let's hope this is positive news. I would still take all precautions necessary, because they are "still talking". But the good news is, they are "still talking".

[sametu]

I may have some good news. It is not verified, but supposedly there is an annoucement to be made this afternoon.

 

This is the headline from the Atlanta Journal Constitution business section.

Gains Hinted in the Delta talks.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/stories/0414bizdelta.html

 

Let's hope this is positive news. I would still take all precautions necessary, because they are "still talking". But the good news is, they are "still talking".

 

The Delta pilots Union said Friday they reached a tentative agreement with the airline over a contract dispute.

[Kerrid]

yeah!!!! I just read it online on the news they have a tentative agreement! That's great because I've always loved Delta and now I know my trip in August will be ok and I can book tickets to go see family up north for my trip in June (possibly using my sky miles). kinda stinks that we had to pay for tix on American for May but it's better to be safe than sorry and the flight times on American were much better so I'm HAPPY!

[NCLcruisefan]

Well just so you know Delta has not agreed to anything yet. My brother in law is a Delta pilot and was required along with all pilots, by the union, to clear out their lockers b/c they probably won't be coming back. Delta has already filed bankruptcy and is very shakey right now. If they do strike; which is expected to be known by monday or tuesday; then Delta will not be able to sustain itself. No pilots, no flights. They don't have a choice once the union decides to strike. Maybe if enough people put enough pressure on Delta they will come up with something feasible for everyone to be content. Its not a matter of being happy anymore with Delta or its employees. At this point everyone needs to just be content. They can't afford to hire new pilots and the delay would lose money from no flights; so they need to come to an agreement. My brother-in-law said that they will know mon or tue if the strike is on. But they have already cleaned out their lockers and are very worried about their jobs. The union has made the decision for all pilots not just a few. They vote on the people that head these unions and then they make decisions that are supposed to be in the best interest of the pilots. And in a way it is. Closing the Dallas hub has made commuting to Atlanta a very big deal. Driving to Houston or another airport that can then take him to Atlanta; he has to rent an apartment there too; along with his home in Dallas. so they have decided to move. All due to the Delta issues. So it is more than just we want more pay; there are other issues and it isn't just pilots standing up and saying we aren't working anymore. Point to the story; be prepared, it doesn't look good, and you should know by mon or tue.

[Frequent Cruiser MA]

This was on the ALPA website:

 

Delta Pilot Negotiators reach a Tentative agreement with Management

 

Goal of Consensual Agreement

 

ATLANTA, Ga. –Delta Air Line pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), reached a tentative agreement (TA) with management after countless meetings between the union’s and the company’s negotiators. The tentative agreement is expected to be presented to the union’s governing body, the Delta MEC, in the upcoming weeks. Details of the TA will not be released as they must first be considered for ratification by the MEC before it can be presented to the pilot body for a vote. The process of review and ratification will occur as an internal process. If ratified, the agreement is then subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Founded in 1931, ALPA represents 62,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 6,000 active DAL pilots and 500 furloughed DAL pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the Delta pilots’ website at www.deltapilots.org.

SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association

CONTACT : Kelly Collins, 404-763-4925 (o) or (770)330-4145 © or kelly.collins@alpa.org

More info is available on the www.deltapilots.org site, click Press Room Access.

[stlrboo]

So, not knowing how the DALPA system works, are we guaranteed a 'strike-free' couple weeks until they vote on the contract and it is approved by the bankruptcy courts, or is there still need for 'precautionary measures'..? :o

 

Still believe I may go and get 'paper tickets' just in case...:rolleyes:

[stlrboo]

Still believe I may go and get 'paper tickets' just in case...:rolleyes:

Went to the Erie, PA airport and was charged the $20. per ticket fee for 'paper tickets' even after explaining the situation. :( Clerk tried to get the charge waived, but his 'Boss' said no..

 

Gee, think I'll fly US Air or an alternate airline next time... ;)