When Delta sucks, they REALLY suck

I've been a frequent flyer with Delta airlines for quite a few years now, and have maintained Platinum status with them for the last couple of years. When you travel a lot, it pays to try and keep the majority of your frequent flyer benefits with a single carrier, and you really hate it when you have to take a long trip and can't get your preferred airline because all those miles are going into the wrong bucket. So I was pretty happy when our corporate travel folks put me on Delta for my trip to South America.

So yesterday (Sunday) I had a flight at 18:45 to JFK, then a 21:05 flight from there to Sao Paulo. Due to air traffic congestion in the NYC area, ATC put a ground stop on flights departing for JFK. This meant we had to sit on the tarmac in Richmond for over an hour before we were released.

We actually got to the gate at JFK at 21:00, and I thought I might still make my flight to Brazil. It's common practice for an airline to hold departure of a flight when they know passengers are arriving on delayed flights, so I was pretty sure I'd make it. Adding to my optimism as I entered the terminal building was the fact that my departure gate was only two gates down from my arrival gate. Sweet.

Alas, it was not to be. As I trotted up to the gate, I saw the plane was still there and hadn't started pushing back yet, but the boarding door was closed. The gate agents said, without apology, that I'd have to go to the service desk for reticketing. The time was 21:10...I'd missed departure by 5 minutes and Delta wouldn't hold the plane.

At the service desk I was greeted by intruded upon an agent by the name of Kris. Kris seemed bewildered by my presence there, since according to him the area was closed. I advised him that I was directed his way by his colleagues at gate 23 and that I was in need of reticketing. Reluctantly, Kris pulled up my information and reticketed me.

My original flight plans had me arriving in Sao Paulo at around 08:00 local time Monday morning. My new arrangements have me arriving at 06:05 Tuesday morning...nearly 24 hours later than planned! My buddy Kris made no effort whatsoever to even try to put me on another carrier that might have gotten me into Sao Paulo even a little bit earlier.

I can only wonder about the fate of my luggage.

Update:
As I was writing this, I received the following e-mail response to the flame I left Delta on their web site last night:

We regret you were inconvenienced because of a missed flight connection.
Delaying a flight for a confirmed passenger is a difficult situation for the airlines. In the past, our policy was to wait for passengers whenever possible even at the expense of on-time performance. Now, our customers tell us that being on time is a high priority, and we have changed our practices to better meet these expectations.

Once our gate personnel relinquish control of the airplane to the crew and operations team, it is considered dispatched even though the aircraft may still be at the gate. To stop our processes after the crew is given a takeoff priority may result in a lengthy delay. We are trying to achieve a balance between reliability and good customer service.

Yes...being on time is a high priority. When flying, I regard an on time departure as anything within 20 minutes or so of planned departure. Arriving at my destination 24 hours late does not constitute being on time.

Update:
As I fully expected, my luggage didn't make it. When I arrived Tuesday morning, the baggage service guys told me that it was still at JFK (WTF??) and would be put on that night's flight for arrival Wednesday morning. Nice. As it turned out, the bag had been placed on Monday night's flight out of JFK, and was delivered to my hotel Tuesday afternoon. Still, I had to go out and buy clothes and toiletries Tuesday morning, so Delta will be getting a bill from me.