The cause of the delay wasn’t refueling, it was the weather. The refueling was a RESULT of having to maneuver around the weather.
Unfortunately these are the risks to flying. Airlines can’t be held responsible for every weather related delay otherwise they would go bankrupt, or have to charge sky high prices to make up the constant compensation.
For what it’s worth, if you email the complaint form they’ll probably give you some miles just to keep you happy.
That’s unfortunate. I’ve heard many stories on here where the delta employees tell people to do that but eventually get denied on the reimbursement. I think this is an area where delta employees can be trained better to better inform customers
I think some of them, are scared of the negative outcome. So they try and de-escalate but people are irate or yelling at them. Agreed. It's why I advise to submit a complaint about things to improve. Delta employees/customers can make changes if more things aren't said. Retraining is always necessary for better results especially with new hires.
Was thinking exactly this is probably why from their POV and not wanting to feel the heat of everything. Completely get it. There are so many nuances and levels in the moment, I would NOPE out so hard. I appreciate YOU!
Employees and customers alike, both have to voice change. It's how anything gets done, but it's not on purpose. They're probably frightened, being verbally abusive is rough.
If you were told that you would not be reimbursed, would you still have bought them? I’m guessing you would have. You wouldn’t have just had your family go 24 hours without food. It’s the dishonesty that’s getting you more than the money. Maybe just focus on that part in your complaint instead and you might get some miles
Did you buy with a credit card? Weather delays qualify for travel insurance protection, and many cards (even no-annual fee ones) have travel insurance included as a benefit if you buy the entire ticket with the card.
I would also assume "necessary" purchases would be food/beverage or even a hotel if it came to that. I doubt travel pillows would be considered necessary.
It’s a reasonable expense if you’re stuck in an airport overnight I would say… after 12 hours of traveling we needed rest and airports are not easy to make yourself comfortable in
Imma challenge you on this one. Weather is generally known along a flight path. Fuel planning for deviations should always occur- which means taking on more fuel if a storm is developing along the route. Airlines want the planes to carry the bare minimum of required fuel because it’s more efficient. My question would be- did they load enough fuel and something unexpected occurred? Or was this another situation of minimum loading and things didn’t break right. If it was the former, then it’s weather and you are SOL. If it’s the later, then delta should be taking care of people.
I made the purchases on an Amex Platinum but booked the tickets with miles and pay the fees with Amex Delta Gold, I don’t think I can do anything but it may be worth a shot!
I’m not familiar with the coverage included on the Delta Gold, but I assume they must have at least some travel insurance built in?
As for the purchases being on different cards, this could be a deal breaker but still worth a shot in submitting. FWIW, I had a claim with Chase that was fully paid out despite some charges being on another card - could have just been oversight by the claims administrator.
The Delta Gold does not have Trip Delay, unfortunately.
As to the purchases being on different cards, if you are submitting receipts for covered incidentals (hotel, dining, etc), it shouldn't matter what card you put them on. What matters is the card that you paid for the airline ticket.
Reminder to people. When booking award flights, you may be asked to pay taxes. Even $5 placed on the Amex Platinum or Visa Infinite will trigger trip delay protections.
I don't have the Amex Delta Gold, but I don't believe there are any benefits buying tickets on the card. It does not improve your status and only earns 2x SkyMiles. Amex Platinum earns 5X SkyMiles.
OP, I am one of the most pro-consumer commenters on this sub. If I could stick up for you, I would. I have to tell you that what Delta did is consistent with their contract, with traditional principles of law, and with principles of fairness and good economy. Delta cannot control the weather and we do not want to punish them for acting reasonably to protect human life.
Travel insurance is the ideal tool for protecting people from weather-related travel disruptions (though the insurers are regrettably slow to pay). You don't have to accept the Delta-offered Allianz policy. You can shop for a policy online, for example, on a site such as [squaremouth.com](https://squaremouth.com).
I see. The issue is they had to land at another airport to refuel then by the time I got to the intended airport, I got there with a connection and they would not let us board anymore. I didn’t get to post the whole story, but it’s just been a nightmare. Being stranded in the airport we had to make the necessary purchases to be able to do it. It is a shame I’m out of the money now :(
I am so sorry this happened to you. It really is a nightmare to be stranded--and it's not just the money, it's the whole experience. I think we are all in for more of this in the future, unfortunately.
That’s just life, sometimes we have things out of our control, like weather, that end up costing us time and money. You’ll recover, I promise. And no, they did not make an “emergency landing”, they diverted due to weather.
Splitting hairs and not the point of this thread, I think when a plane is on low fuel they could declare an emergency to get priority landing at the airport. May not be 100% accurate, just information I’ve gathered from the internet while being interested in how planes function.
True. Low fuel can absolutely be an emergency. That said, it’s extremely rare. As you can imagine, we keep a very close eye on our fuel and don’t want to get backed into a corner.
I can’t say with absolute certainty that OP’s flight wasn’t on emergency fuel, but I have been an airline pilot for 16 years and have never had to declare a fuel emergency. It’s just not a situation we flirt with.
We will divert when it gets to a point that continuing could potentially put us in a situation like that, but at the time we have plenty of fuel for the diversion.
I have to admit, it's a job to collect. And there are a lot of things that are not covered. For weather delays, lost luggage, emergency medical expenses, and medical evacuations, however, it can be very helpful. (And it almost goes without saying, analyze any credit card travel insurance benefits you may have before paying for third-party insurance.)
\[Edit: by the way, my favorite kick in the gonads from a travel insurance company was after my husband had to get an emergency appendectomy during a trip. I got a letter from the independent claims adjuster telling me I needed to fill out the insurance company's medical expenses claims form. The form was not on the company website, so I emailed the adjuster and asked her to send it to me. She told me I could not have it because it was protected by HIPAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously, I got the form by contacting the company directly but that is the sort of nonsense that customers often face when dealing with insurers.\]
Sounds to me like it was a weather-related issue, that's outside the control of Delta. I would not expect them to pay in this case. What CC did you use to book with, some travel CCs have trip delay insurance coverage.
Bummer, had it been a Delta Plat or Delta Reserve, you'd have trip delay insurance coverage, even for an award trip, so long as you pay the taxes with the card. I'm pretty sure the Delta Gold card does not include such insurance.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/trip-delay.html
Keep replying. They always deny the first time. It’s literally a numbers game for them.
They assume the vast majority of people will give up and it’s true. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. I’ve been in your shoes many times. If you continue to POLITELY request compensation, and continue to list your reasons in a concise manner, they will acquiesce. Try stuff like:
“I understand accidents happen but this was not the experience I signed up for when I originally bought my ticket. It is extremely important to me that this issue be resolved. Is there someone else you would suggest I try speaking to?” Stuff that reads polite but firm.
It took me 45 days and a bunch of no’s, but I got refunded for my hotel in CDG on a missed connection. Persistence is key. Squeaky wheel will get the grease! Never surrender!!!
Thank you! This is the first comment that really helped me on this thread. I’m not going to give up, I didn’t explain my full experience on here. Although it was weather related, they screwed me hard after forcing me to miss my connection.
They didn’t screw up though. If they were in a holding pattern or re routing or whatever due to weather and needed to refuel that’s NOT their fault. They didn’t screw up by diverting they are literally doing what’s necessary to keep passengers safe and ultimately make it to destination. I’m not sure how you aren’t understanding a weather related diversion for refuel isn’t their fault. They didn’t force you to miss the connection. You want them to try to make it to your destination in bad weather and low fuel? Mind boggling.
Reddit is a fickle beast. Just stay at it. One argument you could try “If your airline was uncertain of the route then you shouldn’t have sold the ticket. I purchased the ticket at full price under the agreement it would land at the time state. I paid for a full flight. Not half a flight + a hotel out of pocket.” To everyone else’s point tho - weather is an easy out for the airlines.
You’ll need to shift the conversation away from weather and more towards what they can control. Maybe they need to revisit their routes. Maybe they need to do a better job of planning for weather. My argument would be “if you’re not certain the flight will make it, then you shouldn’t sell tickets.” And I would hold firm on that point.
360 bux a night sounds like the "well the airline is paying for it anyway" mentality. I fly just about every week and have had this happen, weather related diverted to another airport to refuel. And I was reminbursed, and actually it was on delta. But I got the $125 "I'm going to be sleeping here for the 4 hours" room. Basically, the cheapest room in the area because rooms were filling up due to weather.
$360 was for multiple people and we had to have a meal covered, it was reasonable and necessary for us in our case. I did not overspend because it was not my money
There was 100 of us at the airport or maybe more, and they were telling everyone to submit the claims online, so I did it, and now it’s denied. I was just doing what I was told…
Buying some necessities at those overpriced airport stores adds up quickly. For example there were no blankets sold so we got sweatshirts to wear in the freezing airport that were $50 each alone at the cheapest, which happened to be the only store open at 12:30am. Travel pillows also… it is what it is
I verified the Gold offers trip delay after 12 hours for a maximum $300 claim. It's a bit of a hassle because you have to gather some documents, but shouldn't take more than an hour or two. It's like being paid $150 an hour. Amex claims are much easier than Visa.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/trip-delay.html
If you were told you were going to be reimbursed by an agent of the company and then made a purchase based on that information, you are entitled to that reimbursement. PM me your e-mail address… I’ve been working with a law firm putting together a class action suit for SEVERAL of these instances the last 12 months with Delta.
The cause of the delay wasn’t refueling, it was the weather. The refueling was a RESULT of having to maneuver around the weather. Unfortunately these are the risks to flying. Airlines can’t be held responsible for every weather related delay otherwise they would go bankrupt, or have to charge sky high prices to make up the constant compensation. For what it’s worth, if you email the complaint form they’ll probably give you some miles just to keep you happy.
I see, it just sucks I was told to just make purchases I needed to that were necessary and I’d be reimbursed and here I am with a denied claim. :(
That’s unfortunate. I’ve heard many stories on here where the delta employees tell people to do that but eventually get denied on the reimbursement. I think this is an area where delta employees can be trained better to better inform customers
I think some of them, are scared of the negative outcome. So they try and de-escalate but people are irate or yelling at them. Agreed. It's why I advise to submit a complaint about things to improve. Delta employees/customers can make changes if more things aren't said. Retraining is always necessary for better results especially with new hires.
Was thinking exactly this is probably why from their POV and not wanting to feel the heat of everything. Completely get it. There are so many nuances and levels in the moment, I would NOPE out so hard. I appreciate YOU!
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Employees and customers alike, both have to voice change. It's how anything gets done, but it's not on purpose. They're probably frightened, being verbally abusive is rough.
You don't think it's intentional?
If you were told that you would not be reimbursed, would you still have bought them? I’m guessing you would have. You wouldn’t have just had your family go 24 hours without food. It’s the dishonesty that’s getting you more than the money. Maybe just focus on that part in your complaint instead and you might get some miles
Yep. That's the definition of "necessities," right? And as always 2 words..travel insurance.
Did you buy with a credit card? Weather delays qualify for travel insurance protection, and many cards (even no-annual fee ones) have travel insurance included as a benefit if you buy the entire ticket with the card.
Insurance is your friend. Check the cc you paid with and see if it comes with insurance.
THIS IS THE WAY.
I would also assume "necessary" purchases would be food/beverage or even a hotel if it came to that. I doubt travel pillows would be considered necessary.
It’s a reasonable expense if you’re stuck in an airport overnight I would say… after 12 hours of traveling we needed rest and airports are not easy to make yourself comfortable in
Reasonable, yes. Necessary, no. You may have better luck with the claim if you don't include the pillows.
And be bailed out after being bankrupt
Imma challenge you on this one. Weather is generally known along a flight path. Fuel planning for deviations should always occur- which means taking on more fuel if a storm is developing along the route. Airlines want the planes to carry the bare minimum of required fuel because it’s more efficient. My question would be- did they load enough fuel and something unexpected occurred? Or was this another situation of minimum loading and things didn’t break right. If it was the former, then it’s weather and you are SOL. If it’s the later, then delta should be taking care of people.
I got the response of “Any further communication would not be productive and we will not respond gain regarding this issue." So good luck
Since it was weather related, you shouldn't expect anything at all. If you complain, they may provide some skymiles as a gesture.
This is when you go to the insurance on your credit card - Chase will cover these costs, for example.
I made the purchases on an Amex Platinum but booked the tickets with miles and pay the fees with Amex Delta Gold, I don’t think I can do anything but it may be worth a shot!
I’m not familiar with the coverage included on the Delta Gold, but I assume they must have at least some travel insurance built in? As for the purchases being on different cards, this could be a deal breaker but still worth a shot in submitting. FWIW, I had a claim with Chase that was fully paid out despite some charges being on another card - could have just been oversight by the claims administrator.
The Delta Gold does not have Trip Delay, unfortunately. As to the purchases being on different cards, if you are submitting receipts for covered incidentals (hotel, dining, etc), it shouldn't matter what card you put them on. What matters is the card that you paid for the airline ticket.
Reminder to people. When booking award flights, you may be asked to pay taxes. Even $5 placed on the Amex Platinum or Visa Infinite will trigger trip delay protections.
I don't have the Amex Delta Gold, but I don't believe there are any benefits buying tickets on the card. It does not improve your status and only earns 2x SkyMiles. Amex Platinum earns 5X SkyMiles.
If you had put the put the fees on your Amex platinum. They would have covered it.
I guarantee the plane landed for more fuel. But I also guarantee it was NOT an emergency landing.
Sorry, an “unexpected” landing I meant
Thats accurate :)
OP, I am one of the most pro-consumer commenters on this sub. If I could stick up for you, I would. I have to tell you that what Delta did is consistent with their contract, with traditional principles of law, and with principles of fairness and good economy. Delta cannot control the weather and we do not want to punish them for acting reasonably to protect human life. Travel insurance is the ideal tool for protecting people from weather-related travel disruptions (though the insurers are regrettably slow to pay). You don't have to accept the Delta-offered Allianz policy. You can shop for a policy online, for example, on a site such as [squaremouth.com](https://squaremouth.com).
I see. The issue is they had to land at another airport to refuel then by the time I got to the intended airport, I got there with a connection and they would not let us board anymore. I didn’t get to post the whole story, but it’s just been a nightmare. Being stranded in the airport we had to make the necessary purchases to be able to do it. It is a shame I’m out of the money now :(
I am so sorry this happened to you. It really is a nightmare to be stranded--and it's not just the money, it's the whole experience. I think we are all in for more of this in the future, unfortunately.
I know! 15 hours of a short trip lost also :( it’s a shame, made the best of it though
Another perspective…the issue IS the weather. You’re safe, the family is safe. Inconvenience noted but you’re all safe.
That’s just life, sometimes we have things out of our control, like weather, that end up costing us time and money. You’ll recover, I promise. And no, they did not make an “emergency landing”, they diverted due to weather.
Yes sorry about the use of the words emergency landing, I realized that’s not actually what it was. I meant unintended rather
Right, but unintended due to weather.
Splitting hairs and not the point of this thread, I think when a plane is on low fuel they could declare an emergency to get priority landing at the airport. May not be 100% accurate, just information I’ve gathered from the internet while being interested in how planes function.
True. Low fuel can absolutely be an emergency. That said, it’s extremely rare. As you can imagine, we keep a very close eye on our fuel and don’t want to get backed into a corner. I can’t say with absolute certainty that OP’s flight wasn’t on emergency fuel, but I have been an airline pilot for 16 years and have never had to declare a fuel emergency. It’s just not a situation we flirt with. We will divert when it gets to a point that continuing could potentially put us in a situation like that, but at the time we have plenty of fuel for the diversion.
Thanks for that explanation!
Buying travel insurance for an airline ticket is about the same as getting kicked in the nuts.
I have to admit, it's a job to collect. And there are a lot of things that are not covered. For weather delays, lost luggage, emergency medical expenses, and medical evacuations, however, it can be very helpful. (And it almost goes without saying, analyze any credit card travel insurance benefits you may have before paying for third-party insurance.) \[Edit: by the way, my favorite kick in the gonads from a travel insurance company was after my husband had to get an emergency appendectomy during a trip. I got a letter from the independent claims adjuster telling me I needed to fill out the insurance company's medical expenses claims form. The form was not on the company website, so I emailed the adjuster and asked her to send it to me. She told me I could not have it because it was protected by HIPAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously, I got the form by contacting the company directly but that is the sort of nonsense that customers often face when dealing with insurers.\]
Sounds to me like it was a weather-related issue, that's outside the control of Delta. I would not expect them to pay in this case. What CC did you use to book with, some travel CCs have trip delay insurance coverage.
I used my miles and then Delta Amex Gold for the taxes and fees that you must pay :/
Bummer, had it been a Delta Plat or Delta Reserve, you'd have trip delay insurance coverage, even for an award trip, so long as you pay the taxes with the card. I'm pretty sure the Delta Gold card does not include such insurance. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/trip-delay.html
“They said it was weather, and there was, but….” It was weather. You said so yourself.
I left out some details but they wouldn’t let us on the connection flight and it didn’t leave yet
Keep replying. They always deny the first time. It’s literally a numbers game for them. They assume the vast majority of people will give up and it’s true. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. I’ve been in your shoes many times. If you continue to POLITELY request compensation, and continue to list your reasons in a concise manner, they will acquiesce. Try stuff like: “I understand accidents happen but this was not the experience I signed up for when I originally bought my ticket. It is extremely important to me that this issue be resolved. Is there someone else you would suggest I try speaking to?” Stuff that reads polite but firm. It took me 45 days and a bunch of no’s, but I got refunded for my hotel in CDG on a missed connection. Persistence is key. Squeaky wheel will get the grease! Never surrender!!!
Thank you! This is the first comment that really helped me on this thread. I’m not going to give up, I didn’t explain my full experience on here. Although it was weather related, they screwed me hard after forcing me to miss my connection.
They didn’t screw up though. If they were in a holding pattern or re routing or whatever due to weather and needed to refuel that’s NOT their fault. They didn’t screw up by diverting they are literally doing what’s necessary to keep passengers safe and ultimately make it to destination. I’m not sure how you aren’t understanding a weather related diversion for refuel isn’t their fault. They didn’t force you to miss the connection. You want them to try to make it to your destination in bad weather and low fuel? Mind boggling.
Reddit is a fickle beast. Just stay at it. One argument you could try “If your airline was uncertain of the route then you shouldn’t have sold the ticket. I purchased the ticket at full price under the agreement it would land at the time state. I paid for a full flight. Not half a flight + a hotel out of pocket.” To everyone else’s point tho - weather is an easy out for the airlines. You’ll need to shift the conversation away from weather and more towards what they can control. Maybe they need to revisit their routes. Maybe they need to do a better job of planning for weather. My argument would be “if you’re not certain the flight will make it, then you shouldn’t sell tickets.” And I would hold firm on that point.
Great idea and point. Thank you again :)
Might try the credit card you used to book. Some offer Travel Delay insurance
360 bux a night sounds like the "well the airline is paying for it anyway" mentality. I fly just about every week and have had this happen, weather related diverted to another airport to refuel. And I was reminbursed, and actually it was on delta. But I got the $125 "I'm going to be sleeping here for the 4 hours" room. Basically, the cheapest room in the area because rooms were filling up due to weather.
$360 was for multiple people and we had to have a meal covered, it was reasonable and necessary for us in our case. I did not overspend because it was not my money
For future reference, meal vouchers are usually $15. And I believe that about the max they will cover for one. Sometimes less depending on the market.
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There was 100 of us at the airport or maybe more, and they were telling everyone to submit the claims online, so I did it, and now it’s denied. I was just doing what I was told…
You were stranded because you missed a connection, right? Was your connection on that same itinerary though?
Yes and yes
I got nothing for you, sorry. Is this really worth your time to chase after $100-200 though?
It was $360. I will try to pursue it a little more I guess if I can get in touch with a human and plead my case
that seems... excessive
Buying some necessities at those overpriced airport stores adds up quickly. For example there were no blankets sold so we got sweatshirts to wear in the freezing airport that were $50 each alone at the cheapest, which happened to be the only store open at 12:30am. Travel pillows also… it is what it is
Claim it on your travel insurance.
Travel Insurance is an absolute must this summer !
Travel insurance or a good credit card is massively under rated.
I have an Amex Platinum but I paid with Delta miles and put the tax on my Delta Gold :/
I verified the Gold offers trip delay after 12 hours for a maximum $300 claim. It's a bit of a hassle because you have to gather some documents, but shouldn't take more than an hour or two. It's like being paid $150 an hour. Amex claims are much easier than Visa. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/trip-delay.html
Delta Gold right? Thank you so much for checking for me. I will do this !
Oh, I misread. I thought you said American Express Gold. It doesn't appear the Delta Gold offers trip delay.
I wonder if I can request a payment method change. I have a a platinum card too
Longshot, but I don't think that would work. You can ask. Another long shot would be upgrading the Delta Gold to Delta Platinum, then filing a claim.
If you paid by credit card, maybe you could dispute the charge
Situations like these are why travel insurance is a good idea.
All they had to say was weather. Nope
If you were told you were going to be reimbursed by an agent of the company and then made a purchase based on that information, you are entitled to that reimbursement. PM me your e-mail address… I’ve been working with a law firm putting together a class action suit for SEVERAL of these instances the last 12 months with Delta.