Oh, Delta Airline – is there no way you won’t find to abuse and screw over your passengers? The Atlanta to Joburg flight last night was delayed multiple times totaling nearly six hours. Throughout the communication was dubious, but once we finally we prepared to get off the ground Delta officials insisted that we would all be taken care of upon arrival, an important factor since just about anyone with a connecting flight was certain to miss it.
Fast forward to a few hours ago. We land at a quiet O.R. Tambo Airport at nearly midnight. Now keep in mind that every element of
the delay has to do with issues in the United States and not in South Africa, yet the South Aafrican staff was left to deal with dozens of
customers who had been made promises. Instead, we find out that
only those with connect owns booked directly through Delta would
be addressed. And given that Delta has almost no partnerships with
South African carriers, that effectively took them off the hook in
their mind not only for addressing those connections but for
providing lodging. Keep in mind also that many of those stranded in
Joburg are not especially familiar with either the country or the city
and yet are essentially being told that on their own they have to
book a room on their own after midnight in a strange (and
sprawling) city.
I advocated for Delta at least minimally helping people arrange for
hotels that we would have to pay for on our own and an
understanding agent did do that after 1:00 this morning. I got into a
guest house in Edendale at nearly 2 and of course am now having
trouble sleeping. And I have no idea what to expect when I get to
South African Airways tomorrow to ask them to rebook me for my
missed flight to Durban tonight. I expect that there will be a few
headaches. But (and take note, Delta) ultimately SAA is aware that
you don’t abuse your customer base and I suspect that at some
point tomorrow I’ll be in Durban, enjoying far more temperate climes than those here in Joburg. I’ll arrive at the South African Historical Society conference really late, but better late than never.
