OK, Delta's clearly gouging agents. So tell us what can we do about it
Mark Pestronk has written all these columns about Delta gouging the travel agent with debit memos. But what can we do about it?
They took our money, and ARC won't do anything except say they can't do it anymore. Can we file a class action against Delta? We changed the client's date, and Delta got us for a duplicate booking. It isn't fair, and we sit here and can't do anything.
Nancy Schroeder
Ladera Travel
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
When you think Delta cannot sink any lower, it somehow gets worse
After reading Mark Pestronk's column in the Jan. 12 issue [Legal Briefs: "Agency is ignored after deluge of debit memos from Delta"], I did not think that Delta could sink any lower. Lo and behold, the very next week (to paraphrase President Reagan), "There they go again."
For years, my wife and I saved our Delta SkyMiles and decided to use them for a 25th wedding anniversary trip to China: 120,000 miles each for business class. We had to cancel the trip, and it cost $100 to redeposit the miles into my account. So be it.
Last week, we decided to redo the anniversary trip. This time we would do a Scandinavia-Russia cruise from Copenhagen. I was expecting business class to be about 100,000 to 120,000 miles per ticket to Copenhagen, but I was told by the Delta reservationist that the miles needed would now be 200,000 per ticket.
My account had 271,000 miles, and my wife's account had 148,000 miles. Delta told me that it would be $10 per thousand miles to transfer 52,000 miles to my wife's account, a total of $520. Then I was told that there was also a $30 transfer fee. The reservation agent (we could not do this online) then said that the $30 fee was only good for up to 30,000 miles, so I would have to pay another $30 to transfer the remaining 22,000 miles to my wife's frequent flyer account -- a grand total of $580.
Knowing Delta's history, I am sure it will only get worse. I paid the $580 and got ticketed. Maybe it is a good thing that we have no Delta SkyMiles left.
What a great way to do business.
Vince Carcaro
St. Lucie West Travel
Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Evidence that the airlines lack scruples argues for regulation
Regarding Arnie Weissmann's column on United [From the Window Seat: "United Airlines and Mr. Pawar," Jan. 12]: What do you expect from an Illinois-based company? It's hard to know for certain whether our [former] governor or United has fewer scruples.
The sad part about United (or most airlines, from a travel agent's perspective) is that one of them would have to show very little consideration to the agency community to enhance its reputation. Sadly, their lemminglike tendency (apart from Southwest) seems to preclude that, as well. In my opinion, a lot of today's woes could have been prevented by more effective regulation a long time ago.
Nils Peterson
Travel Leaders
Schaumburg, Ill.
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