Not only are they the winner but there wasn't even a close second in this competition. What did they win you ask? They are the absolute WORST air carrier on the planet.

While I have known this for some time, they really proved their first place status yet again today. Let me start by telling you the last time I flew with them was several years back when the Delta/Comair plane I was on had to divert and make an emergency landing due to a serious issue with the flaps. Never so much as a ??sorry for the scare?? from the airline.

A few weeks ago I went against my better judgment and booked the whole family on Delta to head to the Keys for a much needed vacation. I flew down on Tuesday and was ??charmed?? by the most miserable gate agent and flight attendants. IF you do not like your job I have a couple suggestions. Quit and go find something else or at least try and act like you are not sick of your job.

This morning my wife and 2 young boys headed to the Rochester, NY airport to catch their 11:44AM flight to Atlanta. After boarding the plane they were asked to get off. There were issues in Atlanta, weather issues. Since she was trying to keep track of 2 kids, I got on the phone to see what was up and called Delta's 800 number.

The first person I spoke to spoke very little English. How in gods name can you have non-English speaking people manning your phones!!! I asked to be transferred to someone who spoke English. The second person was not much better. After 35 painful minutes the CS (Customer Service) person said the delay was a "Delta technical issue," not weather. Well, if it's not weather then Delta is responsible to reroute customers on other carriers to get them where they are going. So, another 45 minutes was spent being ignored and occasionally checked on by CS people. Each new CS person caused me to have to re-explain everything. This call lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes before I got a supervisor who said the non-English speaking CS rep was "mistaken" and that it was indeed simply a weather delay. Yup, 1 hour and thirty minutes to find that out. Simply crazy!

Meanwhile back in Rochester . . . while waiting and waiting for an update from the Delta/COMAIR geniuses, the kids are growing antsy. It's now 2:00PM and my wife asks the gate agent if it would be possible to look into flights first thing the following morning. The gate agent tells my wife that they are busy and that she would need to go back to the ticket counter to look into that. Since the weather delayed flight looked like it was going nowhere and the gate agent told her it would be quite a while before they got another update, my wife headed to the ticket counter.

The Rochester Airport is VERY small so the gate is only 100 yards from the ticket counter. When she got to the ticket counter she waited a few minutes for a CS to "assist" her. They then told here that the flight had gotten weather clearance and just left the gate WITHOUT THEM!

So now, instead of being in the Keys this evening and making a nice, planned dinner we have been delayed by a day and Delta/Comair has been nothing but arrogant and incompetent.

When I called back and asked to speak to a CS Supervisor I got another person who spoke VERY POOR English (wow, there??s a surprise). A supervisor who can't speak well . . .?!?!?!? This brain trust was also NO help, insisted the flight was on time (he corrected himself on that after I told him to check his system again. He then said that Delta did nothing wrong and that he saw no issues and was a he said, she said issue.

Well . . . you cannot begin to understand just how upset I am with Delta/Comair at this time. My much needed vacation has really started out on the wrong foot and Delta could care less.

I fly a lot . . . a whole lot . . . and fully understand that things happen. However it is how the airlines handle this issues that sort the good from the bad and Delta has once again proved themselves as the worst of the worst. I will not feel sad when this carrier goes bankrupt and shuts its doors for good.

If you are hopping a plane at some point in the future, do yourself a favor and safe yourself A LOT of grief and STEER CLEAR OF DELTA and COMAIR!!!! I can recommend Northwest Airlines. While an issue with them has popped up a few times, NW has always gone out of their way to make it right and do it politely and professionally.

If we can ever get to the Keys, those Tarpon and Dolphin sure are in trouble ??


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Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!