Delta Spanks Servicemen!

[canyonblue]

I logged on to this thread because I was sure General Lee and OYS had a majority of replies on page 1. Only 4 of the first 15....man I was way off.

It's because "Southwest" isn't in the Title. The "Ann Landers and Dear Abby" of FI.com can't conjure up a brain cell when it comes to talking about Delto.

 

[densoo]

the press thinks anything that gives them a sensationalized headline. Delta is just playing the pr game in response. This is a non-event turned into a media circus.

+1 ........

 

[FlyinGuy]

There really does seem to be a sense of SWA folks on here trying to prove how good they are by putting down others.

Have you read a SWA thread lately? The only people on there bashing the SWA guys are the Deltoids.

This is a Delta PR problem. Soon it will be fixed and forgotten.

The funny thing is watching you guys that take FI personally.

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Have you read a SWA thread lately? The only people on there bashing the SWA guys are the Deltoids.

This is a Delta PR problem. Soon it will be fixed and forgotten.

The funny thing is watching you guys that take FI personally.

The "funny" thing is that the SWA guys started it. Dukes up for anybody who thinks we crap on our servicemen and women. Personally? You are Dam right!!!

 

[cpberry1]

This is overblown. The servicemen will be rembursed when they file their travel claims. Servicemen typically pay out of their pockets for misc. items when traveling and are rembursed later. So in the long run, Delta wasn't charging the Soldiers, they were charging the government. The government collects enough taxes from the airlines and airline tickets that I have no problem with the government paying for the cost of the service they are purchasing.

^^ What he said...^^

 

[CaptJax]

ATA "Ups Ante" On Bag Fees

From USA Today 6/10/11

U.S. airlines appear to be scrambling to increase their bag limits for active duty military members.

Presumably, they're doing so in the hopes of heading off controversies like the one Delta had to deal with after soldiers posted a YouTube video that criticized the airline for charging their group fees for extra bags.

The group says it was charged nearly $3,000 because some soldiers -- returning home from Afghanistan -- checked a fourth bag.

At the time of Monday's incident, Delta had allowed only three free checked bags for active duty military. It quickly upped that limit to four following the high-profile flap that ensued.

In the midst of that fallout, other airlines quickly raised their own bag limits for members of the military.

WXIA Channel 11: AirTran ups ante, waives all baggage fees for military

USA TODAY reports "United Continental said late Wednesday that it is following Delta Air Lines' lead in letting military personnel check a fourth bag for free. American said it will allow a fifth bag to fly free."

WXIA Channel 11 of Atlanta picks up on the story from there, saying "after (the) national outcry …, AirTran has one-upped Delta Air Lines, and other airlines, by … waiving all baggage fees for military members traveling on duty."

WXIA adds AirTran made the announcement late last night.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes AirTran's new policy -- which had been three free bags for military members -- brings it in line with the policy at Southwest, which closed its acquisition of AirTran this year.

"We make an exception to our checked baggage policy for members of the military who are traveling on active duty orders. As long as each piece of baggage does not exceed 100 pounds in weight and 80 inches in size, [military members] will be exempt from baggage charges, and will not be subject to excess, oversized, or overweight baggage charges," AirTran says in a statement quoted by the Journal-Constitution.

 

[miles otoole]

So, if it's over 100 pounds per bag, then they will be charged? They then say they won't be subject to overweight bags. I've seen some seabags that look well over 100 pounds. Can't wait to see the YouTube from a poed soldier saying they charged him for his 120 pound bag or his 25 bags.

 

[N1atEcon]

In Feb of 1990 I was leaving SeaTac for Seoul for a year of fun in Tague. I had my Gov. issue duffle, a huge backpack and another soft sided bag all stuffed to the gills. The agent informed me it would be an extra $50.00 for the third bag. I said "it would be tough to live out of two bags for a year so I had to pack three and I would pay the fee." She said it was ok and she "would wave it as NWA likes to help out the troops." Kudos to NWA for doing the right thing 21 years ago.

 

[CaptJax]

Politico Jumps Into Baggage Flap

Boxer Calls for Industry-Wide Policy on Military Baggage Fees After Delta Flap

Published June 10, 2011

FoxNews.com

Sen. Barbara Boxer is calling for an industry-wide policy to address baggage fees for active-duty military, after a unit returning from Afghanistan was charged thousands of dollars for their luggage.

Delta Airlines, which had charged the veterans as much as $2,800 in extra fees, has already announced a change in policy, a move welcomed by the U.S. Army. But Boxer, D-Calif., called the entire incident disturbing and said it reinforces the need for an across-the-board policy.

"It is troubling that the welcome home for these soldiers after an overseas deployment consisted of confusion at the Delta ticket counter followed by a $200 charge -- a fee that is truly a hardship for our military men and women and their families," she wrote in a letter to Nicholas Calio, CEO of the Air Transport Association of America. "This incident serves as a reminder of the need for a clearly defined and consistent approach across all air carriers for baggage checked by active duty military personnel on travel orders."

Boxer said the "last thing" returning service members should face after long deployments is "excessive baggage fees and a lack of clarity in an airline's checked bag policy."

She did not specify what the blanket policy should look like.

The soldiers returning on Delta from Afghanistan were allowed three bags free of charge, but had to pay extra for the fourth. Delta afterward announced that it would allow American troops to check four bags free of charge.

 

[ivauir]

What's sw's policy on excess bags for military? Is there a limit or is it unlimited?

Unlimited.

Southwest Airlines has long made an exception for its active military Customers by waiving any fees for overweight, oversize, and excess baggage checked while on assignment. Southwest supported that tradition by making it a formal policy in January 2008.

http://www.blogsouthwest.com/news/southwest-airlines-re-states-policy-military-check-baggage