Traveler Books The Comfort Seat She Wants, Gets Surprised By A Last-Minute Bump Down To Economy
Interview With Expert
When taking long flights, a better seat with extra legroom can make a world of difference, so it’s very understandable when people who can afford it spend extra money to have a more comfortable journey.
But as one Redditor shared, sometimes, even when you pay more, you might still not get it. She booked a ‘Comfort Plus’ seat on Delta Airlines, yet when she boarded the plane, the woman found out that she had been bumped down to an Economy class seat, and no one responsible was willing to do anything about it. Read the full story below!
More info: Reddit
Getting bumped from your plane seat is annoying, especially when you paid for extra comfort but still have to fly without it
Image credits: Victor Freitas (not the actual photo)
A woman who booked a Comfort Plus seat for her flight boarded the plane and realized that her seat was now in the Economy class
Image credits: Colin Cooke Photo (not the actual photo)
When the poster requested help, the flight attendant brought her an airline representative, but he refused to acknowledge the situation, saying it doesn’t happen
Image credits: u/Plastic_Ice3445
The woman couldn’t hide her disappointment in the situation and how the airline handled it, expressing frustration at the tedious process of getting a refund
The OP started by explaining that she booked her window seat with extra legroom a month before the flight when almost all the seats were available. On the day of the departure, everything was fine. However, since she didn’t check the app after arriving at the airport, she didn’t notice the change of seats until she boarded the plane.
The woman got confused when she realized that she was now seated in the Economy class middle seat. She called the flight attendant, who brought a Delta Airline representative since the plane was still on the ground. But all the man could say to her was that the airline never bumps down people from higher-class seats, causing frustration and infuriation as they obviously had just done so.
The OP said that she somewhat understood the situation as her seat, along with some others next to it, was given to military personnel. However, her problem was that the service line was as ‘helpful’ as the airline representative she had previously dealt with, and attempting to get a refund or any reimbursement was an unnecessarily tedious and frustrating process.
People in the comments were very supportive of the OP and gave her various pieces of advice on dealing with this situation. Most of them also agreed that Delta is one of the worst airlines they have ever traveled with, as these kinds of things happen pretty often, and they’re incredibly difficult to deal with when there are any inconveniences.
Image credits: Nicole Geri (not the actual photo)
To get a better picture of what a person in the OP’s situation could do, Bored Panda reached out to Erika Kullberg, who is an attorney, personal finance expert, and currently the largest finance influencer in the world, sporting more than 20 million followers over TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
The expert said that in a situation like this, the very least that the airline should do is provide a refund of the upgrade fee. But to deal with the matter, Erika recommended that when contacting customer service, it’s usually better to write instead of calling. “It’s easier that way to have a record of your conversation,” explained the attorney.
However, filing a complaint directly to the airline might not always solve your problems immediately. “If the airline isn’t resolving your situation, sometimes it’s best to escalate it to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The DOT requires airlines to acknowledge customer complaints within 30 days of receiving them, and the DOT provides a website where you can file a complaint if the airline doesn’t resolve the issue to your satisfaction.”
Erika added that DOT can also be helpful indirectly while trying to get a desirable outcome in such a situation. A mere mention that you are considering filing a complaint with this department will let the airline know that you know your rights as a customer and what to do if they’re being ignored.
Image credits: Kevin B (not the actual photo)
But looking at all these post’s comments really got us thinking: Is Delta Air Lines really that bad, or did these people sharing their stories just have unlucky experiences? After all, a single Reddit thread does not represent everyone.
Well, according to the rest of the internet, the current answer is mostly yes. Delta used to be one of the best regarding air travel in the USA. They were known for their very reliable services that brought them high profits and stood a whole head above other airlines. They even won Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice award 4 years in a row since 2017, where the older excellent reviews still hold it at a 4 out of 5-star rating.
But the downfall that started with the Coronavirus crisis didn’t stop when the flights resumed. In 2020, the airline suffered more than a $12 billion loss, and since then, there have been more and more stories piling up where people share their horrible experiences on Delta flights.
For example, Trust Pilot has the company rated at just 1.8 out of 5, with most recurring complaints being about lazy on-flight service, terrible food, extra prices for luggage that should be free, discrimination against disabled people, and terrible customer service.
By most accounts, the absurdly low quality of their customer service does take the top here. In fact, there’s even a whole Facebook group called DELTA AIRLINES HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE WAIT TIMES, which has the sole purpose of sharing the frustration people experience dealing with Delta representatives.
As time goes by, things seem only to get worse, with a perfect example being what Cheryl Platz of Medium shared about a line of incidents in the summer of 2023. The first one occurred on the 14th of July in Orlando, when the passengers of one of their flights were forced to endure four tarmac delays lasting several hours but refused to provide their passengers with any food, water, or help, forcing them off the plane where nothing was working anymore due to the late hour.
On the 15th of July, a different flight from the same city had yet another two-hour tarmac hold and was still forced to sit through a salute for the pilot’s last flight. While some only had their time wasted, others also missed their connecting flights and were trapped and forced to look for assistance.
Lastly, on the 17th of July, a plane in Las Vegas was delayed for three whole hours. The worst part was that the heat was awful, and eventually, some passengers began passing out from heatstroke and were even carried out of the plane by the paramedics.
Ultimately, Delta Air Lines’ current situation seems bad, to say the least. Their strategy towards the passengers’ needs and trying to quiet them down with some flight miles seems like a terrible business plan, and it’s obviously not working. If they really want to save their company, they really need to do something about it, and not bumping down their passengers from their comfort seats could be at least some kind of a start.
What do you think of this story? Do you have any experiences with Delta Air Lines you’d like to share? Type it all in the comments below!
The commenters supported the poster and offered advice on how to deal with her situation better, saying that this airline is notorious for providing lousy flight experiences
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The whole airline industry has become nothing but a hassle and headache. I do not fly anymore unless I absolutely have to. What used to be a fun and enjoyable experience has become something quite miserable.
Sounds like they were young and healthy but that might not have been the case. Somebody might have chosen to pay extra for comfort plus due to physical injury or disability. How can they just change that without any care for the passengers?
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Americans sure love to kiss some military a**. You treat your vets like c**p but praise the army like it does anything other than oppress and fuel needless conflict around the world. As long as it's not on your continent, you have no issue with it ;)
The whole airline industry has become nothing but a hassle and headache. I do not fly anymore unless I absolutely have to. What used to be a fun and enjoyable experience has become something quite miserable.
Sounds like they were young and healthy but that might not have been the case. Somebody might have chosen to pay extra for comfort plus due to physical injury or disability. How can they just change that without any care for the passengers?
Load More Replies... Americans sure love to kiss some military a**. You treat your vets like c**p but praise the army like it does anything other than oppress and fuel needless conflict around the world. As long as it's not on your continent, you have no issue with it ;)
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