• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Not sure if this is a case

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

KnowBuddy

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

My husband and I had plane txs booked, but that flight was canceled so we had to find another flight. The only other non-stop flight was from JFK to BCN on Delta. We had never flown on Delta, so we had no Frequent Flier(FF) miles for an upgrade, as we would have on another airline. But I went online and signed up for the SkyMiles anyway.
When I was signing up I saw I could buy miles, so I called and asked how much, and the guy I talked to told me it would be over $5,000 per person. That was too much for me, so I thanked him and hung up. I called back again to see if there was anything else I could do. When I called and spoke with her I told her I had a bad back and was disabled. I was going to have a had time sitting in coach for that long flight. She suggested I get the
"Amex Delta Card" then I would get 25,000 skymiles. She said that would cover one upgrade and we could pay for the other, and that would be $1900.00.
So I got the Amex card, even though I didn't want or need another credit card. And they wouldn't let me upgrade. I wrote to them and explained everything, just like I did here, and they wrote back and told me they would not upgrade me just because I was disabled. I was so taken aback by that. How dare they, I just wanted them to honor the price I was quoted, but they were just being obtuse. They would not let me pay for an upgrade.
I sent an email trying to make a formal complaint against this lady that was stone walling me, but they just treated me like I didn't matter and that my complaint wasn't valid.
I was also told I could check at the airport for upgrades, I get to the airport, and they tell me all international upgraded have to be done 24 hrs ahead of time. This is the supervisor I'm talking to, she looks up our reservation and says " well, their is a note here from Susan Curtis, that we can't upgrade you for free because of your back" She black balled me from every angle.
The same thing happened the night before we were to fly home. I called Delta to see if I could get the upgrade. I would pay for one seat, my husband would just stay in coach. I called and was told I with all the fees it would be about $1200. I told them I would have to call them right back. So I talked to my husband, and called back. They looked up my name and reservation, then transfered me to someone that told me it would cost me full fair. I couldn't pay that.
So what this boils down to is, I feel, since I am disabled I was taken advantage of. I was told that if I got that credit card I would be upgraded and that did not happen, to me that's unfair and deceptive. I also feel that I was dismissed when I wrote to complain to Delta, and I would like to sue for discrimination and rights violation.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


swalsh411

Senior Member
So cancel the credit card if you're not happy with the rewards offered.

You have no "right" to an upgrade to first-class.

How can you be disabled in such a way that flying in first class is possible but coach is not?
 

KnowBuddy

Junior Member
So cancel the credit card if you're not happy with the rewards offered.

You are missing the point, as I feared some might. What I am trying to say is, I felt that after telling the person at Delta that, "due to my back problems, I would like to know of any way at all to get an upgrade." What the credit card offers on it's own is not the point either. I was informed by the above mentioned person that if I applied and received the card I would be able to use the 25,000 points the card was offering new members, to upgrade 1 ticket. Then she said it would only cost us $1900.00 to upgrade the other ticket.
This is all I wanted to do, use my miles and pay for the other ticket.
After they wouldn't let me do anything like that, then I started to feel taken advantage of. Like easy prey. It's easy for you to sit back and judge, but you do not have all the facts, just an outline.

You have no "right" to an upgrade to first-class.

I understand I have no "right" to an upgrade, but I would think I have the "right" to buy one. On the return trip, I asked again at the gate if I could pay for an upgrade, I was told all the seats where booked. The Gate Agent got on the plane for something and I asked her again, she still told me all the seats we booked. On the plane, and the doors closed, over 6 seats were left empty in Business Class, that's were I was trying to get a ticket, not First Class. Anyway I took pictures of the empty seats, because I was told they were booked.
So another lie.


How can you be disabled in such a way that flying in first class is possible but coach is not?

Well since you asked so nicely.. I've had over 4 back operations, that has left me with 2 titanium rods and 8 screws and other little titanium chips inside my back. So sitting for me is very difficult. Add that to the fact that I'm almost 6ft tall, and sitting in coach with my knees under my chin, with very little room to move, and the added chance that the person behind me might hit the back of the chair and jar my back. It just makes flying so very unpleasant, so I join frequent flier programs and I pay for upgrades. Until this airline.

Like I said before this is really just an overview, I have copies of saved emails and such. I really think they're in the wrong.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
It sounds to me like they said "yes you can use the miles to purchase an upgrade" in the general sense vs. "you can use the miles to purchase an upgrade on this specific flight".

Put it another way, were you told at any point there was an upgrade available to you on this flight?

I used to work at a travel agency. Airlines routinely leave open spaces in business and first class for last-minute VIP passengers or traveling pilots or other employees. And sometimes they do it for seemingly no reason at all. Just as a movie theater can choose to not sell every seat in the house, an airline can choose not to sell a ticket for every seat. If you win the jackpot someday and want to start your own airline, you won't have to sell all the seats either if you don't want to.



I understand I have no "right" to an upgrade, but I would think I have the "right" to buy one.


No you don't. Delta has no obligation to even sell you a ticket let alone an upgrade.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
Top