Well here I sit, still in Atlanta where I have been for the past 48 hrs, waiting to go to Joberg, then onto Harare.

As I have to leave for the airport in a few, I will not be able to go into complete detail as to my immediate problem. But suffice to say, that a little was my fault, and a WHOLE lot was Delta's, (FAA VIOLATION #1) Of which they have admitted, but the fact that I was to start hunting in Zimbabwe on the 9th of April, and will not even arrive now until the 10th, is a problem.

My cameraman/hunting partner is in Harare now, but my bag with ALL my ammo and clothes is now apparently on the way to Joberg (FAA VIOLATION #2), without me!! What's the odds it will be waiting for me in joberg?? So I finally bought some extra clothes today, but am still missing most of my hunting gear, and of course my AMMO. Even though Delta now admits the passport screw - up, as well as the huge baggage f**k up, until I was able to get my travel agent on the phone, Delta was trying to charge me FULL-PRICE for a whole new ticket here in Atlanta. At the ticket counter, we finally settled on a $300.00 change fee, but after complaining to customer relations yesterday on the phone, I was able to get that dropped as well.

Lastly, did I mention that my PH Gordon Duncan had surgery this morning on his hand, apparently he got a little too close to a croc this past weekend, and it tried to have him for dinner. He still plans to do the hunt, but will probably be one-handed for a few weeks!!!

Isn't this kind of stuff really what makes this whole thing an adventure?? Fact is, its irritating, frustrating, and inconvenient, but past that, what the hell can you really do about it????

off now to the airport, maybe this time I can actually get on the plane!!!

Sorry to hear your bad news buddy.

I'm a bit out of touch and penalties might have changed but as I remember it, the penalty the airline faces for shipping unaccompanied bags in advance of the passenger is/was US$10K per bag.

At least that thought might make you feel better!!

Aaron,
Geez! Sounds like you've had a terrible start and, once again, Delta sounds problematic. Here's hoping you get it all sorted out and end up having a great safari. Are you after another Lion?

Very interested in a complete report of your problems getting out of the U.S. with Delta, once you get a chance to report.

Best of luck.

As I posted here: Delta's Lie, Delta's customer service (and just plain, service) is terrible. They absolutely have no facility or desire to fix a damn thing.

When you get back, I'll show you what I discovered about complaining to the right folks and maybe, just maybe, getting some reasonable response from the dumb minions who handle complaints.

crap I'm due to leave Tulsa on Delta monday. hope I don't get caught in there stupidity. wish me luck sounds like I might need it

Arron

Can you hear the echo????? DELTA sucks-sucks- sucks and sucks more. Arron in your case Doesn't Even Leave The Airport might truly fit.

Good luck with the rest of the adventure.

Mark

Judge-Did you ever get any satisfaction out of Delta over their screw up on your flights?

Yes , but I'd really rather not go into detail 'cause I'm not sure one department knows what the other did and it could possibly get "undone" if I rock the customer relations boat too much. That aside, the safety issue is apparently still under investigation by the FAA.

What I'm really trying to say is that if you'll buy me a single malt at DSC in Dallas, I'll spill the beans because I will have taken the trip by then.

quote:

Originally posted by JudgeG:
Yes , but I'd really rather not go into detail 'cause I'm not sure one department knows what the other did and it could possibly get "undone" if I rock the customer relations boat too much. That aside, the safety issue is apparently still under investigation by the FAA.

What I'm really trying to say is that if you'll buy me a single malt at DSC in Dallas, I'll spill the beans because I will have taken the trip by then.

Man I would love to hear that story!

Sometimes things start out a little rough? But in the end Great things happen!!! Hang in there!!!

Hope everything gets smooth from here on out... Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by opus72:
Hope everything gets smooth from here on out... Good luck!

+1

Good luck Aaron. Hope it all goes well from now on- you have a better attitude about it than me, but you are right - what can you do...

Airline rates go up as service goes down- no other industry in the world could get by with that...

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Airline rates go up as service goes down- no other industry in the world could get by with that...

Ain't that the truth. The news services here are reporting one American airline is going to charge passengers for cabin baggage, a Brit airline plans to start charging passengers to use the toilet and at the same time as all this, BA want to reduce the number of cabin crew on their flights so service gets even worse!

If it gets much worse, they'll be charging us to stay at home!

BA service might actually improve with less of their Siberian Gulag trained flight crew on board!

sorry about your delays! Good luck and remind Gordon that we will be arriving 4may and tell him to keep his hands to himself in future.

Aaron,

Sorry to hear about your troubles.
Hope all ends well for ya.

quote:

What I'm really trying to say is that if you'll buy me a single malt at DSC in Dallas, I'll spill the beans because I will have taken the trip by then

I'll do that too & we can share another delta story

I would really like to know what Aaron means by passport problem that was Delta's fault.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?