Wow. I’m not a frequent Delta flyer, but if this story pans out I’ll be an even less frequent one. Apparently a Delta affiliate wouldn’t allow other passengers to give up their seats for a soldier on leave. (hat tip to Rev. Sensing and the Marine Corps. Moms)
I’ve fired off the following note to Chataqua Airlines, at their marketing@rjet.com address, and I’ll report back on what I hear. You may want to send them a note as well…be civil; as I note, we don’t have all the facts yet.
Please forward this note to Bryan Bedford, your CEO.
According to the account in the Benton Courier of September 3rd, your staff refused passage on Delta flight 6281 to a Benton soldier coming home on leave from Iraq, and further refused to allow other paying passengers who offered to allow her to exchange their seats to allow her to travel home.
I sincerely hope that this isn’t true. I’m hard-pressed to imagine that an airline that uses this as it’s mission statement:
OUR VISION: We believe that every employee, regardless of personal beliefs or world-view, has been created in the image and likeness of God. We seek to become stronger from our diversity. We seek personal respect and fulfillment from our work. Most of all, we seek to recognize the dignity and potential of each member of our Republic Airways Holdings Family.
would act so inhumanely.
I’ll await your reply.
Another unverified and one-sided story, originated by a person of unverified identity and unknown veracity.
Note to Rev. Sensing: it’s un-Christian to denounce and attempt to hurt the business of a company employing thousands of people on such evidence.
There was something similar about Greyhound on the internet, about a Marine supposedly denied a seat because he was in uniform. Well, Greyhound replied and said: The bus was full, what do you expect us to do, kick someone off?
I really wonder whether these stories, like the “Maine Teachers” story are some sort of meta-narrative meant to anger people and somehow advance right wing “patriotic” politics.
Reading the letter again, it just seems like a crock. Things to consider: checked baggage, boarding passes are issued with seat numbers, you can’t pass a gate or board without a boarding pass.
The details just seem a little too cute, manipulative and coded: she’s just going to get home in time for her youngest child’s second birthday, the woman’s from Chicago (big city) well-dressed and middle aged (rich battleaxe).
Wow, people just buy this crap unquestioningly. I’m sure it will spread like wildfire.
And k., I’m equally amused at your absolute dismissal – without data. That’s why I sent the message as a question and qualified the statement on the post.
A.L.
I have to agree with Klaatu, it smells like an internet chain letter to me. I’m certain that someone will be forwarding it on to me within the couple of weeks or so.
The details seem just a little too perfect and I would like to (assuming that there is some truth to the story) find out what the other side of the story is.
FWIW there’s another story out there about a different Delta pilot allowing 22 soldiers to switch seats with volunteers on a flight home (click on my name for the link). My understanding is that Delta has donated something like ten million passenger miles to provide “free” air travel to servicemen and women. I’m betting that there is (again assuming that this isn’t the new internet chain letter) quite a bit more than meets the eye.
I’ll wait to see with AL turns up though before discounting the story.
Well, I’m glad you’re amused, AL.
The checked baggage and boarding pass thing really lead me to believe that it’s nonsense. Plus the unstated suggestion that soldiers on R&R leave are on some sort of non-reserved, non assigned seat basis. Not true. Even the itinerary: Kuwait-Netherlands-Cincinnati is a little questionable. Those flights terminate in Baltimore or Atlanta.
My irritation is from two sources. First, as an attorney, I’m familar with the idea of “publication” in libel law. I don’t mean to be legalistic, but in libel law, if you repeat a defamatory statement without getting all the facts and balancing it if necessary, you are as equally liable as the original publisher.
Second, it’s the recurrence of these kinds of stories and their circulation on right-leaning weblogs and news sources. They never seem to end up being verified, but raise a storm of anger.
So this questionable, unverified (and somewhat incredible, I say) letter goes around the web and Rev. Sensing immediately says “I’m never flying Delta again.”
“Non-rev” is short for non-revenue. This means that she didn’t buy a regular ticket and so doesn’t have the boarding priority that the lady from Chicago did. Perhaps one of her relatives worked for Chataqua or Delta and she was able to buy a discounted stand-by ticket, albeit one without the priority of a regular fare ticket. I have traveled as a “non-rev” and have been in the same situation as the soldier. It sucks, but that is why the ticket price is discounted. Furthermore, from a company policy standpoint, allowing a revenue passenger to give up their seat for a “non-rev” is probably not allowed.
Ticket in hand, waiting to board the flight — Osama Dick Laden watched as the returning servicewoman was told the flight was booked. Osama stepped in and said, “Here take my ticket… Afterall the bomb is in my checked luggage”.
Even if the REAL story here was true… Airline security can’t allow such switcheroo’n.
The other jetstream legend of already boarded passengers exchanging 1st class seats with coach ticketed service personnel would not impact on board security and true or not is still a great story.
klaatu (#28690)
>I really wonder whether these stories, like the “Maine
>Teachers” story are some sort of meta-narrative meant to
>anger people and somehow advance right wing “patriotic”
>politics
I bet that’s it. It just smells right for this kind of thing. Anything goes, you know… how many people will actually check? Especially considering the intended target audience.
Klaatu wrote:
I don’t what was supposed to be implied by “right-leaning” (particularly considering who posted it) but if there is any spin put on this story it’s going to be either “see what the big mean corporation did just to make a buck” or “look at what this rude, ungrateful (apparently) rich person did taking a seat from one of our soldiers.”
“The checked baggage and boarding pass thing really lead me to believe that it’s nonsense. ”
You just managed to prove that flying standby doesnt exist.
Hey Mark,
I’ve flown standby. You wait at the counter until they call for standby, then they give you a boarding pass with seat assignment before you board the plane.
The other thing that occured to me is that even if this story is true, with the facts being that Delta gave the soldier a free “non-rev” or some sort of standby ticket for soldiers on leave, they are now getting lambasted by the likes of Sensing for their trouble, proving again “No good deed goes unpunished.”
klaatu et al –
Well, the point of the story for me is the simple fact that other passengers offered their seats, and the airline refused.
And I love the conspiracy-spinning that you do on such a small bit of data. At least I sent an email, asking about the facts, and publicly acknowledged that I didn’t have them.
You manage to craft apparent certainty out of moonbeams and dust motes…might I suggest that a more conditional understanding might both be a good thing for you personally, and a much stronger way to approach others?
A.L.
I retired from the Military in ’87, so I have little idea as to how flying has changed since then or 9/11 for military Standby-but I ALWAYS travelled Full Fare because I’ve seen TOO many GIs’ puuled OFF a plane they had already boarded, even tho’ they were considered fully ticketed and boarded and travelling in Guaranteed status-IE on Emergency Leave. You people say it never happened-but seem to know little about trvelling Standby as a military member-“LAST On and First Bumped”. Additionally, this is a Published article by a writer for the Paper-has anyone proven it not to be-IE googled it to see if it exists? This is the URL of a Papers archived website For Gawds’ sake…http://www.bentoncourier.com/articles/2004/09/03/opinions/75koped.txt…So how is the article a lie-‘cuz it isn’t in the NYTimes-Yeah, like that would make it believable…Must be LLL tinfoil hat people complainin’, and I KNOW they’d never have offered up a seat…..
Pietr,
I’ve googled the story using several key words (Delta, soldier, flight, passenger, etc.) and this is the only story like this that I have found (even the boycott Delta site didn’t have any stories like this). Most of the stories I’ve seen seem to be of the positive variety e.g. 22 passengers giving up their seats so 22 soldiers could get home at the behest of the pilot or a soldier getting bumped to first class.
I still remain somewhat skeptical, not because I think that the story was necessarily invented out of whole cloth (there is possibly some truth to it) but there are so many details that just seem too perfect and I’m thinking that there is a lot more to the story (assuming its true) that we’re reading in one letter to the editor.
I’m not sure if I’m included in the “et al” of “conspiracy-spinning” (*g*) but I look forward to reading AL’s update when/if he gets a response to his email to see if there is more to the story.
AL, I merely point out the holes in the story, the competing possible realities. In other words, how it smells like BS to me.
To me, it’s serious business when these stories get out and companies’ reputations are tarnished, livelihoods (and possibly lives) are threatened, offices disrupted by barrages of phone calls and emails.
Think of Proctor and Gamble having to endlessly refute the “Moonie” story.
If this is not true, or the facts are more, say “nuanced,” then it’s a serious injustice being done to Delta. That irritates me.
klaatu-
But you’re not offering ‘competing realities’ about what actually happened; you’re simply arguing ad hominem that the ‘right wing smear machine’ is attacking innocent businessmen.
I agree that caution is necessary – but I also think that there’s little harm to be done by having companies get a small burst of civil emails and calls regarding treatment of soldiers; it will make sure they pay close attention to the issue, which is one that’s important to me.
A.L.
I don’t think it’s just “a small burst of civil emails and calls” when these things get out to FreeRepublic, LGF, et al.
As far as the right wing meta-narrative idea, I said it was just an idea, I’m not claiming any proof of that. I’m a big fan of Don DeLillo, that’s all.
Although, as an example of the type of meta-narrative I’m talking about, there is the POW/MIA stuff.
There’s a “book”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0788151797/qid=1094582634/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2592041-3002232?v=glance&s=books on it, about Ted Samply (who has smeared George H.W. Bush, John McCain, and John Kerry) and others who have exploited this story.
It’s nice to be so fair and balanced and give the airline a chance to respond, but mightn’t it be better to wait for a response BEFORE you spread the accusation further?
DaveL, good advice but to his credit AL did include the necessary disclaimers although it isn’t much of a “story” until we’ve got a chance to find out what, if anything, actually did happen from Delta’s perspective as well.
I’m counting on AL to report back to us what if anything he finds out from Delta airlines.
Maybe a lot of folks have been getting this email.
Delta to lay off 7,000
Here’s the response I got from Delta when I sent them a copy of this story from the original letter writer.’
Dear Mr. Odom:
Thank you for your message via Delta’s Web site.
Delta regrets that you may have received a poor impression concerning
our connection carrier’s handling of military personnel. We are
currently conducting an investigation into the matter.
Please understand that Delta has supported our troops from the very
beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The company supports and greatly
appreciates the sacrifice and dedication of our U.S. military who have
courageously served our country, and has taken many actions to show our
appreciation.
Initially, Delta began allowing ticket rule exceptions for ticketed
military passengers and their family members at the onset of military
action. In response to an abundance of offers from our SkyMiles members
to donate miles for soldiers to return home under the U.S. militarys
Operation Iraqi Freedom Rest and Relaxation program, Delta set up the
SkyMiles for Heroes Program which provided award tickets for selected
military personnel to return home during their leave period. Delta was
the first airline to introduce this type of program and initiated this
campaign with a donation of ten million miles.
Delta continues to host eligible military personnel who are traveling
under the terms of the R & R program in our Crown Room Clubs worldwide.
With a variety of travel services including personalized flight
assistance, fully-stocked complimentary bars, high-speed WI-FI internet
access, free local telephone calls, fax machines, satellite TV and more.
Crown Room Club amenities provide passengers a differentiated travel
experience and Delta welcomes the opportunity to serve our troops in
this way.
We regret the situation with this particular soldier did not allow for a
more favorable impression.
Sincerely,
Patti Anderson
Manager
Customer Care