DELTAreallySUCKS.com

A1 If you think Delta's service is so bad, why not fly another airline?
Two reasons: I live near Atlanta and must use Hartsfield International Airport, and my travel is primarily in the southeast.

A2 Have you ever been sued by Delta Air Lines?
No. Every definition of slander I've read includes the word false, as does every definition of libel I've read. I've heard that truth is the ultimate defense against claims of libel or slander. Since the information detailed, and incidents described, on this site are TRUE and ACCURATE to the best of my knowledge, I need not fear speaking the truth. It seems to me that Delta, on the other hand, has trouble with the truth. Besides, I am a firm believer in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Actually I am a firm believer in all the amendments. Need to refresh your memory? Click here.

A3 How many flights have you flown on Delta?
A bunch! If memory serves me, I have flown over 1,000 flights as of the time I updated this question.

A4 Should passengers get physical with airline personnel?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! There is never any excuse for instigating aggressive physical contact with airline personnel, or anyone else aboard the aircraft for that matter. This is especially true while flying. Someone getting physical with a crew member endangers everyone aboard the aircraft. JUST DON'T DO IT!

A5 Have you ever written a letter to Delta regarding their service?
Letters, no. Phone calls, many. If I truly thought it would do some good, I would write letters. But I sincerely believe that the level of service I currently experience when dealing with Delta exists because management has in some way failed to either create or support a proper working environment for "all Delta employees worldwide".

When Delta had the program, I did, however, continue to give the Above and Beyond cards to the individual flight attendants that I felt deserved them. For the record I have given away many of those cards.

A6 Who pays for this site and do you make any money from it?
DELTAREALLYSUCKS.COM generates almost no revenue, and all expenses for this site are paid out of my pocket. This is the primary reason this site does not appear to be updated regularly. In fact it is, or I intend it to be, but this sometimes seems like a full-time job. There are links on this site to use if you would like to make a donation for the operation of this site.

Some e-mails sent by people claiming to work for Delta have suggested that I either inherited money or I must be rich to do a site like this. I would like to assure all site visitors neither is true. I work hard for my money and I have a family to support as well. I don't get pleasure from creating or maintaining this site. In all honesty I wish Delta would improve its level of service to the point that this site would no longer be necessary. Unfortunately, they are just not there yet.

A7 Why did you remove the chat room?
Based on feedback and frequency of use. Very few people actually used the chat room for discussions about this site anyway. This may change in the future, however there are no current plans to bring the chat room back.

A8 Do you have any other "sucks" Web sites?
Delta Air Lines is the only company which, in my opinion, has service bad enough to warrant a dedicated site. I am, however, developing other sites dealing with poor service in general.

*UPDATE* Service and quality levels at the Marriott family of hotels have declined substantially in recent months. Therefore I started a site to document those experiences. Please click here to visit MARRIOTTREALLYSUCKS.COM.

A9 How long do you plan to keep the site up?
Indefinitely. Or until Delta's service improves. What was I thinking?!? Indefinitely.

A10 What is your opinion regarding so many weather delays?
To paraphrase a popular saying, "Stuff Happens." I realize this and I would NEVER suggest that Delta or any other airline knowingly place passengers, employees or equipment in danger by flirting with bad weather. Unfortunately they do it on their own, at the expense of many lives (click here), but I would NEVER suggest they risk anything. Especially with me on board!

Instead I would like to tell you what many pilots and other Delta personnel have told me: there are too many planes! What this refers to is the approach Delta uses when they feed passengers into hubs. By bringing many people into a few major hubs such as Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, they run a higher risk of delays than several other airlines. For example, how many times have you gone to Atlanta expecting to arrive at one gate, only to arrive at another? To Delta it's just another gate. To you, or those meeting you, it could be a major inconvenience. With an airport the size of Atlanta's, it could even mean the difference between making connections or not. Delays of any sort tend to snowball through the rest of the system rather quickly.

When the weather deteriorates below certain thresholds, procedures regarding aircraft movement change. One of the specific rule changes is an increase in aircraft spacing or separation during takeoff and landing. This is so that any problems that arise can be dealt with more easily. These types of increases are frequently put into place when there is rain, snow, low clouds, etc. In other words they are frequently used.

However, I have been told by many Delta employees that operations are intentionally saturated in certain parts of the day due to customer demand. This means that any delays caused by air traffic control are only exacerbated by Delta's attempt to get more planes out at peak times. Please read the last paragraph of the next answer for additional details.

A11 Do you think Delta saturates airport operations?
Yes! You can examine the timetables and see that there have been instances when several flights are scheduled to depart at the same time. How is that possible? It's not! Whenever the need to increase aircraft spacing arises, the frequency and length of delays increase.

Atlanta had the eighth highest delay rate of any airport in the U.S. in 2000. Even when the weather is good, scheduled traffic at Atlanta meets or exceeds its good-weather capacity for almost two hours per day. During adverse weather, scheduled traffic exceeds adverse weather capacity for more than eight hours of the day. As a result, on good weather days, about three percent of the flights are delayed, and on adverse weather days six percent of the flights are delayed.