Airline Strands Passengers on Island for 12 Hours

They have been offered refunds.
www.lehtoslaw.com

[@thorifyer]

"Be grateful that we didn't kill you" What a wonderful customer service philosophy

[@TheGayestAspen]

Damn i knew walmart was good at customer service

[@tubeyou222100]

That's the middle East!

[@ithinkthere4iam435]

This is why we need more consumer protections from Airlines. We just had an airline lose our luggage and they essentially told us it was our fault for checking bags and flying with them.

[@RobDucharme]

And people need to start investing in Air Tags (or compatible devices) and hiding them in their bags. I keep hearing stories of airlines having no clue where the bags are, yet the customer can clearly see where their bags are located. Execs need to be held accountable for their incompetent hiring practices.

[@blargblarg5657]

​@@RobDucharmeyou do realize the amount of irony in your statement could easily cause an irony overdose. 😁

[@RobDucharme]

@@blargblarg5657 I don't think that's the word you're looking for. In fact I haven't a fucking clue what word you're looking for. But I guess you're just happy with letting large companies get away with anything, sans accountability. If consumers don't take matters into their own hands, nothing will get done.

[@ithinkthere4iam435]

@RobDucharme Unfortunately, the air tags in our luggage were either destroyed with our bags, or they were stolen by the airline. Last ping we had for them was at the airport we dropped them off to.

[@blargblarg5657]

@@RobDucharme I think your sarcasm meter is busted and you sound like you have some anger issues. Think about what I posted for a minute vs your post. I think you'll get it. Then go have a beer and relax a bit.

[@CapnSnackbeard]

Delta stranded me and my family in Atlanta at Christmas for 24 hours. Mechanical issues, their fault. They did everything they could possibly do to avoid paying for a room. They broke their plane and wanted us to sleep in the airport.

[@jasonbourne1596]

yeah have fun passengers, we gotta go though. If you need us ring the Hilton.

[@thewayidoit8895]

I was stranded IN an airplane on the Tarmac at Midway Airport in tge late 80's for hours. They told us nothing! I'd be happy to be in an airport with a bathroom and a ham sammich!

[@JokingThief]

​@@thewayidoit8895Hard to believe these companies are still doing everything they can to avoid responsibility almost 50 years later. Well, maybe not _that_ hard.

[@brianew]

@@thewayidoit8895 ...and bathroom water

[@robertheinkel6225]

You make it sound like they deliberately damaged the aircraft. It’s a machine that can break down. Airlines never want to cancel flights, for any reason. How the delays are handled is what counts.

[@SandroWalach]

Sad that no one, be it crew or people working at the airport, "took charge" and stayed with the passengers and try and show some leadership, humility, and humanity…

[@corssecurity]

Delta physically removed passengers due to overbooking. The passengers can expect to get screwed. And they were.

[@Gamerad360]

​@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusketWhen they boot people they don't do it for frequent flyers typically, and anyone business class or above.

[@hewhohasnoidentity4377]

Delta doesn't involuntarily deny passengers for overbooking. They pay cash money to get volunteers. You are thinking of United.

[@tedkaczynskiamericanhero3916]

​@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket"my made up scenario is fact and not entirely fabricated" 🤡

[@robertsmalls3513]

@@hewhohasnoidentity4377You’re forgetting that there’s still times where volunteers do not come forward

[@hewhohasnoidentity4377]

@@robertsmalls3513 correct. Delta had a total of TWO during the entire year in 2022. Not exactly an issue on every flight.

[@MichaRabiej]

Recently in London, LOT (Polish national carrier) did not allow 13 year old girl to board airplane due to overbooking. This happened not at check-in but at the gate 30 minutes before departure. The 13 year old girl was part of the group of kind travelling without adult person (return from language course), and was in a bizarre situation. For example 13 years old cannot book a hotel, or even have the hotel room booked. In the end airport personnel put her in the taxi that drove her to another city to friend of a relative....

[@johnbriggs3916]

What they should have done was contact the Polish Embassy.

[@jamesonmiller8283]

I don't think unaccompanied minors should be bumped. That seems so wrong to me.

[@MichaRabiej]

@@jamesonmiller8283 They should not be bumped, but her ticket was assigned a "status" that allowed her to be bumped, that is never assigned to minors (according to the airline rules). So one employee gave her wrong status, another employee bumped her based on "wrong code", not noticing that this code implies the 13 year old is at least 18 years old.

[@darkwing3713]

Completely illegal and totally heinous - and the airport and airline had no useful way of handling the situation. If a friend of her family hadn't stepped in, she would have spent the night alone in the airport. And LOT isn't the only airline which abandons children. Airlines need to come down hard on employees who do this. And airports need a fool proof plan for when it does happen.

[@calanon534]

Well, THAT girl could have been Human Traffic'd! That's disgusting. This is why I never fly.

[@jamesknight-d7x]

"Flight crew departed to a hotel." So the flight crew had the correct paperwork to exit the airport while passengers did not? Very suspicious!

[@andrewalexander9492]

The crew of aircraft and ships are often subject to different laws in some countries

[@nathnathn]

There’s generally international arrangements for flight crew. You might consider it an equivalent to conditional temporary visas that apply in most of the world but only for very limited allowances i.e to and back from hotel for a night at minimum.

[@ramjam720]

Strother Martin was heard to say, "What we have here... Is a failure... To communicate." Cool Hand Luke (circa 1967) BTW, British Airways used to be called BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways).

[@jeanetteshawredden5643]

Ahhhh... cool hand luke

[@donwilber1628]

Thank you for NOT apologizing. People need to learn to not take offense where offense isn't intended.

[@diegocella6791]

I feel that we are transitioning to a world where doing you job would be considerate an anomaly, like our job is to transport people and their stuff, what are you expecting us to be capable of handling that? And on that note, i got an E-mail from my H.R. department not to contact them if i have an issue because it's not their job to assist the work force with administrative or timekeeping or the like things!

[@PureMagma]

I've observed this too. I don't want to specifically blame Millennials but it honestly seems like the majority of them are devoid of work ethic or pride of workmanship, but thrive in the area of entitlement.

[@rhymeswithorange6092]

@@PureMagma I don't know about a majority, but you only need about 20% (so I have been told) to mess things up. I have seen plenty of videos with Millennials bosting about how they were really smart, unlike previous generations, because they just were going to do the bare minimum, if even that much. "Quiet quitting". Because they are _entitled_ to as much money as they want. They'll take the job, cash the checks, but not do the work. They get outraged when they don't get a huge raise up the the level they feel entitled to.

[@PO-yr1rh]

​@@PureMagma Well that seems to be a common misconception. Non farming work productivity has only gone up since the mid 2000s, reaching an all time high in the first 1/4 of this year. You might want to consider that social media has allowed people to live in a bubble that only reinforces your opinions and doesn't challenge or qualify your beliefs. You may also want to consider why large news outlets, owned by multi millionaires and billionaires who have a record of abusing and underpaying their workforce, might also be pushing the idea that the new generation doesn't deserve fair pay, but should still outperform their duties.

[@fix0the0spade]

Employers won't pay properly, won't offer good benefits, demand unreasonable levels of loyalty yet will not provide job security. Is it any surprise the attitude of workers is deteriorating?

[@D5950-h]

Their job is to protect the company from the workers always has been

[@TheQuickSilver101]

If British Airways would have treated me like Steve was treated I would have been calling them something other than British Air

[@Nick-zm2vm]

Delta has made me miss so many connecting flights before. One time we made an unscheduled stop due to weather for a few hours. We arrived at the airport at 2 am. I was offered no accommodations and had to sleep on the floor of the airport until the next flight at 9 am. I was in the military at the time and returning to my active duty station and had to explain why I missed formation and was late.

[@Baughbe]

Delta has been a problem airline for decades. Back when I was a kid, my parents had taken one of our dogs to a show (we had a professional dog show kennel). They had boarded the passengers before the luggage had been put in. Dad ended up with a window seat that had a perfect view of the loading of the pressurized cargo bay the dog was being loaded onto. He watch as the cart with the special travel crate came up to the loading ramp. Watched as the loader, looked into the crate and talked with the dog for a moment. THEN: Grabbed the handle on one end, lifted in a sudden jerk, swinging it over his head and slammed in down on the loading ramp. The dog was still in shock by the time the plane landed and Dad had retrieved the dog and the poor thing had a nervous condition for the rest of it's life. Ruined it's show career, it ended up having seizures after that and had to be treated very tenderly or it would freak out. Not long after that we heard several similar and even more disastrous stories of animals mistreated by that airline. And that, Dad never flew Delta ever again. Not for dog shows, not for business, not for any reason whatsoever. Of course, Delta claimed no responsibility.

[@MeRia035]

That is absolutely horrible! I would be utterly furious if I saw my animal treated that way. They would never hear the end of it!

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

Just sat there and didn't immediately speak to the captain about going down a checking it out? Aside from the animal abuse and vandalism of customer property, the correct loading of a plane is a concern for the safety of the flight.

[@slightlycrookedworkshop]

If you ask 100 regular airline passengers in the US, you'll get someone to say "I'll never fly X airline again. They always have problems and delays. They're the worst." about every major carrier. The opposite is also likely true, you'll have at least one person say "I've never had any problems with this airline." Anecdotally, the only times I've ever had major issues is when I don't fly American. I know people who say they always seem to have problems when they fly American.

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

@@slightlycrookedworkshop Most people don't fly enough to get a statistically significant sample. Compounded by ignorance of basic economics and expecting more service than they paid for.

[@SchererProductionServices]

Several years ago we flew from JFK to Mobile, AL via Atlanta, Ga with our 2 dogs. Upon arrival in Mobile our dogs were NOT on the plane. Long story short, they "forgot" to transfer them from the JFK plane to the Mobile plane. Our dogs were stuck in their carry crates for 10 hours w/o food, water or relief. Even worse was the return home. Upon arrival at JFK in pouring rain, the carry kennels were left uncovered...both dogs were soaked and their carry kennels full of water. These issues were a combination of Eastern Airlines AND Delta.. We NEVER FLEW with either again.

[@josephrogers5337]

landed at a former Airforce Base. I have been there in the late 60 's. love that lsland.

[@Bobs-Wrigles5555]

Ben taking a sneaky peek from behind Lawyer Dog sign, Steve's LHS

[@user-no1cares]

Sleep tight Bob.

[@michaelterrazas1325]

The lack of communication is why I quit regularly flying with Delta, even though it meant essentially abandoning my status form having 1,787,000 frequent flyer miles.

[@98f5]

I have almost 2 million skymiles i never cared to use til this month. And somehow their claim website has been down for at least 3 weeks since i first checked.

[@johnp139]

@@98f5strange, since I just used it last week.

[@awen777]

In the old days I would fly Continental Airlines. Loved them. Alaska Airlines in the old days was good too. United always had the reputation for being terribly late and loosing your luggage. Delta, American and most of the others were soon to follow. I got so frustrated I gave up flying for over ten years. Then I had an opportunity to visit China. I chose Asiana Airlines first time and then Hainan Airlines the rest of my trips. It was like going back in time! Everything worked like a well oiled clock. I had a short window to make a flight switch in South Korea and really worried my luggage would not make my flight. I walked up to an Asiana worker in the lower levels and told him my concern. He asked for my baggage claims and took out his cell phone and made a call ( turned out he was calling the baggage crew moving the luggage). He told me one bag had been loaded and the other one was on the cart! Now that is service! Food was always more than excellent and the flight crews were incredible. Asian airlines rock the new world in my opinion!

[@ateamfan42]

Most of the international airlines put the US domestic carriers to shame. I flew Qantas a few times, and was blown away with the planes, food, comfort, and most of all the SERVICE. The staff truly went out of their way to make you feel like the most important customer in the world.

[@robertsmalls3513]

Qatar Airways is pretty good too

[@xxgn]

United also has a has a history of ♪ breaking guitars ♪ . It's old news, but not forgotten.

[@awen777]

Not to mention rare violins, cellos or anything else their specialists get their hands on! Tradition lives on! I remember in the mid 90's they said the consumer would rule the day and straighten out the airlines bad behavior! lol!@@xxgn

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

Most of that is a problem with airport management rather than the airline, most hub airports are managed by local government. Though some is the airline. However, US carriers are at an economic disadvantage because they need to follow more rules and do more crew training, pay US minimum wages, and don't generally forge maintenance logs.

[@chrisbrass8930]

Odd, i never thought I'd find myself praising grayhound because of theactions of Delta airlines. Back around 2014 or so i took the bus from iowa to Seattle, we got laid up in Boise because the driver didn't have enough hours to proceed, so the got another driver to take us the rest of the way but he didn't have enough hours to take us all the way into Seattle so we ended up stopping in a small community between Boise and Portland and Greyhound put all the passengers up in a faitly nice hotel. The hotel provided a continental breakfast the following morning and even provided us passengers with a coupon for half off the meal in their restaurant. Some of us met in the restaurant, ate a good hearty meal and even had a few beers before turning in for the night. Ive not spent a lot of time traveling halfway across the United States on bus, but a couple, and it was my far my most memorable trip

[@xlerb2286]

I don't know what Greyhound is like these days but back in the early 80's when I was in college I'd ride it to get home every other weekend or so - a several hundred mile trip. It was safe, clean, and the ticket agent and driver were always friendly. Maybe not too chatty, but they didn't treat you like you were a bother. There were always a few other students, some older folk taking a bit of a slow paced vacation, and a general mix of folk going here and there on a budget. Have some good memories of those trips.

[@chrisbrass8930]

@@xlerb2286 for a while back in 2010s I lived in Medford Oregon and had frequent Dr appointments in Portland and would take the grayhound back and forth. Apart from the bus being crowded, it was a pleasant enough trip. Now I'm living in Des Moines and making trips back and forth to Iowa City (same reasons). Busses are nicer and less crowded, but the depot staff leaves a little to be desired. Not rude, just not as customer service friendly

[@matthewbeasley7765]

One thing the flight crew did know is that they were going to time out. They also know they're likely to be the ones to fly the original airplane whenever it is repaired.

[@TtheAlien]

so leave your passengers to starve?

[@rhymeswithorange6092]

@@TtheAlien Feeding disembarked passengers on the ground is not the pilots responsibility nor do they have any special authority that would have helped. They are drivers, not ship captains.

[@wlh227]

@@rhymeswithorange6092 Exactly Right! as they have no special authority at the airport.

[@scottmcshannon6821]

the flight crew got hotel rooms, the passengers got a cement floor at the airport.

[@scottmcshannon6821]

but it definitely is deltas responsibility.@@rhymeswithorange6092

[@isaacbobjork7053]

I believe you pronounce Terceira quite okay; it means Third in Portuguse, probably because it was the third island of the Azores to be discovered

[@brianbeach3024]

Okay so there are a few important things to remember about this. This aircraft landed in a country and airport that the airline does not have a presence at, and instead had to use local airport staff that don’t have any affiliation to Delta service these passengers. It’s not very likely that the Airline Crew knew anything about what the recovery plan was except that they were stuck there, and had to get their legally required crew rest. Airline crews often have exceptions to enter a country from other passengers, but the passengers were likely required by the local Immigration to stay in a specific area. In a station where it’s a third party (that likely never even has a relationship with Delta) handling these passengers, it’s up to them to keep passengers and Delta updated. The failures here are on the TER Airport Staff, not Delta.

[@Flamester43]

"Don't start a revolution" What? Asking for basic shelter and food gets that response, like the people are animals who should be grateful for a dirt floor? How far off did the Airline employee think they were from a 'Children of the Flies" scenario? What did the briefing the airline employees received say?

[@blargblarg5657]

A lack of basic necessities while the ruling class is forcing themselves had been the spark that started many a revolution. At least they almost learned from history.

[@TimoRutanen]

Seems to me it's likely a joke about how small the island is and how few people visit there. Maybe.

[@OmniscientWarrior]

Would have told them after a few hours of bad service and no info, "I'm from America. We are founded and raised in revolution. We even overthrew the gov in Honduras. And the aggregate, people being treated poorly, and greed, but mostly the treated poorly. Either supply us with adequate means or, 'Viva La revolution'. The choice is yours."

[@adhouston99]

An airport employee said that, Delta doesn’t have any staff at the airport they diverted to.

[@tvdan1043]

The airport staff were the ones telling people to drink out of bathroom faucets and refusing basic shelter and food. They were the ones acting inconvenienced that a foreign airline had to make an emergency landing on their island.

[@MuddFlappRanch]

Good ol' Lajes Field. I got stranded there more than once during my time in the USAF. Of course, I could leave the terminal.

[@laurelinlorefield318]

My Dad did too, flying a small bomber from Europe to an aircraft graveyard in the U.S. He also enjoyed it until he was ordered to fly home (Amarillo AFB) commercial. They sent in the needed part and another pilot later. (Not because Dad was enjoying himself, lol. He had crossed some policy about more than 30 days TDY or more than 30 days on the original flight order.)

[@georgepelton5645]

I had not heard about the Mach-E’s that got “bricked” due to excess regen going down mountains. I heard it first from you Bjørn, just like you said. Funny the media did not cover this at all. 😀

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

The crew get a [basic] hotel room because it's part of the legal rest requirements for continuing the flight later, and likely also a contractual obligation. Were the airport staff actually Delta employees? It sounds more like famous local European hospitality. It's still partly on Delta management for not selecting a better airport contractor, but I'm curious about the actual arrangement.

[@ninjagirl226]

Depends on how much of an emergency it is. They might not have had a choice of where to land.

[@gregorylewis8471]

The crew could have handed out water bottles to everyone leaving the aircraft. But, I'm sure they already hated the flight and couldn't wait to get away from the passengers. I'm always a bit nervous about overwater operation of aircraft, hoping that all the appropriate checks for all the equipment are done properly and the aircraft is in good shape. I still don't like flying two engine aircraft over water. The ETOPS abbreviation / rating granted certain aircraft engine combinations for prolonged operation over water was instantly turned into a not amusing assessment of what could happen when an engine fails by the pilots that fly them. Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim!

[@johnmorriss5308]

Rule may be: Lose any of these items, land at first available emergency landing site listed in the flight plan!

[@ninjagirl226]

@@johnmorriss5308 From my understanding it’s whoever can take you. So for instance they need to have a runway you can land at; may sound stupid but a 500 passenger plane probably can’t land at regional airport. Runway might not be long enough or as I’ve learned from my Dad the runway might be grass and not everyone can land on grass. Then you have to get air traffic permission. Which with it being an international flight can be difficult or at least that’s how it’s dramatized. But even domestically I know someone who died in a plane crash because the nearest airport denied permission to landed and the plane couldn’t get to the next city. But even then you might realize you can’t make it to your target airport and that’s when you get Miracle on the Hudson, planes landing on a road (which they know they shouldn’t do), or in a field. Hoping everything works out…

[@khakiswag]

Delta had no operations at that airport.

[@fantasynovel5357]

Makes me think of alaska airlines 261. Went down into the pacific right after dropping us off in Mexico. Always possible for a flight to have issues, but it was up to the airline to take care of the passengers for those 12 hours. When you take on passengers they are your responsibility until you get them to the destination.

[@boesshawn]

I was told during flight and airborne training that take offs are optional, landing is mandatory

[@kennybiel9688]

My last experience with Delta (and why I will never fly them again) happened on a flight from DFW to MHT (New Hampshire) with a layover in ATL and. The departure from DFW was severely delayed and as were taxiing at ATL they were making announcements about how they had reticketed other connecting flights but never mentioned reticketing to BOS. As we were exiting the plane we asked one of the attendants and they said there was nothing about BOS on their list but to ask the gate agent who would be directing people at the jetway. When we exited the jetway, the gate agent said there was no reticket for BOS and on the flight board we had 10 minutes to get 3 or 4 terminals over. So we ran (and waited on the tram) only to get to our original flight as they were pushing away. We complained to the gate agent there and she pulled up our tickets and told us that we had already be reticketed to LGA (LaGuardia) and...drum roll please... it was departing in 15 minutes from the gate right next to the gate we arrived at! So, we tried to make it back to that gate but were again too late, they had already closed the doors and not amount of begging and pleading would get them to reopen despite this being their screw up. So this new gate agent retickets us on another flight to LGA 2 hours later but tells us we probably won't be able to make the connection to MHT. For whatever reason, the LGA flight was leaving from the international terminal. We go over there to wait and noticed a ticketing agent area near our gate. So, I go over there thinking they might know more about routing us to MHT that day. We give our current boarding passes (both to LGA and MHT) with our IDs to the agent and tell her we're trying to get the Manchester today. She types a bit and says, "no problem, I can get you a direct flight". We're all smiles and thanking her while she finishes reticketing us and printing our boarding passes. She tells us the gate and it's in the same terminal we're in already. As we're walking away toward the gate, something seemed off and I checked the boarding passes. She had ticketed us to Manchester England UK. 🤦‍♂ To wrap up quickly, we reverted to going to LGA; got there too late to make it to the MHT flight or even a BOS flight. We had to beg and plead with them for a hotel for the night. We finally got to MHT the next morning where we had to start a new adventure of tracking down our luggage. (Hint: it was still in ATL.)

[@terryjwood]

I have celiac disease and can't eat wheat, rye and barley. So when I travel I take emergency food with me because you never know what can happen. I recently flew to Hawaii and was glad I had the food because the airline "forgot" that I had requested a gluten free meal. Even their peanut snacks were covered in wheat! And after seeing this video, I'm carrying a water bottle with me!

[@lavalamp6410]

My nightmare experience was with United Airlines flying from Hawaii to Auckland in New Zealand, I was with a group of around 20 people who were informed the airline had overbooked the flight and we were going to have to take a different plane to Sydney, Australia with an 8 hour stop-over there before flying on to Auckland, which is another 4 hour flight. Everyone in my group refused point blank, we told the airline staff we were all being met at Auckland airport by people who were then driving us, in cars, not busses, to other locations several hours drive away and having to make last minute alterations to those arrangements was impossible, all those people would have had to alter their own arrangements or have to wait at Auckland Airport for 12 hours if we couldn't contact them before the flight left for Sydney. Paying for parking for 12 hours at Auckland Airport was one expense United wasn't willing to cover. As far as I was concerned United Airlines was at fault, they shouldn't have sold more tickets than were available, or they should have used a larger plane. Nobody from my group were diverted but the nightmare didn't end there, it turned the flight attendants had already been working for 23 hours straight with an 8 hour flight ahead of them, plus as soon as the wheels lifted off the runway there was a very loud bang which was the air-conditioning failing alongside the entertainment system malfunctioning. Never flown with them again which I'm happy about.

[@wattheheck6010]

"Da plane, bossth! Da plane!" Yes, thank you Tatoo.

[@VigilanceTech]

wow, our standards have become pretty low when instead of being able to expect exceptional service (like shortly after the airline industry began) we are now told "be glad you didn't crash!"

[@EddieLeeFunn]

A successful flight, in a nutshell, is one that has the same number of landings as takeoffs!

[@jogzyg2036]

Every flight has the same number of landings as takeoffs. It's just some of those landings are somewhat unexpected and may not necessarily leave all the passengers intact.

[@valeriestevens5250]

@@jogzyg2036 Exactly what I was thinking. 😁

[@jasonoutman420]

A good landing is one you walk away from, a great landing is one where you can use the plane again.

[@roberteltze4850]

This isn't the first emergency landing in the Azores. It's location makes the nearest stop for many flights over the Atlantic. You would think they would have better procedures in place for dealing with passengers.

[@pcalna3202]

The plan has to start with someone to pay for all the supplies and hospitality, unless you figure the locals are just gonna chip in every time a distressed transatlantic flight drops in....it ain't the airport's responsibility to stock up on non-ham sandwiches at the local taxpayers expense. Flight emergency: land where you can, preferably someplace with amenities, if you have choices in the middle of the ocean, and wait for corporate to figure out the rest. If corporate isn't on it, and delivering a 9 course meal to a couple hundred people on a tiny island, well, I guess you can sue them for violating their conditions of carriage. Oh wait you can't because mechanical delays aren't their problem, so you're on your own. Y'all read the contract of carriage when you bought the ticket right?????

[@roberteltze4850]

@@pcalna3202 simply allow the passengers out of the airport so they can seek out their own amenities, that would be far better than keeping them cooped up. I also wonder about their choice of airports. There is a larger airport on a nearby island that may have been better able to accommodate the passengers needs. I doubt the backup oxygen supply was a big enough emergency that they couldn't have gone another 50 miles.

[@johnmorriss5308]

If the flight rules say land at first possible landing field, then you don't have any choice about going 50 miles more

[@pirateadam3686]

As a Brit, the "British Air" thing made me think - wasn't sure if you meant British Airways or if I'd completely missed an entire airline 😅

[@MrFixItGa]

Immediately sharing this with my friend, the Delta flight attendant. Lol

[@eMAYz1ng]

Delta Airlines flight 157 from Accra to NYC. I am on this flight at least twice a year, I would have been FURIOUS

[@travisking9895]

I just want to say that your charisma and delivery is an absolute delight to watch!

[@umbraelegios4130]

"We are sorry you are upset over our mistreatment of you. So as a way of apology here is a discount coupon for your next flight with us."

[@CDArena]

I don't mind these stories so much: while in the military I had a flight back from the persian gulf: we waited a week for a flight, living out of our bags in a temporary tent. Then 15 minutes after takeoff we had a hydraulic failure and landed at Qatar; an hour later we took off, and 15 minutes after that it failed again and we had to land at Saddam airport in Iraq; thankfully one of the air force controller let us sleep in his office for 4 hours. Took off and had to detour around Saudi airspace as we were well out of our scheduled transit time. Over the Mediterranean we again had a hydraulic problem and landed in Spain. Waited in the terminal for 8 hours for repairs and flew on to New Jersey. Processed thru customs, unloaded some army guys and waited another 4 hours. Flew on to Oklahoma to unload some cargo - thankfully only a 1 hour stop. Then flew another few hours back to our home station. We were met by a huge crowd of family members and fellow airmen who had a ceremony planned - at that point we all just wanted to go straight home, shower, and sleep for 2 days.

[@ADHJkvsNgsMBbTQe]

The flight crew was probably restricted by safety rules in terms of flight hours so they knew they were required to go rest. That doesn’t mean they had any additional information about the aircraft or the passengers. On the other hand, the airline might have done better to work with local airport employees to provide information and accommodations for the stranded passengers.

[@paulsmodels]

I don't get insulted or upset over someone speaking a name wrong or spelling a name wrong. I just call an airstrike on their house. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jgrenwod]

Better to be sitting on the ground wishing I was flying, then to be flying and wishing I was on the ground.

[@muckster57]

When that person said, "Hey Steve you mispronounced ..." You should have replied, "It's Steve Lehto if you please"

[@sadtiger2022]

...and add a Mr. to that 😂. Some people have too much time on their hands to get so mad about things.

[@gerardoarellano7698]

Wasn’t Delta’s slogan “WE GET YOU THERE!”?

[@laconvail9484]

We didn't say when lol

[@ulfjohnsen6203]

Did they mention where "there" was?

[@chrisfurnari3557]

We will get you there. Where? Yes...eventually

[@ateamfan42]

What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away.

[@johannesnoneoftheabove9957]

How did they mean that? "WE GET YOU THERE". Sounds like they put one over on the passengers.

[@timstram]

That whole abbreviation thing is prominently featured in the declaration of Independence

[@kazooietrisha]

Ok I’m Scottish, living in Scotland and I’m loling 😂 so hard about someone getting their knickers in a twist about British air over British airways. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in awhile. Thank for the laugh and making my day.

[@o0o-jd-o0o95]

airline strands 12 people on island. only 11 people rescued. when they were asked where the 12th person was, they said "we don't know what you're talking about, there was only 11 of us. Upon arrival to the mainland the 11 people were offered food to which they declined and said they weren't hungry....

[@thogevoll]

I traveled through Portugal. My plane made a stop there and guards with Thompson machine guns surrounded the plane but they were not there to protect us. They were there to make sure no one got off and a couple of persons got on.

[@CCB249]

The problem was the airport used to be a military airbase. The place where they got the sandwiches is outside the airport across the street. Ghana citizens need visas to visit Portugal. Their citizenship does not allow them to just visit any country they want with their passport. This situation really had nothing to do with the airline itself, any other big airline would have had the same problems.

[@saltyshellback]

I was in Houston for my son's graduation and on the day we were to fly home (United airlines), I got a text from the airline telling me my flight was delayed 4 hours. So my wife and I ordered food and hung our with our sons (his brother came to his graduation too). We got updates every 15 minutes pushing the flight back another 20-30 minutes. Well...all of a sudden, I got another message saying our flight will be boarding in 30 minutes! I called the airline to see if this was correct. The agent said that all he knew was what his system showed, but he did know that there was no crew even assigned yet, so if we headed to the airport right away, we should be able to get on the plane. Our older son drove us to the airport in our rental car and returned it for us and we just made it to the plane on time.

[@johnp139]

Yeah, that’s why you should still be at the airport at the scheduled departure time.

[@gshenaut]

In my experience with airlines, one of the problems with telling passengers in advance is that the airline itself may not know what's going to happen. I remember one night spent in the Philly airport where we kept getting updates about when they would get an essential part so they could fix the airplane, but each update contradicted the previous ones. I'm not sure it really helped to be kept up to date.

[@jamessimms415]

Why does the verse from ‘Hotel California’ comes to mind ‘You can check in any time you want, but can never leave’….?

[@neuropilot7310]

This is more a "precautionary" landing than an emergency landing where the jet "might" crash. This is more like one of the requirements for ETOPS (Extended-range Twin Engine OPerationS) flights, which requires diversion if required equipment is not available. Loss of or reduced backup oxygen quantity for pilots, over ocean is probably a "Land as soon as practical" item on the checklist.

[@lostindixie]

The first thing passengers should do in such a situation is organize, elect a leader, and push what powers you have. For instance, leave the airport as a group, all refuse to sit down on plane until compensation is agreed upon, etc. It's all about power and individuals refusing to be exploited.

[@zeriousvolt1245]

No, it was an emergency situation. I’ll bet that all the complainers were americans.

[@WhatTheFrogDoing]

@@zeriousvolt1245 The emergency situation was over once they were removed from the plane. This was the correct thing to do. Afterwards however, those passengers were still paying customers whom Delta had a responsibility to care for until they reached their agreed upon destination.

[@Nostradevus1]

@@zeriousvolt1245 If it was an emergency then why was the crew hanging out at a hotel?

[@RealFarknMcCoy]

Leaving the airport in a foreign country for which you do not hold an entry visa is against the law.

[@Erin_J_]

@@zeriousvolt1245An emergency happening with an aircraft is a foreseeable event that should be planned for. Delta utterly failed to handle this situation responsibly, everyone complaining knows their self worth, and knows that the airline doesn’t get to mistreat customers to this degree, they absolutely had the capability to handle this appropriately, and failed to do so.

[@jameshiggins-thomas9617]

Emergency landings internationally is a problem. It would be good to have an international agreement allowing unwitting visitors better accommodations and treatment. Most airports, I suspect, are ill equipped for visitors without visas.

[@toomignon]

We fly Alaska monthly for years and haven’t had any problems. We flew United once in the last 5 years….nightmare return flight because of ground crew. A true comedy of errors and incompetence. Desk personnel had no clue. Flight crew was awesome and fighting for us.

[@ezap9158]

a touch and go is both a landing and a takeoff, steve

[@idristaylor5093]

Ben in the new Tri-State area: Illinois, Texas & Lawyer.

[@daveymac4529]

You’re a busy man Steve. “Airways” is just too long to fit into to your schedule.

[@MrMortis65]

It would be interesting to know if this airport had customs processing available. That would explain why the passengers were held in a partitioned area.

[@denverbraughler3948]

Of course it did. It is an international airport.

[@johnp139]

@@denverbraughler3948But were visas required?

[@thewayidoit8895]

Steve and guys. When I was in college some 40+ years ago I recall seeing a "press release" that requested the media to refer to my University as one of the following 3: Case Western Reserve University, CWRU or Case-Reserve. They specifically requested to never be called Case-Western. Vernacular is the common language that people speak informally made up of terms not in the dictionary. First saw the term in a 3 stooges short - "Disorder in the Court".

[@judgywudgy]

😂 that three stooges skit is where I got my username. I can hear in my head how he says "vernacular"

[@calanon534]

@@judgywudgy N'yuk-N'yuk-N'yuk!

[@thewayidoit8895]

@@judgywudgy had it on vhs 30 years ago- watched it over and over and over. Of course I watched the stuges on Saturday Mornings in the 70's.

[@johnp139]

Case

[@petridish3045]

As a consumer of anything, it’s nice to be kept in the loop.

[@MrArob826]

Steve, if you said BA, I would have thunk The A Team...😂😅😂

[@Adam_Boots]

You'd need them to help you get home.

[@KM-zu9we]

Vouchers are BS. When an airline does such a poor job, I want an actual refund, not something that makes me have to use that airline again.

[@beealert911]

😂😂😂 Steve this is one of the funniest shows. Thank you for sharing. 😂😂😂

[@panzerkitsune]

Letho rubbing it in by consecutively saying the name "wrong" in god knows how many times :P

[@richardjames6947]

Dilemma: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones. Dilemmas happen throughout our lifetime. I prefer the choice that involves me not dying.

[@clatonblade2211]

I never feel bad for people when stuff like this happens, they can take you 30,000 feet off the earths surface and hurtle you across the planet at 600 miles an hour without killing you. This is a luxury privilege everyone should be grateful for.

[@catherinenelson4162]

Some people have a personal problem, you know, like narcissism!

[@qazwiz]

slightly mentioned but sounds like the trouble was only a secondary system ... as in "Main system is ok but if it breaks the backup system isn't working.

[@PeterJ-ij6mm]

Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory.

[@RLKmedic0315]

Thanks for the info. I will forever more refer to the airline as "Brit Air" in the hopes of pissing off an uptight British Citizen.

[@harveyconway6036]

Back in the day, when British Airways was BOAC, it was common to refer to it as "B O Airways Corporation".

[@Adam_Boots]

That stinks

[@olesuhr727]

I thought it was "Better On A Camel" 😂

[@tuvelat7302]

Those passengers need to check if the landing in Portugal qualifies them for the European consumer protection policies. They may get more compensation than the airline is currently offering.

[@jamessimms415]

Ben sticking out from the Lawyer Dog sign halfway up; screen right, Steve’s left side

[@htschmerdtz4465]

This kind of treatment is one reason I fly my own plane. Terceira is a bit far for my plane but if I was on the kerosene queen and was treated like this, I would keep my cool, take notes and photos, and when I landed in the US, I would call someone like Steve and file suit. If you hit them in the wallet where they hurt, they will respond and make it right.

[@dougstaines986]

Lack of communication by airlines with their customers is endemic in air travel business. It’s time some class action lawsuits are filed. I was taught that it’s not that problems happen it’s how you handle them that’s the important. Airlines are terrible at it.

[@milesromine9960]

Are you kidding 12 you can't go 12 hrs without food? How entitled

[@mgoo1713]

"Airport staff" not Delta staff. In fact it was a airport that Delta doesn't use and have staffing at. It was an unscheduled emergency landing.

[@kamilegier4730]

Every pilot should have a corporate credit card that is authorized to use in such emergencies to take care of the passengers health and well being. They could have made arrangements for decent meals, snacks, and drinks to be brought in, diapers, personal hygiene items, games etc to entertain children, books/magazines, free internet, blankets/pillows, basically do what ever is possible, it may still be a horrible situation but if people can see that the airline (British air) had their safety and COMFORT as a priority people would be happy and endure the hardship

[@ateamfan42]

Such an approach assume the airline actually cares about customer comfort. Most of the US domestic carriers do not. All that matters is shaving a little more profit to maximize shareholder return.

[@jeromethiel4323]

The issue with this is that the captain and the first officer aren't there to deal with the passengers. Their job is to fly the aircraft. The Cabin crew is responsible for the passengers while on the aircraft, but they don't deal with them on the ground. The gate agents and other ground crew are responsible for the passengers off of the aircraft. The aircrew and cabin crew on this flight did nothing wrong, they did the job they are supposed to do. The ground crew, OTOH, failed horribly.

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

​@@ateamfan42 It is an extremely low margin business, they aren't shaving for profit they are shaving because 90% of customers only care about shaving $10 off the ticket price.(and then complain when they get what they paid for) Most customers with big money just fly private so they can avoid having their rights assaulted by the TSA circus and fly direct to smaller airports.

[@jpnewman1688]

So you didn't know maximizing profits is the main goal of capitalism?? 💵💵😂😂

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

​@@jpnewman1688 Entropy makes profit essential for the survival of all biology, "capitalism" has no monopoly on that. Seeking life without the pursuit of profit is the childish pursuit of a perpetual motion machine. Without profit entropy will quickly get ya. A squirrel must collect more calories than it expends doing the collection, and so it only selects high yield items like persian walnuts and avoids low yield items like american walnuts.(Similar gross food value but the american walnut requires a large amount of energy to get the meat out of the shell.. no profit.)

[@Unclegus1]

Only ONE complaint? That is so wrong, who do we complain to about the lack of complaints?

[@kylegoldston]

The water in a aircraft bathroom is " technically potable " however nobody who has serviced these systems would drink from them.

[@danielhurst8863]

The lack of water bottles could be because of price maximums. A few countries in Europe, Greece for one and I think Portugal, have a maximum rate that can be charged per bottle of water, whether from a store or vending machine, and the price is so low, that no profit could be made shipping it to some locations, so you end up in a place that has no water for sale.

[@MrMartinSchou]

Sure. But then you (the airline) offer them something else to drink at no cost, because this is YOUR problem. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soda etc.

[@RobDucharme]

I guess they'll just have to wait for the invention of the.... cup....

[@TheOrangeRoad]

​@@MrMartinSchouWhat's the main ingredient in tea and coffe?

[@MrMartinSchou]

@@TheOrangeRoad Let me guess - you think the main ingredient in tea and coffee is BOTTLED water? Because that's what OP was highlighting as a possible excuse and that I was pointing out was a bad excuse for not giving your stranded passengers anything to drink.

[@calamity0.o]

​​@TheOrangeRoad boiled water... if it's my house and coffee, I use bottled distilled water for my machine, but for tea, I just use tap water in my kettle. I live in a heavy limestone area.

[@tentingaroundflorida]

Rules have to be changed. Emergency or not the airlines need to be prepared for issues like this

[@shawnmurphy6311]

To quote a famous movie line "What we have here is a failure to communicate"

[@VolundMush]

"Be grateful we were able to land here instead of crashing somewhere." Paraphrased but... this is indeed true, the winds of fate could've made things take a very different turn and I'm not entirely surprised to hear an aircrew member say such a thing after a harrowing experience. This sounds like a highly unfortunate situation where the plane's crew couldn't do much, and the company was probably scrambling to figure out how to respond. Trying to deal with the situation was likely a logistical nightmare for everyone involved, and all the company really cares about is not getting investigated or sued.

[@justinsmith2363]

Kudos to the person who figured out that ‘British Air’ meant BA. Maybe he was the only person who complained because he was the only person who figured out which airline Steve was actually talking about. As Steve says, it’s all about communication!

[@adrianbargen9727]

They have the money to feed people well enough. They should have rules in place where they can spend money to buy water and food to take care of the people properly. They should also be required by law to keep them updated with everything they know. I'm the kind of angry person that would have probably gotten into some trouble for raising hell for not being told anything. because within the first 2 hours they new exactly how long it was going to be.

[@james-michaelrobson287]

I work in aviation maintenance. I always say that taking of is the hard part. As long as you get that done, the landing is guaranteed.

[@catnvol]

Unfortunately this was my experience with Delta in recent years. In the 70s and 80s, Delta was my favorite airline. In recent years I tried to avoid as best as I could. Steve is right, most American carriers are not much better. My favorite airline is ANA with my second choice being JAL. That said, you have to be careful with code-sharing and be sure you know which airline operates a flight. I booked a non-stop roundtrip from San Diego to Narita, Japan on JAL and the flight from SD to NRT was by American Airlines while the return flight was operated by JAL. Comparing JAL to AA is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Yugo. That included the condition of the plane (both were Boeing 787), the personell, the amenities, and overall treatment.

[@BDaltonYoung]

No joke; JAL is fantastic. I did ride a code share for them with American Airlines and it was...fine. But my last JAL flights between LAX and Denver were just fantastic.

[@arthurhouston3]

No managers at delta or any airline will not make decisions. They know it exposes them to termination.

[@slingblade6858]

EVERYONE has had a terrible, unforgivable airline experience. Mine was hosted by United.

[@johnp139]

Same

[@SuperFrank6666]

There are TOOOOO many KARENS in this world.

[@jhoughjr1]

Maybe it’s like an abbreviation is an insult in that you are trying to give less time than is due whom you are addressing. Might’ve came from addressing royalty

[@LMacNeill]

The crappy thing about the airline industry is that so many airlines have merged, you basically have no competition anymore. So Delta, United, American and Southwest don't have any real incentive to actually give you good service -- they're all the same at this point.

[@ateamfan42]

This is growing issue in many industries. Don't like our terrible service? Go to our competition. Whoops, we bought them last week, and now they are just as bad as us.

[@fumblerooskie]

As a reminder, Delta is the highest rated airline (15th worldwide) in the U.S. Book with foreign airlines whenever possible. Many of the well-known ones are much higher rated. The next highest rated U.S. airline is United at 26th.

[@karenpojar2514]

Oh no! We're starving! We demand food! Not this food, I need fine dining! Beggars CAN be choosers.

[@diegocella6791]

Steve is 1000000% right... as always!

[@jomama01]

With airlines receiving a massive bailout and currently making massive profits, combined with rapid turnarounds that keep them from cleaning cabins and completing maintenance, airlines should be held accountable for their actions (or lack thereof).