Delta Fares

Why did Delta charge me $100 per ticket?

I arrived 44 minutes before my booked flight at the Las Vegas Delta ticket counter. They refused to check my bag, and the attendant said "You late - go stand in long line. Must be 45 minutes early" Nowhere was this noted on my Travelocity e-ticket. There were no signs posted stating this. They charged me full fare for the next flight and added $100 service charge per ticket on top of this. When I asked I was told it was posted on the Delta website. Very poor customer service. No one cared. There was more than enough time to go through security and get to the gate. Where did this $100 charge come from??? This is new to me. On top of this they charged me $15 to check my bag, which was originally to offset high fuel prices(which are way down now).

Public Comments

1. The $100 charge is standard for a ticket change. Yes, the website says "Delta will not be liable for baggage that is not checked in at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure of a domestic flight (45 minutes in Las Vegas and Denver)." And almost all airlines are charging for checked bags now. Trust me, this dip in fuel prices is temporary.
2. The $100 is standard for any ticket change with any airline, not just Delta. They will not go out of their way to inform you about their policies; you are expected to read it for yourself at their website. It's the same thing with the checked baggage - almost all airlines are doing it. I'm sure there would not have been a problem with simply checking in, but it seems they viewed it as an opportunity to squeeze more money out of you. Airlines will also use "for security reasons" as an excuse to delay you, before you even check in. you could try to pursue the matter by filing a complaint through their website; if you are a regular flyer with Delta, they might decide it would be better to refund your $100, rather than lose a regular, especially sine the airline industry is struggling so much.
3. All the domestic carriers have the 45 minute cut off for luggage. (Just flew American yesterday and it's posted on their web site and in the check in line as well) The carriers also tell you to arrive at the airport a miniumum of 1 hour before flight time to allow for security check in lines.
4. I'd say considering you missed your flight you did damn well to get away with only $100 per person.