Delta is continuing its meltdown, withholding personal property from customers and using intimidation tactics to quelch any opposition to their lack of righting wrongs.
I’m the lead guitarist and founding member of Atlanta band Davis and the Love. On July 19, the band flew out to Boise, Idaho, to play a show in Ketchum, Idaho, Sunday evening. We had a small delay in our flight out because of the CrowdStrike issue that struck that day, but we managed to make it out and have a successful show.
Credit: KATIE WEEKS
Credit: KATIE WEEKS
Our flights back Monday were just the beginning of the nightmare. Both the flight from Boise to our connecting flight in Minneapolis and the Minneapolis flight to Atlanta were delayed. We deplaned in Minneapolis and raced to make our connecting flight. There, we were met with a lack of first officer for our flight. After an hour wait, we saw a flight crew walk to the gate and talk with others. Cheers erupted from the crowd, but those cheers turned to boos when the crew was pulled away to another flight, leaving ours canceled.
My bandmates made the quick decision to grab our things, reserve a rental car and drive overnight, more than 17 hours with stops, to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, we discovered Delta had overnighted our checked bags.
At the nightmare that became baggage claim, we discovered they sent our saxophone player’s checked bag back to Concourse B and flew it out to Valdosta — which was not on any flight paths of ours. Atlanta was the final destination.
Our sax player’s AirTag showed it remained at Concourse B. Delta employees were dumbfounded when he showed them. They made him fill out a claim ticket and wait. Someone at the Valdosta airport called him and said his bags were there, but the description didn’t match his luggage. His AirTag showed it at Concourse B in Atlanta. He spent hours and then days speaking with different Delta employees, continuously being told they won’t retrieve his personal belongings. As of Friday, his bag was still at Concourse B.
Delta is still in disarray. Its customer service is questionable. Delta has lost customers for life. This should have been quickly resolved. And now, our band, working musicians, is stuck in limbo, with a bandmate’s work gear and work clothes being held hostage by Delta.
And Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian continues to provide empty words on Delta resolving the system issues.
Cory Welch is a founding member of Atlanta-based band Davis and the Love.
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