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Delta Charges Returning Troops $ 2,800 Baggage Fee
I’ll let their video speak for itself, but it seems pretty darn outrageous they couldn’t make an exception for the men and women in service. At the same time one would think the military could have been clearer with the troops on policy.
A general messup all around it seems
Delta has said they are ‘looking in to it’ while the military says the troops may be reimbursed by them.
Huff Po has coverage as well
Here is the take from Stars and Stripes
8 Responses to “Delta Charges Returning Troops $ 2,800 Baggage Fee”
Gotta wonder. Will Eric Cantor require an offset in the federal budget before authorizing payment for the extra bags, ala Joplin tornado emergency relief?
Sorry, sense of humor bit me.
Elijah, LOL! That’s great. However it would not surprise me in the least if Eric or the Republicans required the offset.
Where can I send my contribution?
Latest update is that Delta has changed policy
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/doing-good/kindness/post/2011/06/delta-changes-policy-on-military-baggage/173626/1?csp=ylf
As frustrating as it is that our returning service members have this problem, I have to agree that asking for budgeting offsets only makes sense, regardless of the reason for the expenditure.
Or don’t people use that concept in their own budgets anymore…? That would certainly explain a lot if true.
Absolutely, let’s have a nice big fat tax hike on all the war profiteers starting with Halliburton, Blackwater, and going all the way to Boeing & GE…
Ok, this is going to be an unpopular view, but here it is: what exactly is the problem here?
Firstly, I’m a little unclear on whether the charging was actually a mistake or not. It says that in coach, they are allowed 3 bags, and they had 4. Thus, the extra charge. Should Delta allow 4 bags instead? Maybe, but now what happens when the first soldier shows up with 5 bags? Should Delta just allow unlimited bags? I’m not sure why Delta should agree to transport military equipment and supplies for free.
Which brings us to the question: who should pay, if not Delta? Obviously, the military should. And it appears the military would reimburse the cost if Delta doesn’t, which I’d think it will due to the bad publicity it’s getting.
So, what’s wrong with that? The soldiers should expect to get reimbursed. This sort of thing happens all the time in both the private and public sector, where personal funds must be used to purchase something and then reimbursement comes later.
Granted, it would be more convenient for the soldier if there was a pre-arranged system in place so that the military is automatically billed, but the non-existence of that hardly seems like it should have been an unexpected and unusual inconvenience.
ETA: Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Billing a soldier $200 is more than just an inconvenience. Still, I think the military is responsible, not Delta. A direct-bill system should be implemented if there is not one already, or if 4 bags really is excessive, the military needs to communicate that to its members.
Adelinesdad, I know that you’ve updated your thinking but you brought up some valid points for those that don’t understand how traveling under orders works. I retired from the Navy back in ’93, so I know that I might be off some because things do change over time, and this IS the Army, not the Navy, but it still should be close enough to get the glist of things.
First off, Delta allows four bags for first and business class, but enlisted do NOT travel first class, unless there is something very out of the ordinary involved (medical reasons?)
Second off, the service person is given a set of orders to go from point A to B, and those orders tell him:
1: what the earliest date and time he will detach from his current command
2: it tells him how much time he has to do this travel (proceed time)
3: if he is authorized leave/furlough (vacation) while in route
4: and if so how long
5: when he is to report aboard his next command
6: and how much baggage he is authorized to take at no cost to him during this transfer (weight allowance).
The type of move has some bearing on things too. A household PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move includes weight limits tied into the rank, as well as being married (higher the rank, the longer you’ve been in, the more stuff you have in your house to move – also called perks, but we just say ‘rank has it’s privileges’).
If the serviceman decides to take more bags/weight than what’s on the orders, then any associated cost overruns are all his to pay.
One problem most readers are not seeing is the language of the contract. This would tell where this misunderstanding started at. I worked at the fringe of this area, and have an understanding what could have gone wrong. Someone in DC wrote a list of what they wanted to happen and how (get soldiers home! Now! Fast!), but how was the issue of bags addressed? Was it hidden by Delta in their First class/coach policy and over-sighted by the officer cutting the contract? Don’t know. I do know that there is little flexibility in getting money out of the DoD in the short haul like what happened here, but it can be done. Delta has much more flexibility and should have either made notes and billed the DoD after the fact and wait the six plus months for their payment while adjusting the contract to cover this in the future or just eaten the cost as they now have without the bad publicity.