Editorial: Kayak and Delta Share Core Values – Zero Integrity And Dishonesty

Delta Airlines Performs A Classic Bait and Switch, Doubling The Price Of An Airfare To Over $3000 After Hitting “Purchase”!

“Found @Delta fare on @Kayak for $757/roundtrip to Italy, but when I entered credit card info and hit “enter”, Delta doubled the price! #WTFO“

— TravelValue (@CombatCritic) September 2, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I found two @Delta fares on @Kayak for $757 round-trip each to Naples, Italy on September 1st, but when I spent over 10 minutes entering our personal details and credit card info and then hit “enter”, Delta refused to process the ticket and doubled the price! Can you say “bait and switch”? Sure ya can, because that is exactly what Delta did. The message stated that the fare was now $1500+ each (over $3000 total – a $1500 increase from the advertised airfare) if I wanted to continue booking. I did not.

The transaction even hit my credit card because I received text and email alerts warning me of a possible fraudulent transaction. When I replied, telling my bank that it was not fraud, they replied and told me that the transaction had already been reversed.

As a retired military officer, integrity is my mantra. Obviously, Kayak.com and Delta Airlines do not undertsand the meaning of the word.

WTFO? Shame on you both!

This is exactly why we stopped flying Delta and started flying United exclusively. I will also consider using an airfare consolidator other than Kayak.com, like JustFly.com, from now on for letting this happen. I wasted 30-40 minutes of valuable time researching fares, departure times, flight and layover duration, and entering required information for payment, only to be told AFTER confirming the purchase that the fare was no longer available.

I think the FAA and Georgia Attorney General need to hear about this classic bait and switch tactic … don’t you?

The V.P. of eCommerce Operations ay Kayak replied to my concerns with this crap:

From: Esther – KAYAK Date: Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 7:54 PMSubject: Your recent KAYAK Feedback 

“Hello and thank you for contacting KAYAK and sharing your experience.

Please keep in mind KAYAK is a travel website whereby you search for travel options and we provide you with search results and choices on where to complete a reservation.  Further upon selecting the order to process with Delta you left our website and we no longer have insight into the reservation attempt or fares.  

Please keep in mind prices and availability change frequently and it is possible the fares changed from the time you selected an itinerary until you when you were completing a reservation. Further fares are not guaranteed and ticketed and confirmed.

If you require further assistance we suggest you contact Delta directly.

Thank you,

EstherKAYAK VP, eCommerce Operations”

My response was as follows:

“Once I go to the carrier’s website to complete the reservation, that fare should be locked in until I submit payment, which I did. Delta even charged my credit card before reversing it!

Don’t tell me a consolidator site as large as Kayak doesn’t have some pull with the airlines. Kayak should raise the BS flag with Delta. It’s not right to waste Kayak customer’s time. My post is getting a lot of attention and it doesn’t reflect favorably on Delta or Kayak.

Your reply is canned and self serving and I find it offensive. I did contact Delta and they refuse to respond. Why don’t you stand up for your customers? Kayak profits greatly from sending people to other sites, then you wash your hands? Integrity? “

CombatCritic

Here is the sorry, self-serving response from Kayak’s vice President of eCommerce Operatons:

“I am sorry to hear you believe my response is canned because it certainly is not. The intent of the reply was to inform you about KAYAK’s service which is a travel website whereby you search for travel options ( please visit: https://www.kayak.com/about to learn more).

Also, please keep in mind we do not set the prices displayed in the search results nor do we control any of the fares. Further, as noted, prices and availability can change quite quickly as a result prices are not guaranteed by booking providers until they are purchased and ticketed.

Hope this helps clarify further.

Kind regards, 

Esther

KAYAK VP, eCommerce Operations”

Like Hotels.com, who could care less about their customers (see my post on Guest House Vlado), Kayak is just another travel consolidator that makes money off of all of us by routing us to another website, then washing their hands of whatever happens next.


CombatCritic Gives Kayak.com and Delta Airlines 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On MY Quickly Growing “WALL OF SHAME” … More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

“Fucked Up Beyond All Repair”

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp – Elite ’14/’15/’16

Tabelog – Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato – #1 Ranked Foodie





… And Don’t Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Editorial: Kayak and Delta Share Core Values – Zero Integrity And Dishonesty

Key Words: Kayak, Delta Airlines, Delta, airlines, airfare, Kayak.com, Delta.com, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, company, service, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

“CombatCritic” and “TravelValue” Are Trademarks of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC

Copyright 2011-2016 – CombatCritic and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

Delta Airlines … Is "We Don’t Care, We Don’t Have To" A Thing Of The Past?

Happy Campers

Am I just lucky or is Delta Airlines more user friendly than they used to be? Our recent experience has been nothing but pleasant AND SURPRISING after many years of intercontinental travel and an “I could care less about you because you have no other choice” attitude by the vast majority of airlines. If you have flown in the last 25 years, you know exactly what I am talking about.

It all started when we found a decent airfare for a Christmas trip to Puerto Rico. At $600, more or less, for economy round-trip tickets, we decided that we could afford a few weeks away from the freezing cold and a holiday in the balmy breezes of our tropical Caribbean cousin. 

View From 1st Class … Don’t Get Used To It!

When it came time to choose our seats, I was shocked that the first class cabin was an option, so I jumped on seats 1A and 1B! Woo-hoo … could this be a glitch in Delta’s system or were we really getting “premier” seats for the cost of an economy ticket?

The day before departure, I went online to check-in. A relatively simple process, I had done my homework in advance and resigned myself to the fact that we would be paying $25 per bag for luggage. I heard on National Public Radio just the day before that one airline alone had made BILLION$ this year in baggage and other travel related fees. I never realized how lucrative the airlines add-ons actually were prior to that, so it’s no wonder why they changed the rules just a few short years ago. So when check-in was complete and there was NO $25 FEE for our luggage, I thought I had won the lotto … YIPEEEEEE!

The next surprise came when we arrived at the Kansas City International Airport (they can call it “international” because the apparently have one flight to Canada per day) early on Christmas Eve morning.  Arriving and hour-and-a-half prior to takeoff, there was no line at the Delta counter and we were greeted by a smiling and friendly agent … was I dreaming?

Atlanta, Georgia from 10,00 Feet

Being retired Air Force and having lived overseas for 9 of my 20-year career, I traveled quite extensively by plane and rarely, if ever, encountered a compassionate agent. The best I could normally hope for would be non-committal or neutral attitude and, at worst, an openly hostile and aggressive personality and “we don’t care, we don’t have to” interaction.

The Delta agent was actually quite friendly and helpful, and we breezed right through check-in in less than five minutes. As we approached the security, the TSA Agent told me “you are pre-screened Mr. Sorrentino, please proceed to the gate (without the usual security hassles – shoes/belt off, computer out of the bag, etc.). I never applied for a TSA clearance, so they must have comped me for having had a Top-Secret Clearance and being a retired lieutenant colonel.

All first-class got us on the flight from Kansas City to Atlanta was early boarding, a couple free bloody Marys, and a piece of pound cake. Gone are the days of Mimosas and filet mignons on domestic flights, but hey, who’s to complain!

After much consideration, I think it was just a fluke, one of those times when the planets simply align and everything goes more smoothly than it is supposed to. Deep down inside I hope that the airlines are finally treating us like humans AND WITH JUST A LITTLE DIGNITY AND RESPECT because, after all, WE PAY THEIR DAMN SALARIES … THANKS FOR THE NICE EXPERIENCE DELTA!

CombatCritic Gives Delta Airlines 8 Out of 10 Bombs (On This Trip – 3 Out of 10 Bombs Overall) … Bombs Are Good!

Title: Delta Airlines … Is “We Don’t Care, We Don’t Have To” A Thing Of The Past?

Key Words: Delta, airlines, Delta Airlines, plane, airplane, trip, flight, vacation, customer, first-class, travel, value, TravelValue, CombatCritic, combat, critic