A nightmare Saturday night at JFK with Delta, KLM and Czech Airlines

The whole story

Saturday 5pm

I arrived at JFK 90 minutes prior to my departure (as is the recommended time) only to find a extremely long lines at the Delta counters. In all my time travelling there I have never seen this confusing line.

Saturday 6pm

At some point around 6pm Delta staff asked people waiting in line who was on a 7:30pm flight, people raised their hands and somehow a new line was created from confusion, which led to chaos as people tried to make their flights.

I was travelling with my girlfriend who was on a later flight (8:15pm) to Prague. After we moved to the line, Delta personnel wanted to cut us and the rest of the people off due to other passenger’s agitation (those that were leaving at 9pm). She only stopped after telling her we were on 7:30pm flights.

Saturday 6:30pm

The check-in for our flight closed. We were left waiting in line thinking the Delta staff still knew about us and had everything under control.

Saturday 6:39pm

We got to the check-in counter and were informed by a PSA agent Christina Romano (later the star of the show) that our flight’s check-in closed even though we were left waiting in line.

Saturday 6:55pm

She tried to help us immediately by putting me on my girlfriend’s flight, but could not due to my ticket being booked through Czech Airlines and not Delta. Christina gives me a number to call (supposedly some Czech Airlines number). I had to switch out my US sim card for a Czech sim card to be able to call an international number, which was not in service and didn’t work. I tried calling some number I found through my booking confirmation, which also didn’t work.

Saturday 7:00pm

My girlfriend hesitantly leaves for her flight. I made her go so at least she could get through security and make it to boarding just in time.

Saturday 7:01pm

I am alone.

Saturday 7:02pm

I tried asking if I could buy a ticket for her flight for which the cost would be $2600 — no way. I was then informed that unless I could solve it before 7:15pm, I am not getting on the flight.

Saturday 7:13pm

I tried calling a Czech Airlines 24/7 number after connecting to airport WIFI on my computer as my T-mobile LTE stopped working at that point, costing me precious minutes under pressure. I ended up using my Skype credit because calling from the Czech number internationally would cost me about $2/min. I ended up spending about 60 minutes aggregated on their line throughout this…

I explained my situation to the Czech Airlines representative who told me that if there was a line and they put us somewhere else to allegedly make the flight, which in turn caused us to actually miss the flight, it is Delta’s fault and Czech Airlines cannot help me…….

I fly to New York from Prague every month for a week, always try to book with Czech Airlines or Delta directly and the customer service rep tells me he won’t help me? Way to go! Leaving your customer a world away with no assistance.

Ok so it is Czech Airlines problem to rebook the ticket for me, but it is Delta’s fault I missed the flight and they won’t talk to each other.

Saturday 7:17pm

Getting on the rebooking line — it seems to be about two hours long…many people did not get on their 7:30 flights.

Saturday 7:25pm

I hear people speaking Czech and asked them if they are travelling to Prague and how. Apparently there is a flight to Barcelona around 10pm, which connect to Prague later. I find out later there is a similar flight through Amsterdam around 10:40pm…I think I might actually make it.

Saturday 7:30–8:30pm

I play games and read the news on my phone while standing in the line to resist the primal urge to rip JFK to pieces…

Saturday 8:30pm

I find a Dutch couple who have exactly the same problem only with KLM and Delta, at least a few kindred spirits! I also sent a couple messages to my lawyer friend on the east coast. In my mind this was going to be something like, “You won’t help me? So here’s my lawyer on the phone” kind of situation….well life is not like the movies….he gives me some helpful advice but cannot do much more from his position.

Saturday 9pm

I finally get to the front of the rebooking line, explain my situation for about the fifth time, the guy clicks away on his computer and then tells me he can’t do anything because it is Czech Airlines. I told him there are other people like me who did not get on their flights because Delta put them in a line that actually caused them to miss the flight, that it is unacceptable and I will not leave until this is resolved…. The guy says, “if you don’t leave, then I’m gonna leave.”….. he stands up, takes his backpack, and leaves me standing there……..

At this point there is only one person at the rebooking counter…everybody else left. Kudos to the Delta personnel here.

Saturday 9:05pm

There is really nobody to help us… I haven’t eaten in 8 hours… a supervisor in a red vest came to move us somewhere else. We asked why and he only said there is only one person at the rebooking counter. I tried to tell him what happened and he actually yelled at me saying why am I making trouble and asking him questions……

Saturday 9:20pm

A solution to a line is another line! My third one this evening Yay!

Saturday 9:40pm

The Amsterdam and Barcelona flight check-ins are closed and I am not going anywhere tonight. I join forces with the Dutch couple to see if there was a way to resolve this.

We get to the front of the rebooking counter and explain everything again… The agent remembers something about there being a couple on the way to Prague and one making it and the other not. She remembers the line closing just behind us. OK, so maybe we can work with this… “Sir, when did you get to the airport?” — see, she tried to explain to us that because we weren’t there 3 hours before it was our problem. BUT, the dutch couple were there at 4pm so three and half hours before the flight. HA HA!

It took a few back and forths for her to understand we hold Delta responsible for the utter lack of efficient organization and leaving many to miss their flights….

Saturday 10:20pm

After being on the phone with KLM, because that was apparently easier to deal with than Czech Airlines, the rebooking agent said to us, “let’s deal with you separately” — which translates into “let me screw you over so that neither of you finds out the deal for the other”. When I mentioned I would like to assist the Dutch couple she tells me,”No really sir, I have to be professional”. We finally make the case I need to assist them because my english was much better than theirs, she was visibly uncomfortable and without arguments at that point….the sort of look when somebody is about to propose a sucky deal and they know it… She tried to use some complicated words to describe what she was saying (“the information pertaining to your ticket”) to discourage the couple from understanding properly. I found this despicable and hardly in line with Delta’s motto, “the world’s most trusted airline”…..

She told them it would cost them $1400 per person to rebook and able able to fly sunday, the couple refused so she kept calling KLM… I was told to get on the phone with Czech Airlines to have the Delta counter supervisor, Christina, speak with me.

Saturday 10:40pm

Christina explains to Czech Airlines what happened, and that she tried to rebook me but could not because the ticket wasn’t bought through Delta. She actually tells them it happened because of the line and not me…. I realized later the rebooking agent failed to mention this to KLM…

Christina thank you for actually being the only honest person here and trying to help me… It is because of you I can get home…

Only after hearing this (the admittance of fault) does Czech Airlines customer service tell me they are going to figure it out. I should go stay somewhere and they will call me in two hours when their supervisor is there to solve this with Delta.

Saturday 10:50pm

The Dutch couple has to pay $400 for rebooking and they fly Monday, they will have the option to call Delta Corporate when they get to the Netherlands to try and get their money back (I hope my precedent will help them)…

Saturday 11:20pm

We are in a line for taxis back to Manhattan — we decided to split the costs and go together, I helped them book a hotel and get back to the city…the Queens tunnel is under construction…30 min ride is 90 min ride now…not even funny