Why I Sometimes Heart Delta and Why I Always Heart @DeltaAssist

Yes, you read that headline correctly. It’s true. There are times when I really do love Delta Air Lines, and Hurricane Irene has led me to blog about just one of those. You’ve heard me mention Delta’s out front social media team from time to time and their really forward thinking (for a big old legacy airline) approach to emerging media. There is no better testament to that than the @DeltaAssist Twitter feed. DeltaAssist is one whole helluva lot more than another marketing mouthpiece that may or may not be outsourced, it’s direct access to customer service agents that know how to actually fix things.

Things like getting you rebooked off canceled flights, rerouted through alternative airports, or in my most recent case, canceling your trip and processing your refund when a hurricane interrupts your flights. As it became clear that flying from DC to North Carolina was a no-win proposition during a hurricane affecting both places over the course of a weekend, I turned to @DeltaAssist to help me out. Delta had posted their storm policy allowing for penalty free changes or refunds (in the case of cancellations or significant delays). It was obvious I wasn’t getting to where I needed to go and back on the same calendar days as planned. There are times when that’s actually OK, but when faced with business flights on Monday after the weekend personal trip, I just could tolerate the delay.

Mere mortals might call Delta’s 800 number during a hurricane and wait 3 hours to speak to someone. Travelers in the know will reach out to Delta’s wonderful @DeltaAssist folks who helped me fix things in minutes, processed my refund, and even apologized for the flight problems that neither of us could do anything about. @DeltaAssist rocks! Frankly, I’m a little surprised that other airlines haven’t found the wherewithal to peruse something similar. But then again, other “legacy” airlines are way behind Delta in this regard. Here’s to hoping they catch up.