One of my qualifications for writing about travel is the fact that I am a pilot myself.   Although I hold a commercial license and have flown passengers and cargo commercially, the vast majority of my experience has been as a general aviation pilot.   For those of you who do not know, general aviation is pretty much everything that is not commercial or military.    That means virtually all of those little piston powered, propeller driven aircraft you may see in the skies from time to time.

While most of my time is in rented aircraft, I actually did own my own airplane for just over a year.   My goal was to fly it as much as possible, maximizing the number of hours I could accumulate in pursuit of a career as an airline pilot (a career I eventually declined, but that is another story).   From my home in Denver, I flew my trusted Grumman Cheetah on adventures from Alaska to the Bahamas.   Along the way, I had a considerable number of delays.

Keep in mind that when your commercial flight is delayed or canceled, you merely groan and try to find a seat on the next scheduled flight.   When the airplane is unable to fly due to a mechanical breakdown, the worst case scenario is you have to wait until the airline can find a replacement aircraft.

Now imagine the plight of a general aviation pilot.   While many envision the luxury of a private jet, the aircraft I fly have more in common with an original Volkswagen beetle in size and comfort.   People asked me if it had a bathroom, and I would reply that it certainly did, right behind the bedroom.   It took some a few moments to catch the joke.     Although my longest non-stop flight was over seven hours, a leg of four to five hours was more common.

Comfort aside, there was also the issue of reliability.   My particular aircraft was a 1976 model, and nearly every part had been replaced during the thirty years that preceded my ownership of it.   When there was a mechanical problem, I had to find a mechanic to fix it.   If that meant canceling the entire trip, that is what I had to do.   Worse, it also meant that I paid for the parts and labor out of pocket as well.

Finally, there was the weather.  A modern jet aircraft is equipped to handle almost any weather short of a thunderstorm or blizzard conditions.  An entry level general aviation aircraft is far less forgiving.   Few small aircraft have anti-ice equipment installed, so all moisture must be avoided anytime the air temperature is near or below freezing.   If snow is in the forecast, I cannot fly.  Even a thin layer of early morning frost on the wings required that I point the aircraft towards the sun and wait.   I held an instrument rating, which allowed me to fly in the clouds, however I avoided even a modest storm that would not even delay a jet aircraft.   Flying in or around the mountains was only done in ideal conditions, and never, ever at night.

While you have your choice of roughly 500 commercially served airports in the United States, we general aviation pilots have over 5,000 different airfields to choose from.   That means that when I had to divert due to weather, I was just as likely to find myself in Lamar Colorado or Las Vegas, New Mexico rather than any airport that you ‘might have heard of.     If the storm lasts a few days, we might get to know nearly everyone in town while we wait it out.

Ultimately, that might be what  I miss most about traveling by general aviation, the sheer unpredictability of it.  (The absence of the TSA is a close second).   I came to relish the delays as an excuse to explore some place that, an hour earlier, I had never even heard of.   I toured a fish hatchery in South Dakota, explored Sandusky, Ohio, and ate with the locals at cafes in many town’s who’s names I have since forgotten.

I am thinking of this now, as so many people’s travel plans have been snarled by snow bound cities though out the east coast.    If you are one of these delayed travelers, take my advice:  let go of your previous itineraries, leave the airport, and enjoy an extra day or two wherever they are.    Home, work and family will still be waiting for you at your destination when the weather clears.   Your airline will waive the change fees, allowing you to rebook your travel at your convenience, not theirs.   Take in a museum, treat yourself to a unique meal, and have a drink with some of the people who live and work around you.   If you are in a major city, avoid the roads and use the subways or other public transit.  Most importantly, get out of the airport, and start to imagine how you will look back on the next few days of your life.   There is no doubt you will remember it for a long time, so you might as well make some good memories, instead of just hanging out at the airport, waiting for the flights to resume.

The only thing worse than having to pay a bag fee is paying it and then having your bag lost.   In that case, I think it is pretty clear that the airline should refund your money.   Delta doesn’t think so, and has redefined the term “rebate”.

Introducing The Delayed Bag Fee “Rebate”

I found this page on Delta’s website titled Delayed Bag Fee Rebate.   The title sounds great, and I started imagining that this was a fantastic new policy.   Delta, I reasoned, had saw fit to automatically refund your baggage fees in the event that your luggage was delayed.   Unfortunately, that scenario exists only in my dreams.

In reality, Delta is saying that if your baggage is delayed by more than 12 hours from the time you report it then you must fill out this form. Only then, might you expect to receive a Delta credit, not an actual refund.

What Delta Is Saying

When you pay for checked bags, you are merely paying for us to accept the bags, not to actually deliver them on your flight.   That service is optional and is not really what you are paying for.    If/when your bag is lost or delayed, we keep your money, but we may give you a coupon if the delay is long enough and you fill out this form, and we are somehow more competent at delivering this phony “rebate” then we were at delivering your bag.   Of course, forget it if you: paid more than 2 bags, paid to check a bag over 50 lbs, or even if you paid their outrageous fees to check “specialty items”.

What Is A Rebate

A rebate, is two things.    First, it is a euphemism for a opt in scam.   Companies offer rebates knowing that a huge percentage of people will not bother to fill out the paperwork.   Among those who do, fewer still will follow up when said paperwork is eventually lost.   Among those who do follow up, most will just go away when informed their paperwork is lost.    Ultimately, the small, persistent fraction who eventually receives their rebate, expects actual money, not a lousy coupon.    Therefore, Delta’s use of the term “rebate” is only partially correct in that it refers to the existence of a scam, not the promise of an actual rebate of money spent.

What’s Wrong With This Coupon Offer?

The person who is paying for a checked bag that is eligible for this phony rebate is someone who has no status in their SkyPesos program and does not have their Gold SkyPesos Amex.   These are people who don’t often fly Delta.   Delta knows this and is offering a coupon to market future flights to them.   Unlike cash, the coupon will undoubtedly have an expiration date.

What’s worse is the impossible conditions specified.   Imagine you arrive at your destination late at night.    After staring at a carousel for an hour, it stops turning and you finally know what you have suspected for the last 45 minutes, your bag didn’t make it.    You then proceed to the baggage desk, assuming they haven’t shut down for the night, and file a claim.     Only then does the 12 hour clock start ticking.    You proceed to your hotel in the dead of night,  delayed over an hour by having to wait for the last bag and to file a claim.   If you are lucky enough to have your bag when you return to your hotel the next day, Delta could merely claim that it was delivered within 12 hours of the claim and, as far as Delta’s web site will admit, you are entitled to zip.

What Delta Should Have Done

They could have, at the very least automated the system so that you received an apology and your coupon code when your bag is not delivered within 12 hours.    Better yet, they could do so the moment you file a lost bag report, and not insult their customers with this bizarre new 12 hour rule.   Frankly, they should automatically refund your baggage fee if you bag doesn’t arrive on your flight.

What You Should Do If Delta Or Any Other Carrier Fails To Deliver The Service You Paid For

Delta’s new policy is an insult.   If you pay for your luggage, and your bag is lost or not delivered in a timely manner, you should demand a cash refund of your baggage fees.   You should never accept a coupon.   If the airline refuses, inform them that your next step will be contacting your credit card to file a chargeback.     If they try to tell you that this is their policy or something, ask them to prove to you that you accepted these conditions in writing.   Personally, I can’t find anything on their web site that says bag fees are not refundable even if your bag is lost or delayed.  If such a policy exists, Delta certainly hasn’t been informing their customers of this.

Ultimately, this seems like a great example of why a chargeback exists.  If you pay for a service, and you don’t receive it, you are entitled to your money back, not an application, full of restrictions, that promises a coupon.