Delta refuses to support our troops

Last January of 07 my son who was serving in Iraq (his second tour) was scheduled to come home for a 14 day leave. He wasn't able to follow threw with his plans and had to cancel his flight. Delta refused to give a refund however gave him credit. As his mother I was the one who made all the arrangements, my son was unable to get to phone but every three weeks. He was in the area called "The triangle of Death". Delta after being informed that my son won't be home for some time stated the credit would be good just call them when he returns home. I save all the information in a file and put it away.

My son was hit with the extension so served 15 months. He returned home in time for Christmas this year and looked forward to visiting family. I got out the information on Delta and he tried to book a flight using his credit. Delta told him that they were sorry but his credit expired the very day he called and this means he would have to have booked and fly by this date. We requested to take with a supervisor and was told that the rule can not be changed.

I contacted customer service by E-Mail and this is what they had to say:

Dear Ms. Van Leiden,

Thank you for your e-mail to Delta Air Lines.

While we would like to offer special consideration in cases such as

yours, we are unable to honor the many similar requests that we receive

from others in equally deserving situations. We follow a consistent

policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us.

Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request.

I realize this is a disappointment, and trust you will understand our

position. We hope you will continue to make Delta your airline of

choice.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Keeling

Online Customer Support Desk

http://www.delta.com

I was not happy with this reply and it offended me when they mention the word fair. Is it fair our soldiers spent 15 months in a war zone without a day off? Is it fair that some families haven't see their mom's and dad's for a year and a half. Our soldiers have no control over when they can take leave and in 2003 President George Bush asked that all airlines follow the Military act in allowing our military to make changes to flight with out penalty. (To view the fair act go to www.bluestarmoms.org)

I called customer service and was told to write a letter to the customer care manager who responded with a letter that says the same thing; "sorry but we can't make any changes to an expired ticket and they hope that I will continue to make Delta my airline of choice." What are they kidding? How about offering a discount on his next flight? He only wanted to book a $99.00 flight in the first place. Do they have any ideal how much a few hundred dollars means to a soldier? My son lost out $200.00 on Delta credit and $100. fee last year on the change for his ticket.

For more information on the Fair Air fare check out the web site www.bluestarmom.com and sign the petition on fair air fair. I'm not the only military mom who has spent a lot of money in airfare to see our soldiers off and to welcome them home. I was lucky to have the money but those soldiers who have children and spouses are not so lucky to be able to fly home to see their families.

I will Refuse to fly Delta until they can honor our soldiers. Many of the airlines now support this act and It's too bad I found out too late that Delta does not. No one is asking for them to give money just allow for changes without our soldiers being penalized.