More Evidence That Delta's SkyTeam Alliance Is Broken

I get really tired of hearing how wonderful big airline alliances are for me the traveler and how they make my traveling experience “seamless.”  My most recent airline-alliance disaster is further demonstration of what a hassle they often are.

I bought a ticket with Delta Air Lines for a trip from DC to Europe and back.  The flight numbers were all Delta, but with two flights operated by KLM and two by Air France.  Let the mayhem troubles begin!

How SkyTeam Annoys & Hassles You Before You Fly

When, a couple of days before departure, KLM swept our seat reservations and frequent flyer numbers from our record, calling Delta did no good:  they don’t have access to KLM’s system.  We’d need to call KLM, but that is impossible Stateside, as Delta operates on their behalf, so a phone call to the KLM number gets you a Delta agent, who cannot help you with your KLM flight.  (Yes, it’s as crazy as it sounds.)

How SkyTeam Double-Talks You At Check-In

Day of departure I received an email from KLM that we should consider rebooking because a snowstorm was expected in Amsterdam.  At the airport, the agent refused to rebook us through Paris instead of Amsterdam:  “Your flight will be fine.”  (It wasn’t.)

How SkyTeam Offers The Most Misery When Flights Get Canceled

In Amsterdam, our onward flight had already been canceled when we landed.  Just to see a KLM agent to rebook took almost four hours, as there was no SkyPriority elite line to be seen.  We were offered to wait-list for a later flight and were given a choice between two times.  I am used to automatically being wait-listed for the next flight; when the flyer doesn't get on that flight, their name rolls over to the next flight.  Not possible with KLM!  I'd have to go to the back of the line, wait to see an agent, and then get wait-listed.  When I asked the agent if my status would get me moved up the list:  “No, you are in with the rest.”  Nice.  (I fly 125,000+ miles a year and dedicate it all to SkyTeam so, with apologies to "the rest," I don’t have to be “in with the rest.”)

How SkyTeam Loses Your Bags and Trys To Make You Pay to Track Them

When we arrived into Berlin, our luggage didn’t, and wouldn’t show up for another three nights.  Tweets to Delta were met with “Sorry, we cannot do anything.”  Tweets to KLM were pointless, as they seemed to not have a clue as to what was going on.  When I tried to call the customer “service” line to check the status of our bags, the greeting told me that the call would cost ME (!) about $2.50 per minute.  (What?!  “We lost your bags and you’ll have to pay us to find out more about how horrible we’re doing.”)

How SkyTeam Ignores Your Status

Upon check-in to return home, even though my frequent flyer number was in the reservation, my Delta status did not show at all.  (It is should have; I am supposed to have reciprocal benefits across the SkyTeam alliance.)  So, no access to better seats, no priority handling of my baggage, blank looks when I tried to use the Air France lounges, and so on.  The Air France agents could not have been less interested in any of this.

Conclusion:  SkyTeam Is Not A Team, Nor Is It For Me

SkyMiles (Delta’s frequent flyer scheme), is the least valuable of the mainline carriers, hands down, and we Delta flyers get a lot of guff from the American and United flyers.  But, I know the nature of SkyMiles and it’s something in the past I’ve been willing to put up with:  I find Delta’s service domestically to be solid, their phone agents are quite good, and their Twitter team (@deltaassist) is always responsive and usually helpful.  Sadly, my most recent experience—and others with their “alliance,” as with SkyTeam there always seems to be something—have added more reasons to the “Time To Find Another Alliance” column of my decision chart.  If I can work out a status match, this will hopefully be the last time I get screwed over by SkyTeam.

Coming soon:  photos and narrative of our trip to Berlin!  (Spoiler alert:  it was fun, in spite of SkyTeam.)

Bags. Finally.

The Bags Finally Showed Up

At last, like long-lost friends, our luggage turned up in Berlin.  In the same place we are.  Really.  Nice to see them.

After this I'm becoming convinced that airline alliances are really just a group of companies integrated enough to optimize profit but separate enough to be able to point the finger of blame at another "alliance" member.  "Seamless travel experience?"  Um, not if anything at all goes wrong.  Seems shady business the way they do it.

Today's Doings In Potsdam

After we changed hotels, we headed down to Potsdam and strolled the Brandenburger Straße, where the Christmas stalls are set up.  It snowed part of the time and it was really beautiful, even thought it was cold.

The lead-off to last night's newscast was:  "The whole of Germany lays in Snow-Chaos tonight!"  It really didn't seem that bad to create such a panic.  More is on the way, with high temperatures Thursday supposed to be only about 20F, much below normal.

Lost Baggage Update

Even though we arrived in Berlin late Friday evening, our two checked bags have been enjoying other parts of Europe without us.  All we know is what we can deduce from the very limited information we've found on KLM's website ("Still tracking," is the standard verbiage), and from Twitter exchanges I've had with @KLM ("Once we have an update we will get back to you," is the favorite from that bunch).

Our bags sat in Amsterdam all day Friday before being sent to Budapest sometime on Saturday afternoon and then transferred to another airline to be on a flight late last night (Sunday), from Budapest to Berlin. We believe/hope they are spending this morning (Monday), at Berlin Tegel.  Now, these are all guesses and deductions, but we apparently have a better handle on it than KLM seems to.

Today we change hotels.  After we do that, we think we will go to the airport to see is we can get any other information in-person.  Not sure that'll bear any fruit but it's worth a try.  Otherwise, it'll be more shopping today for things to wear:  Philip has run out and I will likely by Tuesday.

Good news is that it's become a little warmer and the snowfall last night was much less than I think was expected.

More later today, including some beautiful photos of the Christmas markets and other sights.

Dubai. No, Budapest. Okay, no, it's Berlin.

So, our big trip began with the plan to go to Dubai and then Berlin.  Then we decided to skip Dubai and go to Budapest and then Berlin.  Today the weather--and KLM--decided otherwise for us.

Our connecting flight was canceled from Amsterdam to Budapest.  The next flight, for which we weren't even yet confirmed, was canceled because there was a fire in the control tower.   (I'm not making this up.)  So, we decided to bag Budapest and just head directly to Berlin.

Details to follow, but we are in the Air France lounge at Berlin Tegel, fresh from the baggage office.  Oh, did I mention that our bags did not make it?

Crazy day of travel.  On to the hotel.  More details to later.