Soldiers returning from Afghanistan Tuesday were charged $200 for one piece of extra baggage at the Baltimore Airport on their connecting flight to Atlanta. They paid their own money for these charges, although the Defense Department usually reimuburses such fees. Getting the money back isn't the point here, now is it? After they have spent many months and sometimes longer with their lives in peril, did Delta really need the money so badly that they had to follow the rule that no one informed these special passengers about? Thirty-four soldiers flew on that plane, and the total out-of-pocket cost amounted to $2800. Perhaps the CEO could have anted up that money to save the soldiers added stress.
Some of the disgruntled group posted a YouTube video that received 200,000 hits before it was pulled. No information was available about who pulled it. Patrick Murphy, a former Demoncartic Congressman from PA who served in Iraq, observed, "Here you have these heroes who have fought for our country overseas ... to come home to the $200 charge per soldier? It’s outrageous.”
Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Washington office, told the AP, "A $200 bill for extra baggage by a government-contracted airline is the worst welcome home any soldier could receive." We know this is a business issue and that the troops will be reimbursed if they are authorized additional baggage in their orders, but the shock of even being charged is enough to make most servicemen and women simply shake their heads and wonder who or what it is they are protecting."
Evidently, viewers who watched the NBC Nightly News Tuesday or saw the video agreed with both Murphy and Davis. Earlier today, a Facebook page titled Boycott Delta for Soldiers appeared. All the flack prompted Delta to issue an apology and change its policy for soldiers traveling economy. They can now check four bags with no fees. No word on whether the soldiers affected by the extra fees received personal apologies and refunds.
The airline's apology did little to rectify the situation. Delta not only made a huge mistake, it also created a public relations nightmare for itself. No amount of apologizing can make up for its lack of compassion for those servicemen. Congratulations to those involved. The $2800 you gained will most likely result in a net loss of millions, as the traveling public scrambles to find other carriers.
Some of the disgruntled group posted a YouTube video that received 200,000 hits before it was pulled. No information was available about who pulled it. Patrick Murphy, a former Demoncartic Congressman from PA who served in Iraq, observed, "Here you have these heroes who have fought for our country overseas ... to come home to the $200 charge per soldier? It’s outrageous.”
Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Washington office, told the AP, "A $200 bill for extra baggage by a government-contracted airline is the worst welcome home any soldier could receive." We know this is a business issue and that the troops will be reimbursed if they are authorized additional baggage in their orders, but the shock of even being charged is enough to make most servicemen and women simply shake their heads and wonder who or what it is they are protecting."
Evidently, viewers who watched the NBC Nightly News Tuesday or saw the video agreed with both Murphy and Davis. Earlier today, a Facebook page titled Boycott Delta for Soldiers appeared. All the flack prompted Delta to issue an apology and change its policy for soldiers traveling economy. They can now check four bags with no fees. No word on whether the soldiers affected by the extra fees received personal apologies and refunds.
The airline's apology did little to rectify the situation. Delta not only made a huge mistake, it also created a public relations nightmare for itself. No amount of apologizing can make up for its lack of compassion for those servicemen. Congratulations to those involved. The $2800 you gained will most likely result in a net loss of millions, as the traveling public scrambles to find other carriers.
