This is real people and been happening for a while now including to me and a bunch of my clients that had problems boarding last year with Delta. In a snapshot and to quote what we have received:
Delta Airlines has asked that everybody who has clients booked on their flights, to please preseat them before departure. This is to avoid your passenger getting denied boarding due to the DL flights being very full and possibly overbooked.
Ok, so now not only is the churning “our” fault and “they” (loosely used term for airlines) want to charge us for booking their flights and also to be responsible for the ADM”s that are raised as well…!now it is our responsibility as agents to preseat our clients as Delta over books their flights. Let me take the liberty in quoting what my passengers were advised last year November when checking in with Delta:
You have not been preseated so we cannot board you!
Oh my hat can you imagine what the poor youngsters were feeling at the airport? Naturally they call the agent as surely this is their fault along with the high winds and long ques at the airport. Is this the age old story of Agents VS Airlines? Surely there should be some give and take in the travel community and common ground and to put it bluntly : common decency. In Delta’s defense in the last instance they did assist however the number of calls it took was totally unnecessary and unwarranted. I apologize for singling out Delta in this case, I believe this *shoe* would fit for many airlines. Delta HQ in JHB has been very helpful in a few issues I have had in the past few months.
To sum up this post: Airlines it is also your responsability to be effiecent and responsive to your clients because at the end of the day the contract is between the airline and the client, the agent facilitates this agreement. Be proactive, informative and practise good customer relations rather than blaming agents for your own inadequacies.
