My gripe with Delta

I’ve posted at least once about how we’re going to Mexico soon, so y’all know about that.  You also know how much I love to plan in advance.  I have a very frustrating story now to share with you about how Delta is making this vacation more work for me – and not the kind I like.  There’s a travel tip buried in there for those who survive the gripe.

 I booked our flights back in October 2008.  I was so psyched – we had a direct there and back.  The times were perfect too.  On the way there, we were to leave around 12:30 and arrive at 2:30.  Perfect – we didn’t have to get up super early, but there’d be just the right amount of time to get in, get a car with our friends, and head out to our house in plenty of time for dinner.  On the way back, we were to leave at about 3:30 and get in at about 7:30.  If the flight was on time and we weren’t too zonked, this would allow us to make a graduation party that evening.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email just a few weeks before we’re to head out saying that our itinerary has changed.  Not only would we have to suffer through a layover in Atlanta each way, but the flight times were not good.  The flights they put us on to get there would make our friends wait several hours for us to arrive and then we’d have to drive to our rental house in the dark.  Awful!  The flights on the way back weren’t so great either – the first flight left at an okay time, but we weren’t seated together (and I couldn’t fix it since the flight’s so full), and we would definitely miss the party that night.