Delta apologizes for sending separate kids to the wrong cities

[mass production]

A Delta Connection plane lands as a Delta jet taxis at Logan International Airport in Boston.

CAPTIONBy Michael Dwyer, AP"You think you had a bad day when you fly to one city and your luggage lands in another. But an airline mixup on Tuesday sent two children to the wrong cities." That's how the Minneapolis Star Tribune leads off its story about a "paperwork mix-up" at Delta that resulted in the airline sending two unaccompanied minors to the wrong cities.

 

Delta says the children -- unrelated and traveling on separate itineraries -- "were connecting through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday when they were put on the wrong connecting flights because of a 'paperwork swap,' " The Associated Press reports. As a result, a 9-year-old boy heading for Boston ended up in Cleveland and a girl booked to Cleveland ended up taking the boy's spot on the flight to Boston.

 

Citing privacy concerns, Delta would not give any details about the children, though local media say they've identified the boy. The girl's details appear to remain unpublished. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes "they both were flying under Delta' unaccompanied minor program."

 

As for the boy, he was traveling from Spokane to visit his grandparents in New England before he was accidentally sent to Ohio. "It was just weird," the boy tells Boston NBC affiliate WHDH TV. "I was like, 'I'm supposed to be at Boston, not Cleveland.' It was just weird."

 

The boy's grandfather did not appear to take the news as well. He tells the Star Tribune he was "pretty upset" about the incident, adding: "I know mistakes happen but this shouldn't have."

 

"We're paying them to check on him and be with him," the grandfather says in separate comments to WHDH. "They just threw him in the plane like anybody else, they didn't even ask his name to match the paperwork."

 

Delta has apologized for the situation. "It was a unique situation," Delta spokeswoman Chana Elliott tells the Journal-Constitution. "Once we discovered it, we reacted quickly to resolve it."

 

Paul Skrbec, also a spokesman for Delta, tells AP: "The situation itself is exceedingly rare, and we take it very seriously."

 

AP adds that Delta officials say the carrier "has apologized to the families, sent the children to their final destinations at no cost, arranged full refunds for the children's tickets and provided credits to the families for future travel."

 

Regardless, the misconnected boy seemed to make the best of the situation. After the mix-up occurred, he's quoted by WHDH as saying that a Delta worker told him: "Sorry for leaving you here when you're really supposed to be in Boston."

 

The boy tells the station he thought that "was kinda nice," adding "they gave me free food and some Dunkin Donuts." He tells the Star Tribune he viewed the detour as a "fun adventure," adding that he ate the free food but "saved the donuts for me and my grandpa."

 

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2010/06/delta-apologizes-for-sending-separate-kids-to-the-wrong-cities-/96257/1#uslPageReturn

[East New York]

I'm still having problems with them converting my Northwest WorldPerks to Delta Sky Miles.

[MTR Admiralty]

Facepalm.