Delta Air Lines review: Flight 2586 and Connecting Flight 1549 to ATL on 12/30/23

On Saturday December 30 I was flying home to Atlanta from Boise, ID. I had a Skymiles ticket for these flights. First of all, I arrived early and inquired about getting on the earlier non-stop flight to ATL. Even though ther were seats available I was not able to make the change nor was I offered the possibility to fly stand by. I was just told that I had to call reservations. I have been a Delta Skymiles member for 30 years. I realize terms have changed but good customer service would have been appreciated. As it turned out, my checked bag went on the earlier flight.

I waited for my scheduled flight which was delayed. Once we departed from Boise, about an hour late, the flight was uneventful. A very helpful transport person helped me identify my connecting gate and then encouraged me to ride to the gate since it was very far away and time was tight. I arrived at my connecting gate to learn that the next flight was also delayed. The delay was pretty close to an hour. Then the plane had to be de-iced, further delaying departure. (I appreciate the safety measure) Finally we departed for ATL. Upon arrival at ATL, now very late (an hour), there were no airline staff there to greet the plane, extend the jetway or open the door. We learned that the closest and only qualified staff was at the F gate, we arrived at A. The maintenance staff was able to extend the jetway, but were not authorized to open the plane door. To add to the frustration, the trains were not working so the one person that could let us out had to walk from F to A, about a 30-40 minute further delay. We sat for another hour waiting for someone to open the door. Very poor planning, horrible customer service. I was so disappointed that this was Delta. Finally deplaned at 2:05am then had a 2 hour drive home. I have always prefered to fly Delya but will now will consider all of my options.