Customer Sues Delta Over Delayed Flight

Says 80-Year-Old Mom's Birthday Trip Home To Argentina Ruined By "Obnoxious" Employees

(AP)  A lawyer has sued Delta Air Lines Inc. for nearly $1 million, claiming the company's incompetent and rude employees made his 80-year-old mother's birthday trip to South America a stressful, costly horror.

Richard Roth said he and his family arrived in Argentina almost three days late, forcing him to spend thousands of dollars on food, hotels and transportation, plus buy tickets for another airline.

Roth also claims Delta misplaced his luggage, which meant he had to buy new clothes for himself and family members after arriving in Buenos Aires.

During the ordeal, Roth's court papers say, several Delta employees were "nasty," "rude," "obnoxious" and "totally disrespectful." Those who were courteous were generally ineffectual in assisting him, he claims.

A Delta spokeswoman, Betsy Talton, said Tuesday that she could not comment on pending litigation.

Roth said Tuesday he wants $21,000 for out-of-pocket expenses and another $275,000 in compensatory damages for emotional distress. He said he also wants punitive damages which would be at least three times the compensatory amount.

Roth, 49, of Scarsdale, New York, said he arranged for his mother to fly to her native Argentina during the 2007 Christmas holidays. He said he and his family were scheduled to fly from the Westchester County Airport the evening of Dec. 20.

Roth said he was with his mother, his wife and his teenage son and daughter. They were to fly to Atlanta and take a connecting flight to Buenos Aires where they would celebrate his mother's 80th birthday.

In Atlanta, say court papers filed last week, a gate agent refused to let Roth and his family onto the jet for the connecting flight, although the plane was sitting at the gate with the door open.

Roth's court papers say that after he and his family spent two nights in Atlanta, a ticket agent told him Delta could not get him to Argentina before Jan. 8. So they flew to Florida, spent a night there and took an Aerolineas Argentina flight to Buenos Aires after buying one-way tickets, court papers say.

[caflygirl]

I am pretty sure that Mr. Roth was not too pleasant himself. I work for the airlines, and I know first hand how passengers can react when you tell them they have missed their flight. I completely understand, but keep in mind, the person behind the counter will probably do more for you if you are respectful of them. I know that rude passengers with me get no where and they get whatever I have to do, but those who are nice get what I can do. There are limitations to what the airlines will give you, and $21,000 for expenses is not going to happen. I am sure he was delayed due to weather or something out of anyones control. I know I feel bad for my passengers when that happens, but its not worth 1 million bucks.

Next time, take a boat....this is such a ridiculous case. That%u2019s the problem with a lot of people these days, no flexibility in their actions, they only expect it from others. Just another Lawyer wanting headlines again, just like the stupid judge over his lost pants.

[brainteaser2]

I''ll bet his suit pants disappeared from the cleaners too. Just because lawyers have the ability to file a suite doesn''t me he should. Whatever happened to common sense.

[brainteaser2]

And his suit pants disappeared from the cleaners too. Enough already its not a perfect world. Just because someone has the right to sue doesn''t necessarily mean they should.

[mcharlton]

Who hasn''t suffered emotional stress because of a delayed flight? Why didn''t they just arrive a little early? They don''t have anything to gain by shutting the door on people. They don''t make any more money over it. They arrived late for their flight and their luggage was on the plale already. That sucks. Why didn''t they just catch the next flight and wait for Delta to deliver their stuff? They wouldn''t have had to spend thousands of dollars in clothes, just a few hundred for a hotel.

[hypnotoad72]

Hmmm, is this guy a working class stiff, hollywood flop, or executive?

And as Delta is merging with Northwest, I doubt many of them are happy right now. "Corporate culture" (a misnomer term at times) is also irrelevant in this case.

Crapple happens; there are times to sue, but I don''t think this is one of them.

[scottyusa]

Literally everyone knows you have to get to the airport early and the gate on time. That advice is posted all over the place. The headline is misleading too. His fight was not delayed he was late and lever took a flight on the airline. His travel might have been delayed but it sounds like it was his own fault. Does he have a brother at CBS or something?

[martin9p2]

There are rules about being late for an international flight. If Delta were to flex the rules, somebody else would surely sue them for something else. Roth is a crybaby.

[tonic1661]

I am happy that someone has sued the surly airlines. The service has deteriorated to a cattle drive with pokers.

But good luck. We keep buying tickets so they really do not care. Flying has become a nasty experience. The lawsuit will probably go nowhere because the court will say everyone knows the service is lousy.

[acolton1]

Richard Roth

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

hahahahahaha you were late.

[acolton1]

Delta: WE LOVE TO FLY AND IT SHOWS.

Maybe I need to slap SouthWest Airlines with a Law Suit for a Delayed Flight out of Kansas City to Las Vegas last year because there were a bunch of drunk passengers on the plane that had to be removed and Southwest Airlines made me Late to Las Vegas for my Free Cocktails and Slot Machines.

I will never forgive Southwest Airlines for making me miss out on 90 minutes of Free Coctails in Las Vegas. I am being sarcastic.

[gobigred82]

Don''t like the airlines? Don''t fly! Never had a problem in my over 20 years of flying on Delta.

[bob767300er]

To canislupus16, first off, why should I retire when I love my job and get compliments from the nice passengers? You love it when things go your way and you hate it when they don''t. Weather delays? That''s the airlines fault! You were in the bar and didn''t hear the boarding call? That''s the airlines fault! The FAA requires an airline to inspect all of the 737''s after a fire in China? That''s the airlines fault! An emergency happens and then you want us to get you on the ground safely and will still complain because you didn''t get to your destination on time. After a while you just start tuning it out as I did many years ago. Let''s see, who else gets complaints? Every company in the US gets complaints. What I get a kick out of is how polite foreign customers are who thank us for doing our job the best we can. In the US we sue, we complain, we blame everyone and everything when it doesn''t go the way we think it should. Even when the aircraft has a problem... doesn''t your car ever break down? Would you want to fly in an aircraft that had 1 good engine and 1 that may have to be shut down in mid-flight just because YOU demanded that you get there on time? I''ll bet not. So sue me!

[gobigred82]

Don''t like the airlines? Don''t fly! Never had a problem in my over 20 years of flying on Delta.

[susanhelit]

I don''t know why they were denied boarding - alcohol is a possible reason, too late is another, overbooking is another. And there may well be more to the story - but if it is as it sounds, it''s a great lawsuit - airlines should be held responsible for giving you a reasonable trip in exchange for your money - not cancelling you out and just returning money, not delays of more than a day.

Yes, if you do get to the gate too late, they have to close it - otherwise they make all the other passengers on that plane late, and miss their own connections. Some people only seem to care about their own schedules, expect an airline to hold a plane so they can make their late connection, even though it will cause 50 other passengers to be late and miss their next connection. So - it''s a difficult thing. But if the airline is late and makes you miss, they should be responsible for getting you to your destination in a reasonable amount of time - even if that means buying you a ticket on another airline. Refunds are simply totally inadequate.

[afsc30574]

Delta is the worst. Their employees are rude and unprofessional. It is a "corporate culture" that has existed in their organization since the ''80s.

[canislupus16]

To Pilot Bob 767 300ER - Typical employee attitude. Like to be pushing back from gate on time? So do I, with me on board, not have the door slammed in my face because YOUR airline delayed my connecting flight after I arrived 2 hours ahead of time to make it, or you having departed 20 minutes or 2 hours or whatever before I could make YOUR flight because YOUR airline delayed me.

Just recently happened to my wife and I on flight from ALB to LGA, whereupon we switch planes to DEN, with a connecting hop up to IDA. But nooooo, delayed in ALB, stranded 6 hrs in LGA to wait for rebooked flight to SLC, which in turn left 3 hours late = 9 hours in airport or on tarmac at LGA. So couldn''t make last flight to IDA, spent/absorbed night in SLC, no comp for room, meals, transportation. Next morning to IDA and SURPRISE!! no luggage at IDA (must not have been enough time for incompetent airline to get checked baggage to destination, even with 18 extra hours), had to pay more for different rental car, luggage and gear arrive "only" 2 days late into vacation this time = no clothes, photo/fishing equip, etc. But why complain - should "expect" it.
As for your "Hmmm... plan a trip on one of busiest holidays and expect it to all go perfect? Not a chance." Why is it scheduled in the first place? Ya see, Bob, you make my point - sloppy service, screw-ups, missed/canceled flights are the accepted "norm" for you guys. Why don''t you retire?

[mollydtt]

Best plan? Since one by one the airlines are folding, pretty much no one will be flying in the near future anyway. There are so few choices to get where you want to go and no competition. Sue Delta, put them out of business with lots of lawsuits(they seem to be one of the few U S airlines that are not going bankrupt at the moment) then when Delta goes bankrupt, we can walk to South America, or Europe, or Asia.....

[shanev137]

More people need to start suing airlines for stuff like this.

They''re all out of control.

[canislupus16]

It''s not just Delta, it''s every d*** one of them... the entire industry is a joke, from FAA, to federal security, to gate/ticket agents, baggage/ground crews. I''ve experienced every conceivable nightmare they can cook up. Have totally missed business meetings, been delayed/cancelled altogether, been bumped due to overbooking, had one-week vacations shortened by up to two days, re-directed, laid over, had to absorb hotels and meals, pay extra for rental cars and other transportation, had bags stolen, bags rifled through and items stolen - during one one-week vacation, checked baggage which included clothes and specific gear for trip arrived four days into it = no compensation. Haven''t been on a flight in four years that didn''t have some material delay.

Employees don''t give a rat,and if you so much as dare to complain, they have their ways to make your life hell - and they do. And it goes all the way to the top - you don''t see the executive management fly lowly commercial - no, they fly in the comfort of corporate jets and other aircraft, knocking down millions of dollars a year in salaries and bonuses for corporate losses.

And the ultimate joke? Congress! Airlines always seem to have enough money to pour into campaign contributions to ensure business as usual.

I hope this lawsuit gets legs, and the complainant wins big time. I''d like to be on that jury.