Delta flight ask pax to pay for fuel

Ophir

Ophir

Well-Known Member
Did anyone else hear this? I looked for it in the news but it seems to have not made it on the radar.

My girlfriend's close friend flew BOS to SLC last Thursday on DAL. They had a guy suffer a stroke inflight and made a landing at, what I think was, Sioux City. There was a doctor on board tending to the stoke victim and they get him off just fine. They are then sitting on the ground for a while and flightdeck gets on the PA and says that the fuelers, which are not contract, will not fuel the plane unless they are paid up front. Is there any passenger willing to put the fuel on their credit card?

This was a first hand report of this. Can you believe it?
 
Not that it couldn't have happened, I haven't heard a peep on the forums, lounge or anywhere else.

And you know pilots gossip worse than a high school chick the week of the prom.
 
I could believe that the FA would say that, but I would guess it was a bad attempt at humor. I Hope..
 
No, this a reliable source. She said the FA finally put it on her card. I couldn't believe it. I'll get the flight number. But it was last Thursday the first of Dec.
 
Yeah, but think of all those frequent flier miles she got!


I'm just imaging the scene. The crew is calling dispatch and hearing that they don't really have a plan because there is no way to pre-pay the fuelers. And the conclusion is "Gosh, we don't know what to tell you guys. Can you pay for it? Delta will reimburse you. (Get in line with the creditors)."
 
I dunno, doesn't make any sense to me but I wasn't there! :)
 
No. I don't believe it for a second. Delta corporate would find a way via telephone/fax to pay a fueler.

Also, do you really think someone who makes $20k a year is going accept that kind of charge to their credit card?!
 
I would believe it if it was an international flight. I've actually heard of this before, but it was always in South America or Mexico.
 
I agree with Amber...it doesn't make any sense and DAL would take full responsibility for that type of situation!
 
John Herreshoff said:
I just wanted to say that Kristie, I love your avatar. Is it that time of year again already?
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing! DOH


Well I'm getting more info on the DAL flight. The woman telling the story is avery, very reputable source with no reason or history of embellishing or fabricating. I'm really curious to find out what happened.
 
Kristie said:
Thanks!! :)

unfortunately, it is....the years and coming and going so quickly now...
Click to expand...


Even a young one like myself admits that!!! It really does seem like just yesterday I was entering 6th Grade, scared to death because I had just changed schools and there were all these big farm boys who talked about nothing but John Deere Tractor and Ford and Chevy. The years come, and the years go, sometimes, in retrospect, as quickly as the days do. I cannot wait another six years when I am high above the world enjoying the view from my lofty office!!!!
 
Kristie said:
unfortunately, it is....the years and coming and going so quickly now...
Click to expand...

So true. Only consolation is looking forward and seeing 40 1/2 more years of this career left in front of me, should they up the age 60 rule to age 65!

In topic with the thread: I remember sitting with an old ATA FO/FE on the B727 and L1011, who was our ground instructor at Chicago Express back in the day. He told a story about when they landed at an airport somewhere in South America on the B727 doing an ATA charter, and the fuelers wouldn't take credit. They didn't have very much gas, so they pooled the money for some of the passengers and crew and paid for the fuel in cash... just enough to get them to another airport that would take credit!
 
My guess is that the fuel vendor required an up front payment and there was a considerable delay while the company figured out how to process the payment.

Serious doubt that anyone put it on they're credit card...as the fuel bill could have been as much as $10k.
 
From the actual passenger

"I don't remember the flight number. we were on this rather barren strip of
runway, near a small building, and there were all these national guard
people around outside in the cold, because it appeared they worked there...
but yes, actually the pilot was talking with the attendants and the doctors
who were helping the guy and into the 3 hours of us being on the ground in
Sioux falls, SD (arguably the most happening place in america) they said
that because delta was in bankruptcy, their credit was no good...thus
needed a personal credit card to charge the fuel to. they also had to have
this guy running between the building and the office a mile away ( over a
closed road, literally running) to file the flight plan. i am not sure what
that means really, but you probably do.

crazy, ay?"
 
Ophir said:
From the actual passenger

"I don't remember the flight number.
Click to expand...

Umm, if s/he was a pax, why can't they look at their boarding pass/ticket and tell you the flight #?
 
Comair flies into Sioux Falls. Seems odd that a Delta jet couldn't get a little fuel off it's codeshare partner's account (or something).

Plus, wouldn't dispatch set up the new flight plan for them??

Definitely a weird story.
 
If Comair can get fuel there, then Delta can get fuel there.

No-one needs to even think about moving from the airplane to file the flight plan. Dispatch takes care of all of that.

Story is BS.

I wonder if the plane landed at all. Reporters eat this stuff up and searching on Google should bring up SOMETHING, but running a search turns up zip, zero, nada, nothing.
 
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