It is sad...

That an airline that I dearly loved flying has sunk so low. Used to be I was greeted by name at the check-in counter and when I got on the plane. If there was any problem with the flight I was given an explanation and an apology. If the problem was Delta's fault I was given a voucher or an upgrade.

Fast forward to today where Delta's staff is overworked and stretched to the limit. You might get a cursory hello if you are lucky. If anything goes wrong with the flight, you are lied to, given the runaround or, in my case, ignored.

I hope Delta returns to the days of excellent customer service and takes responsibility for their screw-ups. They have a new marketing campaign touting their new and improved customer service, but I haven't seen any evidence of that since they continue to ignore my complaint. It might change-But I'm not betting on it.

It has been six days and counting since Delta got my letter. Still no response. Looks like Rudy is going to lose the bet

To illustrate my point, here a recent story of how the "New" delta is acting like the "Old" Delta

It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with a group of dear friends in Maine. It sure didn't start out that way...

On Friday afternoon, we get to JFK airport to be told by a Delta representative that our flight was canceled.

"The weather," says the rep as if that answers everything.

"The weather? Why don't you just wait for the weather to get better rather than canceling?" I say.

"I don't know. It's the pilot's decision," she says.

"It seems odd. It is gorgeous in New York, Boston and Maine," I say.

"Sorry. The computer says the weather is bad." Says the rep. She was done with us. No offer to put us on a different flight, compensate us, nothing.

Well, if the computer says the weather is bad, then it must be bad. Still, something tells me that "the computer" also finds it convenient to cancel flights and then blame the weather to avoid having to compensate travelers. This is not the first time Delta has been accused of doing this.

I will spare you the details of our adventurous trip up to Maine but I will mention that they finally put us on an alternative flight to Boston instead (somehow, the weather for that flight was OK) and a shuttle from there to Portland, ME. Needless to say, the weather was great throughout this entire trip.

I was shocked how poorly Delta treated us. They basically kept saying "Well, it's the weather, there is nothing we can do." I know for a fact that there are things they can do. So can I. Never flying Delta again is step one. (Unless, of course, I get a personal apology letter from Delta's CEO, like Bruce Nussbaum from Business Week did. Yeah, right.)

"New" Delta my ass.