Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Delta=Success, FAA=Still Pending

 I just spoke with Delta's CEO executive assistant about what happened to me on Delta's flight a couple weeks ago.  It was a great conversation and honestly, I applaud Delta for their customer care services thus far.  They initially followed up with me very promptly and were courteous.  Then this follow up came shortly after we all sent our letters of concern.  Thank you again to all who sent your letters and made our voice heard! 

It has helped that both representatives are mothers who are proud supporters of breastfeeding and babywearing.  They both put themselves in my position and were horrified by the way I was treated.  What's more, they both welcomed my/our suggestions to help make Delta a family-friendly and safe airlines.

Once thing I did find out was that MOST of our suggestions need to be heard and taken seriously by the FAA.  They are the ones who call the shots regarding carriers and they basically inform and train Delta.  SO, if we want to press forward (and I do believe we should), then we need to pressure the FAA (more to follow).  I now understand the chain of command, the grievance process, and ways we can make positive changes.

Here's what Delta is doing to make this right:
1.  They compensated me for my ticket.
2.  They are having a Delta liason involved in the "investigation" regarding the flight attendant and my situation, since it was with "Pinnacle Airlines" contracted with Delta.
3.  Effective immediately, they are sending out a memo to remind flight attendants to do pre-boarding for families with small children.
4.  They are going to strongly suggest to Delta's Social Media Team to initiate a "family section" for all families to be near each other during the flight.
 5.  They are going to look into adding the educational section for parents and attendants on their safety video and their presentations, so all are aware of the FAA regulations for keeping "infant in arms" safe.

I feel positive about my phone meeting and am going to press on with the FAA.  The changes with FAA, I was told, is a SLOW and resistant to change process, since it deals with laws being directly changed and consider.  Next I want to work on a new letter we can all send the FAA, focusing on exactly what we want changed and demanding them to take us seriously as parents who want their children to be safe.

Stay tuned and thanks again to everyone who helped make this possible.

Peace and love,

Jen

Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 850.284.5887

6 comments:

simplifry said...

Great news!

Suchada @ Mama Eve said...

Great job! Will be keeping my readers and friends updated on the progress. Was really encouraged that they didn't just give you lip service, but outlined specific improvements to benefit families. Hooray!

Tanashia said...

Awesome !

Mama Frog said...

Congratulations, Jen! This seems like a great step forward for family-friendly air travel and you are responsible for this!!! So glad you did not back down.

LMB said...

Great! Onward march!!

Swathi said...

Great news. Sorry for the bad experience in the air plane. Keep inform about the progress.