Laura Yoder

i fear my @Delta glazing has reached terminal levels after what happened this morning. for context, i’m admittedly one of the biggest delta fans on the planet. platinum medallion since 2019. diamond since 2023. they’ve driven me across the tarmac in a porsche during a layover in SLC. i genuinely aspire to make delta 360° someday. i love this airline an unreasonable amount. but today was something else entirely. i had a 6 am flight from JFK to SLC to meet with customers and close a few new ones. pretty important meetings, and not ones i could easily reschedule. called my uber at 4 am. got in at 4:15. ETA 4:46. plenty of time. or so i thought. my uber driver made the bonehead decision forsake the gps and take a highway that was down to ONE LANE for overnight construction. ETA became 5:01. then 5:07. then 5:14. i have two checked bags because i’m traveling for the next three weeks, and JFK has a 60-minute cutoff for checking bags. i’m watching the ETA slip further and further past that cutoff, knowing i’m increasingly cooked. finally arrive at JFK at 5:16. run inside. six groups ahead of me in the sky priority line. by the time i reach the counter, it’s 5:24. i’ve already accepted defeat. the next flight gets into SLC at 2:14 pm. i’m mentally drafting the emails to customers explaining why i need to cancel/reschedule meetings. but i figure i’ll ask anyway. “any chance my bags can go on a later flight than me?” no. obviously no. the agent, who happens to be a red coat, gets me checked in for the 11 am flight. hands me my ID, bag tags, and boarding pass. then, almost as an afterthought: “i wish i could help you, especially when it’s this close. maybe go to the gate and ask if they can put you on the 6 am.” wait. THAT’S AN OPTION? i tell this man, verbatim, “if this works i’m going to come back here and kiss you.” and then i SPRINT through JFK terminal 4. get to the gate. explain to the agent that i missed the baggage cutoff, got moved to the later flight, and was wondering if there was ANY way i could still get on this one. she looks at me. she knows this was entirely my fault. “all i have left are middle seats.” “i would fly to salt lake city in the lavatory if you let me.” she laughs. prints my boarding pass. i look down. WINDOW SEAT. i board the plane, still in disbelief. then my phone buzzes. a notification from the delta app. both of my checked bags are on my flight. somehow, despite arriving at JFK 44 minutes before departure with two checked bags, i’m on my original flight, in a window seat, with my luggage, and my meetings are saved. i know airlines get a lot of hate. sometimes deservedly so. but two delta employees took a situation that was entirely my fault and went out of their way to help me when they absolutely didn’t have to. that’s the kind of thing that makes a customer for life. i was already embarrassingly loyal to delta. at this point i don’t know how much more loyal i can get. although, delta, if anyone from the 360° team is reading this, i am extremely available. i love this airline. 🔺