‘That Is One Of The Biggest Risks You’re Going To Take’: North Carolina Woman Says Delta ‘Screwed’ Her Out Of Over $4,000. Then A Flight Attendant Responds

A woman is calling out Delta Air Lines and accusing them of ruining her cruise vacation. But there’s a catch.

In a video with over 55,000 views, TikTok user Lexi (@leximari1) explains why she believes Delta “screwed” her and her family out of over $4,000.

According to Lexi, she had booked a flight at 6:15am from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Orlando, Florida, in order to make it in time for their cruise, which was leaving later that day. As Lexi would arrive with ample time before the boat left, she was not concerned about missing the boat.

However, after she boarded the flight and fell asleep, she was awoken with a start. There was a brake malfunction, and the plane needed to be deboarded.

“We got off the plane. And were told by staff that Delta had plenty of planes and would move us to another one,” Lexi recalls. “They moved us to a new gate. We waited for over an hour. And then we were hit with the harsh news: Our flight was canceled.”

What Happened Next?

From here, Lexi began to scramble. She says she found a new flight with Southwest that would still make it to Orlando in time. But by the time all their bags had been unpacked, the flight had already departed.

“Delta provided no options,” she says. “They gave one family a comp flight to the Bahamas so they could port from there. And I thought we’d be offered that, too. But we weren’t. We were left to figure it out ourselves.”

“Because Delta made us wait so long through the cancellation and baggage retrieval process, there was no way to get a flight to Orlando in time,” she adds.

While Lexi says she does not blame Carnival for the lost trip, as she chose to not buy the insurance, she says that she “100% blame[s] Delta for their disorganization and false hope.”

“They genuinely just screwed us. Now my daughter, who is autistic, is devastated,” she details. “And this was our last summer trip. We lost over $4,000. And Carnival is only giving us a little over $100 back. If you do Carnival, get the insurance, or else they’ll say it’s not their fault.”

“Delta should be f—— ashamed. How f—— unfair is this?” she concludes. “Can anybody help me?”

A Flight Attendant Responds

Seeing this video, TikTok user and flight attendant Donnie Michelle (@donnie.michelleeeeeeeee) decided to make a response. According to Michelle, Lexi should accept more of the blame, as, while Delta had issues, the whole situation could have been prevented with better planning.

The problem, Michelle says, is that Lexi tried to fly out the same day as her cruise.

“That is one of the biggest risks you can take—flying out the same day to go on a cruise,” Michelle explains. “Delta didn’t screw you, OK? You screwed yourself.”

As the video progresses, Michelle explains that “no flight is guaranteed to always be successful,” and that flights can always be affected by things like weather, maintenance, and other issues.

“Flying into port the same day is always the risk you decide to take. Let’s not blame this on Delta, baby. Let’s just blame it on you for not preparing yourself,” Michelle declares.

Who Is Right?

Across several follow-up videos, Lexi acknowledges that she should have flown out the day before, though she says she could not due to work obligations. Still, she insists that Delta could have done more to get her to her cruise on time.

That said, while Lexi implies that she’s not entitled to any refund, her flight was canceled, which means that she’s legally entitled to a full refund for her flight costs. Additionally, there may be additional fees from Carnival, such as taxes and prepaid gratuities, that she is entitled to as a refund.

What Should You Do If You Find Yourself In A Similar Situation?

As far as what someone in a similar situation can do, while it may feel like the smartest option to find an alternative flight with another airline, as Michelle noted, it is likely smarter to attempt to resolve the issue with your original airline.

Not only can the original airline make accommodations like booking you to another port, as Delta did for another family, but they can also do things like reroute your bags, preventing you from having to wait for them as Lexi did.

Commenters Respond

In the comments section of Lexi’s video, while many users were sympathetic to Lexi’s situation, they weren’t exactly convinced that Delta was to blame.

“What I’m getting is it’s not Deltas fault,” wrote a user.

“I am a cruiser and I’m a retired Flight Attendant. I must have worked at least 10 flights to Florida over the years when we were delayed over 7 hours making half the plane miss cruises. It’s heartbreaking to see,” shared another. “I always leave a day and a half early for domestic cruises and at least two and a half days early for international cruises. Always buy travel insurance. That other family probably booked their flights thru Carnival. When you book thru cruise line or have travel insurance, they will get you to the ship at next port. A few hundred dollars for Travel Insurance will save you many thousands of dollars. Sorry about your situation.”

“As a flight attendant, it’s summer flying. From May-September I haven’t left on time yet. These planes, pilots, flight attendants and ground crew are over worked,” detailed a third. “And flying to Florida always try the day before because these storms have been crazy and come out of nowhere.”

Delta Gives Lexi A $1,079 Refund

In an email, Lexi told BroBible she received a refund of $1,079 from Delta. However, she’s received nothing from Carnival.

“We ended up taking a vacation with our Wyndham membership at Bonnet Creek and went to Sea World, and Disney. We saw Fantastic 4 at Disney Springs and enjoyed the dinner and show at Pirate Adventures. We still took a 5 day vacation just not on a boat,” she wrote. “In the end we saved our vacation and learned a very expensive lesson.”

She also responded to some of the negative commenters.

“I wasn’t expecting such negative feedback. I posted the video moments after we returned from the airport. I simply wanted to see if there was any rocks that I may not have overturned,” she explained. “I understood that me not purchasing the insurance could result in a loss of funds but could it be saved at a later date. I was looking for other options. This was a last minute booking, we booked 30 days before. I wasn’t crowd funding! I was seeking after the fact advice.”

That said, she said that she had done the same thing in the past without issue.

“This wasn’t our first cruise and we definitely took cruises where we left early and same day this ONE is the one that went terribly wrong,” she shared. “Delta did not only cancel our flight but also all other Florida-bound flights during our time frame. They knew they couldn’t get us in the air; if they had cancelled the first time this video would have never been made and we could have, worse case scenario, driven there in time.”

In an email, a Delta spokesperson shared the following, “Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels. We invite the customer to contact us directly with any feedback about their travel experience.”

BroBible reached out to Michelle for comment.