Delta Air Lines Increases Capacity to Santo Domingo

This entry was posted on Jan 23 2010 by Jon Anne Doty

Alert the media! Pop the champagne! Back-slapping all around! But wait, before we start engraving humanitarian awards, let’s look at a few things first.

Several days ago, a representative from One Vision International in Knoxville, Tennessee, called to see if we had any aircraft going to the Dominican Republic. They need to transport medical supplies for a team of doctors who are traveling on Delta Air Lines to Santo Domingo on January 24, to help with relief efforts in remote areas of Haiti that have been inaccessible since the earthquake. We can certainly arrange something on one of our small aircraft; but, here’s the thing – the airspace over the island is pretty saturated. Ramp space in Port au Prince in non-existent and getting a reservation to land there is an ordeal of literally five or more hours, if you can get one. Aid is pouring in from all over the planet and, in the larger scheme of things, taking in a small aircraft to offload 500 to 600 pounds of supplies and one worker isn’t terribly efficient. With that in mind, I began looking for space in aircraft already bound for the area.

It only makes sense to get the medical supplies on the aircraft with the doctors. The supplies are secure, arrive with the physicians and another aircraft isn’t introduced into the space – logical. So, I called Delta’s Air Cargo reservations line to check on their humanitarian mission provisions. They don’t have any. The cargo reservations agent suggested that I contact passenger reservations to arrange for the excess baggage. I did, and guess what? They can’t take it. Per their website, Delta Air Lines standard baggage policy states:

No excess baggage (extra piece) allowed. Checked baggage weighing 51-70 lbs is subject to excess baggage charges.

No baggage weighing more than 70 lbs and 62 linear inches will be accepted for travel to/from the following destinations:

Georgetown, Guyana (GEO)

Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)

Mexico,Not accepted on Delta Connection Carriers or other regional jets to/from points in Mexico

*One excess bag will be allowed per passenger for travel to Lagos (LOS), Nigeria. Excess piece, weight and size charges will apply.

But that’s their standard policy, created before an earthquake left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and thousands dying from injuries that mean just a quick trip to the ER for us. Surely, they are making allowances for passengers traveling on documentable humanitarian missions, right? No. Oh, you can take your medical supplies, alright, but you’ll have to pay retail air cargo rates to do it. One Vision International is still going to send doctors and they are still going to send supplies. They are just going to do it without the help of the world’s largest passenger airline.

On the other hand, Air France has increased the frequency of their flights into Santo Domingo, has introduced special fares, included a higher baggage allowance and discounted excess baggage fees for those traveling on humanitarian missions. Haiti hasn’t been a colony of France since 1804. The Haitian community is estimated to number 80,000 in France and 600,000 in the United States. The tiny country is 4576 miles from Paris and 1430 miles from Washington, D.C. Air France is reducing their profit margins to help save the lives of these desperate people while Delta Air Lines is increasing their profits carrying more paying passengers and cargo into the region, sometimes even upgrading the aircraft from Boeing 737s to Boeing 757s. I’m not the only seeing the disparity here, I’m sure. However, to be fair, Delta Air Lines did lose billions of dollars last year – they need make those profits up somewhere. And, if they don’t use the profits to pay for 2009’s losses, then they can always use them to pay for the all-cash acquisition of aircraft charter operator Segrave Aviation they announced on January 21, 2009. So, Delta increases capacity into Santo Domingo – capacity for profits, that is.

Profits aren’t bad – we are all in business to pay our bills and make a profit. However, we also ought to be in the business of being humane.

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14 Responses to “Delta Air Lines Increases Capacity to Santo Domingo”

By Dan Robles on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply

Great Article. This calls into focus a broader question. Do Companies have a Social Charter? Is Capitalism entirely amoral? At what point does a community need to be supported by corporations in order to produce the currency that ultimately supports the corporation? The situation in Haiti provides a mirror in which we see a reflection of ourselves….if we dare. I suppose those that have the power to see themselves have the power to do what is right. Thanks.
By Jef Porter on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply

I am dissappointed to hear of this news – but even more shocking – it doesn’t surprise me one bit.
By James Luck on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply

I don’t believe capitalism is amoral, but rather provides a great opportunity to improve the quality of life of many, not just a select few. According to John Schneider in The Good of Affluence, the United States is on its way to creating the first mass affluent class in world history, and has all but eliminated real material poverty in our society. The same can be said about the other nations that reconfigured their economies towards capitalism after WWII. Capitalism has done more for the good of man kind than any other known form of culture. In Virtue of Prosperity, D’Souza poses a provocative question: “Who has done more to eradicate poverty and suffering in the Third World, Bill Gates or Mother Teresa?” I do recognize that the attributes of capitalism does not come without perils. Capitalism does provide a foundation for those with little moral and ethical standards to achieve self-fulfilling goals at the expense of others. However, I believe the virtues of capitalism outweigh the vices of malfeasance.

Because of the innovation and wealth created from our capitalistic society, we Americans are situated to effectively contribute to relief efforts in Haiti by providing supplies, medical services, funds, water treatment facilities, and transportation. Our level of affluence and the ability to contribute, would likely not exist in a communist or socialized society, or any other form of statism. I believe that we are morally obligated to help, aid, and assist our Haitian neighbors in their time of need. I understand that Delta Airlines is not a philanthropy, but an organization created to maximize shareholder value. However, I do believe Delta has a moral obligation to make good use of their assets, knowledge, and other resources which would literally save the lives of human beings, especially when such actions will have a minimal effect on profit margins.
By Diane McLain on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply

I think a Delta Airlines Boycott is in order!
By Oussama on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply

I remember the days when Delta was the best Legacy Airline in the USA. What happened to the airline whose employees gave it a gift “The Spirit of delta” a brand new B767 ( http://l1011.homestead.com/SpirtofDL.html )

well, people change and definitely the people at the top at Delta changed. Go figure
By forex robot on Feb 16, 2010 | Reply

nice post. thanks.