Delta - Fail!

Flying home for Christmas always has the potential to be an adventure but I've had good luck most of the time.  I figured I was due this year, especially when I saw forecasts of snow for the cities and winter storm warnings *blizzard* warnings for Iowa and Wisconsin.  I can't be late.  I want Skyline.  The storm did come but mostly stayed out of the Twin Cities.  Our friends to the south were not so lucky. 

I was mildly hopeful about traveling when I got up and there was just a dusting of snow.  Until...  Ultimately the big fail today goes to Delta's flight information system.  It was so completely effed up that it was truly spectacular.  I've had similar incidents in the past, although nothing quite on this scale.

545am or so, Delta Messenger sends me an email that my flight times have been changed.  I'm all "super, now I don't have to wake up my neighbor as early to leave".  Right?  Here's the email:

700am I woke up and did my little run, then I started playing on the computer.  That's when the fiasco really started.  I googled my flight number, which first turned up some flights in Georgia.  Um, no.  Then finally got a hit on the correct flight.  It says it's on time.

Huh - the internet thinks my flight is still on time.  I better check Delta's website.

Dude, WTF?  Delta thinks my flight is on time after it emailed me two hours ago to say the sucker was late.  I better log into my account frequent flyer on Delta.com and see what's up.   Oh, so now that you know me again, you think my flight is delayed?

Seriously?!?  I ask you. 

To review

• Delta Messenger email - Flight Delayed by 30 minutes
• Google flight status - On Time
• Delta.com - On Time
• My Delta page as a frequent flyer - Flight Delayed, unspecified amount of time

So I talked to my neighbor and we left in time, just in case the flight really was going to leave as scheduled.  Airport monitors and gate monitor also said the flight was on time.  The flight boarded on time.  Delta?  Seriously?  Why were there two sets of information - one for me as a frequent flier that was wrong, and one for the entire internet which was correct?  What if I'd come to the airport late after getting that email?  That's just wrong.  Just.  What the heck?

(To be clear and so no one loses their jobs,  everyone I saw today from airport staff to TSA to the actual Delta employees were really nice.  The friendliness of the season was definitely catching.  This was just a colossal technology and communications fail on Delta's part.)