A group of U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan won a battle against Delta Airlines' bag policy, thanks to a video on YouTube.
The soldiers, Staff Sgts. Fred Hilliker and Robert O’Hair of a Reserve unit in Georgia, posted a video Tuesday outlining their plight. As O'Hair explains, the unit showed up with four bags each but were told they could only bring three each and would have to be charged $200 for the fourth. The final tally came to more than $2,800, according to O'Hair.
He says there’s a contract between the U.S. government and Delta that allows them to bring up to four bags. He goes on to say that the fourth bag contained a weapons case. (A Delta rep says the contract does not allow soldiers to carry an extra bag.)
Delta responded Wednesday with an entry on its blog that announced a change in policy: “After careful consideration, effective immediately, U.S. military personnel traveling on orders in First and Business Class can check up to five bags and four bags in Economy class." The previous limit was four bags in First and Business and three in Economy.
Delta also says, “We’re continuing to work with the soldiers individually to make this situation right for each of them.”