Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I read the 1st message of a thread below, "confirming" that Delta no longer ships venomous. Well, someone must have been caught out of the loop, because I picked up a shipment today on behalf of a friend. Thelotornis, they.

They're still shipping vens.

GregB
coralsnake@coralsnakes.com

stating that it was only in a certain part of the US that was under the control of a disgruntled supervisor. Delta still blows....they don't appreciate our business. They make it as difficult as they can for us to be a paying customer- who needs them when NorthWest actually wants our business.

hi,

i'm a somewhat disgruntled/disgusted delta patron in the affected region mentioned earlier (NM etc). do those of you living elsewhere and still using delta have to put on your own strapping? for years i didn't have to, i could just pay 5 bucks to have them do it at the airport (onto my screwed-shut box). but then shortly before all the brouhaha they started making me bring in strapped boxes. it was a real pain, because all my local freight-forwarders now use the (perfectly strong, easy-to-use) nylon stuff, due to real or perceived danger of eye, etc injury by twanging steel strapping. i had to bribe a certain delta desk jockey with beer (and still pay the 5 bucks), to continue having it done at the airport. i haven't shipped in about 6 months; i'm wondering if the same jerk-off supervisor was just making up stuff along the way before he tried to go big with the full shut-down, and i no longer need to worry about my own strapping. i don't ship often enough to make it worth buying my own strapper. i'd just like to have an answer before trying a phone call, who knows what they'll tell me.

btw i couldn't agree more about the apparent corporate attitude towards us. we're micro-potatoes, i think they'd just rather not have to deal. but i've been polluted by my local experiences, perhaps it's slightly better elsewhere. some of the desk help are/were ok, but really cowed by the boss.

thanks,
jimi gragg

It must depend on where you ship from. I never had to put straps on a venomous shipment, but I also havent shipped venomous in almost a year.

Delta SUXS big time. I have never had a perfectly smooth transaction thru them.

Chad

hi chad,

i can't believe you've never done the straps when you send. maybe they do it for you, without you knowing??? when you pick up a box of venomous reptiles, is it strapped? (yes, every single time, in my experience - from many different domestic origins). i thought the iata guidelines on venomous included metal strapping, along with the specs on double-bagging (in burlap - yeah right), wood type & thickness, screw length, ventilation holes, yada yada yada. i could swear i saw it in the book.

funny, in sending stuff off, once i get the damned box past the counter trolls, no problem, ever. but i've had to sit around and wait for the next plane on a couple of pickups before, because something happened (or didn't) in atlanta.

cheers,
jimi

They state that you must have the metal straps on, but in a bunch of shipments, I've only had (2) that had the straps on.

Chad

Here in Philly the old farts at Northwest give me a hard time every time even when I've made the reservation. Delta on the other hand has some nice people that take good care of me.
web site

-----
Mark Kennedy Reptiles

So far I haven't had any really horrible dealings with Delta. A couple of mishaps have happened, including making the 1.5 hr one way drive to find out that the flight was more delayed than it was supposed to be and didn't make it, hence a wasted trip which had to be made again the next day. I also had a shipment of an adult male PNG taipan and 1.1 adult radiated ratsnakes in January of '03 which was left out in the bay. All the snakes were very cold when pulled out. Also, all three snakes in that shipment subsequently died, though I'm not sure that could be attributed completely to them being left in below 40 F weather. Other than that though, the local people at my counter are very friendly and most are interested in what is in the box. I do think Delta could make some improvements, but for now they are definitely the most accessible venomous shipper there is. Northwest, though probably good, just doesn't have the same coverage as Delta and they are more expensive.
-Chance

I don't have a problem shipping with Delta in Little Rock, or receiving reptiles. The folks at the counter, Lorraine, Jim Handy, etc, KNOW not to leave reptiles out on the dock in cold or hot weather. I ship/receive vens about twice a month and the only problems I have incurred, are delayed flights, but hey, that's the "norm" for the airline industry!
Northwest, on the otherhand, IS cheaper (to receive) than Delta, however, Northwest WON'T ship reptiles out of Little Rock, due to the fact that they haven't a holding area for reptiles to be picked up.