Delta Bumps High School Trip to Spain

Some 20 Waltham High School students who planned and saved for a year so they could spend this week practicing their Spanish in Madrid instead saw their Eurotrip grounded in New York this weekend because the airline gave their seats away.

Delta Airlines stranded the students for nearly 12 hours at John F. Kennedy International Airport with no food or water, then tried to feed the group by dolling out worthless ``Delta Dollars,'' according to Waltham High teacher Lisa Geaney, who planned the trip, and parent-chaperone Diane Centofanti.

To make matters worse, the two women said, Delta tried to split up the group for separate flights to Spain.

``They actually stated to me, `You have 10 minutes to decide (to split up) or that gate will close and your bags will go to Madrid without you,' '' said Geaney, who said she's organized six previous student trips without a problem. ``It's like you listen to this story and go, `No, that couldn't happen.' ''

But Delta spokeswoman Thonnia Lee said the group showed up late, and the seats to their plane were already claimed. Lee said she didn't know if the plane had been overbooked.

As for the Delta Dollars, Lee insisted they were handed out to the hungry kids, ages 16 to 18, for discounts on future travel, not meals.

``Quite frankly, I'm going to believe that Delta employees did the best they could to accommodate these people,'' she said.

After waiting in a line outside the JFK terminal for hours, Geaney said a Delta worker told her they needed to split the group up, with 10 leaving on a plane Friday but no guarantee the rest could get out the next day.

``I told them absolutely not,'' Geaney said. ``This is a group. We needed to stay together.''

The weeklong trip cost about $2,500, said parents John and Annmarie Huff, whose daughter Samantha, 16, recently had open heart surgery at Children's Hospital.

``She's been through a lot,'' said the disappointed teen's mom. ``So that's why she's a little more spoiled than usual.''

Around 1 a.m. yesterday, after waiting 10 hours and unable to enter the terminal because they didn't have a boarding pass, some of the group were given 200 Delta Dollars each to spend on airport food, both the grownups and students insisted.

Problem was, the food court was in the terminal, which the students were not able to enter because they didn't have a boarding pass, said Guetchine Pierre, 17, flashing her stack of Delta Dollars.

``I wanted to throw them out,'' she said. ``My mom said I should hang on to them in case we sue.''

Finally, at 2:30 a.m., after leaving the group stranded for nearly 12 hours, Delta arranged for hotel rooms in New York. The students returned to Boston yesterday.

``It was a nightmare,'' said Waltham High senior Medely Ortiz, 18. ``It really was.''

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