After Olson’s wife, Martha Popp, died in August at the age of 77 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Olson was hoping Delta Air Lines would transfer Popp’s accumulated miles to her account and refund a September ticket Popp didn’t get to use.

But Delta’s response, at least initially, was neither reasonable nor empathetic: “We have identified your submission to be about a pre-trip ticket purchase, change, cancellation, or special request,” says the unsigned and likely canned Sept. 21 email from the airline’s “Customer Care” division. “Unfortunately, our comment/complaint form does not assist with pre-trip support requests and we will not be able to respond to your submission.”

Olson said this was after a Delta employee assigned her a case number and made it sound like the airline could transfer the miles and provide a credit for the unused ticket.

“I truly don’t understand their reticence and inability to help in this instance,” said Olson, who along with her wife lived for decades in Madison before splitting their time between Madison and New Hampshire.

“I have flown with them for many years, and don’t appreciate them just brushing me off,” she said.

SOS also got the brush-off, also at least initially, after it emailed the airline’s official media email address on Oct. 9 and got an automated response saying the email account was no longer monitored and instructing those using it to fill out an online media-contact form instead, which SOS did and which generated an automated response from Delta saying its spokesperson was out of the office until Oct. 16.

When that spokesperson hadn’t responded by late morning on the 16th, SOS dug up an old online press release from Delta that offered up an email address for Grant Myatt, of the airline’s Corporate Communications office.

Myatt responded promptly to SOS’ email pleading Olson’s case, saying the company would look into it. On Oct. 19, he said he could “confirm that our customer care team is in touch with this customer.”

Olson said on Oct. 20 that “very nice-sounding” Delta executive assistant Marlee Gommo called her on Oct. 16 and agreed to transfer Popp’s 16,909 accumulated miles to Olson’s account and to refund the $348.90 cost of the September ticket Papp couldn’t use. She also provided an email to her from Gommo confirming as much.

During their discussion, Gommo also revealed that the couple had a pair of unused tickets from 2021 that Olson had forgotten about. Olson said she and Popp had intended to visit Popp’s aunt near Atlanta but had to cancel. She was hoping Delta could extend the expiration date for those past the end of the year, given all that was going on amid the loss of her partner of 49 years and because the holidays are not the easiest time to travel.

“She was very understanding and she said ‘OK, I will try to see what I could do,’” Olson said of Gommo’s response.

Gommo on Oct. 25 emailed Olson to say the airline couldn’t extend the expiration date on the two older tickets, so instead it was suspending the tickets and issuing Olson vouchers for their combined value, or $1,153.60. She’ll have a year to use them, Gommo said.

Olson said she’s “really very emotionally and physically tired,” and thus grateful she won’t have to use the tickets by the end of the year. She said she likely will use them to visit family or friends in 2024.