Britexpat, as long as there is no legal recourse these cases are bound to happen. I believe you are right. I would have thought there was some kind of Passenger Charter for Delta Airlines. I checked on their website. There was none.

I guess the staff who conveyed the passengers' concerns to the pilot blew it out of proportion or was unable to deal appropriately with the complaining passengers' request. Whichever, it was wrong and unfair IMHO. Poor guys! I hope they get legal redress.