A loyal Platinum Delta business pass speaks up

[350DRIVER]

I didn't know JetBlue had a worldwide travel route structure in place, large modern equipment for Intl. travel, worldwide travel partners, a popular "shuttle" service set up, superior first class cabin & treatment, BusinessElite, Crown Rooms that business men and women use daily,etc, etc. I guess you are right, there really isn't a "difference".......

I guess you learn something new daily... (a tad of sarcasm injected)

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[Whirlwind]

I didn't know JetBlue had a worldwide travel route structure in place

Wha... You mean they don't?!?



In any case, that has nothing to do with it. If I'm flying a domestic route served by both JetBlue and Delta, there really isn't a lick of difference between the two. The fact that Delta also flies overseas doesn't have anything to do with it.

superior first class cabin & treatment, BusinessElite, Crown Rooms that business men and women use daily,etc, etc.

What does any of that have to do with buying a coach ticket on either airline?

I guess you learn something new daily... (a tad of sarcasm injected)

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Sarcasm noted.

In any case, maybe Delta should stick to the profitable international routes and leave the unprofitable domestic stuff to the LCCs?

Just a thought...

 

[JetProp]

.....

 

[Ty Webb]

Thanks for your comments. Most of the issues raised have already been dealt with, but as an AirTran pilot, I do want to address your comments regarding AirTran.

First- I flew on AirTran as a passenger in 1999 and swore I would never fly on them again. Having said that, I noticed a complete turnaround in effect in 2001 when I bummed a free ride to ATL. New airplanes, happy flght crews- huge change. I went from "Never flying on these guys again" to sending in a resume after that experience.

I have been here now almost three years. I have never seen a flight canceled for lack of passengers. In fact, the EMO (Early Morning Originators) are THE most important flights to get in the air . . . . period. They DO NOT cancel for ridership. Maybe the unfortunate experiences you had were due to either DC9 or RJ aircraft, but the B717 is turning in a 99.6% completion factor. In any event, the DC9's are all gone, and the last RJ flights will end in July.

Having said that, I do have to say that I bum rides on Delta pretty frequently, and most Delta crews are very professional, both the F/A's and the pilots. The gate agents can run hot and cold. Some of them still have a sense of entitlement, but they, too, will get the message eventually. I am sure that the better ones would really wince at your comments, and I would anticipate that the customer service will improve once management decides to focus on that aspect of the operation. As someone else pointed out, it's hard for many poeple to smile when you are worried about your livelihood.

Anyway, thanks for your comments. Hang in there . . . it's only transportation, try not to let it bother you while the kinks get sorted out. It still beats driving, most of the time!

Regards,

TW

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

Well, Ive read every word of this thread and Id just like to tell you how I feel.

I will go out of my way to fly Delta because they have been good to me ever since I started flying them regularly in college. That was really the only way out of Daytona. I was actually 50/50 Delta DAB and TWA MCO but Delta has always been good.

They have good HUBS, good planes with the exception of the 737-200.
They have the best snack mix (KingNut) I love those things!!!
Friendly FA's, Friendly pilots, excellent schedules.

The RJ's....Ive flown Comair, Skywest, and ASA on many occasions.
Planes are quiet, usually push on time, don't have to wait 30 minutes to get off, and the bags come out quick cause they are only 50-70 pax on the plane.
They are small but they are pretty comfortable.
Im 6ft1 and an aisle seat is just fine.

Jetblue....never flown em, they don't cater to pax flying to smaller cities. Ive heard great things but the route structure is limited.
SWA.......I refuse to fly swa. for an 100 people standing an hour at the gate to fight there way to the seat they want. And any airline that has a reality show can't be taken serious. I do appreciate the humor of the airline but the airline industry has to be serious these days.
IndependenceAir.....You wont exist in 3 years. Good luck in Dullus when SWA owns BWI just up the road.
United....You know, I don't have a credible reason for saying this, but I just don't like the airline. Im flying UAL in 3 weeks but that is because Its the most direct routing. I do like the DEN-SFO night flights when they use the 744 or the 777 though, nice and comfy. I think my distaste stems from a fellow controller who would take a bullet for UNITED, we always bring eachother articles in the paper bashing one anothers airlines. Mine of course is Delta.
----Who else can I rip on??
Mesa.....Need I even say anything?
America West....Im impressed, lately youve been a pleasure to fly. Didn't used to be that way.

Im done, no one cares!

 

[350DRIVER]

Lrjtcaptain,

You took the words right out of my mouth.... You will never see the DL faithful jump ship to SWA. Southwest has always catered to that "specific" class of passengers, just take a walk through the the SWA terminal at Hobby on any given friday. It was pretty comical way back in the day when I was employed as a DL agent and we got to witness first hand those goin the SWA way, I felt as if I was in Mexico and in a minority.

"Class" can not be bought at a discount fare nor will it be seen by those strapped for money.

Two completely different business platforms and animals here.

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[Whirlwind]

Lrjtcaptain,

You took the words right out of my mouth.... You will never see the DL faithful jump ship to SWA.

350, I agree, there will always be a few people who are totally loyal to any airline. The $64 question is, are there enough of them?

Delta is an airline with a proud history. It will, however, become history if they don't start putting black ink on the bottom line. For what it is worth, that is true of all the other majors as well.

Southwest has always catered to that "specific" class of passengers, just take a walk through the the SWA terminal at Hobby on any given friday.

In that respect, we agree. SouthWest is the Wal-Mart of the skies...

For what it is worth, Wal-Mart is one of the largest corportations on Earth. It's hard to argue with success.

"Class" can not be bought at a discount fare nor will it be seen by those strapped for money.

Two completely different business platforms and animals here.

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Again, agreed... So if Delta wants to compete on price with SWA, then they need to behave like SWA. Otherwise, ditch the cheap tickets, bring back the superior service they had in the past, and become a high-class airline again.

I suspect the real problem the big legacy airlines have is they try to be all things to all people.

Fly Safe!

 

[Axel]

Southwest has always catered to that "specific" class of passengers...

True, but now with all the carriers attempting to staunch the hemmorage by cutting their fares to the bone to fill the seats and cutting service to the bone to reduce costs, a certain level of overlap has occurred. A blurring of the line, if you will.

All the carriers are charging Greyhound Bus fares and all are getting Greyhound Bus passengers. The so-called legacy carriers are having trouble with this at least partially due to the fact that SW Airlines is GOOD at it because it is what they have always done and there is a cost structure and level of service IN PLACE, and to which their regular customers are accustomed, that has allowed them to be profitable while all the big players are bleeding out.

Furthermore, people like our thread starter became used to a certain level of service which no longer exists on their airline of choice. The service level is down to a Coke and some pretzels on a packed plane in a seat between the crying baby and the guy who needs to bathe and brush his teeth; the way SW has always been. The change is what is doing the damage. The Legacy carriers are attempting to emulate the cost structure of SW and the reduction in service ticks off the pax who remember when flying was nice.

It is unfortunate, but not surprising that the pax do not make the connection between the cheap ticket and the low standard when they long for the way things used to be.

Welcome to the cattle car; courtesy of consumer pricing pressure.

 

[350DRIVER]

Whirlwind,

I do not think that DL is in as much financial trouble as the media and other outlets are leading people to believe. Will the pilots end up taking pay cuts? Most definitely but they will not do so and they are in no rush to do so until all the books have been reviewed which they are in the process of doing now. DL pilots did not work their @sses off to set the bar this high only to give it all away without some sort of a fight. Even with the 30% pay cuts they will still remain the highest paid pilots in the industry but they are in no rush to give it all back which so many would like to see happen out of greed, envy, etc, they have fought too hard for where they are present day. Don't get me wrong, Delta is in trouble but I don't think they are nearly as close to BK as most would tend to believe. The problem goes much deeper than the pilots, even with the cuts Delta will still be loosing money so this obviously is not the solution.

In any case, maybe Delta should stick to the profitable international routes and leave the unprofitable domestic stuff to the LCCs?

One of the main problems with the DL domestic route structure present day is the outsourcing of mainline routes/equipment. If you take a look back in the not so distant past, some of Delta's most profitable routes and cities served, werre by way of the 37's, 57's, and 88's that are now unfortunately being flown by RJ's which must stop and come to an abrupt end if Delta is to get back to where they were when all was well in "Delta Land". The profitable routes must be flown by Delta equipment and Delta pilots, bottom line... I am sure you will see a shift of the sort happening in the very near future since Grinney was never a fan of the RJ's to begin with. Bus. 101. would illustrate that giving away routes/flying to others really isn't going to do anything for you, especially when you were selling out the planes on the same routes that were flown by the larger mainline equipment. ASA/Comair/CHQ are doing great, wonderful, but it surely is not helping DL out at all so expect a change here relatively soon.... This "shift" must occur sooner than later or it is only going to get worse.. Good news is the 1060 are on there way back from off the streets and hopefully this is the first step of many to getting their flying back to where it needs to be, mainline....

350, I agree, there will always be a few people who are totally loyal to any airline. The $64 question is, are there enough of them?

I think Delta has many many loyal and faithful passengers that would never jump ship regardless of how much they can save by heading over to the "greyhound" of the sky. If you want "class" and top notch service then you fly Delta, if you want to join a cattle heard, save money, eat peanuts, and make five stops to get to where you want to go to then SWA would be more than happy to take your money. This is like comparing the Mercedes to a Cavalier, which one would you rather have if money is no object? I know I would much prefer the better product and not the cheaper no frills car. I don't think that you are going to see DL going anywhere anytime soon, too many people enjoy them, the product, and the good service that they provide.

In that respect, we agree. SouthWest is the Wal-Mart of the skies...

Exactly... Enough of those people to always make SWA profitable, I fortunately am not one of them.. I flew on them one time and that was enough to last a lifetime. Millions have the same mindset so take your pick....

Again, agreed... So if Delta wants to compete on price with SWA, then they need to behave like SWA. Otherwise, ditch the cheap tickets, bring back the superior service they had in the past, and become a high-class airline again.

I disagree in the sense that these are two completely different animals and in no way will DL swoop to the level of SWA, they have too much pride and class as a company to do so. I think Delta will refine it's product, get their flying back, improve on different areas, cut costs, etc, and once again be back to doing what made them so successful in the first place. They have a superior product but I truly believe that when they started to match fares and routes, etc, that is what got them into trouble, agreed. They need to stick to doing what they did so well... The boss is no moron and I am sure he has a plan that is going to work... I would in no way count DL out just quite yet. I do think they can make it happen but I also do agree with you that they must ditch this direct competition with the SWA's of the industry.

I suspect the real problem the big legacy airlines have is they try to be all things to all people.

You have many more people in the "lower classes" that have no options, they go with the cheapest fares since that is all they can afford and for that reason SWA will always remain profitable no matter how south this industry goes...


I can only wish the entire DL group the best and I am pretty confident that all is going to work out in the best interest of this great company.

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[English]

I think Delta has many many loyal and faithful passengers that would never jump ship regardless of how much they can save by heading over to the "greyhound" of the sky. If you want "class" and top notch service then you fly Delta, if you want to join a cattle heard, save money, eat peanuts, and make five stops to get to where you want to go to then SWA would be more than happy to take your money. This is like comparing the Mercedes to a Cavalier, which one would you rather have if money is no object? I know I would much prefer the better product and not the cheaper no frills car. I don't think that you are going to see DL going anywhere anytime soon, too many people enjoy them, the product, and the good service that they provide.



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I think the point you are missing is that the loyal and faithful passengers ARE jumping ship because the quality of the product has deteriorated. Delta is no longer comparable to the Mercedes you reference in your post.