Delta's premium product $ucks, says frequent flier

[Buckaroo]

This is a classic example of why Delta and the other legacy carriers need to "go away".

They will all be going away very soon. The LCC's with Southwest in the lead will dominate the skies.

 

[aa73]

They will all be going away very soon. The LCC's with Southwest in the lead will dominate the skies.

What you fail to take into account is that AA, DL, UA, etc will eventually become one of those very LCCs you talk about. In fact, AA's costs are right about where SWA's are... 'cept we still have way more overhead.

 

[Buckaroo]

What you fail to take into account is that AA, DL, UA, etc will eventually become one of those very LCCs you talk about. In fact, AA's costs are right about where SWA's are... 'cept we still have way more overhead.

I seriously doubt if AMR will be around in another 3 years. Their cost structure just won't stand the test of time. Remember, this is a game of attrition, and the dinosaurs are going extinct..................soon.

 

[Birdstrike]

This is a classic example of why Delta and the other legacy carriers need to "go away".

I can't speak for anybody except myself and I don't want to see DAL just "go away." My wife and I recently flew DAL from IAD-ATL-HNL. The service was fine. The ticket price ($530) was great. The part I care most about, impression the flight crew made on me by the way they carried out their duties, was outstanding. I know that professional flight crews certainly aren't Delta's sole province but there is a market sector that takes an airline's heritage into the "all things considered" mix and it does affect the final choice with some of us. Given an LCC or DAL, my wife picks DAL every time. So does her folks and so did mine. Why is that? Must be something to it or it wouldn't be true.

 

[aa73]

I seriously doubt if AMR will be around in another 3 years. Their cost structure just won't stand the test of time. Remember, this is a game of attrition, and the dinosaurs are going extinct..................soon.

...and AA/CO are the two legacies that best stand the chance of surviving the attrition. AA's cost structure is right where it needs to be, now when fares come back up we'll be kicking booty. Sorry, dude, we'll still be around "knowing why you fly!"

 

[tuna pimp]

My father's experience on DL has not been the best lately either. On one recent three-hour flight to ATL connecting on to his destination, there was no service at all. When I mean no service it was just that. No juice, no coffee, no water---nothing! He had asked the FA when he boarded if they were going to serve coffee because the airport concessions were not yet open so he couldn't get some. (This was a 0600 departure to ATL.) She responded, "There is no service on this flight." He thought she was joking. Sure enough during the flight he said not one flight attendant passed through the aisle. He said at that point he did a count and there were 50 people on the 737-800. So on a three-hour flight these flight attedants couldn't even offer water?

My parents do a lot of traveling and they don't non-rev anywhere. I told my father to write the airline since, as a paying passenger, he has the right to "vent his frustration" over poor, unfriendly and uncaring service.

I'm gonna call BS on this. In 7 years at DL, nonrevving a few trips a month, I have ALWAYS gotten at least a beverage service on the plane. Even the short trips down to DAB or PNS or CHS.
Maybe an issue with catering that day??

 

[spanky2]

The latest Yankelvoch Partners 2005 National Business Travel Monitor has named Delta as the most preferred airlines for business travelers. Of the business travelers surveyed, 52% named Delta as one of their preferred three carriers, topping American (42%), Southwest (39%), United (29%) and Northwest (20%).

The report states that the "basics" are the most important part of a carrier's services and amenities for business travelers. Specifically, 92% of business travelers mention "excellent safety record," and "regularly departs on time." Another 91% mention "friendly and efficient service" and 88% cite "ample leg room" (up from 83% in 2004).


I have no flipping clue who these folks are but I give them the nod over 410dude and his one data point, flamebait post.

 

[Purpledog]

Remember, this is a game of attrition, and the dinosaurs are going extinct..................soon.

You sound happy about this? Are you happy with the direction the major airline pilot compensation is going. Last time I checked we were rooting for higher pay and benefits not flying for pennies and no retirement. Rooting against airlines that historically paid well doesn't make much sense for our profession. Gee wiz, I hope UPS IPA gives back money so our management feels compelled to make us do the same (sarcasm). Like someone said earlier, a rising tide floats all boats.....and paychecks.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Delta ( and DL Connection since they are the same in the passenger's mind ) do need to put more emphasis on getting the cabin staff to serve the passengers. The "fast break" and other time related service limitations have simply become a tool to justify laziness. These days even new hire flight attendants zip up to the flight deck with one question "how long is the flight?" The answer, if less than one hour, is always met with glee, along with a comment like, "I don't have to do nothin... yippee."

As a passenger who buys the last minute fares for my business travel, I can assure you that a cup of coffee on an early morning flight, or a bottle of water in a 100 degree passenger cabin is very welcome and expected.

Delta has made "rules" about service that are becoming excuses for not even trying. This is a management problem. If management sets such low standards you can be sure that the implementation is going to be even worse back in row 14.

On some flights ( while stuck at the gate for WX, MX, etc... I have made a point of handing out drinks and snacks to passengers who want them. It is not that I have any great love for this Company, but people should be treated the way we would want to be treated if we were in their shoes....

This is yet another reason why Delta should, and will, be going away.

~~~^~~~

 

[AAflyer]

This is a classic example of why Delta and the other legacy carriers need to "go away".

Hey Rhoid,

We staff our 80s with an extra FA on the short flights from ORD-STL, or DFW-AUS, so they can offer beverages, these flights have an air time of around 38 minutes... Some regionals with only 34 seats don't offer that..

AA

 

[CLE145CA]

I'm gonna call BS on this. In 7 years at DL, nonrevving a few trips a month, I have ALWAYS gotten at least a beverage service on the plane. Even the short trips down to DAB or PNS or CHS.
Maybe an issue with catering that day??

You can call "BS" all you want on this. I asked him twice to make sure he didn't miss something, wasn't sleeping or if he was just plane exaggerating. My parents aren't novice travelers by anyone's stretch of the imagination. Having a son in the industry (and my mother's entire side of the family in the business), I don't expect my father was telling me a BS story in the least.

If there was a catering issue on this particular flight, then there was no announcement to the passengers to indicate it with an apology from the crew for the incovenience.

 

[tuna pimp]

Sorry, I just find it odd.

I can't say the inflight service at DL is always the most friendly but I can't think of a time when they didn't at least serve drinks for no reason. Sometimes they only offer 2 or 3 choices on the really short hops. In fact, the coach class service offerings have been improved/expanded somewhat to include crackers, granola bars, peanuts, etc..

 

[tuna pimp]

This is yet another reason why Delta should, and will, be going away.

~~~^~~~

Nice. Now why don't you go F yourself.

 

[ivauir]

What you fail to take into account is that AA, DL, UA, etc will eventually become one of those very LCCs you talk about. In fact, AA's costs are right about where SWA's are... 'cept we still have way more overhead.

Huh? The numbers I've seen don't show you anywhere close. I don't have my numbers handy, but if I can find em I'll post em. BTW I am not flamming or slamming or anything, I am just curious about what numbers you've seen... I like to be educated. I do know that your costs have plummeted and that more change is afoot, but our costs have dropped too (excluding fuel).

BTW I don't think anybody "needs to die". I do think that robbing pensions and using chapter 11 as a business plan is bogus.

 

[General Lee]

Delta ( and DL Connection since they are the same in the passenger's mind ) do need to put more emphasis on getting the cabin staff to serve the passengers. The "fast break" and other time related service limitations have simply become a tool to justify laziness. These days even new hire flight attendants zip up to the flight deck with one question "how long is the flight?" The answer, if less than one hour, is always met with glee, along with a comment like, "I don't have to do nothin... yippee."

As a passenger who buys the last minute fares for my business travel, I can assure you that a cup of coffee on an early morning flight, or a bottle of water in a 100 degree passenger cabin is very welcome and expected.

Delta has made "rules" about service that are becoming excuses for not even trying. This is a management problem. If management sets such low standards you can be sure that the implementation is going to be even worse back in row 14.

On some flights ( while stuck at the gate for WX, MX, etc... I have made a point of handing out drinks and snacks to passengers who want them. It is not that I have any great love for this Company, but people should be treated the way we would want to be treated if we were in their shoes....

This is yet another reason why Delta should, and will, be going away.

~~~^~~~

Ha HA. Fins, you need to go away. Have you not thrown your stuff together and tried Airtran or CAL? Please, do it, you sound miserable.

So, DL will go away, eh? Doubt it. Delta has only one union, which means we are very flexible. We may go to court, but implementing new decrees from a judge won't be tough at all. We already have a plan in the works, but we are a bit late in implementing it. That is the big problem here. The pension problem looks like it will get better with the 14 year extension. Even with a Chap 11, the pensions will probably stay intact due to that legislation that probably will pass. And, if we do go, we can restructure and try to get rid of some of the high RJ debt we have, and you can work for Pinnacle out of DTW after the merger. If you need a jump, I will be the FO on the DC-9 three gates away. The new name? DELWEST. I like it.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

You can call "BS" all you want on this. I asked him twice to make sure he didn't miss something, wasn't sleeping or if he was just plane exaggerating. My parents aren't novice travelers by anyone's stretch of the imagination. Having a son in the industry (and my mother's entire side of the family in the business), I don't expect my father was telling me a BS story in the least.

If there was a catering issue on this particular flight, then there was no announcement to the passengers to indicate it with an apology from the crew for the incovenience.

Come on now, everyone has had bad experiences on EVERY airline. My dad's mom's ex sister-n-law hated CAL because she was stuck in EWR for an extra 50 minutes due to a MX issue........ There are people who strive to do well, and there are people who are burned out. We all know that. Don't make an assumption that every flight is like the one you described. That would be like me saying all CAL pilots are scabs. That is just NOT the case.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[aa73]

Huh? The numbers I've seen don't show you anywhere close. I don't have my numbers handy, but if I can find em I'll post em. BTW I am not flamming or slamming or anything, I am just curious about what numbers you've seen... I like to be educated. I do know that your costs have plummeted and that more change is afoot, but our costs have dropped too (excluding fuel).

BTW I don't think anybody "needs to die". I do think that robbing pensions and using chapter 11 as a business plan is bogus.

I don't have my #s handy either, but according to our latest stats posted by the copmany and union, we are down pretty close to SWA's unit cost, except for the fact that your overhead is significantly lower, which is why you guys are consistently profitable and we're not (consistent, anyway.) The # I remember being posted was something like 8c/mile.

 

[General Lee]

Fins and Medflyer,​

Business travelers still prefer the “legacy carriers” when it comes time to hit the road, but one low-cost carrier, Southwest, now ranks among the top five preferred airline brands according to the YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners 2005 National Business Travel Monitor™. And although its recent financial performance has been the subject of critical coverage in the business press, Delta still reigns as the preferred airline for business travelers as reflected in the following table:

AIRLINE PERCENT MENTIONS​

Delta52%​

American42%​

Southwest39%​

United29%​

Northwest20%​

[size=-2]*Percentage of active business travelers who mentioned the airline as among their “preferred three” when traveling for business[/size]​

 

[Midnight Mike]

My father's experience on DL has not been the best lately either. On one recent three-hour flight to ATL connecting on to his destination, there was no service at all. When I mean no service it was just that. No juice, no coffee, no water---nothing! He had asked the FA when he boarded if they were going to serve coffee because the airport concessions were not yet open so he couldn't get some. (This was a 0600 departure to ATL.) She responded, "There is no service on this flight." He thought she was joking. Sure enough during the flight he said not one flight attendant passed through the aisle. He said at that point he did a count and there were 50 people on the 737-800. So on a three-hour flight these flight attedants couldn't even offer water?

My parents do a lot of traveling and they don't non-rev anywhere. I told my father to write the airline since, as a paying passenger, he has the right to "vent his frustration" over poor, unfriendly and uncaring service.

Sorry, I am going to raise the BS flag on this one, I have never heard of something like this, your trying to say that the F/A did not offer refreshments, I highly doubt it, sorry, but this is one that I do not believe.

 

[General Lee]

Our pilots were soooo smooth that his Dad just fell asleep after takeoff and woke up at his destination at the gate. That seems more plausible.


Bye Bye--General Lee