Song singing their farewell song.....

["GO AROUND"]

Delta announced that Song is discontinuing service next year. That was a nice try but ended up a waste of money.

 

[ChperpltII]

Really??? I must have missed the other 3 or 4 threads on this same topic.:laugh:

I don't think it was a waste of money at all. They learned some good information that they can use to make the product better.

The fact was/is that Song has a great product. Now they will be adding 1st class seats to the 75s and making all domestic flights over 1700 miles Song type flights with IFE and the Song experience.

Delta has plenty of money right now to tweak their image and make a better product. I think it's a good initial move.

 

[Quillpig]

When did Delta become a regional airline?

 

[Terry Hunter]

Great, now maybe NWA can take a hint, and drop the NEWCO innuendoes.

 

[FDJ2]

Delta announced that Song is discontinuing service next year. That was a nice try but ended up a waste of money.

Actually, DAL will be increasing Song service by doubling the fleet to over 100 Song equipped 757s in the next 2 years. What DAL is doing is incorporating a winning product into its mainline.

When you create a test bed entity like Song and it works, it only makes sense to incorporate it in your mainline.

 

[inthewind]

So is mainline gonna fire all of the bitter old skyhags?

 

[satpak77]

When you create a test bed entity like Song and it works, it only makes sense to incorporate it in your mainline.

Enter the Spin Zone

 

[relief tube]

How 'bout a source? First you say it's being discontinued, then some other fella says they're increasing it. Im getting a headache.

 

[JohnnyP]

...

"Delta has plenty of money right now to tweak their image and make a better product. I think it's a good initial move."

ChperpltII=.... When did Delta all of a sudden have plenty of money? Not an attack just curious thats all.

 

[FDJ2]

How 'bout a source? First you say it's being discontinued, then some other fella says they're increasing it. Im getting a headache.

Delta Announces New Domestic Long-haul Song Service

Airline to merge Song into Delta service
Adds first-class cabins, expands state-of-the-art digital in-flight entertainment at every seat to more than 100 aircraft

ATLANTA, Oct. 28, 2005 – Delta Air Lines announced today that it will tap the best features of its highly acclaimed Song product to launch a new and unique long-haul domestic Song service for Delta customers.

The plan to merge Song into the Delta travel experience includes:

· Adding 26 first-class seats to Song’s existing fleet of 48 Boeing 757-200 aircraft, making the service more attractive to business travelers and significantly enhancing revenue opportunities.

· Converting an additional 50-plus Delta aircraft to two-class Songservice, complete with all-leather seating and new interiors throughout.

· Expanding state-of-the-art personal digital in-flight entertainment to all 100-plus aircraft, with 24 channels of live television, 10 on-demand video channels, interactive video games and MP3 programming that allows customers to create their own play lists from an inventory of more than 1,600 songs.

· Offering this exclusive Songservice initially on all transcontinental Delta flights beginning fall 2006 and expanding the service to include all routes over 1,750 miles over two years.

· Incorporating Delta’s new uniforms, improved snack service and award-winning SkyMiles® program to offer customers the best value in transcontinental travel.

“As Delta continues its transformation to become a more customer-focused airline, we are incorporating the best of Song into the best of Delta,” said Gerald Grinstein, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our new Song service will set the standard in transcontinental travel, making Delta the first choice for customers on these routes.”

Since its inception in April 2003, Song has become a customer favorite. However, Song flying has been limited primarily to leisure markets. “As part of our restructuring, we have the opportunity to deploy Song aircraft seasonally to more profitable flying — including into our hubs — and to further simplify our operations while expanding the great travel experience on Song to more Delta customers,” according to Jim Whitehurst, Chief Operating Officer for Delta. “We’ve learned a lot from Song and have already incorporated many of its positives into Delta. Features like new leather interiors, new uniforms, a simplified fare structure and faster turn times have resulted in 11 consecutive months of year-over-year improvement in customer service ratings at Delta.”

Song will continue to fly as a separate brand and customers will be able to book flights on Song until May 2006. The aircraft will then be scheduled on high-demand routes throughout the Delta network during the transition, replacing wide-body aircraft that will be re-deployed from domestic to international destinations as part of the largest international expansion in Delta’s history. Through the end of 2006, Delta will reconfigure the Song fleet into the new two-class, long-haul standard and introduce them on transcontinental routes. In all, more than 100 aircraft will be outfitted for Song service, giving customers access to the largest fleet of video-on-demand aircraft in the U.S.

To maximize the value of Song’s success at Delta, Joanne Smith, currently president of Song, has been named vice president of Consumer Marketing for Delta, effective immediately.

“Joanne Smith brings the energy and marketing expertise to our consumer marketing team that we need to continue improving the customer experience on Delta,” said Paul Matsen, Delta’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Her leadership will ensure the efficiencies, service enhancements and innovations of Song are integrated into Delta’s ongoing transformation.”

Delta Air Lines is the world’s second-largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 487 destinations in 87 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on more than 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.

 

[ChperpltII]

ChperpltII=.... When did Delta all of a sudden have plenty of money? Not an attack just curious thats all.

Johnny,

They've got plenty of money (loans) for the CH 11 thing...

 

[satpak77]

“As Delta continues its transformation to become a more customer-focused airline, we are incorporating the best of Song into the best of Delta,” said Gerald Grinstein, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer.

Oh ok, GG said it. It must be true, I forgot.

Must be another example of Harvard Airline Management 101

Launch a carrier that is not part of the mainline carrier, wake up and find out that good customer service works, then incorporate that new idea back into mainline and shut down the smaller carrier

yeah, that is cost effective

oh wait, DAL is Ch.11 because of high oil and its all Bush's fault

 

[Cadillac]

Wow! It's amazing what you can do in bankruptcy. How are they going to get the money to pay for this. . . . . . . *cough* PENSIONS! *cough cough* PAYCUTS! *hack* *cough* man, flu season is coming on early.

 

[satpak77]

uh...ok

Actually, DAL will be increasing Song service by doubling the fleet to over 100 Song equipped 757s in the next 2 years. What DAL is doing is incorporating a winning product into its mainline.

When you create a test bed entity like Song and it works, it only makes sense to incorporate it in your mainline.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/1005/29bizsong.html

Song sung blue: Delta scraps its low-fare unit

By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/29/05
Delta Air Lines is cutting off its Song in mid-verse.
The ailing airline on Friday said it will scuttle the 2-year-old, low-fare unit that flew under the odd but attention-getting name Song and used white jets covered with lime green swooshes.

But some of the offshoot's accoutrements — namely video screens with live television, games and music lists at each seat — will survive and spread to more Delta flights. The airline said it will keep the TV systems in those jets and add them to about 50 others over the next two years for domestic flights of more than 1,750 miles.
"While Song aircraft will no longer be externally identifiable, Delta intends to gradually raise the in-flight entertainment bar," said industry analyst Jamie Baker of JP Morgan.
Baker said the move shows big airlines are realizing passengers may want the same entertainment options they have elsewhere, rather than being limited to "the latest Adam Sandler movie."

First class re-installed
Song, which flies mainly from New York and has little Atlanta presence, will cease flying next spring and the planes will be repainted in Delta colors, the airline said. Its 48 jets will be used on more long-range domestic flying from Atlanta, New York and other cities.
Delta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September and is retooling route strategies as part of its turnaround plan.
Meantime, Delta will re-install first-class sections in Song's Boeing 757s, a concession that the unit's all-coach concept puts off business travelers who pay higher fares. Song's planes currently fly between New York and Florida and other leisure markets. Delta executives said they concluded that, to draw a better mix of fares, the carrier needs to boost the number of first-class seats it offers, particularly in New York, and to upgrade its coach service.
Delta never broke out financial results for Song, but on Friday said it plans to use the aircraft on "more profitable flying." It also said re-absorbing the unit will aid its recovery effort by simplifying operations.
Song's demise will cap a decade-old effort by Delta to run an all-coach "airline-within-an-airline" to serve high-volume routes that bypass hubs. It began with Delta Express, which debuted in 1996 and flew between Florida and the Northeast and Midwest.
The idea was to create a unit with lower costs that better match the fare mix on heavily leisure routes. Other big airlines tried similar units in the 1990s, most of them folding back into the main airline.
Song, which debuted in 2003, was essentially a high-concept version of the same idea, with bigger planes, a broader route system, better in-flight perks and a hip marketing angle. It was aimed in part at blunting the challenge of New York-based JetBlue, which has succeeded with a cheap chic image and low fares.
Some of Song's features, such as leather coach seats, simplified fares and quick turnaround times at airports, are already being adopted more broadly by Delta as it tries to recover from a five-year slump. "As Delta continues its transformation to become a more customer-focused airline, we are incorporating the best of Song into the best of Delta," said Delta Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein.

CEO was skeptical
Song was launched under the management regime of Grinstein's predecessor, Leo Mullin. Grinstein has said he was skeptical from the start, wondering if it should be called "Swan Song." But the Song unit survived in a 2004 turnaround plan and added planes and routes.
One of Song's more noticeable features is video screens at each seat, offering 24-channel live television, 10 on-demand video channels, games and MP3 song playlists.
Delta didn't say how much it will cost to add the systems to more jets. It spent $65 million on reconfiguring jets and other costs when it launched Song. Delta's Boeing 777s, used mainly on international routes, already have seat-back video screens in coach but its other non-Song planes do not.
Bankruptcy proceedings do not prevent airlines from spending on strategic upgrades or changes, although executives typically consult with creditors before launching such moves.
Joanne Smith, currently president of Song, becomes vice president of consumer marketing for Delta, effective immediately, the airline said.

_____________________ END OF ARTICLE ____________________________


bye bye Song and the failed concept