You’ve certainly become a bit of a household name, and face, via your folksy thank you videos that all Delta passengers are familiar with by now. And kudos on trying to make the process of “inserting the metal flap into the belt buckle” more entertaining. Love the triplet scenario in the emergency exit row.
Videos aside, you’re doing a nice job running Delta, you and all your colleagues. I find Delta service to be generally excellent, upbeat, and folks from the counter to the cockpit strive to please. Some of the planes are pretty old, but you’re making strides. A bunch of the airports are much nicer of late. (The iPads at LaGuardia are fun.)
I’m just like all the other legions of folks who daily drag their fatigued buttocks down jetways and onto your planes. (I was going to say sorry asses, but that has a judgmental quality to it, and I shouldn’t extend that descriptor to others. Their posteriors might well be thankful, happy ones.) The only difference that might accrue to me is that I tend to do it more frequently than most. I’ve flown over 1.9 million miles on your airplanesÂ
I’m a freelance photographer, and have been sent many places on this earth where your planes happen to go. Even though I fly a lot, do a lot of business with Delta, I realize that as a tiny operation my studio matters not to a huge enterprise like yours. I am an economic flyspeck in the big picture of things. But, there are a lot of us flyspecks out there, on your planes. And it’s been this two way street of you running a good airline, and us coming back for more, that has gotten Delta to a very good and happy place, right? Near record profits. Gas prices are falling. (Though, somehow, airline ticket prices are rising.) Planes are constantly full. Reasonably priced tickets are generally non-refundable.
(How many businesses, outside of Uncle Stevie’s on Canal St. in NY, back in the day, can get away with basically an all sales are final motif?)
Most of us pound a certain airline (hence the loyalty factor) to accumulate miles. When my kids were young, I called my Delta miles “Mickey Miles” so I could get the kids down to Florida and wait with them on the line for Dumbo. And you do give back for the loyalty. I’m a non-stop coach flyer, only occasionally springing for the moola to do an up front seat. And the upgrades I get pretty frequently are very welcome. My arthritic knees would be happy to send you chocolates.
But those biz class seats are becoming like a mirage, fading in the distance, ever receding, certainly in terms of buying them. I just booked my wife and I for a NY to London, part work/part vacation trip later this year. Coach seats went for $960, roughly, which is fair enough. Just for giggles, I asked the agent to price biz class tix. $7700! Gouge! I mean ouch! Even the Delta person on the other end of the phone choked on that one. For the NY to London to NY route, that computes to more than $500 an hour in the air. That better be a pretty comfy seat! Honestly, if I paid that kind of hourly rate for a fancy, motorized chair, I’d expect it to be more than comfortable. I’d expect it to, you know, do something for me. I won’t go further.
And now the frequent flyer, mileage program is going to be pitched not on miles flown, but on price paid. Sigh. There will be new quotas to adhere to, and an increasingly high bar to gain any measure of decent treatment and comfort, none of it based on loyalty, frequency of travel, or miles flown. It’s all based on price. My bud and fellow long time traveler David Burnett, on his Facebook page, just quoted a letter Delta Platinum Flyers recently got that evidently said something to the effect of, if everyone’s elite, no one is. Does Delta really mean to become an airborne country club?
Here’s what should have happened. It should have been offered, this new plan. Not required. Those at the beginning of their lifelong journeys, new to the ways of the traveler, well, okay, I can see why they might have to sign onto this new style of program. Virtually every company in America offers incoming, new employees a different deal than those who joined the enterprise thirty years ago, if there are any of those folks still around the hallways.
Those who have stuck with you, through the bad old days, through the mayhem of the Northwest merger, through the winds and weather of travel, should have been offered a choice. Stick with the program you know and love, or opt for the new one. Some folks, whose type of business might be able to afford higher fares, just might leap at the chance to capitalize on their expenditure, and go for the new gig. The rest of us, beleaguered and unattractive as we might be, have been quite a sizable spark plug of your currently revved up economic engine for quite a while. We should have been offered a tip of the hat.
We should be given a choice. Options. Acknowledgement. Fairness. We don’t deserve to be thrown under the bus, or in this instance, into the baggage hold.
I’m sure, sir, you’ve heard of the old expression, “Ya gotta dance with the one who brung ya!” And your long time loyal flyers would definitely be the ones who brought you to this current, festive party Delta is enjoying. Sticking with us would be the way, Mr. Anderson, of showing the frequent Delta customer that you do, as you say in your down home, aw shucks video, “always have your back.”
Friends of the blog, feel free to bat this blog around the internet, and by all means, if you fly the all of sudden very expensive Delta skies, give them a call, write them a note.
More tk…..
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just another example of disregarding the consumer, without whom businesses would not exist. From interaction from front line employees, to the actual value of goods and services received the consumer, more often than not, experiences a negative rather than a positive. Yes, airline “miles” are perks that reward frequent travel, but now it seems “miles” don’t matter, nor does the time spent waiting for connections, for delayed flights, for missing flights. I wonder if the USA actually embraced rail travel (which actually was a great catalyst for this country’s growth) where would the service level of airlines be today? I wonder how many people would ditch the real hassle of air travel and jump on a train (given that they actually ran on time and were expedient)
You know now you can only move 250k miles from your CC company to Delta now as well. Huge crazy change. Relly is unacceptable and they were doing so good.
I pretty much agree with everything you wrote, and it’s annoying that the wealthiest people always get perks that they need the least, but… welcome to life, right?
It’s pretty clear what’s going on here. Delta (and United and other airlines that have also shifted to this new model) are going after business travelers with their milage programs, which if you’ll recall all those years back is who the airline mileage programs were created to entice. (Sure enough, a business class ticket on that JFK to LAX flight would earn over 2X the miles under the new program.) Doesn’t make this change any easier to accept of course.
Funny thing is, many businesses these days don’t let most employees travel business class (it tends to be ok’d only for senior management) and many freelance or small business owners don’t have the spare coin to toss around for a seat that doesn’t hurt.
But as you’ve already figured out, Delta doesn’t really care. Not about you, your money, or your ideas. They don’t care to “dance with the one who brung ya” because… well, they want to go home in a Rolls, not a jalopy.
With all that said, it’s possible your post will get some traction and they’ll take special care of you. All your years of hard work and the incredible reputation you have can sometimes have that effect. If they do, I hope you’ll remember what wrote and think of your legions of fans and followers (you know, the ones who sort of brought you! hehe) and publicly share and shame Delta for any efforts to bribe you. Then turn them down.
As someone who has racked up miles through their credit card programs, I am also dissapointed in their changes. From where I am living, I cannot even use these miles for shopping. I used to. I can just use the miles for travel. A non-stop from Tokyo to Newark does not exist – something that existed with Northwest. A layover in Detroit? Hmmmm.
Sadly, I am looking at alternatvies. I feel for you that you invested so much.
Here is hoping that they will change. Soon.
Bill
Mr Joe,
Totally agree with you. As an ad photographer the last 20 years I demanded to be flown on Delta and built up a platinum card and a ton of miles but sadly my loyalty is coming to an end. I can’t imagine they have thought this through or at least longer than next quarters financial report. As a small business owner loyalty and repeat business is the backbone of my success, I can’t imagine getting so big where that didn’t matter.
I’m sure I’ll see you Mr Anderson but not as much as I use to.
you gotta hashtag that tweet so it lands at delta
I have 1.5 million miles on American Airlines. it’s the same thing only the names have been changed. it’s not the aircrews or the gate people that are the problem.
Switch to Air Canafa…..in fact move to Canada….we Canucks love Joe 🙂
Looking forward to Delta’s response. When they unveiled the new strategy last year their reply to my feedback was even more alienating than the original release. If the goal is to “provide a more elite experience” as was stated, I have no problem with more perks for individuals who log 150,000 miles each year. But don’t push aside those of us in the middle tier. We’ve been loyal Delta travelers for decades but now it’s time to start shopping around.
Mr. Anderson and the brain trust at Delta is about to find out if their business model and accompanying pricing, as the economists would call it, is elastic or inelastic. All of this reminds me of an expression an old pilot shared with me some time ago about “flying a plane right into the ground” by having a death grip on the stick.
Good luck to Delta while we shop around on the internet for alternative carriers.
Just another example of the dividends per share, and increase in price per share, ruling rather than the old axiom of “The customer is always right.” Products and services are getting ridiculously expensive, while the quality of both are going in the opposite direction. A perfect example of this is my wife went to the supermarket the other day to purchase her preferred bottle of apple juice, which used to come in a large bottle. However, now it is in a bottle that contains approximately 50% the amount of juice; but priced at 70% of the larger bottle. Now it requires the purchase of two bottles in order to have approximately the same amount of juice as in the old bottle, but at a 140% cost of the old bottle.
This may be the final straw. I’m a 2 million miler with Delta and have been Platinum for many, many years. The last round of cuts in perks will land me in a lower tier of Gold this year. Yeah, okay I didn’t travel as much this year, which is okay by my family. But, the latest letter has put me over the edge. I’m moving to Phoenix and jumping to Southwest. Goodbye Delta, I doubt you’ll know I’m gone.
Great letter, Joe. You are voicing all of our frustrations with Delta, USAir, United and the others in the “too big for our britches” category. Reminds me of the 900 lb. gorila joke. Case in point: 2 coach tickets on Delta, Memphis to Las Vegas priced at $1,800 and required 2 plane changes. USAir was $1790 with one change. Southwest was $800 with one change. Many years of Delta loyalty aside, guess who we will be flying with? I am also a non-stop coach traveler, but these are becoming rare.
Right on, Joe. I’m a United guy and have been for years, am a Million Miler, etc. My experience and loyalty pretty much mirrors yours. And, since United has done the same thing with its program, I congratulate you for expressing so well an unfortunate turn of events.
Indeed. While I’ve flown about half the miles you have with Delta, that is still around a million miles with them and I’ve really been disappointed with the latest turn of events. In addition, Delta restricted the number of guests you could take with you into the Sky Club based on the Delta Reserve card to zero… nada. Zilch. So, when my wife and I fly anything but 1st class, I can not take her in as a guest.
I just don’t know… travel is already a headache and while I’ve been a loyal Delta customer for years who have been very happy with the company and their commitment to customer service for the last few years, this is not helping me want to spend any more of my time sitting on a Delta plane. Other airlines are hungrier for customers than Delta recently it seems. Virgin is quite nice and if flying anywhere in Asia or the Pacific, any number of airlines there have epically good food, big seats and excellent service. Korean Air, Singapore Air, New Zealand Air, Emirates…
If the change also uses price to determine FF status there are going to be a lot of folks taking a look at other airlines. Most little guys just barely make the level they want now. They will go elsewhere. Perhaps Delta will become the JC Penny of the airline world?
Joe,
Yup customer service and appreciation is dead, how much money can we suck out of the customer is the new normal. And yet if you take care of the customer and appreciate them the money will follow. Think about that all you MBA types making these stupid business decisions.
I’m a 1 million + miler, 1K a year on United and switched to Delta because after the United / Continental merger that airline went right in the toilet as far as service and giving a rats ass about the customer. Now I, like you, am unimpressed with Delta’s new program.
I’ve sent links to your blog around the internet to my 100+ suffering colleagues and they will no doubt send it on to their pals too. Pretty soon Mr. Anderson the, “they’ll tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends” will result in tens of thousands of friends all knowing that actions speak louder than words. You have our back all right and I’m not happy about what you are thinking of doing back there.
The average airline makes less than $5.00 profit per ticket. So based on the prices you quoted for your flight to London, Delta probably made about a dollar off of you.
It’s not a service issue it’s a math problem.
Also have you been to the grocery store lately, all prices are going up.
Well said Joe. No other industry could get away with what the airlines do. The more I travel the less valued I feel as a customer, and I fly over .5 million miles a year on average.
I flew Delta for the first time in a very long time recently. It was an overall good flying experience, but appalling customer service on the phone and inflexibility with some tickets means it will be a very long time before I fly with them again.
Maybe I’ll write to them, but like you I wonder just how much difference this flyspeck can make.
Chris
Hi Joe,
Great post! Are they by chance lowering the miles required to redeem free trips? That would be the only consolation. What a crappy deal otherwise. You score a cheap flight to TX from NYC, great, lots of miles. Oh wait…not anymore since you paid a smaller fee.
Really sticking it to us huh?
I am not a big traveler but I can see how this would really suck.
Heading to the Twin Cities on Sunday on Airtran. My light stand bag/clothing checked luggage comes with the fare. You are so right Joe.
Great letter, Joe!!
I feel the same!
Joe,
An eloquent and respectful view on the state of Delta. Their’s is the case with so many businesses these days — especially the publicly-traded ones. I go back to the days of Northwest and watched as the gyrations of decision-making along the line of management levels often defied any sense of what makes any business work in the long-term: its customers.
There aren’t a lot of choices anymore and those that there are really aren’t choices (e.g., the cattle car lines at Southwest), but just lesser evils.
I recently traveled to and from Europe on Delta and the overall experience was on par with today’s expectations of air travel…no more, no less. I enjoyed the fun safety video, but the part with Richard A. was hard to watch. A folksy dude in nice duds telling us what he thinks we want to hear, not what really happens. If he’s got our backs, it’s time to wire up for a body camera on the back of my cap. Sigh.
Not flyin’ much anymore — retired now. I’ll try to use the miles I have left somehow, but I bet it won’t be easy or fair (fair being in the eye of the beholder, of course). And I hope you get a reply from Delta, but if I were you, I’d save the reply on one side of the paper so you can use the other side for some other print job. At least that way, you’ll get some value from the paper.
P.S. — LOVE your work and your willingness to work with us who are much less gifted. You are the best!
Now you know how I felt when Adobe went to a subscription only service. “We should be given a choice. Options.”
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Think of all the airlines that have disappeared since the deregulation era began: Braniff, PanAm, Eastern, TWA, Continental, Piedmont, Western, AirTran, Republic, Ozark, Northwest… Now we’re down to four that cooperate more than they compete (watch as fares go up and down in lockstep), and if you are unlucky enough to be traveling out of a hub airport, your choices are very, very limited.
I recently was on vacation in France–flew over on Air France, came back on Delta. A lovely trip over, an unspeakably miserable experience returning. The Delta aircraft was dirty, the air conditioning wasn’t working correctly, the service was at best brusque, the beverage service was running out of pretty much everything by the time the flight was half-over; and they just didn’t care.
They act as if they have a captive market, and pretty much they do. Expect things to get worse.
Hi Joe,
I must say that I’m happy to be living in Australia so I don’t have to fly US carriers which are quite woeful in general when compared to the likes of Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Etihad. Delta seems to be the best of the worst I suppose but it seems to be racing to the bottom. Just goes to show that being bigger is certainly not better.
Good luck and I hope your voice is heard.
High Speed Rail!
did J tell you the story of how Delta totally screwed up his return from NYC while he had a significant contract with them sitting on his desk? as soon as he was air born on the next flight out, the pilot came out to check on him. when they arrived, a customer service rep came on to escort him off. people thought he was a celeb or something. sheesh.
But he is a celeb!
Joe, United is doing the same thing starting in November. Going to a redeem for actual cash value system which amounts to about 2% cash back. I use Capital One now and wipe out travel expenses which again amounts to about 2% cash back.
Joe, I’ve been flying Delta as an economy passenger between Dubai and Phoenix twice yearly since moving to Dubai in late 2008. I also fly their partners KLM and Air France throughout Europe earning Gold Medallion status each year. Currently between Dubai and Phoenix I earn 36,000+ base miles and 18,000+ miles toward status. Beginning in 2015 that same flight plan will earn 15,000+ base miles, a difference of 21,000+ base miles compared to the current award plan. The number of miles towards status will remain at 18,000+ miles. During this same time period the lowest economy fare has increased from approx. $900 to more than $1600. This new plan takes from the poor and gives to the rich.
Joe… I think I am feeling a lot less elite than I did for the last couple of years (my Platinum level swapped for Cardboard). What intrigues me about the new ethos in business is that with the upending of the old rules (not just in airline travel but virtually everywhere,) things become more and more concentrated on the top few %, as if it were the Politburo of 1958 on top, and everyone else underneath struggling to dig potatoes out of the ground. The sad thing is that none of us will even hear a whimper back from those mad-cap, ultra-intelligent MBA’s who thought this was the new and groovy standard.
A bit late to the comment party, but read this blog, began reading the comments and was reminded of a comment Warren Buffett made in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 2008.
“The worst sort of business is one that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to engender the growth, and then earns little or no money. Think airlines. Here a durable competitive advantage has proven elusive ever since the days of the Wright Brothers. Indeed, if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down.”
Since repatriating from Japan I am glad to say that I have flown less frequently, but I have watched with interest and frequent irritation as the industry continues to “bite the hands that feed it”. When the industry began charging for checked baggage the uproar was similar, but we have become conditioned to bad treatment because our options limited. In the not too distant future the new model will become the norm and most of us will forget how peeved we are at this moment.