Don’t pass up this Delta promotion if you’re a Silver Medallion Member:
- Fly six qualifying Delta segments* anytime between April 1 and June 30, 2011, and you’ll receive double flown miles. (That’s just three nonstop round-trip flights.)
- Then fly and enjoy a 75% mileage bonus on all
- Delta marketed/operated flights flown July 1 through December 31, 2011.
- As a Silver Medallion®, you already earn a 25% mileage bonus. Add that to the 75% mileage bonus and you’ll be earning a total bonus of 100%. That’s double flown miles on all paid Delta flights for six months.
- For this one-time bonus, register today and fly between April 1 and
- June 30, 2011.
Delta Airlines recently posted a blog article outlining their new baggage tracking technology. Here’s an update of their new changes in their words:
- Proactive notifications if your bag doesn’t travel with you. All you have to do is sign up for Last Minute Updates on delta.com or subscribe to have your contact info included in your reservation. We will text or email you if your bags don’t travel with you.
- Checked baggage tracking on delta.com. Now every checked bag has visibility if you wish to track its journey. For example, you’ll be able to see that your bags have been loaded off an aircraft.
- Self-service baggage kiosks in 18 of our busiest airports by year’s end. These look just like our check-in kiosks but they are near our airport baggage service offices and bag carrousels. You can use the kiosk to view a bag’s status, check which carousel bags will arrive on and file a delayed bag claim if necessary.
- All-online delayed bag claim process. Goodbye paper-based manual process. Hello easier, faster online process directly at delta.com!
- Rebates for bags delayed beyond 12 hours. For the rare occurrence when a bag is delayed more than 12 hours, you can apply on delta.com for a transportation credit voucher rebate for $25 for one bag or $50 for two bags.
Kodus to Delta Airlines for proactively addressing one of the biggest frustrations of flying.
This isn’t exactly recent news but worth calling out because I think it’s good for frequent fliers. Delta sent the following email to a co-worker:
The co-worker had this to say:
“Basically, I had 70,406 MQM (qualifying miles for status) in 2009, which qualified me for Gold status (50k) but short of Platinum (75k). To ensure the 20,406 MQM I had above and beyond Gold status weren’t wasted, they rolled the miles over to give me a head start for my 2010 status.”
That’s pretty sweet, anyway you spin it. Nice job, Delta.
Fellow road warrior, *josh*, received the following email from Delta, introducing a new status level above the current Platinum level:
As Delta and Northwest Airlines® merge into one airline, we are committed to delivering the best-in-class loyalty program in the industry. Over the next nine months, not only will we roll out an improved SkyMiles Medallion® program that retains all of the features of the existing program, but we will also introduce new features that no other airline offers.
We heard you loud and clear and have retained all of the Medallion benefits you have asked for, and made the Systemwide Upgrade Certificates redeemable on the day of departure. As a Medallion, you will continue to be offered:
- Unlimited complimentary upgrades
- The ability to earn one elite qualifying mile per mile flown regardless of booking channel
- A 100% mileage bonus
- Preferred security access, priority boarding and seating, and waived checked baggage fees for everyone in your itinerary
- A 500-mile minimum on all flights for all customers
- No co-pays on any mileage upgrades
In addition, we will roll out new industry-leading benefits for our very best and most valuable customers like you, including:
- A new Diamond Medallion tier - for those who earn 125,000 MQMs or 140 segments in a calendar year - that will provide the richest set of benefits of any airline, including a complimentary Delta Sky Club™ membership, an industry-leading 125% mileage bonus, and waivers for all Award and baggage fees. Should you achieve the Diamond threshold during 2009, you will be recognized as a Diamond Medallion when the program launches in early 2010
- "Rollover MQMs" - an industry-first that allows you to now roll over any Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) above a Medallion threshold. For example, if you earn 150,000 MQMs this year - 25,000 MQMs higher than the Diamond Medallion requirement - those 25,000 MQMs will automatically roll over and count toward your 2010 MQM balance
- Choice Benefits - you will be able to choose from a selection of benefits to suit your needs, including new Systemwide Upgrade Certificates now redeemable on the day of departure, bonus miles, the ability to gift Medallion status and Delta Sky Club One-Day passes
- Unlimited complimentary upgrades on Award Tickets
- Waived direct ticketing charges when purchasing tickets or Award Tickets via our reservation or airport agents
This is a classic business school marketing strategy, whereby a new “premium” product is used differentiate without competing directly on price (or in this case, points). As josh noted in his email to me, it will be interesting to see if other airlines follow this strategy as this new level clearly provides benefits not available at the highest status level for other airlines.
From Delta’s promotion page:
“Have you made your birthday wish yet? Because it’s time to pack your bags and celebrate. As our birthday gift to you, you’ll receive double miles when you register and book a round-trip flight on Delta between now and April 30, 2009 and fly by May 31, 2009”
From Delta’s promotion page:
Earn up to triple miles for elite status on every Delta and Northwest flight you book and fly between March 23 and June 15, 2009.
Register now for this limited-time offer. Then start racking up the miles toward Medallion qualification status, which enables you to enjoy exclusive perks like complimentary upgrades, priority boarding, mileage bonuses, preferred seating and Crown Room Club discounts.
Don’t let this great opportunity pass you by. Enroll today if you’re not already a SkyMiles member. It’s fast and free.
Here’s how it works:
Members purchasing premium fares (J, C, D, S, I, F, A, Y, B, M on Delta) will earn triple flown miles toward Medallion qualification status. Members purchasing discounted Economy fares (H, Q, K on Delta) will earn double flown miles toward Medallion qualification status and members purchasing deeply discounted fares (L, U, T on Delta) will earn the actual flown miles toward Medallion qualification status for all flights purchased and flown between March 23 and June 15, 2009.
I think we can safely say (most) airlines are lacking in the customer service department. If it were a contest, I’d give Southwest first place but let’s be honest, the competition isn’t very tough. I think as travelers we’ve grown pretty used to mediocre treatment at best and assumed rude and impersonal interactions have become status quo. Josh just sent me the following email he received after been dropped into the middle although he had Gold Medallion status with Delta:
Dear Mr. Josh,
Monday’s are tough, and we’re sorry yours may have been less comfortable when you ended up stuck in the middle seat.
While we strive to give our most loyal customers our best seats, unfortunately that’s not always possible. To thank you for your flexibility and understanding, we’ve credited 500 miles to your SkyMiles® account.
It’s just one of the ways we’re expressing our appreciation for your loyalty to the SkyMiles program. And we’ll continue to take care of you—from booking to baggage claim and everywhere in between.
So thanks again. Next time, we hope to see you in First.
Josh’s comment: “Though miles aren’t worth what they used to be, it’s a smart move to recognize the opportunities where the customer experience was not optimal and do something about it.”
I agree – 500 miles aren’t very much but recognizing your best customers even if it’s the equivalence of a handshake and an apology trumps the typical experience we’re used to receiving. Keep it up, Delta.
From their website:
"Rediscover what you love about Delta—and get a special gift of 1,000 bonus miles. Register today, then book your round-trip ticket and fly by November 15, 2008."
Plus, if you book at delta.com you’ll earn an additional 500 bonus miles. You’ll always find our best fares at delta.com—guaranteed—and you’ll also enjoy:
- Easy and flexible search options for flights
- Zero booking fees (that’s up to a $25 savings)
- Fast online check-in
Earning up to 1,500 bonus miles will get you closer to an Award Ticket. We’ve added new nonstop international destinations to choose from:
- Atlanta (ATL)—London (LHR)
- Atlanta (ATL)—Shanghai (PVG)
- Atlanta (ATL)—Stockholm (ARN)
- New York (JFK)—Cairo (CAI)
- New York (JFK)—Cape Town (CPT)
- New York (JFK)—Dakar (DKR)
- New York (JFK)—London (LHR)
- New York (JFK)—Lyon (LYS)
- New York (JFK)—Malaga (AGP)
Delta Airlines is seriously out of touch with their best customers. 1000 bonus miles is a "special gift" ? With the fees and usage limitations on frequent flyer miles, 1000 bonus points is not much of an incentive to fly Delta Airlines.
I hate to make this into an "us" (frequent flier) versus "them" (airlines) but the airlines are making it very difficult for their best customers. The airlines would do well to take a few lessons on improving the customer experience and building customer loyalty. A frequent flyer program is not the answer to building customer loyalty and these days it highlights just how little they care about customer loyalty.
This Fortune Magazine article describes how one flyer, Mitchell Berns, had his original non-stop Delta flight canceled "due to weather" and found himself booked on another flight, with connections, for the next morning. After checking the National Weather Service, he discovered snow was forecast for 5am the next morning, hours after his flight was supposed to land. Other airlines were still scheduled to fly, but Delta refused to give him a refund so he could purchase a ticket on another airline. He paid for a JetBlue flight out of his own pocket and landed at his destination without incident.
Back at home, he filed a small-claims suit ($15 in NY) against Delta for the price of the JetBlue ticket and won when Delta failed to show up in court. Delta offered frequent-flier miles (yeah, right) and then attempted to negotiate a confidentiality agreement (I can see why Delta wouldn’t want this story to be picked up in the press). Berns counter-offered with $100 off if Delta paid within 2 weeks OR the confidentiality agreement - not both. Surprisingly (or not), Delta took the $100 off the original JetBlue ticket.
"The lesson is, Don’t let them bully you with bogus cancellations," says Berns. The whole thing took him about four hours, he recalls, resulting in earnings of less than half his hourly billing rate. "But I’d do it again," he says. "That’s how good it felt."
It’s always a good thing to stay positive, but don’t let the airlines take advantage of you, the customer.
Continental: Responds to Delta & Northwest Merger
More merger news, this time directly from Continental. Interestingly, they started their own website to provide their perspective on the current airline industry consolidation.
Statement from Continental’s website:
As we’ve said repeatedly for more than a year and a half, our preference has been to remain independent as long as the competitive landscape remained the same. However, the landscape is changing. We will review our strategic alternatives and make sure we remain a strong long-term competitor. As always, our goal is to do what is best for our co-workers, shareholders, customers and communities we serve.
Translation: We will be consolidating in the near future.
The Wall Street Journal has an article on what airline consolidation means for fliers such as yourself. The title, “What’s in a Merger? For Fliers, Not Much” may be enough of a summary, but feel free to check out the article for the details. I’ve included a few choice quotes for additional context.
A few choice quotes from the WSJ article:
The history of airline combinations shows that travelers face a couple of years of more frequent missed connections, vanished reservations and lost baggage, flight delays and unhappy employees. Equally daunting for the companies themselves, many airlines have ended up losing the assets they bought.
Hubs and routes that were able to generate profits before the merger typically survive, and air service that struggled to make money before a merger often disappears after a merger.
New contracts for employees can push costs higher. Different types of airplanes drive expenses up by requiring more spare parts, more training for pilots and mechanics, and refitting of cabins and cockpits, for example.
…airlines already share passengers and, in the case of alliance partners, already price and sell their product as if they were the same airline. That’s true in the case of Delta and Northwest; they’ve already merged their flight schedules as SkyTeam partners. Generating new revenue may be tough.
At the same time, history has shown that competitors can take away customers of the merged airlines when their flights run late or labor groups stage protests. Another pitfall: Losing alliance partners. Continental Airlines Inc. is currently partnered with Delta and Northwest, but could well enter into its own merger feeling the need to get bigger. That could result in the Delta-Northwest combination losing substantial presence in New York and Houston, two of the four biggest cities in the country.
Doesn’t look great for the frequent flyer, but with oil prices chasing $100 dollars a barrel and the current economic situation - what choice do they have?