MilesBuzz! - DELTA CHARGES FOR ELECTRONIC TICKETING! WHY?

The Delta medallion line and my travel
agent have confirmed that Delta Airlines
effective January 11, 1999 will be
charging a "surcharge" of $2.00 per R/T
ticket($1.00 per segment) for ALL tickets
bought over the phone directly with them
or at airport locations and local ticket
offices and ALL travel agencies. This
includes both paper and electronic
tickets. The only exception is ticket
purchases via there web sight. No charge
for internet purchases. I wonder who will
be the next player? ... American,United,
Northwest? Only time will tell.
ANY comments or concerns?
Mike

[This message has been edited by MIKE MAHONEY (edited 01-16-99).]

Delta has never been my favourite airline, and they are definitely not getting my business this way! What happens to people who do not have internet access, or don't know how to use it? Not a very customer focused decision, if you ask me... I hope that UA and the others don't follow...

This is all part of the overall plan to reduce distribution costs for the airlines. Same answer for capping travel agents' commissions.

The fact is that if you purchase directly from them as opposed to from a travel agency, they don't have to pay CRS fees and they don't have to pay ARC fees for payment settlements.

Others will follow VERY soon --

Also expect at some point in late 1Q or early 2Q for there to be a surcharge on all airlines for having a paper ticket...

IMHO

Dutchboy has a good point that although Internet is the hottest thing, many still do not have access or do not wish to use it. Hopefully, there will be such a consumer backlash against Delta that it will reverse it's course.

Djlawman, if all other airline follow, does this add fuel to the argument of anti-trust violation among the airlines?

My opinion is that Delta will quietly withdraw this additional fee very soon. As the travel agents no longer are friends with the airlines, they will be sure to point out to their clients that it cost slightly more to fly DL. Think about it...if a travel agent has a corporate client that purchases thousands of tickets every year or a travel planner with a major corporation, every little savings adds up and they will shy away from DL.

There's an excellent opinion article by Joe Brancatelli's "The Brancatelli File" on www.biztravel.com regarding Delta's $2 surcharge. The URL is way too long to post, but go to the main page and click on "The Brancatelli File". As dey say in Noo Yawk (of which I'm a native)... go cheggidout! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I dropped a travel agent because they started charging when I used them. I've used Delta internet a couple of time, but I'll stop using them, too, when they start charging. I still have a travel agent that pays me, in stead of charging me, when I use them. They aren't the most efficient, but they're OK, and I'll kep using them for a while, at least.

I think Delta's move sucks and I will be flying them even less than the three or four trips a year I currently make with them. If you figure there's two methods to get people to use the Web for booking tickets, the carrot or the stick, it's obvious which approach they have chosen. Other airlines are (for the moment) awarding miles to encourage use of the net.

I will also be interested to see how they deal with coupons or other discounts. Currently, there is no way to use a $25-off coupon on Delta's site -- one must use a travel agent or Delta office. Therefore, are such discounts now $23-off coupons? If the fabulous airline settlement coupons of a few years ago were still around, what would they have done with those?

the answer to the question is simple. because Delta is a bunch of paper .......s. first they screwed their travel aagents who were by far their strongest selling conduit. now they can unload on the 70% of their customer base that doesn't use the internet. don't know about you folks, but I almost always get a lower fare than the one the website produces when I talk to a live body. the machine is just too inflexible.

Just off the wire. Delta is rolling back the non-internet surcharge today.

Excellent! Thanks NJDAVID.

NJDavid, you beat me to it...it just came in my e-mail, stated "The people spoke and Delta listened". "For competitive reasons" as well. Go figure http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Delta made MileageAddict look like Nostrodomous!!!!

SWEEEEEEET! Now that goes to prove to Delta not to mess around with FFs (and others) armed with the proverbial 2 x 4. (Remember... first you gotta get their attention... that's what baseball bats and 2 x 4's are made for! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif )

That move (the now-rescinded $2 surcharge on tickets) sure got the attention of the traveling public... and they were beginning to vote with their feet!

If anyone wants to read more about Delta's decision to cancel the surcharge, point your browser to this URL:
http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/all/9901273delta

[This message has been edited by KatW (edited 01-28-99).]

Matt,

Yes...I can predict the future! I see you earning 119,423 miles this year....receiving unexpected bonus miles....eating mustard pretzels....

Here is my prediction for 1999....

Northwest will make a bid for Alaska Airlines.

Hmmm, MA, is that actual miles or total miles? (and hows that for the kind of question you'd only see on this site!!)

If its the former, then my marriage is going to be in BIG trouble!!!

Delta has found a new way to make the money back. Reducing meals (from CNN):

"Beginning Thursday, Delta Air Lines is taking the sandwich out of the SkyDeli food bags it gives passengers on 140 flights, replacing them with crackers and cheese or carrots and dip, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.
The SkyDeli bags are given to coach passengers as they board flights at certain times of day. First-class passengers also will be affected: Atlanta-based Delta is scaling down from full meals to snacks in first class on 80 flights and from snacks to beverages on another 160 flights, the newspaper reported.

The food service cutbacks are expected to save $14 million annually for the airline that made a $1 billion profit in 1998. "

I've already read this, and maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer carrots and dip or crackers and cheese to the terrible sandwiches that come in the SkyDeli flights now!

NJ David beat me to the posting! (Was going to do it on the Delta thread.)

I think I'd prefer celery or Carrots and Dip.
I've always wondered how long the meat in those deli carts was in there. CATMAN

I agree that the skydeli sandwiches are miserable (its yet another reason I try to avoid delta) but lets not miss the point:

The Domestic airlines are once again scaling back services. If delta wants to be southwest, then rip out the darn first class and be southwest. To pay for (or be upgraded to) 1st class only to receive a beverage on a 1.5 hour flight is NOT service. And as our Eurpoean friends (constantly) remind us, it is unacceptable in other parts of the world, and so it should be to us.

The airlines KNOW how to provide service, and they even do it on certain routes, but I'm afraid we're not going to be seeing very much of it anymore unless is's trans-oceanic or on a highly competetive route...

Please also note that Delta is taking this "cost cutting measure" at a time of unprecedented profits for the company...

Ok, soapbox being put away!

My lips are sealed.

So are mine, especially when it comes to opening them for a Sky Deli sandwich.