leiterk
Dec 26, 02, 4:25 pm
This seems like a Continental-like "enhancement". It looks like a duck, it talks like a duck, but call it an "enhancement". Since United backed off on the $100 change fee for standby and other airlines had to swallow the news and follow, what Delta is doing is trying to get more money out of the situation and take away the flexibility.
Release Follows:
Delta Air Lines Introduces Industry-Leading New Product $25 Fee to Confirm on Different Flight
ATLANTA, Dec. 26, 2002 -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gifAL) today announced that it will offer an industry-leading new product, giving customers flexibility and certainty in changing their travel plans, effective Mar. 1, 2003.
Delta will offer customers traveling on most restricted fares the opportunity to confirm travel for different flights, including connecting flights, on the same day of their originally ticketed flight. Customers may request to be confirmed on a different flight, within three hours of that flight’s departure, by paying a $25 fee if seats are available. For customers traveling on connecting itineraries, Delta will confirm both the originating as well as the connecting flights for a total of $25, if seats are available on all flights. The $25 fee will be waived for SkyMiles Platinum and Gold Medallion® members.
With the introduction of this new product, Delta will no longer offer customers an option to standby for earlier or later flights. "Our new product offers excellent value to customers traveling on connecting itineraries. Today, these customers have to stand by for each separate flight leg without knowing if seats are available at a connecting airport," said Harlan Bennett, Delta’s vice president - revenue management. "These benefits are particularly important to our customers because Delta carries more passengers traveling via connections than any other carrier.
"Delta’s program gives customers the flexibility to make confirmed changes on a different flight, rather than traveling on a standby basis with its inconveniences and uncertainties," Bennett said. "We will give our customers a simpler boarding process at the gate, leading to a more efficient and on-time operation and a better travel experience."
The new policy is effective for tickets purchased on or after Sept. 5, 2002, for travel beginning Mar. 1, 2003, and applies for travel in the 50 United States and Canada on Delta, Delta Express and Delta Connection®. Customers can confirm their new flights when using the more than 440 self-service kiosks located at 81 cites where Delta flies, by calling Reservation Sales or through Delta Direct phone banks at select airports. For changes more than three hours before the flight requested, Delta will continue to offer customers the opportunity to confirm on that flight by paying a $100 fee ($50 for Delta Express), plus any applicable fare difference.
This seems like a Continental-like "enhancement". It seems like a duck, it talks like a duck, but call it an "enhancement". Since United backed off on the $100 change fee for standby and other airlines had to swallow the news and follow, what Delta is doing is trying to get more money out of the situation and take away the flexibility.
Release Follows:
Delta Air Lines Introduces Industry-Leading New Product $25 Fee to Confirm on Different Flight
ATLANTA, Dec. 26, 2002 -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gifAL) today announced that it will offer an industry-leading new product, giving customers flexibility and certainty in changing their travel plans, effective Mar. 1, 2003.
Delta will offer customers traveling on most restricted fares the opportunity to confirm travel for different flights, including connecting flights, on the same day of their originally ticketed flight. Customers may request to be confirmed on a different flight, within three hours of that flight’s departure, by paying a $25 fee if seats are available. For customers traveling on connecting itineraries, Delta will confirm both the originating as well as the connecting flights for a total of $25, if seats are available on all flights. The $25 fee will be waived for SkyMiles Platinum and Gold Medallion® members.
With the introduction of this new product, Delta will no longer offer customers an option to standby for earlier or later flights. "Our new product offers excellent value to customers traveling on connecting itineraries. Today, these customers have to stand by for each separate flight leg without knowing if seats are available at a connecting airport," said Harlan Bennett, Delta’s vice president - revenue management. "These benefits are particularly important to our customers because Delta carries more passengers traveling via connections than any other carrier.
"Delta’s program gives customers the flexibility to make confirmed changes on a different flight, rather than traveling on a standby basis with its inconveniences and uncertainties," Bennett said. "We will give our customers a simpler boarding process at the gate, leading to a more efficient and on-time operation and a better travel experience."
The new policy is effective for tickets purchased on or after Sept. 5, 2002, for travel beginning Mar. 1, 2003, and applies for travel in the 50 United States and Canada on Delta, Delta Express and Delta Connection®. Customers can confirm their new flights when using the more than 440 self-service kiosks located at 81 cites where Delta flies, by calling Reservation Sales or through Delta Direct phone banks at select airports. For changes more than three hours before the flight requested, Delta will continue to offer customers the opportunity to confirm on that flight by paying a $100 fee ($50 for Delta Express), plus any applicable fare difference.
This seems like a Continental-like "enhancement". It seems like a duck, it talks like a duck, but call it an "enhancement". Since United backed off on the $100 change fee for standby and other airlines had to swallow the news and follow, what Delta is doing is trying to get more money out of the situation and take away the flexibility.