Lynn Harrell, Virtuoso Cellist, Got His SM Account Cancelled
Sep 28, 2012, 4:35 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 499
Seems clear from the article, the cello had it's own SM account.
Did he give it a fake name? Yeah I could see where this would play havoc with manifests and lots of things.
I do see Delta's point. Musician wasn't just "buying a ticket" for his cello, they were engaging in a small lie, trying to reap benefits off it also. On the flip side of it, I get the point that it seems unfair.
C'est la vie.
Did he give it a fake name? Yeah I could see where this would play havoc with manifests and lots of things.
I do see Delta's point. Musician wasn't just "buying a ticket" for his cello, they were engaging in a small lie, trying to reap benefits off it also. On the flip side of it, I get the point that it seems unfair.
C'est la vie.
OK If you go to delta.com and try to "join" skymiles, one of the first things you have to do is state a title, first name, and last name. Does anyone know if generally presenting something like this for entities that are not human beings is in principle some kind of fraud or misrepresentation? It would seem that common sense would say that it is -- stories of FF cellos, cats with credit cards, etc. notwithstanding. Also, when one does book a seat for a cello, wouldn't there be name fields that have to be filled out.
PS The fact that they asked him to stop leaves the situation pretty well cut and dried.
Sep 28, 2012, 4:40 pm
#17
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Sep 28, 2012, 4:52 pm
#18
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Here's the link:
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddi...air-miles.html
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddi...air-miles.html
"it has come to our attention that you have continued to earn miles for your cello even after you were advised in 2001 that this was not permitted... Due to this violation, Delta has terminated your membership..."
That strikes me as a crappy move on Delta's part: they let him do it for eleven years, then they terminate his membership the very minute he finally accumulated enough miles for a domestic roundtrip.
Sep 28, 2012, 5:01 pm
#19
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Mileage credit will not be given for the following:
Tickets purchased to carry excess baggage such as musical instruments and pets or to provide extra space for the primary passenger
http://www.delta.com/skymiles/about_...ules/index.jsp
Sep 28, 2012, 5:09 pm
#20
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What happens if he gets upgraded and his instrument doesn't? 
Sep 28, 2012, 5:13 pm
#21
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His account should have not been cancelled. End of story.
Sep 28, 2012, 5:14 pm
#22
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Sep 28, 2012, 5:16 pm
#23
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Sep 28, 2012, 5:18 pm
#24
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Sep 28, 2012, 5:52 pm
#25
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I want to know how he got miles. I used to buy extra seats and could never figure out a way to get the extra miles. Wonder how he did it. Maybe the account was in the cello's name. If so, the gate agents obviously saw this and allowed it. IMHO, that's DL's bad and their reaction was draconian. I think this will come back to bite DL in the a$$.
Sep 28, 2012, 5:56 pm
#26
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What would be the difference if I bought two seats on a plane for myself? I can't get double the miles, why would a musician? If they allowed this we Would all e buying two tickets on a flight, and the panes would be half empty. Does the cello ext upgraded to first class too?
Now I could *maybe* see an issue if they offered MQM's for the spare seat in addition to base miles.... especially for some mileage runners on very low priced tickets... But I disagree that everyone would be buying two (or as suggested earlier, ten) extra seats if they could earn base mileage on those seats. Even on the cheapest domestic tickets of say $300 r/t transcon, that's still a chunk of change to earn 3000-4000 miles.
I don't see why an airline would have a problem selling an extra seat (and, for that matter, awarding the requisite frequently flyer miles). Whether someone actually sits there or not is largely irrelevant, and in fact it could be argued that the empty seat is actually as profitable, if not more so, than if a passenger actually sat in it, given fuel savings etc.
And to the OP's point, there ARE (or at least in Europe, until recently, there were) some carriers that will award mileage for a second purchased seat... but clearly not Delta.
Last edited by SamuelS; Sep 28, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Sep 28, 2012, 5:58 pm
#27
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Bet he finds a status match.
Sep 28, 2012, 6:03 pm
#28
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Lol. What an inane response. First, do you really think everyone would be buying two plane tickets if they got double the miles? There are much cheaper ways to get miles (erm - just buy 'em outright?)... and second, why would DL (or any other airline) care if someone was willing to buy an extra ticket, and they could retain that revenue without the costs of a person actually flying... think of how much the airline would save on fuel and passenger processing if they could sell out every plane but only have to carry half a planeload.
Now I could *maybe* see an issue if they offered MQM's for the spare seat in addition to base miles.... especially for some mileage runners on very low priced tickets... But I disagree that everyone would be buying two (or as suggested earlier, ten) extra seats if they could earn base mileage on those seats. Even on the cheapest domestic tickets of say $300 r/t transcon, that's still a chunk of change to earn 3000-4000 miles.
I don't see why an airline would have a problem selling an extra seat (and, for that matter, awarding the requisite frequently flyer miles). Whether someone actually sits there or not is largely irrelevant, and in fact it could be argued that the empty seat is actually as profitable, if not more so, than if a passenger actually sat in it, given fuel savings etc.
And to the OP's point, there ARE (or at least in Europe, until recently, there were) some carriers that will award mileage for a second purchased seat... but clearly not Delta.
Now I could *maybe* see an issue if they offered MQM's for the spare seat in addition to base miles.... especially for some mileage runners on very low priced tickets... But I disagree that everyone would be buying two (or as suggested earlier, ten) extra seats if they could earn base mileage on those seats. Even on the cheapest domestic tickets of say $300 r/t transcon, that's still a chunk of change to earn 3000-4000 miles.
I don't see why an airline would have a problem selling an extra seat (and, for that matter, awarding the requisite frequently flyer miles). Whether someone actually sits there or not is largely irrelevant, and in fact it could be argued that the empty seat is actually as profitable, if not more so, than if a passenger actually sat in it, given fuel savings etc.
And to the OP's point, there ARE (or at least in Europe, until recently, there were) some carriers that will award mileage for a second purchased seat... but clearly not Delta.
Sep 28, 2012, 6:04 pm
#29
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Why would Delta know who he is? Let's not exaggerate an act like this guy is Brad Pitt or something. He's a mostly anonymous musician playing a fringe instrument. Even if he's the best in the world at what he does, he's still only a big deal in a small circle.
Delta has a policy. If you get caught this is one of the consequences. You can buy transcon LUT fares for as little as $150. Double miles at $300 is a pretty good deal if someone wanted to buy two seats. Especially considering a M fare seat on the same route would probably be $800-$1200 for 1.5 miles.
Delta has a policy. If you get caught this is one of the consequences. You can buy transcon LUT fares for as little as $150. Double miles at $300 is a pretty good deal if someone wanted to buy two seats. Especially considering a M fare seat on the same route would probably be $800-$1200 for 1.5 miles.
Sep 28, 2012, 6:56 pm
#30
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This seems fradulent to me because the letter was dated in this year, but the DL logo above the date is a logo from 2000-2007.
A cello doesn't have any reason to acquire miles. A cello is not a person.
A cello doesn't have any reason to acquire miles. A cello is not a person.