ND76

Bob Kupbens is Vice-President, eCommerce, for Delta. I notice from a quick internet search that he fulfilled a similar function at Target Stores (he was VP of technology services there). For the record, I thought Bob had a great personality and his presentation was very listenable. Here's what my notes showed to be the highlights (I incorporated his responses to the Q&A into the overall presentation):

1. He began by noting that he was not a long term airline guy; as a consultant prior to joining Delta, he had to make 15 round-trips between MSP and BLR in a two year period. "To Ambien or Not To Ambien" was a question he had to answer for himself--he found that Ambien and 2 glasses of champagne got him through these trips.

2. With respect to all the Delta internet services that we FlyerTalkers complain about, Bob indicated (1) "it's not working like we want"; (2) "we know it"; and (3) "we're working on it".

3. Bob indicated that a 16 person "SWAT" was commissioned in April, 2010.

4. Delta is "no longer a slave to NCR".

5. Kiosk problems discussed—DL knows it is slow and crashes; my notes indicate he said "I-86 is used".

6. Going to a different look for seat maps—will show seat configuration, and what leg room is available in the different rows (several minutes were spent on what the new seat map available on the net will look like).

7. New reservation pages on delta.com, different view (somewhat like the old nwa.com)

8. Blackberry and android apps to be available before end of the year.

9. In November Delta will roll out Ipad capability

10. Capability on Chrome before end of the year

11. Functions—push notification; IROP text message showing rebooking and options if not satisfied with the first option; baggage; booking; and seat selection

12. Iphone app will have gate numbers within two weeks (doesn't show them at the present time).

13. Still fighting to get upgrade list on Iphone

14. Delta is working on a capability where you take a picture of your bag, and, in the event you check the bag and DL loses it, you can send DL a picture of your bag to aid the search for it.

15. There is a virtual Delta Ticket Counter on Facebook

16. When award calendar showed up on the screen, the house almost came down. There will be a new look to the award calendar by end of first quarter 2011, with emphasis on accuracy of what inventory is available; close to implementation of world wide SkyMiles Award Chart; new cleaner look to coordinate with site wide redesign

17. Bob indicated that he would look into issue where SDC costs you your upgrade on your connecting flight.

On a personal note, I got good vibes from Bob--let's all root for him to get the technology issues right.

jackplum

Also capability on WebOS

DiscoPapa

I believe Bob stated "IE6", as in Internet Explorer 6.0. He also mentioned that his office computer is still uses IE6, as well...

Wiirachay

Wow, ND76 - thanks for sharing! I really appreciate it! I didn't know there were a lot of presenters.

- Pat

FlyingUnderTheRadar

Thanks for all the notes and sharing them!!

Gargoyle

ND76, thank you for your great work documenting and communicating info on all our presentations. I tried to take notes, but I can't read my own handwriting.

GaryO3

??? Not sure that I understand this point... is this that if you SDC, you are losing upgrades on connections that stay the same (which I've never experienced) or that he will be looking at losing upgrades when you SDC?

ND76

This happened to me the other day, on a BWI-DTW-PIT itinerary (I did a MR from PIT and this was the positioning trip). I was booked to go on the 0725 departure from BWI, but, because of the really bad weather in the mid-Atlantic that morning, I SDC'ed onto the 0615 departure to make sure I got to DTW in time for the connection. I lost my upgrade on the BWI-DTW segment, and also on the DTW-PIT segment, which was unchanged.

I ended up winning the gate lottery on both segments; I'm not sure what the logic is behind DL taking away the upgrade on the second segment, but that is the way the computers work at the present time.

mtkeller

+1

I enjoyed following updates on Twitter, but it's nice reading things expressed in more than 140-character nuggets.

davetravels

Get outa here! ! ! I'm shocked that they were even thinking about this!!

Leezell

What is missing on Chrome? I use Chrome and Chrome alone, save when I need to see full seat availability @ Ben Edelman's site....

jackplum

Are you referring to the Chrome browser or OS? Bob was referring to the OS.

GaryO3

Thanks... that's interesting that it happened that way. I did a SDC about 2 weeks ago on the 1st leg (and lost that upgrade) but my 2nd leg remained the same and I did not lose my upgrade. I guess it's true that YMMV

jimrpa

Thanks very much for sharing the great notes!

It sounds like Delta still doesn't get it, sadly, with respect to multi-platform apps. If they're going to waste money developing apps for multiple platforms, instead of investing in developing a robust, platform aware, standards-based website, then at least leverage the capabilities of the platforms. For example, don't send "text messages" to iPhones that have a Delta app on them. Take advantage of the iOS capability for push notification to the app!

I still think Delta's got their priorities wrong - they should be focusing on fixing the basics before branching out to the bling stuff like blackberrys and androids and iphones.

mnredfox

Totally agree. They fix a lot of other stuff to make it look pretty, but I'd appreciate them fixing things they know are broken. They've known about the calendar issues for how long now? And you're telling me it's really taking this long to fix, all while new websites are being launched with this app and that?