Has Delta decided their flights to Europe are worth a huge premium?
I was a long time UA flyer, Global Services member for years. I switched to Delta 3 or so years ago for a number of reasons, erosion of FF benefits, customer service, wifi, culture, all which were justified....and still are today.
In the past year something changed at Delta. I frequently fly from LAX to Europe and return. Delta has become the most expensive options by thousands of dollars on every flight. Seems it's impossible to book a business fare, even two weeks out for less than 9K. I book through a travel agent and they are really good at calling the airlines and getting unpublished fares, but Delta has recently pulled back on those and is holding on to Z inventory as well. Meanwhile between United and Lufthansa I can usually get a RT ticket in the neighborhood of 5K. I do find Delta competitive to much of Asia and Australia.
On a separate and petty note. I influence travel in my organization. When I switched from United to Delta I figured I would be the guinea pig. After my experience I moved 3 members of my staff to Delta. None of us flies less than 250k mqm per year, and one will hit 400k mqm in December. We had these same travel patterns at United, and United did a great job of expressing their appreciation to me. With Delta, I haven't heard a word. Maybe United does a better job of data collection and but I never called them or had to expkain to them that I influenced travel, they just knew. I suspect they noticed i was the first member of my company that flew United, and then the rest followed. Anyway it was a nice touch.
On a separate and petty note. I influence travel in my organization. When I switched from United to Delta I figured I would be the guinea pig. After my experience I moved 3 members of my staff to Delta. None of us flies less than 250k mqm per year, and one will hit 400k mqm in December. We had these same travel patterns at United, and United did a great job of expressing their appreciation to me. With Delta, I haven't heard a word. Maybe United does a better job of data collection and but I never called them or had to explain to them that I influenced travel, they just knew. I suspect they noticed i was the first member of my company that flew United, and then the rest followed. Anyway it was a nice touch.
Have you signed your organization up for SkyBonus? It is one way to get DL to note what your organization does (or does not) spend.
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I was a long time UA flyer, Global Services member for years. I switched to Delta 3 or so years ago for a number of reasons, erosion of FF benefits, customer service, wifi, culture, all which were justified....and still are today.
IME, DL is very competitive on some routes, not so much on others, but this can change at any time based on flt patterns, availability, etc. As much as you fly, perhaps you would be better off to consider having status with both DL (DM) and UA (1K). That would give you the best of both worlds.
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DL has long felt is business class product to Europe is superior. The sad part is, its not at all. They would much rather fill their cabins with non-revs and employees than sell you a business class ticket for 3-4K less.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DLATL777
They would much rather fill their cabins with non-revs and employees than sell you a business class ticket for 3-4K less.
The business logic of your argument is - impaired - to put it kindly.
Delta may be reluctant to sell for $5K now thinking they can get $9K later. The OP is welcome to take advantage of all the poor business decisions made by United this year, while available.
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Posts: 3,620
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3Cforme
The business logic of your argument is - impaired - to put it kindly.
Delta may be reluctant to sell for $5K now thinking they can get $9K later. The OP is welcome to take advantage of all the poor business decisions made by United this year, while available.
The problem to me in general is the over-valuation of their own product-especially with the price of M fares and lack of Z availability. Paying $3,500 to purchase M from the east coast of the US to Europe is a sick joke, especially compared to what these fares were even 4 years ago. Why would anyone give Delta X amount when they can fly a much better carrier in J for a few hundred more (or even less!). Ill take LX/LH/etc over DL anyday for some of the prices I see.
The problem to me in general is the over-valuation of their own product-especially with the price of M fares and lack of Z availability. Paying $3,500 to purchase M from the east coast of the US to Europe is a sick joke, especially compared to what these fares were even 4 years ago. Why would anyone give Delta X amount when they can fly a much better carrier in J for a few hundred more (or even less!). Ill take LX/LH/etc over DL anyday for some of the prices I see.
DL has competitive loads and a slight edge in yields. To the extent that there is a problem, it would seem to be yours and not DL's. And there is limited to zero evidence that they are over-valuing their product.
The problem to me in general is the over-valuation of their own product-especially with the price of M fares and lack of Z availability. Paying $3,500 to purchase M from the east coast of the US to Europe is a sick joke, especially compared to what these fares were even 4 years ago. Why would anyone give Delta X amount when they can fly a much better carrier in J for a few hundred more (or even less!). Ill take LX/LH/etc over DL anyday for some of the prices I see.
Delta J is far superior to Lufthansa and a bit better than United.
LH has LAX-FRA on the 747-8i loaded into the system for next year. That will be a top notch J product. It's not flying yet, but it's something to consider if DL remains that much more expensive. As an earlier poster mentioned, you are flying enough to maintain DM with DL and 1K with UA. Or if almost all of your travel is US-Europe, maybe get status with LH and DL.
What about partner airlines? AF/KL don't have the best product, but AZ now has a great seat on their LAX-FCO route.
LH has LAX-FRA on the 747-8i loaded into the system for next year. That will be a top notch J product. It's not flying yet, but it's something to consider if DL remains that much more expensive. As an earlier poster mentioned, you are flying enough to maintain DM with DL and 1K with UA. Or if almost all of your travel is US-Europe, maybe get status with LH and DL.
What about partner airlines? AF/KL don't have the best product, but AZ now has a great seat on their LAX-FCO route.
Wil the LH 748i have flat beds in J? Currently they are angled.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deadtail
Delta J is far superior to Lufthansa
This is a joke, right? Completely disagree regarding service, lounges, and food. With the exception of flights with the DL lie-flats, I also give LH the nod with the seat. Are we flying different airlines? Me nor any of my coworkers would ever choose DL over any international legacy. LX, LH, SQ, BA, those are real J products. I can agree that vs. many other US legacies, DL is a good choice.
Wil the LH 748i have flat beds in J? Currently they are angled.
It will have their new business product, which is quite nice and a fully horizontal bed. It's also a brand new plane with some other nice features like better lighting and electronic window shades.
They are also in the process of modifying their current fleet with the new J product, but this will take several years to roll out. There's some threads tracking it in the Miles and More forum. Even at the end of 2013, I think they'll have less than half the fleet converted. But any 747-8i (74H is what it's called if looking on ExpertFlyer) will have the new cabins.
