But for their very best customers, some airlines are providing extra perks and creating new tiers of status to make them feel special.
Why don't I feel special?
Once inside those airline clubs, these elite fliers can get free cocktails and buffet meals, perhaps a shower, and in the case of some Delta clubs, practice time on putting greens.
Buffet meals?
“It’s comforting to know when you have a canceled flight or a problem that, boom, your call is answered,” he said. “You never have to hear, ‘Your wait time is 35 minutes.’ ”
NW Plats could depend on this. Not any more. Ands when you do get an answer you're far less likely to have your issue resolved. DL has made the Hilton Diamond line look good, and that's quite an accomplishment.
Delta found that passengers routinely would book elsewhere once they had logged enough miles to make it into the 75,000-mile club. The new tier “gives them something to strive for,” said Jeff Robertson, vice president of loyalty programs at Delta.
HA! It gives them very little to strive for. Mostly benefits that were previously taken away, plus a free pass to a very spartan lounge. NW Plats got a far better deal at 75K than DL Diamonds will at 125K.
Yeah, yeah this is retreading old ground. It's just that an article like this, in the context of what DL has done over the last year, makes me want to barf.