Originally Posted by ADLFO

I didn't come to the same conclusion. I think posters in this thread have been quite restrained in their responses. I don't think DL realizes that we want them to have a competitive SWU/avenue to u/g international fares once or twice a year that would help their business model. Not only would this ensure true loyalty to DL (thus more $$ for DL), but also provide thousands of happy customers performing more positive PR for DL than they could buy for several hundred million to any firm near Madison Ave.

DL's SWUs/international u/gs are not competitve with other US based carriers. Now DL might say what we lack in SWUs, we make up for in other areas (such as hard product, employees, domestic upgrades, etc. Yes, I'm ignoring that DL miles are worth less/harder to redeem for sake of this discussion.) While that position may be logical to DL, I think most here are trying to find a way for DL to maintain their high profit margins on J seats while providing benefits to their highest mileage flyers that at least come part of the way toward being competitive with other carriers instruments.



Love your ideas. The time factor would eliminate most of the fear of cannibalizing J revenue since most business trips are not planned that far in advance. Couple this with one or two phantom seats on flights where J isn't even close to full and I think DL would have a winner for both them and their pax.