I wanted to share my experience with VIP select in the form of a vicarious trip report.
Mrs. tardyturtle had a stressful trip scheduled, so I booked her in paid F on the return to help her relax, but felt that wasn’t enough. The price for VIP Select was about $100 more than I wanted to spend, but I figured she couldn’t be mad about the expense if I spent it to spoil her for the connection service. Here goes…
I called the VIP select number (on a weekend) and was somewhat disappointed to have a 20 minute wait, but someone answered the phone as “VIP select” ready to book the reservation. I presume they only have a handful of phone agents who handle these requests. One thing that was helpful to know was that they assign a “booking contact” who is separate from the passenger to receive all booking-related communications. This allowed me to maintain the surprise for Mrs. tardyturtle. They also take the passenger’s phone number in case they need to get in touch.
A very professional confirmation email confirmed the details:
VIP clients can expect:
- Personal escort through the airport
- Car service coordination
- Assistance with check-in, including pre-printing of boarding documents
- Access to the Delta Sky Club
- Escort to streamline the customs and immigration process (if permitted by Customs and Border Protection)
- Ability to pre-board or board last
- Assistance with real-time, 24/7 flight monitoring and rebooking
They also confirm the details mentioned by others
PRICING PER AIRPORT MEET: One Person: $350 | Each Additional Person: $100
Areas of Travel: VIP Select service is offered at Atlanta – ATL, New York–JFK, New York-LGA, Los Angeles–LAX, Detroit–DTW, Minneapolis –MSP, San Francisco–SFO, Seattle–SEA and Salt Lake City-SLC on Delta and Delta Connection®-operated flights.
As others have mentioned, you get to select the “Alias” listed on the name placard, but I didn’t do anything crazy—I just listed Mrs. tardyturtle
A few days prior to the trip, the name and phone number of the greeter is provided. This was where the magic really began.
Once Mrs. tardyturtle’s inbound flight had departed, I texted the greeter to share that I had booked the service for Mrs. tardyturtle as a surprise after a stressful trip. The greeter offered to pick up a special treat from the airport for her. Initially, I thought they would just steal a cookie from the SkyClub, but then they mentioned that they could get anything from the terminal. They seemed excited to make it a special experience for her.
Upon booking, I had two fears. One was that the arrival and departing gates would be adjacent, and the transfer would be a total waste. The other was that, having booked this as a surprise, Mrs. tardyturtle would walk right past the greeter when deplaning.
My first fear was allayed be reassurances that, even with a short layover if the gates were adjacent, there would be time for time at the SkyClub for a drink and she could board last (with coordination with the flight attendants to reserve overhead bin luggage space).
For my second fear, I was able to send a recent photo and a description so that the greeter could call her out upon deplaning. It was a good thing I did this, as she later mentioned she would have walked right past if the greeter had not called her out!
After being met on the jetbridge, she was escorted to the waiting Porsche, where there were flowers, a hand-written card and a special treat purchased from the airport terminal (which I wasn’t charged separately for). I was very impressed with the effort to make it special by shopping for treats in the airport. The first text I got from the Mrs. was “How much is this costing us!?” After she found out the real cost, she noted she thought it would have been more.
She was whisked to the SkyClub where she was escorted in without needing to check in at the front desk. Her greeter stated they would wait outside and be ready whenever she wanted to leave for the departing flight. She made the mistake of requesting to be first to board, as no PDBs were served. Prior to bidding farewell, she got the customary photo outside of the Porsche planeside.
The greeter kept me up to date the whole time, and I really loved following along vicariously on the experience.
The big elephant in the room here is the price. I’d say this falls on the MasterCard cost spectrum of “Priceless”. If you have the financial means and are looking to impress someone, or to feel like a ...... for a day, have at it. Definitely not something you can do all the time, but may be good to do once or twice. The economics really get interesting as you add more passengers for $100 each, as the service includes SkyClub entry (a $50 value). While it can help with making tight connections, I’m not sure the value is particularly good in that use case, given the limited time to enjoy what the service has to offer. They advertise that they closely follow flights, but I’m not sure to what extent they may hold a connecting flight if your inbound is delayed. While others have mentioned that you are annotated as “VIP” on the flight manifest, Mrs. tardyturtle didn’t notice any special treatment on board.