Originally Posted by
Orange County Commuter
No they panicked. They didn't give the changes long enough to work through and believed the whiners when they said "I am never coming back" (which meant "I am never coming back until Airline X makes me mad next week" ) I know people who screamed in September who were already back with Delta after their hissy fit
Short term vs. long term and they let short term win. Unfortunately in the long term that may be bad for the airline.
There were no changes for this year, why would anyone who was invested in the Delta for the first nine months leave for the last three, that would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The reality is the program they initially announced did nothing to attract customers and made Delta uncompetitive with its competition, they were going to lose customers (and they still may).
I also believe Delta saw the writing on the wall of downgrades, cancellations, and renewals of Delta AMEX cards, there was no longer a reason to have multiple cards as some did, that's why they implemented the MQD boost on a per card basis.