A better topic than "Why do they bother with Flying Colonel Status" might be "Why do they bother with Flying Delta".

Personally, I've basically given up on DL. I'm PM, I've got about 500,000 miles sitting in my account -- but I'm sick of the dilution and lack of respect by the employees.

Most of the front line guys are great, but they're also powerless.

Flying Colonel was a great way of recognising really important customers back when DL cared about doing that sort of thing. But, like so much else with DL, it's now a thing of the past.