<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by IndustrialPatent:
The takeover of Western Airlines put Delta on the map, so to speak. Up until then they were more of a low-fare carrier. I just saw in my 1991 Sky mag. where you could upgrade to F coast-to-coast for only $99 -- reg. $150 -- on the day of departure! SLC served its purpose, it's time to move on.
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Pardon me for popping in from the Delta board, but where on earth did you get the idea that a) Delta was historically a low fare carrier and b) that the Western acquisition put Delta "on the map"?
Delta has traditionally been the epitome of a high fare, high service carrier. Most of what many long time Delta flyers complain about today relates to Delta's move toward being more of a low fare carrier, something that has only developed ver the past 2-5 years or so. Those upgrade supplemental fares you reference were from full fare Y, which has never been anything close to "discount".
I would also submit that the Western acquisition did not put Delta on the map. It increased Delta's presence in Hawaii, California, and in the northern mountain states (e.g., Montana). It certainly didn't put Delta on the map. What put Delta on the global map more than anything else was the purchase of the PanAm JFK hub and all those European routes.
Pardon me again for interrupting . . . . just trying to give the NW fans an historical perspective on Delta.