It's a frequent flyer program, for God's sake! I swear, if the DL haters spent as much energy doing something really worthwhile, we might see some real positive outcomes in society.

Jeesh, no wonder so many of the infrequent flyers hate those of us who fly regularly. :rolleyes:

The flier campaign was started off the cuff last year, and I certainly never expected much to come out of it. It was a lot of work, and I had a few very unproductive days of work while designing the fliers and keeping up with messages.

Some folk, like Tony, think that all us are DL haters. I think this misstates the facts a bit. I don't hate DL, but I do hate some of the things DL does.

I'm encouraging everyone to send a postcard in. Postcards are very easy for them to count, and you can get your message through easily. Less paper cuts and postage too!

Heck, write in and tell them what you don't like. Or even what you do like. I'm not setting up a postcard template and having everyone print it out, although that may be a good idea. Tell Richard Anderson what you think.

DL has some great employees. The airline has a pretty good hard product. With some tweaking it can get back on the right track.

If you want to send a postcard in and say, "I love Deltina", then do it. At least you are communicating with them in a way they may pay attention to. Postcard stamps are cheap. If you want to do your Network impersonation and tell them, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more", then that's good too.

I'd even say if someone *did* want to design some postcards that could be printed out on card stock with a particular message, I'm sure we could get it hosted somewhere.

I can think of a few funny ones. Most would violate copyrights, though. Just think of a nice card with Elmer Fudd on it, with his hunting cap and shotgun. He'd be saying, "Hey, wherrre is that Wascally Best in Class".

Volunteerism is a bit of an OMNI topic. And really, do you expect these guys to hit a soup kitchen in BKK or something? Besides, people send postcards on TATL and TPAC trips all the time. What's one more? Frankly, why do you care? Worst case is the FFP gets better.

Explain the correlation, I'm not seeing what putting pressure on DL to improve the FFP has anything to do with base member perception.

I really don't think that people who are responding to this thread are DL Haters... I think that you are seeing some people who travel a lot and to date have been loyal to the Delta program. They believe that various aspects of the product are not as advertised or of the quality that they believe it should be and would like to see it improved before they jump ship...

If sending post cards to Delta telling them that they lost revenue because you are unsatisfied with their product helps to make them aware of loss of revenue, I say go for it... If enough people do it, and improvements come, then it has served a purpose.

Ha, but you'll have to admit the campaign worked, so thanks for all your hard work.

+1 agree fully with this post.

longing4piedmont is that really you??? Did RTS take control of your keyboard??? :D

First of all, I don't care. If people want to spend their time and money doing that, that's their business. I question the motivation of some of the DL haters, that's all. I don't think everyone has the same intention, that is to make the FFP and DL overall, better. And once it's posted on the Delta Forum on FT, then just like everybody else here, I can post my opinion as a DL Gold Medallion member.

And there is another side to all the negativity in this forum about Delta, whether you'd like to hear it or not.

Don't see the how the general flying public views us frequent flyers? Really? And I'm not talking about base Skymiles members' perceptions.


I'm all for making Delta better. God knows there are aspects of their operations that can get better (Comair at JFK anyone?) but as stated in my reply above, based on some of the posts in this forum since the merger, I really question the intentions of some of those who claim they are trying to make Delta better. That's all I'm saying.

I am actually using tPA as an alternative to MCO because a number of DL options from there have priced cheaper than MCO.

To address a couple points made in the past several posts...

I do not think there are "Delta Haters" as much as spoiled brats who can't see the entire picture. A generation ago, people flew without any of these programs and got nothing but from Point A to Point B. Have we really become some jaded that we look at these things as entitlements, rather than as offers or enducements? Have people become so invested that they cannot rationally make choices based upon what is offered, rather than having to make demands?

My fear is that the actions of some reflect on all of us. When we look like spoiled brats, we will be treated like spoiled brats. When we act as rational business partners, we will be treated as rational business partners. If we choose to go elsewhere, DL may see that they need to sweeten the pot. If we stay here and whine, DL doesn't need to do a thing. In fact, they may do nothing just to get rid of us!

It's all in perception. Those who are looking at the changes as being horrible and going to be trapped in horrible. Those who positively deal with things the way they are are going to be much happier. Getting wrapped up in protesting that a business isn't giving you enough perks just seems like a silly thing to get upset about and,

I fear, it will cause DL to want to do less for the FF community as we will come across as ingrates who cannot be pleased no matter what, so why should DL even bother? Acting like mature consumers and going elsewhere will send the correct message. Bombarding DL with postcards will not.

While this sounds good in theory, here is a flip side...

More PMU usage would probably result in less upgrade availability. There Will be those who will complain about the program not being ELITE enough and thus they missed there upgrade...

WOW.. and we're almost doing the opposite. My boyfriend is driving to MCO tomorrow to save around $125 on one of his flights to somewhere in New York and I did it not to long ago myself. I'll bet it depends on where you are traveling...

Very true.

And yes, i have acted like a spoiled brat at times. An entitlement society has become the norm. In a lot of ways, business practices and government have created this monster.

Times are tough and things change. We can grow up and vote with our wallets if we are not happy, or we can whine and dwell in the past... Thinking about the good ole days...

+1 ^

Or we can both vote with our wallets (to the extent feasible/allowed) and engage in constructive criticisml Voting 100% with your wallet is not possible for everyone, especially not for business travelers who don't set travel policies nor for hub captives.

I will go along with constructive criticism, but I draw the line at continuous whining about the same old things, especially when a lot of these things are based on an airline that no longer exists... Andyes, I was a former NWA PE turned DL PM, now DM.... While I enjoyed NW, it was by far not the perfect picture that is often painted on FT. I will take most DL planes with IFEAVOD any day over some of NW's 757's...

I have to work with a budget that is often hard to include DL. Sure I could fly misc. Airlines each week earning FO status here and there, or I make a decision to focus on one or two that meet my most desired benefits.

I will check alt airports, sometimes fly at unfavorable time, and often take creative routings to maintain staus on DL... Today my choice is DL, mainly due to upgrades, destinations, and free booze in the SC. Sure I would like better award avail, and a few other things, but.DL is the best match right now. I could be flying US every week.... DL doesn't look so bad...

Unless DL is the only carrier in a market, there are choices...

Which brings us full circle. If DL is going to get our business anyway because we don't set travel policies or are hub captives, then DL has no reason to give us anything extra. Nor - and this will be a hard pill for many to swallow - should we expect anything in that circumstance.

The purpose of the frequent flier program is to get people to buy tickets. It's an advertising promotion, like putting dolls or towels in detergent boxes. Why should DL spend a penny on a customer whose business DL is going to get anyway? It seems that people have lost sight of this and, instead, see SM as an entitlement.

When P&G realized people would buy Ivory without the dolls or towels, those inducements disappeared. Many on this board have probably never seen a doll attached to a bar of Ivory soap, but back in the day, nobody would have purchased a soap product without the freebie. Nobody would have purchased gas at a station that didn't have someone checking the oil while pumping the petrol. People objected when the phone company started charging for information calls, as many people felt it was an inalienable right. And where are those people now? Buying soap without towels in the box, pumping their own petrol and avoiding the information call or paying for it.

My point (wow, do I really have one?) is that if people make the FF program a pain in the arse for DL, they may realize how many of us are beholden to travel policies or circumstances that make the program unnecessary. Rather than having to deal with the extra hassle, they may decide the prima donnas aren't worth the extra expense. Think it can't happen? Remember the outcry when the first airline started charging for an extra bag? Look at where we are now. If Airline A gets rid of its FF program, Airline B may think it's not necessary to compete. The dominoes fall and suddenly people are complaining about wanting points and upgrades.

Whatever DL is offering, I'm going to maximize my taking advantage of the perk. But I'm going to remember that these are perks, not entitlements. Remember, the really squeaky wheel gets replaced.