What exactly would be the ulterior motive? Someone wants to create busy work for the folks that will create an executive summary Anderson will glance at?

What does that have to do with postcards sent to Delta?



A generation ago airlines competed on service, quality and (after deregulation) price. Fees weren't a profit center, fare rules weren't nearly as draconian and Airlines weren't nearly as adversarial with the customers. It's not just entitlements.

The FFP isn't going to anywhere because it means billions for the bottom line. Credit/Bankcards, hotels, car rentals, magazines, etc. The value of these programs is all about the size and scale of the customer base.



The term ingrate implies that customers have something to be grateful for. We pay money for DL's product. Today that product is no longer just getting from point A to point B. It's a vertically integrated product line tightly tied together by FFP earning opportunities and FFP benefits. DL should be grateful in this economy we are flying with them. Period.

Am I missing something here. When Jaimito said:

That seemed like a pretty clear inference that he's spoken with your wallet and is asking DL "Can you here me now?" When you list money DL has lost that's voting with your wallet.

This just seems like a twist on a suggestion from some of the board moderators have had about sending in itineraries from completing airlines with a note about lost business.

In this economy you can't just book tickets somewhere else and expect DL knows why you left. DL has no way of determining those who are no longer flying because of dissatisfaction compared to those no longer flying because of the economy.

We should always be voting with our wallets when it comes to any service, let alone airlines. And voting 100% with your wallet is ALWAYS possible and is a choice we have. It may mean higher fares, more stops, more travel to a further airport, flying on equipment we'd rather not fly on, whatever the trade off might be; but the choice is ALWAYS there.

I don't see a lot of constructive criticism, note I said "a lot." There is some but a lot of the criticism of DL appears to be more emotional in nature with unrealistic expectations about what DL should and can do.

To be fair, at the point of deregulation (or a generation-ish ago), airlines HAD to compete on service and amenity because there was nothing else to compete on.

Revenue management consisted of a bunch of guys with OR backgrounds using dinosaur mainframes (if they were lucky) to make calculations. They were simply unable to compute the impact of various fees, dozens, if not hundreds of segment and OD specific fare rules, complex yield management algorithms, etc

Perhaps it would be effective to consider sening the Postcards to Amex as well. I think Amex qualifies as an accomplice in the Skymiles problems - they are the ones hiring people to entice card apps with promises of free flights after all. Furthermore I can guarantee a "we don't like this" from Amex will carry far more weight at DL than a ton of postcards.

Maybe if you included a shredded DL Amex card with your postcard, it would bring the point home to Amex. It'd probably be hard to attach it securely to a postcard, though.

Tried getting a low international biz award ticket pretty much anywhere recently?;)

Actually, if DL cared, they would..... Case and point.. After the AA takeover of TWA in STL, I started flying AA quite a bit. I had obtained PLT. A couple of years later, work had cut my flights. I actually got a call from AA asking why my travel had decreased. That is proof of a company who values my business. I would hope that DL cared enough to focus on this, but if they don't, i cannot make them.. If not, it is their loss...

I personally think that DL views these boards and sees the complaints and the whining and the powers that be have made a conscious decision to simply ignore it. If people want to protest and / or send postcards to the execs, that is their option.... My opinion is that it is not going to do anything for the cause....

If people are REALLY unhappy and just can't take it anymore, LEAVE, cut the cord, and don't look back.. It is kind of like hoping that you can make your bf/gf love you even though they dumped you... MOvE ON....


Now this is something that I can buy into.. Shredding the AMEX means you are done with it and will not be using it... I give a ^^^ to this.. Amex needs to put in their place and I would agree that they are one of the big issues that I have with DL.


Yep, I have tried and failed on a number of airlines...

I have figured out other ways to use the miles.. At least they haven't just told me that they do not accept miles anymore.. Big difference...

tweaks, not starting over with the Sky Pesos program... they are so close, yet so far. Better SWU option would make a huge difference, but DL needs to be pushed.

Excellent points!

Another excellent idea. AMEX has way more influence on DL & Sky Peso program than we can imagine.

They do deliver. People do get tickets for 25k.



6......the number of postcards that may get mailed in.

You're right about people getting tickets for 25K miles. I have. What people complain about is not having the exact time and airport that they'd like. Oh sure, I would love an award ticket out of LGA at about 2:30 PM in the afternoon. That's ideal for me. But if I have to get a 6:00 AM award flight out of EWR, well then so be it. I'm not going to complain about DL not providing enough award tickets at the 25K level, just because it doesn't suit my time and airport.

Evidently, not everyone feels the same way.

Bought 4 in March: 2xSFO & 2xIAD. I don't regard domestic availability as a problem.

I was previously 100% NW. There were things I liked about the program and things I disliked. Sure it's nice getting a free upgrade, but when I want to know I'm going to sit in front (i.e.long flights) I buy an F ticket. I grew up in a family that only flew F (back when it was actually something special).

Sure, DL monitors these boards and tries to make changes based on what they see here. I do know however if they give the elites a change that saves the elites millions that those millions DL lost has to come back from somewhere.

I'm sure DL also knows that if tomorrow UA added 30 F seats to each plane and offered Plat or Diamond status match they would have a line at their door.

I believe that the days of domestic F are numbered. The carriers have painted themselves into a corner with F. They lose revenue by "giving away" the F seats and therefore have to cut somewhere to recoup that revenue. Like Wal-Mart or Target every square foot of floor space has a value. Cuts made devalue the product so much that most people don't want to pay a large premium for it.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a smaller "business" area ala AirTran- smaller seats than today and less pitch and a couple of drinks or the "Euro" model where the middle seat back folds down. Upgrade seats available to all at booking or at the gate- if no takers elites will be upgraded at the last minute.

I'm sure many airline bean counters curse AA for coming up with the AAdvantage program many years ago. How many other businesses have to give customers so much to keep loyalty. I spend a ton of money at Costco as opposed to Sams' Club and all I get is the same free samples everyone else gets.

I can't say DL would call, at least not since no favors no waivers. Be that as it may your analogy is skips the 800lbs gorilla of the current recession. It's far more likely that DL simply chalks the customer loss to the economy and moves on. I contend that sending them post cards or itineraries from other airlines tells them point blank that you're still traveling, but not with DL.

Sometimes they listen, most of the time they don't. But an internet forum is an abstract snapshot of opinion that's very hard to quantify. Sending them your details of flights on other airlines is very easy to quantify.


That's great... if you're in NYC or LAX where you have a lot of choices. If you're in a captive hub having might need to be a bit more creative.

Send the postcards... As I have stated before, they will probably become very decorative objects in the exec. offices... or they just find their way to the oval filing cabinet. It's America.. you are free to do whatever you wish.. I have stated my opinions on the effectiveness...

If DL cared, they would follow up with HVC's who drop their travel activites.... This is a part of customer relationship management... Being in hospitality, I value repeat / loyal business. Granted there are many reasons why travel patterns change, but those who are informed and take an interest in their customers have an edge on the competition.

I have issues with the HUB CAPTIVE arguement... I have found that while hubs are dominated by a single airline, the other airlines at the hub tend to offer a number of cheaper alternatives in an effort to lure the O/D traffic.. When I lived in St. Louis, it was often much cheaper to fly airlines other than AA due to this... AA was often higher due to N/S options. Now the arguement can be made that hub captives may have to connect to save money, but it is still an option....

As for DL, I had the same hub experience out of CVG when I lived there. I had a hard time booking DL because it was often much more expensive... Just my experience....

FFP's have budgets and benefits are analysed
 

In 2002 I started advocating pax trends and lobbying for changes with Beth Shultis (former NW VP of Marketing) and quickly learned that every benefit, waiver, ffp incentive is reviewed by senior management and individually approved before being implemented. If a SWU for diamonds is being reviewed/approved there is a lot of backup paperwork establishing the projected number of SWU's and costs, it is all plugged into the ffp budget. It took 5 years of lobbying to get NW to implement SWU's, the postcards are a great idea of getting the message to DL. Jim Cron, when he was the NW VP of marketing told me in Egan that in the the airline business "the passengers know more than the managemnt" so keep up the good work.

RC