Delta Air Lines Seeks Premium Status in Asia
 

This just posted to nytimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011...-Lines.html?hp


I am glad that Delta is being ambitious...but as much as I like Delta and support Delta...I've noticed that often their reach exceeds their grasp...

Becoming a premium airline in Asia is going to be an uphill battle and I honestly think that they might be better off being a high volume value carrier...

To become a premium carrier they will have to drastically improve the economy experience and start making BusinessElite much more exclusive...which means no more packing it full of non-revs!

it has improved the premium pricing on award ticket by raising it almost 200%.. that part is missing in the article. so ironic.

Good remark ^ They just managed to do it few days before I wanted to book intra-Asia award J for later this year. What's next on surprise menu? Changing qualification requirements mid-year for current year? Reshuffling earning rates to match Flying Blue?

Didn't NW have a pretty good reputation in Asia? Oh wait...

NW definitely had a better reputation than DL... not just in Asia.. also in flyertalk. :)

Easy to have a good reputation when no one but those who flew you knew about you. Maybe I am one of the few who never heard of NW until Delta bought them.

As for Delta being a Premium airline in Asia, yeah the day they get a dreamliner.

I have come to DL from NW (living in the Detroit area). I liked NW, I like DL. That said, didn't NW have the reputation in Asia of being low-end? There are many old posts in flyertalk about being able to buy extremely cheap tickets from clearing houses and consolidators on NW throughout Asia. I don't think they had a Premium reputation.

And in a related development, WalMart is introducing its premium line of pork rinds.

Really DL? You're going up against SQ, TG, MH? Has anyone from Atlanta visited the Silver Kris lounge in SIN? How about the Golden Lounge at KLIA? Granted the legacy WorldClub in NRT is the lone jewel in DL's crown, but I don't think anyone would compare it to anything that an Asian carrier offers.

How does DL step-up its in-flight service from "American Casual" to "Understated and Sophisticated"? Hiring more local cabin staff has to be in the offing; customers want to know more about the wine than "We've got a red one, and oh, we've got a white one too."

You gotta love DL's marketing guys; they believe their own press - this is going to be one long climb.

This one is "a bridge too far". Not a chance. NW had a better reputation but nobody ever would have called it good by Asian terms. Just as PanAm and TWA were better then international US competitors in many respects so was NW. None of them were good enough to meet their true competition. No US carrier, IMO, has ever really been a "Premium" carrier in the context of CX, SQ, EK and those are not 'Premium" on all their routes. DXB-KHI anybody? DL is doing pretty well in comparison with US competitors, except for all the IT issues and some serious fleet deficiencies. They are trying, and trying hard. That does not keep them from overreaching from time to time.

I think it's an incredibly ambitious goal. It is possible for American brands and products to be perceived as "luxury" or "prestige" in Asia. Examples include Apple, Polo, and Ritz Carlton.

Even with the hard product improvements, Delta's going to have challenges changing their perception from say"nice" to "luxury". For example, while the 777 BusinessElite hard product is certainly comfortable, it doesn't "look" luxurious. The colors and materials, for example, tie it too closely to the coach product.

I could not hold myself from replying. Delta's planes flying in to Asia are no where close to some Asian airlines like SIA. They retained the crappy planes NW had. E.g., some of their planes flying NRT and AMS-BOM don't even have personal TV in economy. I try flying KLM to DEL instead of flying to BOM on DL. DL does not even provide a toiletry kit. The image of DL in Asia is no where close to "premium" and it will take many years of hard work and investment to get there. TV advertisement is only good when you have a good product. A conned passenger who flies DL on the basis of a sexy advertisement, may never ever fly DL if the experience is not as advertised.

Good comments.

BTW are we talking about the same NW that flew the 744s that everybody now complains about? :rolleyes:

David

Yes. Northwest Orient was essentially a US-Asia airline and they had a great reputation in Japan for a US airline (For a US airline). To this day many Japanese still refer to NW not Delta and in Hong Kong where I spend a lot of time Delta is not widely known where NW was.

Isn't Ritz Carlton owned by the decidedly un-prestigious Marriot? :D

Bah. This has failure written all over it. I'll believe it when I see it. To be premium in Asia with respect to premium passengers means, above all, deferential service that puts the passengers first. I just don't see that spirit among DL's cabin crew.