skchin

Are you wearing extra layers of unDs for padding?

cxxviii

Wow, and I thought I was bad... I'm still in the 50's (segments) for 2011 to date and typically end up in the 160's at year-end. Half of my flights are CRJs but the other half is DTW-DCA which still has a 1st class. (Delta has converted all the IAD flights to CRJs, just waiting for the same to happen to DCA. Fortunately lots of politicians on the DCA flights so I'm hoping they help keep us CRJ-free.)

I agree segment fliers get the shaft, I fly from the 2nd most expensive airport in the country (according to several sources, based on cents per mile) and I pay about $25K per year for my Diamond status... and that includes buying way in advance, and knowing how/when to buy 'good fares' - it could be a lot worse. I'm guessing that's pretty high to achieve Diamond.

The only letter I've ever written to Delta was to ask why MQMs get rolled over and not segments. To date I have not received an answer (though I have received multiple non-answers).

CJKatl

It makes sense to me. Someone who flies ATL-AMS r/t, ~8800 miles, uses more gas, gets meals, etc... Let's say that's equivalent to 17 segments for a hopper. Putting aside that the economies of scale work better for the bigger planes, the long-distance flyer is only using the ground crew, airport, baggage claim, etc. twice, while the hopper is using all those services 17 times. It's easy to see where the distance flyers don't require as many resources.

natas43

I'm sitting at 42 segments with a whopping 21007 MQMs. I finished last year with 160 segments after only working for 9 months the entire year. I'm torn as to whether to be happy about this or not- I will be moving to a different client site which will no longer require flying- only a 2.5 hour drive.

So, I'll finish with 48 segments and 24007 MQMs and will drop from Diamond to Silver....

DL2SXM

^

darthnomster

This is why i'm getting my own pilot's license. This time next year I'll be flying myself to all of those short hop locations.

Singleflyer

The other part of that is DL cost per mile is about $0.15 (more now with fuel) and their revenue from my flying is $0.49 per mile flown, more than 3 times their cost. I do agree my short hops use more fixed costs/assets on a per mile basis than a TATL flight. My CHS-ATL-BHM-ATL-CHS were pricing out at $1,200.00 on a K fare, and that is about 800 mile RT. I thin DL makes money off the short hops

CJKatl

I get many LUT fares, and am based in ATL, so it's a different story here. Maybe a couple times a month I have no choice but to purchase an expensive fare, but I'm doing the majority of my hops at low prices. (Yesterday's o/w MKE-ATL was under $80. Week after next's flights to/from HTS are just under $500 each.)

I'm okay with us, as a group, being perceived as less profitable. I'm not okay with our never being included in any promos, when the miles flyers are lavished with extras. The one that gets me the most is that unlike other programs, we don't get a bonus half-segment credit for expensive fares. My F tickets count the same as my T-fares.

When a small plane flies, those of us who did pay high fares have more of an impact on whether that flight makes or loses money. I'd beg to say it's likely that segments flyers would be more likely to be purchasing a last minute high fare ticket than miles qualifiers. We fly those routes more and are more likely to have tight schedules that change often. (No proof, just an inkling on my part.) It would be nice of DL threw us this bone to recognize when we purchase expensive, last minute fares.

While I probably only wind up purchasing 18 expensive fares a year, that would still be an additional 9 flight credits.

donjc451

My personal opinion is that Segment flyers get the shaft because Delta is smart enough and devious enough to figure out that if your doing a lot of short segment flights you are most likely located in a Delta Hub and probably don't have much choice for direct flights. For example most of my flights are ATL/CHS and ATL/TLH, these are 45 minute flights and DL is the only one that flies direct and they charge over $600 for these flights regardless of how far in advance you book.

dean1121

sorry brother I'm all long haul.

Medallion® Qualification Miles (year to date): 408,909
incl. Medallion® Qualification Miles (rolled over): 308,190
Medallion® Qualification Segments (year to date): 28

Moebius01

Sadly, there's actually some merit to that thought. Speaking as a hub captive who has spent the last 19 months doing the same short hop every week or bi-weekly and barely scraping by as gold for my efforts, it certainly feels like that's the case.

TheBisch

Not necessarily. I qualified last year as FO on segments, because most of my work was east coast last year. So, when I fly Delta, I can guarantee that 2 of my segments will be CHA-ATL and ATL-CHA (a 22 minute flight). This year, most of my work has been been west coast, so I'm already close to requalifying as FO on miles this year.

bdahlg68

I've always felt the segment counts didn't match the mileage requirements for status. It seems really skewed towards the inter-con business traveler (which I appreciate). I am DM on 51 segments last year, and 47500 MQM on 12 segments this year (no amex, only 1 business fare international). That being said, I rarely have connections as my main routes are DTW-AMS and DTW-PVG. Nevertheless I can't imagine dealing with Delta 100+ times / year. I already give them enough opportunities to disappoint.

Moebius01

After plotting my planned travel for the remainder of the year, I'm back to thinking they still shaft segment qualifiers a bit. As it stands now, I'll end up at 52 segments (and around 41k mqm), meaning I'll have to make a segment run to keep Gold. What frustrates me personally is that I can sit here, give Delta loyal business 26 weeks out of the year, so effectively flying every other week. Unfortunately, as that trip is only 762 miles (MEM-DCA), I'm generally worthless in the eyes of Delta and only get Silver out of it (which let's face it, as a commuter who has no bag to check is generally worthless). Meanwhile, for nearly the exact same cost per ticket, I have a friend/former colleague who goes to MEM-LAX about once every 3 weeks. So in the end, he'll spend less, travel less often, and get Gold status with about 5k miles to rollover on top of it. Something's wrong with this picture....

Now I need to go try and find a cheap 2 stop run to try and snag 6 of the 8 segments I'll need to stay Gold.

donjc451

Exactly my point. I fly short expensive flights about every 3 weeks I'll end up with about 35 segments a year and will have given Delta $11K plus in revenue and end up only as Silver and which is worthless for the flights I do because there are very few leisure travelers on a flight that costs $600 that can be driven in 5 hours, so I never get upgraded( I'm 0 for 14 this year). To add insult to injury I also end up with very few miles to use for personal use. Contrast that to ATL/LAX/ATL 17 times in a year, Delta would only get about $5000 in revenue but I would be a Gold with 37,500 to role over.

It's not even close segment flyers get the shaft.