kicker

I'm not so sure it needs to be amended yet. SMI said that it will earn FFMs, not MQMs. He very easily could have said MQMs, but he chose the VERY generic term Frequent Flyer Miles instead.

I think that's called being intentionally vague.

DL_TIDE

The profit logic being that a airline can exist with just BE passengers?

davisew

Yeah, just look at YX...oh wait...

In this era of 'unbundling', I think it boils down to DL's answer to this question: are RDMs/MQMs/whatever either an ancillary product that costs extra (a la food, checked bags, etc.) or are they a marketing tool designed to sell the product?

Regardless, there is a cost to DL to maintain the program, but think what would happen if the grocery store tried to charge a fee to use your frequent shopper card...

StayingHomeIsBetter

Isn't it a pity that we have to be so circumspect?

Neither did he say that the miles would be 100% of the base miles.

Let's hope for the best, but hold our final opinion.

mnredfox

+1. What sickens me with DL the most is the unannounced changes. They have done this time and time again. Most recent with Asia changes (redemption levels and loss of Asia Gold SC membership).

Heck, to this date they still have not said a word. I did happen to get a packet saying 20K at the old level, talk about bait and switch...

Well, strategy is really dumb too. SMI only confirmed RDM's, not MQM's. I think DL's silence and lack of response only means one thing, they are about to start a new level of screwing customers. And when we all throw a fit Jeff and his buddies will start complaining about too many miles etc blah blah blah. The problem is the marriage with Amex and roll-over.

I think we do need to move to Save SMII. Wasn't SMI started with the reduction of MQM's on the lower fare classes?

I can't believe this isn't doing more to get people mad...

MikeMpls

People forget that Jeff was not the SkyMiles VP (or, older title, Managing Director) during the 2001-2004 sLUT debacles. He started his career at Delta with Rev. Mgmt., where the sLUT debacles originated.

About 4 years ago he placed a hint in one of his hit-&-run postings that reduced miles should be paid for lower fares. To find it, search for the word "channeling" (Flyin' Mom asked if he was channeling Leo ). The V fares should be no surprise given the track record of both Rev. Mgmt. & SkyMiles Mgmt.

Nothing really changes on Virginia Ave., except that they've learned to worked more incrementally & discretely. Anyone who thinks they're on "our" side is smoking something.

GUWonder

I find it a little bit premature to worry about regular paid fares on delta.com not earning miles (of one or both sorts) even as DL management would probably love to again further gut the value of miles earned from flights for flights, no less so for those trips that are considered by DL management to be "discount" economy class fares.

The names and/or faces may change, but the flavor of DL HQ kool-aid remains as is.

MikeMpls

+1

This is just par for the course.

Compared to their long-term track record prior to the merger ...
... they've been relatively benign since the merger (until this).

florin

1. You are not reading this thread correctly.
2. If you don't like a thread, you don't have to continue reading it.
3. If you don't like FT, you don't have to continue reading it or participating in it.

3Cforme

I guess you missed SMI's post above - that, or simply choose to ignore it and to perpetuate your complaint.

As for unannounced changes, documentation showed that E is a non-earning class. Anyone buying E under that set of rules has no reason to expect that miles will be earned. No further announcement is necessary. Could mot29 have purchased the E fare and found himself not earning miles? He could have - but was too smart for that.

Winkdaddy

I am banking that SMI also meant MQMs..so lets hope he comes back with more clarification..and also to verify that E class is eligible for complimentary medallion upgrades.

mot29

Thank you 3Cforme. Yes I did check the rules before buying an E fare. But how many customers aren't savvy enough to check?

kicker

I bought my E fare on Friday the 13th. Maybe that's why I should have become suspicious?

In all seriousness, what was I supposed to check? The website is tragically BROKEN.

Should I have checked the fare class rules? It makes no mention of E fare classes, only lumping anything not present on the website as "all other."

Should I have checked the MQM calculation? We all know the website has been posting incorrect MQMs for quite a while now.

GrizShel

While we wait to learn whether this means that the base level of 100% eqms and Skymiles will continued to be maintained with these fares, let me just take a moment to thank you and all of the other great Delta / Northwest employees that have done a great job of customer service for us over the years - you folks are the reason that I have so far continued to fly Delta quite a bit the last couple of years even after a serious of disappointments following the merger - especially unannounced eilte benefit and award program changes. Hopefully Delta rep participation on public forums like Flyertalk can be stepped up again and the unwanted surprises will become a thing of the past.

So I hope Delta will see fit to give customers more of a heads up going forward of program changes. I'll cite just one recent example - the unannounced restructuring of the award program for intra-Asia redemptions and the reduction in benefits for Asian Skymiles members was a huge devaluation of skymiles for a significant segment of your customers - the overnight changes caught lots of them by surprise and has turned off many customers from Delta. Sadly, that was not the first time I experienced something like that after coming over to Delta from Northwest.

Bicostal

Which brings me to this observation - when the discounted FC and Business fares were introduced (P,A,I,S, and D), the fare class mileage credit (Paid/Flown) was consistent with the mileage charts - 1.5X RDM and 1.5X MQM.

Then comes monetization and you get a D fare class (domestic as an example) and it lists out at H/D (Paid/Flown) for mileage accrual. Initially, the accrual was an H fare Class (discounted Economy) accrual (no 1.5X MQM). Since then it has changed and the "up" type fares now include a 1.5X MQM "Delta 50% Class of Service Bonus for UP fares."

Nowhere was this ever announced or discussed including on the Earn Miles with Delta table on the website. In fact, the column labeled "Purchased Accrual Classes" is inconsistent with the itinerary labeled "fare class" and unrelated to the booking codes used on tickets themselves. The whole "FC monetization" scheme is so poorly communicated and has been so inconsistently implemented that regardless of any financial windfall, the fallout on elites in terms of impressions - real or imagined - may well exceed the gain.

And now we get E class fare classes which on the table are mixed in with R, O, and N class? R is a domestic FC Award ticket, N is a Coach Award ticket and O is a BE Award ticket - what is an E?. Another opportunity to confuse.