flying_q

What does any of this mean? KNOWN entity?

What's the Delta SkyTrax rating for IT?

adamj023

Obviously this poster is a comedian so it is best for all of us to ignore this individual.

Imagine Mr. Anderson had an employee like said individual working for them. It would bring Delta back to the stone ages for sure.

Delta employees especially those on here are doing extremely commendable work.

I do apologize for not knowing the link which had the final cutoff date. I had it on hand and if I see it again I will post the link here. But my guess is it was correct since it was a Delta website which had an employee talking about the IT progress of the firm at a given point in time and it takes time to progress changes in as we know.

As having seen IT in the backrooms before for various firms, I can only imagine the holdup being the NW integration myself. As they say: Time heals all wounds.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

If he was working on an unrelated project then he should have said something to that affect. Which in turn would have diffused the situation completely. Been there done that.

Now if the OP continued to slag on him then sure take the course of action you bring up. But given that the person in question made the comment people do not know how to use the website implied to the OP he, in his professional capacity knows something about it. So he set them self up.

Sabai

Pray tell what is this incoherent rambling in reference to? What a swell job DL is doing with regards to website technology? Award calendar functionality?

Sorry, I'm encountering turbulence; let's try that again.

socrates

Now we have proof...DL customers are too dumb to navigate a website...guess it just proves CO (and former NWA) PAX are much smarter than DL pax today (including myself)...I can't believe this guy really implied that people didn't know how to navigate the site (well yes I can but still....really? Dr. Wise would shudder to think someone on her staff actually thought this)

socrates

+1...Theresa is the best of the best.....the problem is the situation was much worse than anyone expected when she arrived

socrates

??? Remember much of DL IT was outsourced before Dr. Wise's arrival - much has been brought back inhouse...there are many steps that needed to be taken before DL IT could be made into a world class operation (and it's well under way) - having a merger occur during the process certainly didn't help but I dont know that I'd place sole blame on the integration of of legacy NWA (afterall it's never easy to in-source a function that has been outsourced for so long)

adamj023

Everything in my article was entirely coherent.

Centralization of IT Systems and migrating and adding functionality take time. If you think Delta doesn't want more efficient computers to reduce costs and complexities with more automation down the road you are wrong. There are coders working for Delta working on thousands of lines of code and yet everyone time and time again take these guys for granted.

Integrations do not happen overnight. By the time JFK T4 for instance is expanded, along with Delta's T5 work at ATL and improvements to LGA amongst others, it is more than likely you will see new check in terminals and the like. In fact Delta's own marketting for T4 showed all new checkin self terminals and more.

Are there limitations in the system today? Absolutely. Delta is a super large carrier and handles flights all over the world through its booking systems. There is still old Northwest computers in use in all likelyhood as I already mentioned a final cutover date I saw.

I wouldn't even be surprised if new features were added to the IT systems to fix all the flaws people are mentioning about here. It takes time and they need to finish more work before that could even be started.

So I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised in further years.

Whether its an airline integration or a financial system integration and so on and so forth, the same issues will appear and manifest itself as firms integrate networks. It is a very complex time consuming task and often flaws will manifest themselves for awhile till the systems are fully solidified and integrated and then new feature adds could be implemented down the road.

There is a difference between knowledge and understanding and just assuming everything will be perfect. In life that is never the case, there is always more work to be done to make things better for future flyers down the road.

Delta has done exceptionally well in its integration so far and it impresses me there have not been more serious flaws than the small ones people here are going after right now which low and behold will most likely get rectified if it significantly matters.

So to Delta: Job well done.

To the nitpickers here: You obviously don't have integration experience with a major firm and know how it works from the inside out and think that a company can just add features on the go without first finishing migration.

Come future years if I check back, I would most likely find out things are working a lot more smoothly.

I never said its solely due to Northwest, but that seems to be one likely area to slow things down especially if it is true there is some legacy systems still in usage today which haven't fully changed over yet and post that time, they can then spend more time working on fixing or implementing feature adds or whatnot.

flying_q

First:

I would say most people on this forum are heavily involved with just this.

Second:

This was too long to read. I'm still trying to determine the connection between new equipment, modern terminals, and improvements to the website (see below).

Third:

I'm not trying to be a PITA, but I have to assume you work, worked, or are a hired PR intern of DL? Every comment you make runs with the same, sweeping generalizations:
- "DL is doing the absolute best they can to do XYZ, and time will tell..."
- "We will see what DL does when they do it, and when they do it we will know what they did"
- "DL is a first rate airline with 4 star rated SkyTrax something"
- "Doing things takes time, and DL is doing them. They are truly a first rate airline..."
- " DL has the best terminals and they are only improving..."

Most people in this forum, including myself, fly DL because they enjoy the total package (or, they have no choice). But honestly, live in reality buddy. The website sucks, the calendar will never be fixed, and the NWA site was worlds beyond what DL can offer. There is no integration - there is patchwork being done on an antiquated system.

No one is denying the fact that people are working behind the scenes to improve functionality. The point is, even their own organization denies the problems the average users see. How could DL possibly improve when they first deny? Imagine being an uninformed member of the masses trying to book an open jaw flight to APAC with 3 partners - nearly impossible.

I guess "only time will tell". After all, what do I know - I'm only a comedian.

davetravels

Trying to stitch together an award ticket - - keep getting . . .

"We're sorry. One or more of the flights you selected just sold out. Please search again to view and select alternate flights."

Oh, yes, this is TOP NOTCH IT!!!

When I rinse and repeat, the same flights are offered again. I select them and I continue to get . . .

"We're sorry. One or more of the flights you selected just sold out. Please search again to view and select alternate flights."

If it's sold out when I click on it, why is it still offered again, and again, and again!!!

flying_q

Clearly you're just not willing to wait long enough:

Only a few years to come - that's acceptable.

MS02113

Heresy! Delta is a true four-star carrier! We will see what Delta will do with their IT when they decide to do it. Until then, keep in mind they're doing a great job, except that there are domestic departures from JFK. I expect when I check back in a few years, this last unfortunate bit will have been remedied by expanded AirTrain service connecting JFK, LGA, and SWF.

5khours

Is there any requirement on these boards that someone who is working with or affiliated with an airline be required to so identify themselves?

adamj023

I don't work for Delta and have commented in multiple threads before. My comments were pertinent to Delta because this is a Delta Skymiles thread. Since I am out of JFK and LGA and not EWR, Delta quite frankly has more flights available for me.

Had this been another thread I would have commented pertaining to the other airline as well. Other airlines also face challenges just like Delta with IT especially those carriers which are in the process of mergers right now but we are getting off topic here for this thread.

Fortunately Delta's IT department and other Airlines IT departments don't interact constantly with their users on forums like this but have in appropriate settings let others know where they are at and heading.

With the internet firms like Delta amongst others are pretty open with where they are headed and going.

I have a Delta Skymiles account and Delta actually had my wrong information which I sent in a drivers license to rectify which was a simple fix. I can assure you I do not work nor have worked for them and Delta knows this too. I have been a passenger on their flights before.

Also I will disclose I am not currently a shareholder of the firm as well and do not own any airline stocks directly and I honestly doubt my indirect investments have any airline holdings but since they are foreign in nature, Delta would not be one even if it had a foreign carrier.

adamj023

No there is nothing wrong there. The flight really is sold out I am sorry to say. Till you select them, the system doesn't know it is sold out. Airline websites work like this.

How many people here have seen a fare then you clicked on it to say the flight is sold out or the price has changed for better or worse?

The last screen when you select is actually checking the realtime availability. Sorry but this is normal behavior. You will need to check other segments and other flights.

If the ones you are clicking on are the only ones which show up then they are sold. Check other routes and/or dates and times or airlines.

Call up Delta if you want since you can of course see if an agent somehow has more flights available that the online system won't allow bookings for. But from the system side, it is telling you it is sold out.