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Free booze doesn't cut it for me
The SkyClub is suppose to cater to the Business Traveler who is more than likely a professional and doesn't start drinking in the morning or throughout the day. I would definitely rather see better and more food offerings than the free booze. If SkyClub is going to have certain offerings at certain hours, why don't they put booze out after 4pm and keep the food out all day? Many people on this forum praise DL/NW for the free booze and I admit that I will occasionally poor myself a drink if I am on my way home and am not in meetings anymore. If SkyClub can't get their act together and offer something better than "monkey chow" (love that one), they should allow us members to at least bring in some food that is palatable.
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Originally Posted by amanuensis
(Post 12600503)
I got a couple of Sky Club passes when I bit on the American Express 40,000 miles offer. So I decided to try out the SLC lounge before a recent flight. It was a morning flight so the club had a fairly nice continental breakfast spread. But I could have eaten breakfast at an airport food stand and gotten better food. I don't drink alcohol so all I asked for at the bar was orange juice. Which was obviously from concentrate since it came out of a hose. I much prefer the fresh-squeezed juice I can get a one particular airport vendor.
The lounge had nice chairs and free wifi, but the rest of the airport also has free wifi now. I tried to time going to the gate with the boarding time for the flight, but boarding was a little delayed and so I spent about 15 minutes at the gate standing up because by the time I got there, all the seats were taken. So that pretty much counterbalanced having the nice lounge seat earlier. I think having a dedicated desk in the club to deal with irregular operations issues is a definite plus. But I do not see enough value in having that "conceirge" available to offset the cost of a club membership. I am a couple of rungs down the corporate ladder from where the company would reimburse me for club fees. But the company does pay for my meals while traveling, including at airports and onboard planes. Given that, why would I want to eat lounge food when I could be eating exactly what I want elsewhere in the airport? I'm sorry folks -- I don't get it. Where is the value proposition in a club membership for us nondrinkers? The clubs (or at least the better ones) offer a good place to work. NWA legacy clubs have printers you can use. I have been told that the DL legacy clubs are going to "catch up" in this respect. The food "service" is not intended to take the place of a restaurant meal. (Nonetheless, DL should stop degrading the quality of the snack offerings.) And, as you point out, having a dedicated service desk that you can access during IROPs (without having to wait in a line with 50 or 60 other people) is a real plus. Overall, for the very frequent traveler, IMHO, the clubs still offer a slight positive value proposition. Whether DL intends to drive the value proposition positive or negative over the next 12 months or so remains to be seen. |
I find the food offerings satisfactory to a great extent. If you feel that an airline club should provide for entire meals for domestic flights, your expectations are far higher than mine. I do enjoy the free drinks as I think its incredibly tacky to have to ring a register and pay $6 for a beer as is the case at AA and UA. This is an area where DL continues to differentiate itself.
My only request would be to extend the hours of the TATL food spread to 9 - 10pm so as to include at least DUB/DXB/LHR and some of the South American locations. The cost should self-regulate as there are few domestic flights out of E past 7-8pm and the number of BE pax will dwindle. I also find it interesting that DL is trying to compete on the ATL-LHR flight with a quality BA product and doing do with a pre-flight product that is of dubious quality. Of course, DL could also return to the days where the BE lounge was really the BE lounge and not integrated with the SC's. That would ensure that only BE pax are receiving the treats meant for them. Just my $2.5Million Zim Dollars... |
Originally Posted by WBurcham
(Post 12585352)
Wirelessly posted (ATT Tilt: 8900a/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.6) UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)
i'm actually happy about the food cutbacks. one good way to keep Americans from getting more obese. the fact that northwest wanted to fatten their pax up does explain the ratty interiors. FAt people put more stress on the seats.
Originally Posted by TheMoose
(Post 12585405)
OM(F)G. You apologists will rationalize anything, won't you??? :rolleyes:
Originally Posted by itsaboutthejourney
(Post 12587579)
Talk about stirring the pot :td:
You seem oblivious to the fact that the WorldClubs used to offer healthy options like real cheese (not processed cheese food), carrots, celery sticks, whole fresh fruit- and all day long? I think your argument is upside down, and our friends from the South may be fattening people up with their sugary & salty shelf-stable stacks @:-)
Originally Posted by CDQ
(Post 12595132)
I've noticed former NWA fliers complain about food a lot.
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Originally Posted by WBurcham
(Post 12609945)
They complain about anything... a lot.
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They complain about anything... a lot.[/QUOTE]
<tongue in cheek mode on> :p As a legacy DL-North PM, I have never complained in my life about anything related to DL-North until the merger when our airline, our FFP, our very way of life was decimated by the forces of repression and darkness. Nothing ever went wrong in DL-North World, and as a matter of fact, if any elite complained, s/he was given 1,000,000 RDMs, free WC (in those days) access, granted life time ST+ status on all ST Airlines (was a very special feature of our martyred FFP), a personal apology from Doug Steenland and chocolate milk in the water fountains! <tongue in cheek mode off>:D Having said that, could anyone offer the list of the SCs with the "enhanced offerings" domestically? Is it only ATL and JFK during "international departure time?" Just wondering ..... Safe Travels |
Originally Posted by itsaboutthejourney
(Post 12610121)
and you my friend, complain about the complaining a LOT @:-)
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Originally Posted by AndyTLe
(Post 12600534)
After one time of dealing with IRROPS, you'd find the agents in the DSC invaluable. I believe that the ability of the agents to help during these situations to be well worth the membership........
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Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter
(Post 12593113)
I was in the CVG CRC in concourse A this week, and they had a spread that was above the DL average... including chicken salad, pita chips, some sort of non-hummus chick pea salad.
Any perspective? Was this in deference to the remaining overseas departures out of CVG? A quasi-BC offering? The TV in the former BE lounge in ATL is so loud (some commercials actually have higher volume than others)...it's hard to concentrate or relax in there sometimes. |
Can we do anything to oust Michelle Bernstein?
Her "vision and upscale menu designs" are taking a nose dive! I don't know whether Delta is being cheap about the ingredients and Michelle cannot deal with it (in that case she should exit herself and save her reputation) or she is just not good (I have not eaten in her restaurants on the ground, but trying her dishes in the air left me with no desire to try her cooking). Chiarello's offerings on the domestic BE flights are far superior, and I imagine he would do even better on the international flights.
Anyone knows if she has a fixed term contract (i.e. we are stuck), or perhaps enough letters can result in a change? I could not find it on the web. (Of course, I could be the only one who is not in love with Delta's BE choices, and in that case it's nothing more than a matter of taste, and I will shut up). |
The sad thing about Michelle Bernstein is that her food on the ground is actually very good - it just has translated horribly to BE.
I think her food tends to be more complicated, with fairly bold Latin flavors... these seem to have been dumbed down. The recipes probably bear little resemblance to what she would actually cook, and then the flight kitchens and flight crews mangle the finished product even more. Plus, bear in mind only one main course per flight is actually "designed" by Bernstein. But with her name so prominently featured on the menu, you could forgive a passenger for associating her with any crappy dish on the menu, even if it isn't hers. It's bad for passengers, bad for DL and especially terrible for Bernstein, who has had a few truly excellent restaurants in Miami. This can't be good for her reputation. I wonder if she's ever actually experienced her food in the air. |
for the record, i do not consider myself to have a "sophisticated" palette.
however, if i had to imagine what ALPO takes like- her food is a close tie. it's FARKING GROSS. (period) and you're right - she needs to get her name off the menu. d |
Originally Posted by orlandodlplat
(Post 18078566)
The sad thing about Michelle Bernstein is that her food on the ground is actually very good - it just has translated horribly to BE.
I think her food tends to be more complicated, with fairly bold Latin flavors... these seem to have been dumbed down. The recipes probably bear little resemblance to what she would actually cook, and then the flight kitchens and flight crews mangle the finished product even more. Plus, bear in mind only one main course per flight is actually "designed" by Bernstein. But with her name so prominently featured on the menu, you could forgive a passenger for associating her with any crappy dish on the menu, even if it isn't hers. It's bad for passengers, bad for DL and especially terrible for Bernstein, who has had a few truly excellent restaurants in Miami. This can't be good for her reputation. I wonder if she's ever actually experienced her food in the air. I agree that it's not Michelle that's the cause so much as it being down to poor ingredients, poor creation, and poor preparation. I had the crew heat "Michelle's" signature chicken entree while still on the ground on a NRT-PDX flight and while it might have tasted divine (at some point), it was so rubbery after sitting for an hour drying out in an oven - only to then be reheated again, that it would matter not. While I think it must always a bit of a gamble to put your name to airline food; with all the vagaries, inability of personal oversight and hardy environment; I did find that Charlie Trotters bash at it with United was one of the better efforts. :eek: Andrea Robinson's job seems to be far the better of the two ;) |
Originally Posted by orlandodlplat
(Post 18078566)
I think her food tends to be more complicated, with fairly bold Latin flavors... these seem to have been dumbed down. The recipes probably bear little resemblance to what she would actually cook, and then the flight kitchens and flight crews mangle the finished product even more.
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Originally Posted by glbetrotter
(Post 18078248)
I don't know whether Delta is being cheap about the ingredients...
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