Oh don't worry, that is coming, along with the revenue based mileage system. You will be wishing we had the 'old' system then so you could still redeem a intl J ticket for 'only' 220k at medium.

Unfortunately, I believe you are 100% correct.

Mike

Losing my business
 

Wow, Delta is losing my business. I'm a solid Silver Medallion. Not impressive I know, but I do not live in a Delta hub city, so it will not be hard to change it all. This along with their new change to the MQM earning on partner airlines is a big no-go for me. What a waste. Delta was such a good airline.

Delta IS still a good airline.

Count me in the minority, but as much as I do try to maximize status and rewards, I'm realizing that I continue flying DL because I believe they have the best product, and their schedules and prices almost always work out better or equal to anyone else (ex-ATL).

I do the same with hotels and cars, too, where I prefer Hilton/SPG and National/Hertz, but the other week I went with Avis because their rate was better for what I needed to do.

All the rewards programs, to me, are just bonuses on top of what I'd already do, and when I put myself in that mindset, changes and devaluations are mildly annoying, but ultimately just that.

+1 from me too

I guess I'm part of the minority, as well. I'm not a super-elite. I don't chase status. I'm a bit of a hub-captive traveler, but ironically enough DL tends to be the cheapest option to my destinations anyway. I've never had issues with checked luggage, or missed a flight unless it was something DL was obligated to accomodate (knock on wood x2). DL has a huge network of destinations either directly served by them or partners (cue "but they don't give you MQMs..."). I can get anywhere in the world I need to go in the shortest time, amount of connections, and often the lowest price. And since I don't expect upgrades, I'm absolutely tickled when they happen. Not to mention that I also think DL has the better service and hard product, at least in the economy cabin department. After all, we are screaming through the air 35000 ft up, crammed into a metal tube. You can only do so much...

If Company A posts losses of $8 billion and gains of $7 billion, and Company B posts $8 billion in losses and $5 billion in gains, obviously they're both not doing great; however, on a relative scale, Company A is better off. Same with American carriers. None of them are phenomenal, especially with only three big players (plus Alaska since they play nicely with DL and AA) and a few wild cards (Southwest, Spirit, etc). But hey, in a free market where you can spend your money wherever you want, you're going to ignore all the negative stuff and go with the one that has the most positives, i.e. take the best you can get. It might not be a first class suite on Emirates, but DL sure beats the heck out of flying US Airways...

You then have to count me in the majority.

Does Delta have the best flights? Yes - they often have the most flights, and as they are the biggest, that should be expected. Of course there used to be a time when I had a choice of 5 or 6 carries (at least) to really choose from. Now the reality is that there are three mainline and 2 "alternative" carriers. In some markets you might have another option or two, usually some small low cost option. But that is it.

And while you may not have had many bad experiences, I have had a definite increase in missed connections, baggage issues, ticketing issues, etc. While DL's hard product is not the worst, it is also not the best, and the variability has gotten much worse. Prices are up, rules are more difficult and you have to jump through more hoops. Other airlines have improved their services. But more importantly, Delta has gotten worse.

I suppose you can take the approach of low expectations, which certainly gives the passenger a coping mechanism and gives the airline a short term benefit in their bottom line. but isn't the whole idea behind the free market that by giving the customer power, the company itself becomes stronger? What is pushing the airlines to improve?

The reality is we don't have free market choices any more. There is no alternative to air travel, and now we are headed to three mainline choices and a few select market alternatives. The mainline carriers are so big that there is no real chance for new entrants to come in, and the existing airlines have to focus on niche markets only. The reality is we are making a weaker industry because we are letting airlines rely on scarcity and cutbacks to drive profits. So if we want long term strength in our airlines, we have to drive them to provide a better product.

DL isn't the biggest but they sure act like it... they're #3 behind UA and AA/US now.

False

So sticking your rear into an airplane seat for 25,000/50,000/x number of miles should be irrelevant, while the amount of money your company (not you, in most cases) spent to buy your tickets becomes the only measure of your "loyalty"? Maybe I'm a bit idealistic, but I do think status should be based on more than how much money you've been worth to the airline during a calendar year - it should reflect the actual time you've had to endure in a metal tube. Otherwise, status levels might as well be put up for sale - hell, the airlines could just hold auctions.

Maybe I'm nostalgic, but I'm a little sad that with the advent of MQDs we're losing one more little perk - the opportunity for status - that isn't directly linked to how much money you take out of your wallet.

Soon they will be. They already are, indirectly.

And this shouldn't surprise anybody. After all, your "value" to an airline has nothing to do with how long you endure their metal tubes. That's nothing but cost for them. They would happily fly empty planes if people would pay for the seats and not fly!

Your true value to any business is closely related to how much revenue you bring them -- revenue being a reasonable proxy for profit -- and airlines are beginning to acknowledge that. I don't really like it, either, but it's hardly crazy.

Bruce

I have been wondering it they will have purchases of gift cards/personal stored credit (meaning the stored credit could only be applied to your personal tickets) to count towards MQDs. For DM, you could pay $12,500, and it would count regardless of when you actually spent the money (but you'd have to pay the $12,500 every year to requalify). Delta would also win by earning $ on the unspent dollars. Surprised they haven't blatantly gone this way, as it's great for short-term revenue (actual accounting treatment aside). Not saying this is a good idea or not...for me, this would be preferable than the hassle of having to track MQDs.

Perhaps for your travel patterns, but not for mine.

And I do frequently purchase tickets on business-heavy routes at business-heavy times. A fair number of those purchases are less than one week out (though admittedly/thankfully, no same-day), and end up being in the Q/K neighborhood.

From your response, I'm sure that your experience is that DL fares are higher for the days/times/routes you need to fly. However, that is not my experience for the days/times/routes that I need or want to fly.

They do this in a way already with the DPJ card. IIRC, a $50k deposit gets you immediate DM, and you can spend the funds on commercial flights. Funds last for two years.