Renes Points

[satire to follow but sorta not] keep in mind there has to be give and take (we give they take). So to keep the perk of never expiring Skymiles we must give up Skymiles we earned when we die.

Next, we must give up SDC that are good, so we can have have unlimited upgrades or we may have to give those up too.

Kids it is all about give and take!

DaveNC

How does this save them money? How many of those Y seats that I have SDC'd into would have been sold for full value if I had stayed on my original flight? Few, if any -- that's the reason for the 3-hour window. I don't get it.

After the merger, American will look a lot better out of RDU.

StayingHomeIsBetter

I'm in favor of DL making a profit... under the theory that a profitable airline may be around long enough for me to use (maybe) some of the miles I have accumulated.

But, consider the actions of a herd of cattle, that has gone too long without water. They smell a water hole just over the ridge and they start stampeding towards it, running down anything in their path.

Now that Virginia Ave has has learned what profit smells like, they are stampeding for more, trampling all of us who are in the way.

And, they don't give a damn about the long-term consequences of doing so.

jrmoore

Unfortunately that does seem to be the case. Again. As a lowly silver (I think the FT-PC term is "FO", yes?) I've watched what few benefits the status level had either sold off to credit card companies or, in the case of the forward seats, just flat sold as economy discomfort. I was actually hoping that they'd end up giving us SDC (it does help them balance out flights, after all) but now I don't really see a reason to care one way or the other.

I know I don't fly enough to even be a bug on Delta's windshield, but to see them geld one of the truly useful benefits to those of you who ARE on their RADAR like this is pretty sad. Many people in my company have given up on status in general and have started going to Kayak to book travel. And, when I'm hearing that the majority of travel is now going on Southwest/AirTran out of ATL (!), it makes me wonder what DL is really thinking.

StayingHomeIsBetter

It appears that they are getting even more brazen, with benefits cuts that are now impacting those even in the highest membership tiers... what was the phrase they used a few weeks ago?

"... trying to protect the travel experience of our most loyal customers..."

Something like that.

Balderdash.

rylan

I still think DL is acting like big man on the block monopoly, when in fact they're the #3 airline now after the UA/CO and AA/US mergers.

MikeMpls

As one of Delta's grumpiest (and mostly former) customers, this brings a bit of a smile to my eyes:
This is a long-overdue reincarnation of the NW-style standby (free then for Golds & Plats). I was never fond of Delta's SDC despite doing so much of our domestic travel only Delta, but we did countless standbys like this at the NW gates (e.g. book the later, cheaper CRJ, then when you land haul your derriere to the earlier flight & get on a real plane, usually with an upgrade). It gives you a lot of flexibility to take earlier flights if you can get to them on time, e.g. that real plane instead of a CRJ or a connection that could not be booked legally because it was too short.

I'll agree that the three-hour and fare bucket restrictions are gutting SDC, but Delta never seems to overlook an opportunity to shaft any happy customers that they might have hanging around. C'est la vie.

HongKonger

And giving you a "more exclusive medallion experience." I guess by exclusive they mean more and more of the benefits that make status worthwhile will be excluded.

delanet

So just to add a data point. I know its common for people to claim they will leave etc over negative changes.

But just my 2 cents I left DL in December last year (my history 07-09, NWPE 10-11 DM, 12PM) im not going to claim I dont miss them as I do, they were good to me and I enjoyed the product. However I felt like skymiles did not have my best interests at heart and was actively evolving to disadvantage loyal customers. So I did something about and too my business else where. I'm proud to report today my SM balance is 302

Just wanted to point out that though some may never leave, most do have their breaking point and I think DL is surpassing it with many now. They would do well to not that while competition domestically has (sadly) decreased they are certainly not the only game in town!

Sez_Who

Agree with everything you say, except this. IMO, DL is looking at the long-term. Look at their competition. AA will be tied up with BK/merger for another couple years. That leaves only UA as a serious competitor and really, how serious a competitor are they as they continue to hemorrhage corp accounts and make excuses every quarter why they still can’t make money?

DL pretty much has a free ride to destroy their FF program because, well, they can. Corps love them for excellent on time performance and some sweet deals. Many FFers like them for their hard product, at least as compared to the other legacies. Customer service also ranks DL higher than the others. From their big buyer point of view, DL is doing everything right. Most important, the others are not.

As I keep saying, we are nowhere near the bottom of the FF program trashing. At some point – still a long way off – DL will begin to restore benefits that they are taking away from us but at the moment, they are quite empowered despite how FTers may feel about this.

DL is not going to change course just because of comments on FT. They will gladly put up with some complaining as long as their numbers show what they are doing works. Only when their numbers fall off will they know they went too far. In the meantime, buckle up because this will get much worse.

StayingHomeIsBetter

We don't often agree, but ^^^

MSPtoMEL

SDC is one of the better benefits DL offered elites and one I often used - and not in a "gaming the system" way either. I have to say, between the awful web site and this change, it seems DL is trying its best to de-enhance rather than enhance the benefits of being an elite at their airline. Seriously, can anyone recall an improvement in the last year?

I don't consider myself one of those elites with an entitlement mentality and DL has to earn a profit (I get MQDs as a business decision, for example), but the disconnect between their actions and their words with regard to how much they value elites is becoming laughable. If someone is truly valuable customer you find ways to tie them ever closer to your product - you don't start testing how poorly you can treat them until they leave.

I'll take SDC over those incessant "how was your travel experience" email polls if they are curious as to which benefits they can remove.

HongKonger

Really, what do we disagree about? I guess I hadn't noticed (no offense).

Ebes1099

It would be interesting to compile a list of Delta's "enhancements" they've put in so far this year.

MQD's, Less MQM's on M Fares, The "free" companion cert that costs $40, thrashing SDC...the list goes on and I'm sure someone here could add a lot more.

StayingHomeIsBetter

Nothing serious.

No offense taken or meant. ^