KDCAflyer

And it still sees a measurable number of connections. I've been on flights to CVG before where a significant number of people have onward connections.

readywhenyouare

Agreed, there were a lot of gate checked bags on my last MCO-CVG flight and looking at the bag tags most were connecting onto places like CLT, BNA, ORD, STL, MCI, EWR, DCA.

CJKatl

I posted this when it happened a few years ago... The last time I connected through CVG I got off the plane from ATL, looked up at the blue board and mine was the only connection listed. The GA confirmed that I was the sole connecting passenger getting off a pretty full plane.

KDCAflyer

Well considering you were coming from ATL, and CVG doesn't have any unique destinations, I'm not surprised.

readywhenyouare

Yeah, no big surprise. The last city only served from CVG was Huntington, WV and I think it was moved to DTW around 2011. It failed from DTW.

pbarnette

While I appreciate the way some of the folks here are channeling Yogi Berra, the entire premise of this thread is flawed in that "better" is here defined as "small", which makes it pretty much impossible for DL to drive material volumes of traffic without making those new airports less "better".

KDCAflyer

+1

readywhenyouare

I never suggested increasing flights to the levels of the larger hubs. I said advertise and potentially monetize it as a test to see if people are willing to pay more for nicer employees and an easier connecting experience. But you seem to be all-knowing so I guess we should all keep our thoughts to ourselves.

FlyerWx

I would be willing to pay a small amount more for an easier connecting experience (*cough* not LHR ) but the problem with smaller airports like RDU is the frequency of flights isn't enough to make connecting a viable option for many people.

pvn

Yeah, I can see it now "Delta: our employees in the airports you usually connect in are big old poopie heads, try our new airports instead" seems like a winning strategy.

FWIW, it seems like you're the only person who thinks MSP and DTW employees are all big jerks.

bitterproffit

I have connected in MSP, CVG, ATL and DTW. I saw no real difference in employees. Many were nice. Some were having bad days. I think its odd that we just assume airport employees in CVG or MSP are going to be nicer than ATL or DTW. What metric are we using? Surely has not been my experience. In my mind, an easier connect experience is having flights where and when I want to go. Size of airport has nothing to do with that to me.

pvn

I'm still not sure what exactly is the problem with connecting in DTW or ATL etc. You say it's "fantastic" in RDU, and I agree that RDU is a nice airport but what specifically is Delta supposed to highlight in these ads?

readywhenyouare

For starters it's a lot nicer not having people constantly bumping into you and being shoulder to shoulder at the gate. I also don't care for the "deal with it" attitude some of the agents at the larger hubs give you. They gave me a dirty shower room at DTW the last time I was there and the agent acted like she was doing me a favor when I asked her to have someone come and collect the dirty towels off the floor. As for MSP, there are plenty of very nice people in MN because I have met them, they just don't work for Delta. A couple of years ago I posted about the agent who tried to cheat me out of an upgrade on MSP-SEA. I won because I got a redcoat involved but she was none too happy and at me to get on the plane.

The employees in ATL seem to do the best they can but are simply overwhelmed by the sheer amount of traffic they force through there. The agents could make life easier on themselves if they would let the computer help them like they used to.

It was very nice stepping off the plane in CVG and RDU and being treated as a guest and not a problem.

pbarnette

I find that if you are convinced you are going to have a problem, you will.

KDCAflyer

For the record, the only DL hub I hate connecting through is SLC. I've never had a major issue with any of the others.

I can connect through ATL without thinking at this point, and the only bad experiences I've had have been ExpressJet-related. The other hub I use most is MSP, and while I don't like the SkyClub situation, the rest of the airport is fine.

I definitely want to try an RDU connection soon, and if CVG-MSY comes back, I will almost certainly connect there when flying DCA-Louisiana.