TTT

Does not apply to D1 of course, but Delta has made a marketing decision to offer upgrades to it's frequent flyers. My past and future purchasing decisions are partially driven by this benefit. So while I may not be buying F on every flight, I have an expectation of a chance to be in F on every flight (where it applies).

davetravels

Just thought I'd add to the convo . . . .

When I fly in Delta One (Business Elite, in this case), I will occasionally take a selfie or 2 (NOT with a flash during the night). It's fun to send the pics to envious peeps on the ground whilst flying at around 40,000 feet (for free via the T-Mobile deal)!

That said - I DO NOT non-rev . . . . Unless, you count those coupl'a times back on TWA!

Here'z my pic, in case you happen to see me "non-non-revving"! Please say hi!

apodo77

I flew my first D1 back in February and didn't think it was elite at all. Granted my international F experience has been on Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Etihad, and British Airways (2012 as it seems they have cut back a lot).

Also I thought it was easy to tell who the nonrevs were on my flight (I would guess about 10). FYI...doesn't bother me. They are DL's seats to do as they please with.

Minny_COYS

After over a year of following this board from afar and finally joining up last month, this thread has finally got me to post.

I have mostly flown yield NRSA or otherwise on NW/DL my entire life. When need be I pay full, and have no qualms in doing so. While I understand the OP's orig question, as with others I do not understand the incensed feeling towards D1 being a golden parachute. I have recommended the product to many friends and coworkers some of whom have become loyal and repeat customers. What would Delta, or any airline for that matter gain by flying with the front empty? The best advertising good or bad is word of mouth, you can’t have that if no one has anything to say.

I am also curious what gives me away? I have done my best over the years to make the flying experience as good as it can be for everyone on board.

ChiefNWA

Like I said before, we smell and have matching underwear. How else are we so obvious?

FYI - Totally being sarcastic. I've seen nonrevs in suits before so how someone is so keen to tell nonrevs apart is beyond me. The only times I can think of is when they skip over you during a meal request, come back to tell you that they had to give your choice to a rev passenger or when we all board late. I'm pretty sure though they're supposed to take meal orders all at once now to help mitigate that.

Orange County Commuter

My Delta1 back from Madrid a few weeks ago was basically empty. I don't think there were any non-revs in there.

Now on the way over. Let's just say Delta gave me 7,500 miles due to "Mrs. I AM THE PILOTS WIFE" and her way out of line behavior. (I gave them seat number and details. I hope he got an earful for bringing "princess pilot wife" on his flight! Did you know that pilot's wives don't have to wait in line for restrooms??? Neither did I until I met this "witch" who by the way was dressed like a 50 year old wanna be Valley Girl in leggings and a nasty shirt!) The nice thing about inflight wifi is you can complain while the "witch" is doing her act LOL!

dinanm3atl

I know.

I am talking comp upgrades. The GUC is a whole other topic. It's not like it's a guarantee. To guarantee you have to call in and be ready to buy and have a range of dates. And MOST times it's not even on Delta...

Miesque

I pay for my First Class/Delta One out of my pocket for my leisure and hence I try to fully enjoy my flight which include ample drinks. I also am not one who sleeps much on planes to begin with. I am not a selfie person and have not yet taken a picture of my food on the plane but I didn't think the later meant you were a non-rev because otherwise the meal thread would be pretty sparse with photos (and I think most of us are appreciative of those particular photos)

Miesque

^ Love the pic!

davetravels

kop84

DL doesn't want to give away D1 when they don't have to so people are more apt to buy it. And the wide-bodies have a much larger J cabin than domestic narrow body does.

DL would rather sell 20-30 of the 34-35 seats and give the remainder to nonrevs than to sell 10 and upgrade elite members for the rest. Not to mention what their employees would think. I highly doubt they would ever even sniff J again in their entire career. Not going to be a lot of international wide-bodies with fewer medallions than J seats.

A J seat takes up way more real estate than a standard F seat.
If DL got rid of F all together, on a 737 DL could get 10-16 more Y seats
If DL got rid of J all together on a 333 they could probably 60-70 more Y seats

Plus throw in the extra FA's and catering costs which are far greater than domestic F.

So the opportunity cost to give something away goes way up.

sky303

Yeah this too, I take meal photos on almost all of my flights, mainly for a Facebook group that appreciates the input and sometimes for the meal thread here too. Didn't know taking photos made one a nonrev. Guess I have some refunds coming my way.

Janus777

The original post was about branding, and to be honest the advertising and marketing don't match the product..though Delta should get points for major improvements over the past few years..

The non-revs, (or for that matter amex points churners using awards miles) do dilute the experience...Fly any of the other major international players and their premium cabins feel...premium...and I think it actually comes down to the cabin atmosphere which I think is mainly due to how full the space is...

Flying in a half empty A380 upper deck on Korean Air (with 88 seats up there) even with a crappier seat is far superior than a packed front cabin on Delta..because the soft product is what really differentiates the flight experience..and when a cabin is packed the soft product is impacted...relaxed FA's that aren't being harried and run ragged...compared to practically nonstop service requests on a full flight..(you can actually see the FA's huddled in the galley avoiding eye contact about 4 hours into an international flight) what also sucks for the FA's is that non rev's are usually the most demanding service-wise...(I can say this because my Sis-in-law is a pilot's wife and she tells me stories of her behavior on the planes and she is kind of person I dread to meet in a premium cabin and I am pretty sure her behavior is fairly common)

Most of my international is SE Asia or Korea, but also Europa and SA and while the bulk of my flights are on Delta metal, I am bounced on various Skyteam and have found generally that KA, Garuda, and a couple of the more obscure Skyteam airlines feel better in their premium cabins..because its not packed...and doesn't feel like a circus..

I myself think that Delta employees and direct family should have the privilege to fly up front in D1 but that other non-rev should not have that privilege..it would improve the experience both for the employees and also the Revenue passengers....It would improve the brand, and isn't that what Delta wants to accomplish?

For myself however I end up in a premium cabin via dollars or sky pesos, I want the experience to be the best it can be..which is closely matched to the advertising i.e. Serenity and peace with FA's with halos bringing me pillows, blankies, and cocktails!!!

Carpboy823

You're potentially talking about a fundamental restructuring of benefits (and potentially compensation) in that case for DL, which may end up hurting their bottom line. The fact is that standby travel benefits are part of the job, including the potential to be cleared into D1, and I'm sure that factors into employees' perception of their jobs.

DLMiddleSeats

Honestly other than the 8 buddy passes we all get a year, and most people don't give out all 8 in a year, I've given out less than 8 total in the 6 years I've been with Delta, the only people eligible on your flight list is your spouse or domestic partner, children and the employees parents, not even spouses parents or grandparents.

Eliminating J from buddy passes wouldn't really do all that much.