DLATL777

Guys you gotta remember that this is a US Legacy problem. All of them crew the best, flagship, most important routes with the oldest, most senior, FAs. Its always going to be an issue in the US.

Fly the much better carriers to JNB EK/EY/QR/LH/LX/SA etc .

ijgordon

I mean, that sounds a little ridiculous.

poppabear

Just as an aside, flew JFK-LAX in D1 last month and the lunch was inedible, dry, overcooked, really bad. The FA's were very apologetic and offered to get something from the back, which I declined. The Purser suggested I Write an online complaint, which I did. 28 days later 9,000 miles appeared in my account with no explanation. 10,000 miles seems low in comparison, given the other issues you had. I'd let Delta know the issues have not been resolved to your satisfaction, and propose a solution to your liking. Good luck.

ijgordon

You know, sometimes that's actually a good thing.
Hence yes, a blanket comment about the age of the FAs is inappropriate and offensive, IMO.

SpinOn2

He is probably saying service with people older like that is more hit or miss as a lot of senior FA's flying that old are just working the route to fill their monthly quota and don't seem care as much anymore about delivering a good service. IF he is in fact saying that, I fully agree, and it's an overall US airline issue not just Delta. That is not a condemnation of every older FA, but it does seem to be a growing problem many flyers are facing these days.

RumPatrol

10K seems awfully low. I've had DL credit me with 30K miles just for issues with a partner airline (DL ticketed in Y) and those issues seem far less significant than yours in paid J on DL metal. Not sure how best to escalate the issue, but I'm sure someone can chime in. If I paid that much and got that level of "service" I'd be furious.

As others have said, ATL based crews are hit or miss (mostly miss). I have to fly through ATL domestically, but long haul I would rather re-position to DTW or connect overseas on a partner airline than fly out of ATL. Unfortunately that isn't realistic for most, especially in the case of JNB where the only other option is typically 20 hours in the air plus a lengthy connection at a European hub.

aero0729

I have been reporting over and over again how bad Delta One is. My experience is from comp upgrades but I do pay for J too and it would NEVER be on Delta

- flight attendants- agreed absolutely terrible. I have had the worst flight crews in long haul D1. Domestically DL is overall better but not Intl. I just flew AA MIA-LHR and had a great crew, way better than the best DL crew

- Food - Delta’s weakest point by far. Other than LAX-JFK the food I have had in D1 Intl has been revolting. The worst revolting isn’t an understatement. I’ve had stale fruit , dried up chicken. Tasteless carb - loaded appetizers , weak mid flight snacks and even breakfast served at 6pm local time inbound to Asia (don’t defend DL here, no one else does that for a reason) DL food in general on DL 1 and domestic US is crap and not close to as good as UA/AA

- Seating - That 15 hour ride on the 777 in D1 must have been as bad as it’s gets. That a really old crappy seat. DL 767s aren’t much better , they are actually worse. DLA330 is the last good biz seat and they don’t have many of them. A350 carries massive cash penalties if paying or incredibly expensive tickets using miles and the seat is still just the 767 seat with a wall around it.

Lounges - ????? Non existent. They just use Skyclubs. While AA and UA are upping their game with beautiful departure lounges , the DL 1 experience is Skyclub. Skyclubs may be good for a domestic lounge but hold no candle to the new AA/UA lounges . Skyteam in general will leave you preferring the terminal as Skyteam has no good lounges ... not anywhere. Only exception is if your on Virgin and have clubhouse access .

KDCAflyer

You hit all of DL's problems right on the head here. For domestic flights, DL is king. Internationally in J? They are a distant third.

Hopefully the contract customers will realize that they are being fleeced by the A350s and force DL to make changes. They essentially own the airline after all.

I'm not a HVC, but I average about one paid J trip a year. I'm done spending that money on DL.

KDCAflyer

Offensive? Perhaps.

Accurate? Yes.

There's a reason why you never see aged FAs on higher-quality foreign airlines.

jdrtravel

It's not fully accurate. I've had fantastic service from senior FA's on MANY occasions and lousy service from young ones who don't know what they are doing. I'm not saying there is no issue with burnout, etc, but one cannot reasonably claim that this is true across the board.

nw6338

@pvn - perhaps you could read between the lines here, but I will spell this out in more detail-

My comment about them being 65+ was more pointing to the issue about seniority and failed service on this flight. I fundamentally don't have a problem with older flight attendants. However, I do have an issue with older flight attendants who are clearly bidding for this route to easily fulfill their quota and take flights where they simply go through the motions quickly and poorly, providing completely subpar and snarly service. This is certainly an issue on all US airlines but is particularly evident on the ATL-JNB route which I frequent. It's long but easy, and they only have to do it a few times a month. They are clearly jaded but who doesn't want to work only a few days a month with a nice salary and great benefits?!

The fact that this was emphasized by the FA making a comment about being unable to hold on to the ATL-JNB route just underlines this problem further. It indicates a lazy attitude and a work culture where getting by with the bare minimum is acceptable. If the most senior flight attendants run a presumably very profitable route for DL, then this is an issue worth noting.

KDCAflyer

The solution here is a 1-5 star rating system that collects feedback from J passengers and elites in economy. Only FAs with consistently high ratings are allowed to fly high-value long-haul routes.

I'm sure the malcontents would freak out about that, but they should be happy that there isn't a mandatory retirement age.

FSUnole03

The sensible posters on here understood what you meant and don't look at you as ageist. You make a very valid point!

Austin787

Problem with this idea is there is no standard for objectively evaluating service. For example, an attentive FA may receive a 5 from a passenger who likes being periodically checked on by the crew, while the same FA may receive a 1 from another passenger who wants to left alone. Plus, when passengers have a problem they could blame the FA even though the problem is out of the FA's control which would skew the ratings.

pvn

Is that reason something other than ageism?