Commitment to international
May 27, 2018, 8:34 am
#1
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Commitment to international
I was reading the thread on a return to Mumbai and looking at my own travel and realize that each year I fly less and less Delta for my international travel. Why fly from the east coast via Seattle to get to Hkg when Cathay has better nonstop,service. DtW I was willing to deal with
other routes I once frequented are now gone or the service is so far less than other airlines that I no longer fly delta. This year with no Amex waiver diamond will be a challenge as my most expensive travel is no longer on delta and their partners are t great. To get the spend up I took an expensive last minute business trip flight to Lhr on delta a route I had pretty much switched to first on America or ba. I would have said I didn’t care much about things like sleeper suits and mattress pads or flagship dining but I got into my seat on the 767 and thought never again I feel like I am in cattle car
delta is still my prefered domestic carrier but for international they just don’t cut it for me between routes and service
other routes I once frequented are now gone or the service is so far less than other airlines that I no longer fly delta. This year with no Amex waiver diamond will be a challenge as my most expensive travel is no longer on delta and their partners are t great. To get the spend up I took an expensive last minute business trip flight to Lhr on delta a route I had pretty much switched to first on America or ba. I would have said I didn’t care much about things like sleeper suits and mattress pads or flagship dining but I got into my seat on the 767 and thought never again I feel like I am in cattle car
delta is still my prefered domestic carrier but for international they just don’t cut it for me between routes and service
Last edited by tennessetom; May 27, 2018 at 8:35 am Reason: typo
May 27, 2018, 11:32 am
#2
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I was reading the thread on a return to Mumbai and looking at my own travel and realize that each year I fly less and less Delta for my international travel. Why fly from the east coast via Seattle to get to Hkg when Cathay has better nonstop,service. DtW I was willing to deal with
other routes I once frequented are now gone or the service is so far less than other airlines that I no longer fly delta. This year with no Amex waiver diamond will be a challenge as my most expensive travel is no longer on delta and their partners are t great. To get the spend up I took an expensive last minute business trip flight to Lhr on delta a route I had pretty much switched to first on America or ba. I would have said I didn’t care much about things like sleeper suits and mattress pads or flagship dining but I got into my seat on the 767 and thought never again I feel like I am in cattle car
delta is still my prefered domestic carrier but for international they just don’t cut it for me between routes and service
other routes I once frequented are now gone or the service is so far less than other airlines that I no longer fly delta. This year with no Amex waiver diamond will be a challenge as my most expensive travel is no longer on delta and their partners are t great. To get the spend up I took an expensive last minute business trip flight to Lhr on delta a route I had pretty much switched to first on America or ba. I would have said I didn’t care much about things like sleeper suits and mattress pads or flagship dining but I got into my seat on the 767 and thought never again I feel like I am in cattle car
delta is still my prefered domestic carrier but for international they just don’t cut it for me between routes and service
There will always be some routes where one carrier routing doesn't make sense. Note that with new KE JV there is some much better option via ICN now then before for DL flyers.
May 27, 2018, 11:53 am
#3
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That demands a re-evaluation - which it sounds like you're doing over your specific routes - but it doesn't begin to make an argument that Delta lacks a commitment to international flying. Last month DL flew 6.7 Billion international revenue passenger miles. Last year, Delta flew about 10% more international RPMs than did AA. It had lie-flats on all its international widebodies three years before AA did. Delta has a very big international network. Does it look different from it did ten years ago? Yes, around the edges, mostly, but with more LAX and SEA departures. If you need a non-stop SFO-NRT to be happy, Delta isn't your carrier.
May 27, 2018, 6:00 pm
#4
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I feel pretty sure that DTW-HKG will be announced within the next year, barring an economic downturn (note, I have no inside information, just my intuition) and it will have a business class suite, which is a pretty competitive product. As DL's A350 fleet continues to grow, they have to do something with them.
That said, if HKG is a frequent destination, its hard to beat Cathay. All US airlines combined doesn't even come close to Cathay's US-HKG route network.
That said, if HKG is a frequent destination, its hard to beat Cathay. All US airlines combined doesn't even come close to Cathay's US-HKG route network.
May 27, 2018, 6:37 pm
#5
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In the pm-NW era, I believe there were HKG-SEA/MSP and then HKG-MSP. In the DL era, HKG-NRT/DTW and now HKG-SEA.
My 2 cents is DL never succeeds in making a stand in a particular city, because DL's strategy for HKG has been changing at all times. AA has been successful in maintaining 2 new routes. UA has experienced minor cut in HKG (HKG-NRT/SGN/SIN) but still stands strong for the US-HKG market.
Bottom line - DL does not know WTH they are doing.
May 27, 2018, 6:54 pm
#6
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FWIW - For unknown reasons, DL is always weak on HKG market, but not because of CX.
In the pm-NW era, I believe there were HKG-SEA/MSP and then HKG-MSP. In the DL era, HKG-NRT/DTW and now HKG-SEA.
My 2 cents is DL never succeeds in making a stand in a particular city, because DL's strategy for HKG has been changing at all times. AA has been successful in maintaining 2 new routes. UA has experienced minor cut in HKG (HKG-NRT/SGN/SIN) but still stands strong for the US-HKG market.
Bottom line - DL does not know WTH they are doing.
In the pm-NW era, I believe there were HKG-SEA/MSP and then HKG-MSP. In the DL era, HKG-NRT/DTW and now HKG-SEA.
My 2 cents is DL never succeeds in making a stand in a particular city, because DL's strategy for HKG has been changing at all times. AA has been successful in maintaining 2 new routes. UA has experienced minor cut in HKG (HKG-NRT/SGN/SIN) but still stands strong for the US-HKG market.
Bottom line - DL does not know WTH they are doing.
Eastern time zone to HKG is hard to make a profit on. DL's preference to use its planes on routes where they can make more profit isn't that crazy. But, as I said, as DL's long haul fleet continues to grow, I think DTW-HKG will come back
May 27, 2018, 7:08 pm
#7
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The decision making on US to asia flights for Delta has been mostly influenced by the fate of the Japanese hub at Narita: as the viability of the Narita flights fades due to the migration to a newly opened up Haneda, the viability of the fifth freedom hub Delta operated there has been dwindling. If they could have gotten enough slots to fly HND-SIN/HKG/ICN/PVG/MNL, things might have worked out differently. But the move to Seattle both allowed Delta to chase an opportunity to win over a rapidly growing west coast city and to stem the bleeding in advance from what was guaranteed to eventually become a disaster at Narita.
Delta has been searching for a good east coast strategy ever since. China Eastern was the first attempt, but visa issues made that not particularly viable. Now, capitalizing on KE’s financial difficulties to get favorable terms, Delta has a viable and pleasant Asian connecting hub again. With a little price coordination and flight retiming, east coasters will soon have a comparable XXX-DTW/JFK-ICN-XXX portal to asia that bypasses Seattle. Good for everybody!
Delta has been searching for a good east coast strategy ever since. China Eastern was the first attempt, but visa issues made that not particularly viable. Now, capitalizing on KE’s financial difficulties to get favorable terms, Delta has a viable and pleasant Asian connecting hub again. With a little price coordination and flight retiming, east coasters will soon have a comparable XXX-DTW/JFK-ICN-XXX portal to asia that bypasses Seattle. Good for everybody!
May 28, 2018, 4:39 am
#8
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FWIW - For unknown reasons, DL is always weak on HKG market, but not because of CX.
In the pm-NW era, I believe there were HKG-SEA/MSP and then HKG-MSP. In the DL era, HKG-NRT/DTW and now HKG-SEA.
My 2 cents is DL never succeeds in making a stand in a particular city, because DL's strategy for HKG has been changing at all times. AA has been successful in maintaining 2 new routes. UA has experienced minor cut in HKG (HKG-NRT/SGN/SIN) but still stands strong for the US-HKG market.
Bottom line - DL does not know WTH they are doing.
In the pm-NW era, I believe there were HKG-SEA/MSP and then HKG-MSP. In the DL era, HKG-NRT/DTW and now HKG-SEA.
My 2 cents is DL never succeeds in making a stand in a particular city, because DL's strategy for HKG has been changing at all times. AA has been successful in maintaining 2 new routes. UA has experienced minor cut in HKG (HKG-NRT/SGN/SIN) but still stands strong for the US-HKG market.
Bottom line - DL does not know WTH they are doing.
May 28, 2018, 4:53 am
#9
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[QUOTE=flyerCO;29799286]Partners earn far more MQD flying them is what helps meet MQD. LHR should be all A330 now. BA is laughable. J is considered the worst of any European airline and F is considered nowadays to be J level of service.
dal still flies mostly the 767 on the jfk Lhr route. Our corporate fare almost always gets us into first on ba. When you take into account the on ground experience and wider more private suites say what you want but ba first beats delta one on either 767 version hands down.
Delta does slightly better on some of the other European routes but the seasonality of non-stop to places like Berlin drives me nuts and I use to regularly take the psa flight which was always packed but I think it was not profitable and it is gone
i get discontinuing dxb but once again another route that I once flew delta on.
To me the the only reason to go thru Seattle on delta to get to Asia would be to get the miles but I have no trouble hitting diamond between my mqms from my delta reserve and my actual travel. With me I end up doing all my most expensive travel on other airlines. Those committed to one airline might not mind Seattle
my only point was that in figuring out how to get to the spend qualification this year I noticed just how little of my actual spend has been going to Delta because of international which is where my spend is the greatest. I pretty much only buy first for domestic but even at that my domestic spend is just not that great. My ticket to Lhr was 5000 so that will get me there this year
dal still flies mostly the 767 on the jfk Lhr route. Our corporate fare almost always gets us into first on ba. When you take into account the on ground experience and wider more private suites say what you want but ba first beats delta one on either 767 version hands down.
Delta does slightly better on some of the other European routes but the seasonality of non-stop to places like Berlin drives me nuts and I use to regularly take the psa flight which was always packed but I think it was not profitable and it is gone
i get discontinuing dxb but once again another route that I once flew delta on.
To me the the only reason to go thru Seattle on delta to get to Asia would be to get the miles but I have no trouble hitting diamond between my mqms from my delta reserve and my actual travel. With me I end up doing all my most expensive travel on other airlines. Those committed to one airline might not mind Seattle
my only point was that in figuring out how to get to the spend qualification this year I noticed just how little of my actual spend has been going to Delta because of international which is where my spend is the greatest. I pretty much only buy first for domestic but even at that my domestic spend is just not that great. My ticket to Lhr was 5000 so that will get me there this year
May 28, 2018, 6:33 am
#10
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JFK LHR should be A330. Looking at schedule all are. The only 767 i found is on MSP LHR. DL decided a year ago to switch to A330 from 767 for LHR flights.
May 28, 2018, 6:58 am
#12
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Apologies. I said jfk but I actually flew Boston to Lhr and it was a 767 as was the return flight as is the flight for. Mid July which is the next time I need be in London.
Last edited by tennessetom; May 28, 2018 at 7:00 am Reason: typo
May 28, 2018, 7:09 am
#13
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NW. did fly MSP - HKG for a short time.
I have to say flying upstairs and landing at the famous Kai Tak airport was a wonderful thrill.
May 28, 2018, 8:32 am
#14
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dal still flies mostly the 767 on the jfk Lhr route. Our corporate fare almost always gets us into first on ba. When you take into account the on ground experience and wider more private suites say what you want but ba first beats delta one on either 767 version hands down.
DeltaOne is a business class cabin so you should compare it to BA CW not F. At least with DL all seats have direct aisle access unlike BA.
That said people on the BA board do say that BA F is the best J experience,
May 28, 2018, 8:53 am
#15
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Recent cutbacks I feel have lowered it even more. I fly AUS/LHR on BA periodically. F today is ridiculous for what they charge. Will not fly BA J. Not sure how someone can say BA in any cabin is better than DL.
