New Delta Boarding Process Jan 2019
#256
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: BNA
Programs: DL GM, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,027
Shut up and quit b****ing. I fly almost exclusively basic economy and there's no reason I should get Sky Priority boarding when I fly BE. Not sure this change will affect me much in that, but who cares when you get on. Stop trying to bring a damn checked bag as a carry on and the ONLY real issue goes away. You still get the same seat you paid for regardless.
Although I do agree with you about all these people and their damn checked luggage size bags as carry on. I mean I get why they do it (so don't all start losing your collective minds at me) but seriously they are making a choice to take a bag that size on the plane, nobody is making them do it. Whatever risks are what they are.
#258
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: Skymiles Gold
Posts: 643
For those of you who board early(ish) but aren't sitting first .What are you doing? Don't you get bored watching everyone else board? Worse if you aren't window, because then you have to wait for a lowly non-status, ewe, am I right, squeeze past you to the center seat. God forbid you don't get to show silvers or United/American/Southwest/Alaska/Jetblue, etc flyers that you fly Delta more than they do..
#259
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,268
Also, why bother with having both Main Cabin 2 and 3? How are those two groups even separated. Like what even distinguishes whether a kettle pax is in group 2 or 3? Further, why does DL even bother? Is it just because Main Cabin 2 sometimes has overhead space and Main Cabin 3 doesn’t?
And there are plenty of common travel items that the airlines don't want in the hold for safety reasons. Remember the pushback from pretty much everyone when the TSA seemed to be trying to force everyone flying any flight that touched US soil to check laptops because it created more danger over lithium battery fire concerns than it solved as an anti-terrorism measure?
The biggest problem with lousing is herd mentality. Give someone a line to stand in, they'll stand in it. See a few people stand up to wait for boarding to start, everyone does it. What DL and the other airlines really need to work on is not how they segment the boarding process, but rather how they can better incentivize people to stay seated or at least standing out of the way until they are entitled to board.
I'm at about 1-in-3 for the VPS-ATL leg on any given trip. I suspect it's a low response rate for that route because I'm not sure what you're supposed to say about it- 44 minutes wheels up to wheels down, and as long as you spent more time in the air that day than you did on the ground at VPS awaiting for Atlanta ATC approval to take off and/or cruising the tarmac at ATL trying to find a gate, you forget everything about the first flight by the time you're ten minutes into your connecting flight.
#260
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: Delta Diamond, Marriott Ambassador & Lifetime Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, United Silver
Posts: 6,334
Delta, American and United all wave the excess baggage charges for anyone with a media credential.
#261
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,268
I have a friend who works for NBC. He flies 2-3 days per week for NFL and college football games as well as other sporting events. All the camera guys travel with their cameras and gear. They have Pelican cases equipped with TSA locks and RFID tracking. Nothing has ever been stolen. He says insurance covers it too.
Delta, American and United all wave the excess baggage charges for anyone with a media credential.
Delta, American and United all wave the excess baggage charges for anyone with a media credential.
#262
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: SkyMiles, HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 129
For those of you who board early(ish) but aren't sitting first .What are you doing? Don't you get bored watching everyone else board? Worse if you aren't window, because then you have to wait for a lowly non-status, ewe, am I right, squeeze past you to the center seat. God forbid you don't get to show silvers or United/American/Southwest/Alaska/Jetblue, etc flyers that you fly Delta more than they do..
I also want to mention a couple other things that were brought up earlier in this thread:
First, I don't like the term "gate lice." But I will also say that I've seen honest ignorance of the rules ("what do you mean this isn't Zone 1???") and willful ignorance of the rules. One of the more entertaining instances happened on an Emirates flight when a couple with boarding Zone E tried to board with Zone A and was rebuffed. After arguing with the GA for a couple of moments (and the GA held her ground firmly but politely), they stood off to the side and glared daggers at the 4 boarding groups who were allowed to board ahead of them. And they had to go to the back of the Zone E line!
I saw something similar on an international DL flight, but it was harder to tell if it was a case of "I don't speak English" or "I'm going to pretend I don't speak English" since it was actually a decent number of people (like, a dozen?) who were affected. Again, the GAs were pretty strict about boarding zone (yes, on Delta.)
Last point: I'm a new DM (spent a couple years as PM) and earned status the hard way (i.e. all Main Cabin fares, on miles and dollars rather than Amex waiver). In the grand scheme of things, I don't see this making much of a difference at all. I don't consider myself "special" or anything, but I do appreciate some of the more, shall we say, material loyalty rewards I've received as a PM and DM, not because I've attained such an exalted status worthy of diamond-encrusted gold-plated plastic drink cups, but because I spend too much #$&^ing time in airports and on planes and every little bit I can get to make things suck less is appreciated.
It's Delta's playbook and Delta's rules, and in the grand scheme of things, the only thing we're actually owed is to be delivered to our destinations in the cabin class for which we paid. They have a loyalty program because it's good business to have a loyalty program, and they'd much rather my annual $10k+ in ticket spend be with them rather than a competitor, and I'm going to travel with the airline that makes my experience suck the least.
#263
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Nashville -Past DL Plat, FO, WN-CP, various hotel programs
Programs: DL-MM, AA, SW w/companion,HiltonDiamond, Hyatt PLat, IHF Plat, Miles and Points Seeker
Posts: 11,073
The big thing for me is that the overwhelming majority of my travel is for work and my carry-on is large-ish (but still fits in a CR2) and consists of stuff I can't gate-check (electronics, batteries, medications, etc.) and on some of these flights - especially on older aircraft - that space disappears in a hurry. So, that's a big reason I like boarding early. .... I'm a new DM (spent a couple years as PM.....
So, you still get to board early and able to store your carryon. I can not imagine ever having an issue finding space for your bag - right?
#264
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,931
So, it happens. Frequently, no. But "imagine ever"? Definitely yes.
#265
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: MSN
Programs: Delta DM, Bonvoy LT Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,987
At least once I've boarded last in PREM to find no more room in the F overheads, and everyone studiously ignored me when I asked if anyone maybe had two bags in the overhead and would mind putting one underneath to help me out decided gate checking was the path of least resistance.
So, it happens. Frequently, no. But "imagine ever"? Definitely yes.
So, it happens. Frequently, no. But "imagine ever"? Definitely yes.
#266
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
Many people have reasonably sized carry on items that can't be checked, and therefore have real reasons to value their early boarding benefits.
#267
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Back in Reds Country (DAY/CVG). Previously: SEA & SAT.
Programs: DL PM 1MM, AA PLAT, UA Silver, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 10,353
Shut up and quit b****ing. I fly almost exclusively basic economy and there's no reason I should get Sky Priority boarding when I fly BE. Not sure this change will affect me much in that, but who cares when you get on. Stop trying to bring a damn checked bag as a carry on and the ONLY real issue goes away. You still get the same seat you paid for regardless.
For those of you who board early(ish) but aren't sitting first .What are you doing? Don't you get bored watching everyone else board? Worse if you aren't window, because then you have to wait for a lowly non-status, ewe, am I right, squeeze past you to the center seat. God forbid you don't get to show silvers or United/American/Southwest/Alaska/Jetblue, etc flyers that you fly Delta more than they do..
I know for many on FT it's inconceivable that other travelers could have preferences or wants or value things that you don't value (and not value things you do) but allow me to explain it for you from my perspective. I almost always check my roll-a-board. This is so my personal item (backpack with laptop, books, paperwork for trip, etc.) can go in the overhead bin, giving me the space under the seat in front of me to stretch out as much as possible. You see, at my height (6'4 with most of it in my legs), sitting in Y (and even C+ or domestic F) can be tight, so having the space under the seat empty to stretch my legs out or just move them around makes a pretty big difference. I board early to ensure I can still put my bag in the overhead above my seat or as close to it as possible as I frequently access it during flight to get my laptop or change reading material.
If you don't value those things yourself, that's fine and that's your preference. But again (shocking I know), many of us have different things we value drives our own behaviors and preferences.
#268
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: SkyMiles, HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 129
As a DM or PM - you still get to board well before the masses. The only people in front of you are 1st Class and C+. And, I would guess you get one of those often anyways.
So, you still get to board early and able to store your carryon. I can not imagine ever having an issue finding space for your bag - right?
So, you still get to board early and able to store your carryon. I can not imagine ever having an issue finding space for your bag - right?
To be clear: I'm NOT griping about the changes. I'm just responding as to why I like having an early boarding. One minor addendum, though, is I DO get somewhat irritated if I have a bulkhead seat and someone else sitting further back shoves their stuff in the bin over the bulkhead so I have to play the "hunt for open space" game, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that bulkhead seats don't have "seat in front of you" as an option. A lot of international carriers intentionally block the bins over exit rows and bulkheads for exactly this reason.
#269
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,885
For those of you who board early(ish) but aren't sitting first .What are you doing? Don't you get bored watching everyone else board? Worse if you aren't window, because then you have to wait for a lowly non-status, ewe, am I right, squeeze past you to the center seat. God forbid you don't get to show silvers or United/American/Southwest/Alaska/Jetblue, etc flyers that you fly Delta more than they do..