So those of us that are basically happy and content with Delta insult you? Help me understand, please.

It was a reference to Delta's pretense of "best of class".

When you met him, was he arrogant in person?

.....

No. A large number of us met him at the RTW/Do, and he came across as very open, relaxed and personable. The way he deferred to Bob Soukoup on issues that were more in Bob's realm showed a willingness to share the podium in a way that is the antithesis of arrogance.

bwhite - sorry for being pedantic about this, but I just can't let it go ;)

You aren't using the term "logarithmic" correctly. In a log curve, the difference between benefits would get smaller as you moved up levels. I believe you meant to say polynomial or perhaps exponential.

I agree. He projects a very different image in person than in FT. Everyone I've known who's met him in person over the years has liked him.

Ultimately we have to base our judgments on what we see and perceive, which includes his FT persona & what he does to the FF program. I don't see either of those improving much. Perhaps with the apparent designation of a "DL Scoop I", Jeff will fade into the background.

I disagree with Mike a lot - but on Jeff we can agree, Jeff has been disingenuous on this board since the day he arrived where he made promises that he has never ever kept (I can't find that first post when I search for it now)

Anyway maybe the new DL presence will be an improvement, we can but wait and see.

Remember Jeff uses one of the better "media trainers" in the business to coach him. I really hope is deferrals to Bob are not just for show.

I have met Jeff Robertson on multiple occasions, and he has never been arrogant.

In fact, he humbly thanked me and atldlff multiple times for having him be a part of the Delta Air Lines Road Warrior Training event.SkyMilesInsider is definitely official.

Maybe you caught him on a bad day? Your experience doesn't seem to have been shared by others who have met him.

yes, if you numbered delta's tiers by qualification, they'd go 1, 2, 3, 5 for FO, GM, PM, DM. The relative benefits between tiers might go more like 1, 3, 6, 10-- fairly linear or a bit steeper.

On AA the tiers go 1, 2, 4, for GLD, PLT, EXP, but the relative benefits between tiers go more like 1, 4, 16. more like a square function, definitely very steep.

Count me as a second unimpressed here....

GS on UA, but I flew CO and lots on NW with my CO account for 5 years. I liked the idea of the merged airline, was curious what they would do and this is totally underwhelming... I get lots of upgrades domestically, e+ when no upgrade (usually shorter flights) and by the time I get the extra SWUs, 10 or more international upgrades good on UA and LH.

absolutely no reason to switch, and if I were a NW top tier elite with over 100K BIS and international travel where either UA or AAs network worked would switch in a heart beat...

[QUOTE=avflyer;12136498]My bet is that DL has done the math - OFTEN - and figures that while less folks are buying J, more are buying M and using miles/certs to upgrade. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if most BE travel was now based on YMB fares. That move and approving last minute day of departure upgrades, makes YMB fares even more flexible (no Saturday overnight, change a date and still have a shot at sitting up front, etc.). Yes, you can book business class through other means for the same price as M, but then you aren't likely the most loyal DL flyer.
QUOTE]


That is definitively not the case for me. I rarely, and sometimes never in a year, use my PMU's because the difference between M and I is less than $500 on the routes I fly. With the lowering of the I restrictions (30 days advance and only requiring weekend stopover - I will travel on an I fare from Fri - Tue in December), it is just too little a difference to not buy into the BE seat up-front. In June this year I went SLC-CPH in I for $ 2800 vs. $ 2600 in M. With irops, a premium seat is better protected if booked in I/A/F as well as producing the actual 50% bonus miles to use in I in addition to the 50% M-J EQM bonus. Finally, why you have to poney up $400 to change an I-ticket - it is fairly easy, and I guarantee much easier and cheaper than if trying to preserve a BE seat in Z if needing to change.

All that being said, Having the DL reserve card and most often buying A/I on greater than 2-3 hour flights, DM as explained by the OP means little to me, though it will be "forced" upon me, I guess, by me exceeding the 125K threshold!!

With DL's reluctance to lower the M-B-Y requirement for using SWU on Intl. travel, a compromise could have been to to allow DM's to pay a "co-pay" a-la UA/AA or what we already do for award tickets (just paid $ ~400 for "taxes and fees" per award ticket for friends visiting from abroad!!) and/or to make the SWU, or some of the SWU's, transferrable, both of which would be be attractive for using them domestically, and or to waive a couple of change fees per year etc. etc..

But that seems not to happen - and life goes on. I have come to terms with not fretting about all the cuts of the benefits we enjoyed in the "old days", say 5 or more years ago, and just pony up the money if it is really important for me to sit in the front. So in that regards, DL have figured me out pretty well!! And I do appreciate that the inflight experience, except for the catering, remains the same good experience on DL as it has been in decades

As always, we appreciate your feedback on our 2010 Medallion program. We’ve read your posts and while we can’t respond every day to each question, we’ll do our best to watch the forums regularly and respond to the major concerns. Also, as Jeff mentioned in his first post, we recognize we can’t please everyone, but we’re building a program that delivers top-to-bottom benefits to general members, Medallion members and the airline as a whole. Therefore, remember to judge the program as a whole compared to other programs as a whole, rather than strictly benefit by benefit.

With the Choice Benefits, SWU usage on day of departure does not require Z class inventory. If there is Z class available, you will be able to confirm your upgrade at booking. If it is not available, you will be placed on the waitlist. On the day of departure, provided there is an available seat in the premium cabin and you are booked in the appropriate fare class, we will clear anyone wishing to redeem their SWU for an upgrade. As far as the # of Choice Benefits, a status change will trigger the Choice Benefit. If your status changes to Platinum, you will be able to select one; if your status changes to Diamond, you will be able to select two. If you start out as Diamond and requalify (meaning no status change), you can select two.

As far as Diamond Medallion status goes, we are bringing back the Award fee waiver for DMs. Although there were instances of abuse in the past, we also understand that it is a valuable benefit for our most valuable customers. Given that there will be fewer DMs than PMs, providing this popular benefit to a smaller group of high-flying Medallions outweighs the possible abuse.

Many of you are wondering about Award inventory for DMs. Yes, DMs will have better inventory for Award seats than other Medallions at the lowest Award redemption level.

Regarding rollover segments, not all airlines offer segment qualification, so we’re proud that it’s still a cornerstone of our elite program. We focused our efforts and resources on rollover MQMs as most members qualify with miles (not segments). Plus, there are multiple ways to earn MQMs, so we wanted to be sure they were included.

Thanks!