I’ve sent my share of positive, negative, and neutral emails to airlines over the years.  It seems if the email is neutral and is just a question about something that the response comes from someone who didn’t understand the question at all.  I could ask something like “how many miles will I earn from Charlotte to Chicago” and get an answer like “You are only awarded miles for flights actually flown.  Cancelling a ticket will not incur miles.”

I figured if I sent a compliment to Delta and requested no email response that it would just get autorouted to imaginary land.  Instead, they responded anyway and the response actually matches my compliment.

I flew in First class on Christmas and the male flight
attendant with the beard provided excellent service. My first beverage
choice was not catered in first class but even after I said I was fine
with another choice he explored the coach carts and found my beverage
for me. It really made my Christmas.

Their reply:

Thank you for sharing your kind and thoughtful comments about the
service provided by our flight attendant while traveling with us.  On
behalf of Delta Air Lines, your positive feedback is greatly
appreciated.

Delta places a high priority on customer satisfaction and we are
fortunate to have employees who strive for excellence and
professionalism in every area of responsibility.  The fine work by our
flight attendant, which earned your positive comments, reaffirms our
belief that our company is only as good as its people.  We believe our
team members are our most important assets, and I am happy to learn our
flight attendant exceeded your expectations.  Please know I will be
sharing your comments with our Inflight leadership team so this employee
receives appropriate recognition on your behalf.

, thank you again for writing.  I am so glad that our
employee has made your flight experience so enjoyable.  As a Gold
Medallion member we appreciate your loyalty to Delta and are always
interested in your feedback.  We deeply value your continued business
and look forward to serving you in the near future.

Still fairly boilerplate, but at least the person chose the right boilerplate template!  This year I resolve to send positive comments when appropriate to make sure good staff members are appreciated.

Delta decided to add bonus miles for joining Nutrisystem so I understand I shouldn’t take this personally, but it still stings a bit!  Also, I tried Nutrisystem a few years ago (and mentioned it on one of my blogs) and the flatulence was so bad I would never encourage anyone to eat this stuff and fly.  Even the stuff the recommend to eliminate flatulence didn’t help so I quit nutrisystem to save my lungs and my friendships.  If any of you Delta lovers have been considering Nutrisystem, there is a Delta promotion.

Since I just need 2 segments to remain Gold with Delta I figure I’m dumb to not do a segment run. I know that Delta will often bump up people who are close miles-wise, but I don’t think that’s the same for segments so I’m not taking any chances.

I’ve also fulfilled all my familial obligations for Christmas so I figure what better day than a day when most other people don’t want to fly.  I’m sure I could have found a cheaper flight, but since I know BWI is typically very cheap from CLT and it was pricing out cheaper than some other destinations I was trying I managed to get a r/t to BWI for $265.  I’ll get 4 segments out of it so I’m good to go.

I still need over 8,000 miles with Star Alliance to stay at my current tier of Premier Executive which is becoming Gold whatever on the new United but I just can’t justify spending much more money on mileage runs with a looming home purchase.  Maybe if I can find  a 9,000 mile run for less than $300, but I doubt it so I’ll just acquiesce to dropping a tier.

Apparently some flyers aren’t too happy about Delta using Groupon.  Apparently this was important enough to write an article about.

StarTribune

“The cheaper they make it for somebody to go in, the more it’s like the regular concourse,” said Rick King, a technology executive at Thomson Reuters. “If it’s like the regular concourse, the benefits for me go down.”

Well I don’t even know where to start.  Unless he was sitting at the counter tracking how everyone was gaining their admission how would he know that it was one-day passes?  During peak times there are a lot of business travelers.  Business travelers are likely to either have their membership compensated by their company or they have diamond status and get in for free.  They may even have one of the credit cards that extends membership.  If we get rid of anyone, it would be the AMEX Platinum people.

Regardless of that, there are a lot of people wanting to enter the lounges and if there aren’t enough seats, then what is the point?  When I enter I mainly expect a seat with an outlet.  Anything less than that and I’m unhappy.  A couple times at B9 in ATL there were no seats available so I did just leave and went to the less crowded boarding area.  I also don’t like if someone takes all of my chocolate chip cookies. I paid $350 for the right to eat as many chocolate chip cookies as I can and if they aren’t there and I’m stuck with the other varieties I feel cheated! (sarcasm)

The key is that some businesses may be buying these passes for their members instead of full lounge membership because some people really just need ~6 passes instead of a full membership.

so: Delta better start increasing capacity to match these sales or things are going to get worse.  I don’t know if ATL has room for many more lounges, but I’ve always had problems with crowding the couple times I’ve been to MSP.  DTW is fine as long as a lounge isn’t under construction.  I’m not familiar enough with other lounges to comment.

PC World recently released an article evaluating airports

The one thing that it does get right is that although many airports have been proactive about outlets and wifi, Delta and Southwest have been very good about putting outlets in their areas.  Although I rarely fly Southwest, when I’m in an airport with Southwest I will often leach off their many power stations and comfy chairs with desks.

I’m also surprised that MCI made the list.  Although each airline is their own little world in the airport due to its unique layout, at least one of the gate areas had a power bench that required paying for electricity.  It has been over 2 years since I’ve flown out of there so maybe things have changed.

…Now if only CLT and ORD would shape up!

Sometime on December 13th Delta and Groupon are going to offer pairs of RTW tickets for $10,000 in Economy and $20,000 in Business.

In a Nutshell

Monumental journey around the world for two with up to 10 stopovers in North America, Europe & Asia (taxes, fees, restrictions apply)

The Fine Print

Expires in 1 year
Book by 12/12/12. Travel must begin in US city serviced by participating airlines & completed by 11/8/13. Limit 1/person. See other conditions that apply. Non-refundable & issued to buyer or gift recipient only. Tickets non-transferable. Passengers responsible for all int’l travel docs. If difficulty collecting payment, Grouponcierge will call number provided & must resolve within 24hrs of purchase or tickets will be released. Clicking ‘Buy’ does not guarantee purchase.
See the rules that apply to all deals.

Since 2007 I’ve been able to maintain Premier Executive on United and Gold Medallion on Delta, but this year I had initially avoided any west coast clients and opted for more local clients.  I also had a few clients with odd restrictions leading me to drive hours and fly Southwest instead of my usual carriers.

Ultimately I find myself with 9 segments (or 17,000 miles) remaining to requalify for Gold on Delta with 3 pending being credited and 4 upcoming next week leaving just 2 total…definitely something I can swing out of pocket.  Since I’m so far off mileage-wise that is why I chose the extra 2 months for the Sky Club.

United, on the other hand, has me needing 12,354 EQM or 18.5 EQS.  I’m picking up 4 EQS/4,000EQM this week, but that leaves me with 8,000+ EQM.

Since I currently have a contract pending on a house with several months before the short-sale will close I can’t pick up any credit cards for the EQM bonus, plus I just got the JP Morgan card from Chase so I need to wait a bit before applying with them again anyway, but my lender told me they don’t want me to open any new lines before closing so I will hang tight until that’s all settled.

I guess I need to play around with a few routings.  I did a 7,000 mile run last year so 8,000 isn’t too bad, but I just have to decide what matters more: money for unexpected purchases with this house or maintaining 1P.  I’m leaning towards 1P, but if I can get 8,000 EQM under $300 I won’t object!

I did manage to maintain my Hilton Diamond status and Marriott Silver status so hotels are fine, but qualifying by miles instead of segments is much easier so I’m suffering this year.

I decided to stick with the Delta Sky Club.  It doesn’t hurt that right after my query Delta decided to post this:

Join now to get two extra months free or 1,500 Medallion Qualification Miles.

ShareThis

Hello Fly Gracefully, There’s still time to get an exclusive holiday gift from the Delta Sky Club, but you have to purchase or renew your membership by December 31, 2011.Just use one of the special promotion codes below to receive your choice of one of two exciting holiday gifts: Two free additional months of membership (use promo code HP2MF) 1,500 Medallion® Qualification Miles (use promo code HPMQM) And, if you’re purchasing a new membership, we’ll also waive the initiation fee (a $50 savings). At the Delta Sky Club, you can relax, unwind or do business in stylish, comfortable surroundings at more than 50 airport Clubs and 35 partner lounges worldwide. Our award-winning Club’s exceptional amenities include: Fully stocked bars with complimentary beer, wine, and cocktails, and our new Luxury Bar in select locations A variety of tasty and healthy snacks served all day Free Wi-Fi, satellite TV and wireless printers Clean, private restrooms (and showers in some locations) Remember, just use one of the two promotion codes above when you purchase a one- or three-year membership by December 31, 2011, to receive your gift. We look forward to welcoming you at the Club soon. Happy Holidays!

The MQM were tempting, but this year I’ll re-qualify on segments so I decided to go for the extra 2 months instead.

I’ve been a Delta Sky Club member for 3 years now.  My membership expired last month and I’m waiting to settle into my new position before requesting lounge membership.

My logic is that even though Charlotte only has 2 US Airways clubs and no other clubs, I use the club most often on layovers.  My layovers are usually either Atlanta or Terminal 2 of ORD.  Both of those locations have Delta Sky Clubs.  Also, Delta has had free alcohol for years while US always had cash bars.  Now US does have some free (except in PA) beer and wine so the value is coming up a bit.

I used to have United Red Carpet Club which gave me access to the US Airways clubs when flying US, but not other times.  I believe this has changed so maybe I investigate rejoining the RCC since I have status with United, but in Atlanta that leaves my lounge prospects very limited.

I do have the pay-per-use Priority Pass that comes with the Hilton Surpass card, but I can’t bill that back to my company.  They will pay annual membership for 1 lounge, but not a per-visit fee.  They also won’t reimburse credit card annual fees such as the AMEX Platinum charge card or else that would be quite tempting.  I will be evaluating my travel plans over the next few weeks and figure out what meets my needs the most in terms of access and amenities.

Congratulations, you have successfully registered. You’ll enjoy 1,000 miles when you use the Delta app to check in between June 30 and September 7, 2011.  Use app check-in before your next flight this summer and get rewarded!

Registration required

(HT to Lucky)

Last week Delta was having equipment problems and had to swap out planes which delayed my flight and caused me to miss my connection.  Weather caused all other viable flights to my destination to fill up meaning I had to wait a day or fly into another airport.  I managed to rattle off close airports (it took a few) and eventually found a seat to get me where I needed to go.  I figured I would just take a cab the remainder of the way, but this airport had no cabs waiting and the shuttle service was not answering their phone.  I managed to snag the last rental car available.  Apparently someone named Michael Jackson hadn’t shown up for his car so I got it.

Now since the reason why I missed my flight was an aircraft swap it was considered within Delta’s control.  I faxed supporting documentation to Delta and I will be reimbursed for the rental car fee.  If you have a weather delay usually the case is different since no one can control the weather.

The other tip in this is to always know if there are other viable options.  I got rebooked in the Sky Club, but even the agents there may not have perfect US geography.  I was able to state 3 different airports within 90 miles of my destination and thanks to that the agent was able to find me a flight.