You can “pile on the rewards” with Delta SkyMiles.  Earn up to 25,000 SkyMiles by doing business with SkyMiles partners.  You must register in advance at delta.com.  Click here to register and view promotion terms and conditions.

Delta reported a $794 million net loss today.  But there is a silver lining.  According to Delta, when you back out hedging related losses and special charges, results for the quarter were breakeven.  Folks, that’s a minor miracle considering the collapse in traffic and revenue that took place during the first quarter.  Here’s Delta’s press release.

Royal Caribbean recently announced that it is modifying some of the recently announced changes to its loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor Society.  As I posted recently, Royal Caribbean has announced that Crown & Anchor Diamond members will be losing access to Concierge Lounges onboard its ships.  This set off howls of member protests, with many promising on cruisecritic.com that they’d not cruise on Royal Caribbean again.

The protests must have taken Royal Caribbean by surprise as they have modified some of the other changes to the program in an apparent effort to meet disappointed Diamond members halfway.  According to royalcaribbean.com, effective September 1 the following changes will be implemented:

• A new ultimate value booklet will be offered containing discount coupons for various amenities
• Upgraded wine tastings at a special price
• A new exclusive nightly event for Diamond and Diamond Plus members including complimentary wine, champagne, and special discounts on other beverages
• A continental breakfast with a crew member available to provide services such as obtaining ice show tickets and other assistance

As I posted previously, I’d rather have access to the Concierge Lounge than not have it, but losing access is not a deal-breaker for me.  I think Royal Caribbean offers fantastic ships, great itineraries and consistently good service.  Better yet, I think the modifications they’ve announced are a reasonable gesture to their loyal Diamond members, and I’ll look forward to taking advantage of these new benefits on future cruises.

I’m sure most readers are aware that Boardingarea offers the ability to track certain information regarding traffic that MJ on Travel attracts.  I can’t come find you based on any of the information I get, so don’t worry!  But I can see pertinent information such as the number of daily visitors, which posts attract the most views and keywords used in searches that bring you to the blog.  Several months ago I posted on the top three information searches at MJ on Travel.  At the time, the top three items were Delta MQM’s, cruising on Royal Caribbean, and benefits of the American Express Platinum Card.  Since then, readers have mostly expressed the same interests.  Delta Air Lines and earning elite status on Delta continue to capture a lot reader interest, as does cruising on Royal Caribbean.  There’s been a lot of interest lately in changes made to Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, The Crown & Anchor Society.  American Express continues to capture the minds of many readers, especially those searching for information the new Hilton HHonors Surpass Card.

In order to serve reader interest, I’ll soon be providing a full review of the Hilton HHonors Surpass card from American Express, as well as offering my thoughts on Royal Caribbean’s recent changes to its loyalty program from frequent cruisers.  Since I’ve already written on alternative ways to obtain Delta elite qualifying miles, I’m going to move on to the 4th most searched item of interest, the American Airlines AAdvantage program.  AAdvantage is my favorite of the traditional frequent flyer programs, and is also the program in which I hold the largest stash of miles, and have the most knowlege of.  Look for a lengthy post  (or perhaps a series of shorter posts) on AAdvantage in the near future.

In the meantime, have a successful week on the road.  T-minus one week and counting until I get to leave the office again.  I’m excited!  Delta, here I come!

Just a few thoughts for Saturday morning.  Two Texas airlines reported net losses for the first quarter.  No big surprise at American, other than most thought they’d lose more than the $375 million reported.  Certainly a big surprise at Southwest with it’s $91 million net loss.  And that was a real loss anyway you look at it.  The first quarterly operating and net loss since the first Gulf War if my math is correct.  I’m anxious to see results from the other Texas airline, Continental, which will report this week.

I already posted about Southwest and my suspicion that they are going to have to take action on labor costs at some point.  The possibility is real that they have to approach their unions to reopen their recently negotiated contracts.  They are not there yet, but I don’t think it’s out of the question.  Their buy-out offer to employees will entice some to leave, I’m sure.  But in this economy, I’m not convinced it will be successful enough.  No matter what, I’m certain the folks at Southwest will work through this and fly through to the other side of this in better shape.

As for American, we’ll see.  American’s managers are pretty bright financially, but they face enormous labor relations challenges.  The unions are out to bleed the turnip just as revenue and traffic collapse.  Not a good combination, and certainly not a recipe for dramatic financial recovery.  It’s going to be a difficult year at American.

The “talking heads” and pundits in the press have been trumpeting the possibility of a profitable year for airlines as a result of dramatically lower fuel prices.  Not outside of the realm of possibility that most airlines make a little money over the summer, but I’m not holding my breath for full-year profitability for any major carrier except Southwest (maybe).

This week, President Obama revealed an outline of his vision for high-speed rail networks throughout the country.  I have long supported the idea that high-speed rail should be deployed in certain cooridors across the country.  If this ultimately gets done, and let’s face it, that’s questionable, one airline stands to be hurt the most by this.  That airline?  Southwest.

How’s that for a post on random reflections?

I’ve got some work to do in becoming a “Twitterer” (is that a word).  But I am now on Twitter.  Follow MJ on Travel at http://twitter.com/MJonTravel.

According to the AP, Delta Air Lines is no longer forwarding reservations calls to outsourced centers in India.  Happy Day!  I really had no problem with the concept as long as service was the same.  But there’s the rub, it wasn’t.  This is a good thing.

Maybe good does go around afterall.  Seriously, I’ve always liked Delta.  Now I like them a little more.

Southwest Airlines reported a loss of $91 million yesterday.  Unlike the last two quarters, where Southwest really made money, but reported net losses due to bad fuel hedges, this loss was the real deal.  What does this mean?  My take is that this is a sure sign that domestic passenger traffic and revenue are off the cliff.  To be sure, other airlines will report losses that are far larger as American did on Wednesday (-375 million).  If it’s this bad for Southwest, things are far worse at the other carriers. 

That said, I think there are some signs out there that seem to indicate things may no longer be getting worse.  I believe we’ve seen the bottom, both in airline passenger traffic, and economic conditions in general.  We might bounce along the bottom a bit…maybe more than “a bit” but the sun will eventually shine again.  And when it does, Southwest looks to be in a good position to take advantage of the rebound in traffic that will come with it.

One area of concern: labor costs.  Southwest’s productivity has historically enabled it it to be the overall low-cost leader.  I can’t help but wonder if costs aren’t getting a tiny bit out of hand with the latest round of labor contracts?  I’m not naive enough to believe that the folks at Southwest aren’t smart enough to come up with a solution that works, but it is an area to watch closely.

Hilton HHonors members can earn 1,000 bonus points per night at participating hotels between April 13 and June 30, 2009.  Register here.  Check the list of participating hotels here.

Discovered the first details on these changes on FlyerTalk.  Delta and Northwest Platinum elites will be able to use their systemwide upgrades on Delta and Northwest flights starting this month.  But the most interesting (to me) of the upcoming changes detailed on delta.com is the waiver of award redemption fees for flights booked less than 21 days in advance for Platinum Delta SkyMiles and Delta Reserve cardholders.  There are some other benefits rolling out this month, all of which are detailed here (April 2009).

These are positive changes for eligible SkyMiles members.  I am especially pleased to see a way around those rediculous “late booking” award fees.