When a Delta Air Lines flight from San Francisco to Minneapolis was delayed 14 hours, one passenger was left alone as the only customer still trying to travel. Every other customer had been rebooked instead of waiting. So this flyer had the plane all to themselves – like a Delta private jet.
Thanks to leaks from aviation watchdog JonNYC, we’re getting a pretty complete picture of Delta’s plans to totally revamp its onboard business class product next year.
Two flight attendants were removed from Delta’s flight 49 from Amsterdam to New York JFK on Friday after failing a random breathalyzer test. Since the airline normally operates the flight with more than the legal minimum required complement of cabin crew, they opted to fly as normal while offering more limited service.
Delta Air Lines is preparing to revamp their entire approach to business class. That means ‘choose your own adventure’ good, better, and best fare types as well as new bedding, meals and amenities – and a round of training for flight attendants to provide a more elevated service. This is all prompted by plunging net promoter scores for Delta One compared to pre-pandemic levels.
When computers handle the upgrades, there’s less opportunity for discretion, and as long as everyone is classified correctly on the list. But there are still plenty of cases where gate agents don’t follow the upgrade list.
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You need to stay disciplined. Do not buy things simply because they are a ‘good deal’ relative to their usual price. You wouldn’t have paid that price anyway, so you aren’t saving money compared to that price if you make a purchase. You know how I know you wouldn’t have paid that price? The very fact that you didn’t buy it already.
There may be things you have in your purchase path already. Those are the things to consider buying on Black Friday.
A Delta Air Lines passenger flying economy from Paris to Boston placed their used meal tray on the ground in the aisle, so they could make tray table space to get work done. At least three people stepped in the partially-eaten trash on the way to the lavatory.
In order to offer their ‘membership’ rates that are exempt from rules requiring them to offer the same higher prices as hotel website direct rates, they have to charge for membership. That’s currently $49.95 per year. But View From The Wing readers can currently sign up using promo code VFTW and that fee is waived. This is lifetime free membership and you should jump on this while it’s available.
We sat and waited for operations to find us a new gate to return to. Once we were back and the aircraft doors were opened, a Delta red coat supervisor came on board. It was explained she’d need to come off the aircraft to discuss the situation. She gathered her belongings and got off the plane.
Plot twist: a few minutes later, the woman and her dog returned to the aircraft. She was being allowed to fly, after all.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
