CyberCJH’S Blog

Dear Richard,

I’ve been a loyal Delta passenger for years, almost probably to the point of absurdity. My wife, on more than one occasion, has had to remind me, ‘There are other airlines, you know.’ But, I didn’t care for other airlines. Compared to Delta, other airlines were crap. Well, Continental is pretty top shelf. But, in my mind, Delta has always been the best. And believe me when I tell you, I’ve stuck by your side through some absolutely horrific experiences.

Remember Christmas, 2004? I wanted to visit my parents in Florida for the holiday. I was supposed to fly from Atlantic City to West Palm Beach via Cincinnati. Needless to say, it never happened. At least, not on Delta. Spirit Airlines took me there and back after I re-booked myself because everyone at Delta was far to busy to help me. But of course, that was before Spirit perverted themselves into what they purport to call an airline today. You eventually apologized, refunded my money and I forgave you.

I stuck with you through your bankruptcy in 2005 and 2006.

This past January, when my mainline Delta flight was late on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Philadelphia via Atlanta, you re-booked me on an ASA flight to Philadelphia. Needless to say, my bags didn’t make it. And, trying to get any sort of coherent information out of your outsourced telephone representatives proved to be impossible. Even your website lied to me when it told me my bags had been found when they were still missing. Why get my hopes up like that? But still, I forgave you.

After you made the announcement you were no longer flying to Atlantic City, I began to question my devotion.

After that, you announced a $25 fee for a second checked bag.

Then, Continental, the only other airline that came close to Delta, announced it was leaving SkyTeam.

And today, the announcement of a $25 fee for travel booked with SkyMiles. How absurd can you get? The main benefit of SkyMiles is free flights in return my unwavering loyalty. I don’t consider having to pay $25 + $10 tax a reward.

So here I sit today, trying hard to figure out what sets you apart from all the other airlines. The things that set you apart previously like good customer service in person and on the phone in easy-to-understand English, no lost bags, flying to local, uncrowded airports, no stupid fees and the best frequent flyer program in the industry no longer exist. Now, you’re just like everyone else.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t upset by the prospect of ending my loyalty to you. But, you’ve joined with most of the other players in your industry and turned air travel into a commodity instead of setting your product apart. And, as with any commodity, there’s little differentiation amongst the brands. Therefore, the lowest price almost always wins.

Think about it for a moment. The airline industry in this country has unwittingly trained its customers to think, ‘No matter what airline I fly, I have an equal chance of arriving late and without my luggage.’ Since no one airline stood out as better than the others as they all got progressively worse in terms of service, price became the sole deciding factor in deciding which airline to fly. “Why pay Airline A $800 to screw me when Airline B will do it for $500?” And, I truly believe that is the mindset of the majority of your industry’s customers.

Why can’t Delta be that one airline that stands out? Why can’t Delta be the airline that says, ‘We’re not like the other guys. Come fly with us and you’ll see the difference.’ I guess the answer to that is because it’s just easier to maintain the status quo then it is to challenge it and draw attention to yourself.

So, the next time it’s time for me to buy a plane ticket, I won’t make my one and only stop at delta.com. I’ll probably go to kayak.com and figure things out from there.

In the mean time, I hope you don’t drive Delta into the ground. Don’t be like Frank Lorenzo.

Respectfully,
Chris H.

written by cybercjh