Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Delta has really been doing a ton right over the past year or so and they have fixed many of my past gripes like allowing Diamonds to board with 1st class, updates to the Fly Delta app when you change your seat, choice to pick gift cards over “Delta dollars”, +1 upgrades at your status level and a number more.
But there are still a bunch they need to fix and most of them are fixable if Delta only wants to put the effort, time (and maybe some money) into them or even just to prioritize them. Let’s look at my list.
Notice of seat change. This is one of the most frustrating and INSTANTLY fixable issues Delta has. All they would have to do is allow Award Wallet again to access our own reservations and we could get notice inside 24 hours of a seat change we did not authorize.
Comfort plus fake upgrade e-mails. We all know Delta is marketing and selling C+ as something amazing when it really is not. What is worse and makes almost everyone I talk to nuts are the often constant e-mails of C+ upgrades when nothing has changed. It is like getting excited about an amazing gift only to open the box and find a lump of coal!
Board you lose your upgrade. I should say all they have to do is tell us, one way or the other, what the rule is. Is it a firm rule or not. If it is a firm rule we can live with this but not knowing since sometimes reps come on board to upgrade who was #1 at time of boarding but other times the last man or woman standing at the gate gets it makes us crazy. This is a simple fix Delta – just tell us.
Pre-order 1st class meals. Almost 1 year ago I blogged that “soon” those in 1st class would be able to pre-order meals. It was not just me saying this but the official “food” rep from Delta that gave me a quote! If follow the leader AA can offer this, surely Delta could too.
Choice benefits not working. Let’s face it the latest Medallion Choice Benefits changes are flat out fantastic. They have fixed so many complaints like forcing us to pick both at once as a Diamond. Not just that they added a 3rd choice. But, since we can not say NO to Sky Club membership free we can not use all the perks they have offered us. A gift you can only see but not touch is no gift at all.
Middle seat upgrades. The old partner and now rival Alaska Air does not force upgrade singles into middle seats so why can Delta not figure out I do not consider the same seat as the rest of coach middle better than the aisle or window seat I have back behind C+. Now I know we can opt out of C+ and it can be smart because it can block you from a real 1st class upgrade but still it can not be that hard to just let us check a box to say YES to C+ “upgrades” but no to C+ middle seat upgrades.
Additive pricing for awards. This one would take work because Delta likes this the way it is. They like that it can mean buying two tickets that should price as one (if it were a paid ticket that is). But I think this is just wrong and if Delta.com has to price it as two tickets Delta phone reps should be able to fix it and price it as only one.
Stopovers – bring them back. Again, Delta intentionally did this but it is wrong as so many other airlines allow this and Delta used to allow this. If I am booking a trip to Sweden, for example, there is no reason not to let me stop over in say Atlanta or Paris for a few days on the way when I am connecting in these cities anyway. Make SkyMiles rewarding again like they once were!
Off-line mode in Fly Delta. Why Delta did you break the App I love so much and rely on when I fly? Give me the choice to turn this “enhancement off” please so I can again brag how great the Delta App is compared to all other airlines.
RU & GU space. That is Regional and Global Upgrade Certificate space. Elites are able to choose these but we have a very limited amount of them. If we choose to use them Delta (since you give them to us) open up the space. Yes it may cost you a few sold 1st class seats but you gave us the certs to use – if we can not use them they are again a gift that is like a lump of coal. Not cool Delta, not cool!
AMEX BOGO space. Lastly, like the RU & GU certs. While I am able with much work to almost always burn mine and in 1st class I know it is not a simple task sometimes to find space. Delta controls this and could open up more to those who are loyal to AMEX and the Delta co-branded cards year after year after year!
So there is my list. I truly feel all of these could be fixed if Delta wanted to fix them. Do you agree with my long list or have I missed some that you feel are either more important or I simply overlooked. You tell me! – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I’d say (1) bring back around-the-world awards. I took one in 2015 (booked in 2014) it was great. Also, (2) how about a little more room for beverages and snacks in first. AA also beats DL on this. On DL the little “table” on the middle console is so small it is hard to set two glass there without touching. And (3) if the rumored JV with Korean Air happens (that’s would be a plus by itself) let us use GUs on KE the way we can on AF/KLM. As DL drops service to more key Asian cities like Bangkok and Taipei, GUs are less valuable TPAC.
How about the ability to book RU and GU online? The only logic for this not existing is that Delta wants to make these difficult to use.
@Lee – Agree 100%. We should not have to call and bug reps over and over again.
GU certs are a joke. Just booked LAX to SYD and back this Sept. Delta One was totally empty on both flights but no GUC space available! I feel so violated and unappreciated! Earlier this month I burned 2 GUCs for SYD>LAX>AUS “wait list” and didn’t catch an upgrade on either segment. Played the Delta lottery and lost.
These GU are so hard to earn with recreational travel and we have lost them because we were waitlisted or we had to go places we didn’t really want to go to use them. Rene, you are right, if DA is “giving” them to us as a reward for loyalty then they should also allow us to use them. It is disgraceful.
These certificares are a joke. We work so hard to get them with receeational travel and then either lose them by wait listing or we have traveled to places we did not really want to go. If DA gives these as a reward for loyalty they should also allow us to use them. It is disgraceful.
Agreed the GU/RU certs and potentially worthless under current system of manual calls and last minute waitlists.
Minor one here: how about skyclub beer taps that don’t pour 99% foam?
@Astoria – I can fix that. Get a second glass and leave the foam one behind ie have two ready when the beer is flowing! 😉
I am waitlisted on NRT – ATL to use a GU in July, 2017. Only one seat is taken in business right now. The rep says there is nothing available. Come on Delta!!
I have never had a problem using my GU. Last year, the Rep let me UG all 3 of us on the same flight to Copenhagen. I used my 4th GU three times – i would be wait listed and they would never use the GU when I cleared. I would tell the Delta Rep every time that this was already used but they said as long as the system said it was good, we could use it. I did have to pay the Luxury Tax twice when leaving the U.K.
Improve the plane-side carry-on bag check system. Ridiculous that when flying as an elite, your checked bags get priority-tagged, but when on a small regional jet, you are virtually guaranteed your wheeled carry-on will be last to be unloaded.
This would be so easy to fix, and would alleviate a plane full of frustrated passengers (those waiting, AND those who have to walk by the hordes) on the jetbridge. Simply set the elite bags aside (on a regional jet, there aren’t that many) and load them last! Last on = first off. A differently colored plane-side tag is another easy help.
The RU and GU certs should be usable. I’ve been wait listed for 2 months for a flight I have next week to HNL. Still half of seats available. …come on Delta, just not fair for your DMs. Causes so much anxiety wondering if you’ll get the upgrade and so much time wasted for your employees with all the calls to them to check on space, since I’ve learned of your IT issues with the upgrades. If you give us certs, let us use them.
Has Delta discontinued live satellite TV? A flight attendant told me it’s being removed from seat back entertainment systems.
The last two flights I’ve taken with seatback monitors had satellite as an option, but every channel had the “Service Not Available” message on every channel.
@Kevin – I seem to recall from my Gogo corp tour that ALL the new K2U birds will have sat tv. I did not check on my last one but will keep an eye out. Maybe other readers can confirm.
DL should recognize it’s partner airline status also for upgrades. I am Lifetime Platinum on KLM Flying Blue and always end up dead last for upgrades. Last week I was #21 out of 22 and #27 out of 27. Ludicrous.
As a Diamond who has left Delta for Alaska Airlines this year, I can honestly say (even though Alaska does not have all the perks) I’m @ 100% first class upgrades this year (fly EVERY week). How many Delta Diamonds can say that? Delta’s corporate death march led by the bean counters can, as in the words of Will Ferrell “Go &#$%# it”.
How about beverage and snack service (in coach) on short flights instead of this “We’ll *try* to accommodate individual requests as time permits” policy? I especially feel for people who actually pay for C+ seats and expect drinks and a snack basket — only to get the “Sorry! Your 45 Minute Flight is Too Troublesome for Us” treatment.
Southwest FAs hustle, are proactive with whatever time they have with the pax, and consistently accomplish cabin service on full 737s.
Hi everyone, I’m responding to Rene’s the “Board you Lose” section.
on 17 MARCH 2017 I was flying in First class from FLL to MSP. My daughter and granddaughter was supposed to fly with me. Unfortunately they couldn’t make it.
After everyone boarded the two seats were still vacant, then just before they closed the door of the aircraft, the gate agent came on board went to the back of the plane and filled the two vacant seats of my daughter and granddaughter
But in the same sentence I have been on flights where the back of the plane was full and there was still a few seats left in First Class, where I was within the top 10 for upgrades from number 1 to number 10 and they never called me from the back to First Class.
I agree this could be hit or miss depending where you’re at.
They need to fix their charging ports! Macbook chargers often won’t stick because they’re too heavy and I imagine it’s the same with other devices.
I usually have to either hold it in with my leg or tie the cord up in a way that holds the charger in place.