If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Delta Halfing Their $100 Fee For Ticket Changing
Here's some consumer-friendly news that you may have not yet heard. Meanwhile,
I have heard that Southwest has no fee for ticket changing. copyrighted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution 2004 www.ajc.com (free registration) Delta: Frequent fliers' gripes heard By KIRSTEN TAGAMI, RUSSELL GRANTHAM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/16/04 Delta Air Lines, trying to win points with passengers as part of its recovery plan, is lowering some service fees and making it easier for frequent fliers to reach elite status. The SkyMiles changes are effective Jan. 1 and roll back moves Delta made two years ago that angered some loyal customers. Their main gripe was that the program penalized those flying on cheaper fares. FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP (ENLARGE) Speaking in New York, Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said the airline must focus on cutting costs and offering customers a cheaper, simpler product. Now, Delta is increasing the value of miles flown on deeply discounted fares. Mileage awards will be based on a 500-mile minimum or actual mileage flown, whichever is greatest. Delta said the previous system, which more generously awarded fliers on higher-priced fares, was "too complex." The new rules — likely the first in a series of changes to the SkyMiles program — "tell me there were a lot of customer and focus groups that spoke their minds," said Randy Petersen, editor of Inside Flyer and an expert on frequent flier programs. "This will pacify a certain group of frequent fliers and at the same time send a signal that will bring people back to Delta who might have been in the lower-fare category," Petersen said. Another change: To reach Platinum status — the highest of the "Medallion" elite levels — you now have to earn only 75,000 qualifying miles per year, down from 100,000. The change brings SkyMiles in line with its domestic marketing partners, Continental and Northwest, and probably was inevitable as the airlines strive for consistency in their frequent flier programs, Petersen said. Starting Wednesday, Delta also lowered fees for all customers for certain travel services. Now, a $50 fee is standard for most services, including making changes to purchased nonrefundable fares. Ticket change fees had been $100. Fees for unaccompanied minors or for traveling with pets in the cabin also will be $50 each way, up from $40 on nonstop flights but down from $75 for connecting flights. Petersen said Delta's moves are smart because "most people are pretty fed up with all the fees being imposed on them by everyone from the banks to the airlines." The airline also is lengthening the complimentary first-class upgrade window for Medallion members from hours to days, and will give upgrades at the time of booking for such fliers using certain discount fares. Delta also said it will ease restrictions on use of unused travel credits. Delta Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein, speaking Wednesday in New York, said the airline must focus on cutting costs and offering customers a cheaper, simpler product, much as Costco has done with warehouse discount stores. He said Delta's recent test of "Simplifares" in Cincinnati, which lowered fares and cut change fees, has helped increase local bookings by one-third. Grinstein, after a speech to the Wings Club, was asked if Delta might sell its regional subsidiaries to shore up its finances. He didn't rule it out, calling the units "extremely valuable assets" that feed Delta hubs and serve less-dense markets. Still, "you do not have to own them to get all the benefits," he said. Grinstein also said Delta has joined other carriers in lobbying Congress to pass legislation next year that would allow ailing carriers to slow down catch-up payments required to shore up underfunded pension plans. Delta's are underfunded by about $5 billion. Airlines were allowed to temporarily reduce the deficit-reduction payments under a previous industry relief package. "We are not going to have any choice but to go to Congress to stretch out payments," Grinstein told about 300 executives and other employees of aircraft makers, consulting firms and suppliers. Delta froze its pilots' pension plan as part of a new contract deal that helped the airline avoid a Chapter 11 filing this fall. But it still has to pay hundreds of millions into that and other frozen employee pensions that are underfunded. Grinstein predicted industry consolidation will accelerate over the next two years. United, US Airways and other carriers accounting for 20 percent of the industry are in bankruptcy, he noted. Delta skirted Chapter 11 by cutting a pilot pay-cut deal and getting financing deals from General Electric and American Express. "We still have a tremendous amount of work to do," he said. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
halfing
halving |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
This Week's Hot Deals 03/20 | test | USA & Canada | 1 | August 27th, 2004 10:36 PM |
Delta Airlines Changing Uniforms | Cassie | Air travel | 0 | February 11th, 2004 02:25 AM |
Delta Airlines Changing Uniforms | None | Air travel | 0 | February 9th, 2004 11:43 PM |
Hot Deals Starting 12/12 | Liberal | USA & Canada | 4 | December 14th, 2003 12:29 AM |
Deal Newsletter (2003.10.03) | Public Interest | USA & Canada | 1 | October 5th, 2003 07:48 PM |