Delta is supposed to be ‘the premium U.S. airline’ and there are some things they do well. Their flight attendants are marginally friendlier than at their major competitors, but not as good as pre-pandemic (with all of the turnover since then)>
The airline has nice business class lounges, with weak wine, and they get absolutely crowded at peak times (especially JFK).
They’re a little more reliable than United and American, but that advantage has eroded a lot since the pandemic. They aren’t nearly as reliable as they once were, and the airline acknowledges this (and they admit their pilot contract is part of the problem).
- They have a strong brand reputation that surpasses the reality of the flying experience
- They had very strong core hubs, and a strong position in important coastal cities. These feed their credit card cobrand, which is an excellent deal and their position in top markets generates the most spending.
It’s striking though how Delta loyalists just believe they’re better even though they still have a fleet of 767s with the worst business class among competitors, and they have the least valuable mileage program. United is quickly overtaking Delta with its free wifi that works legions better than Delta’s, and United’s mobile app is better. Delta’s COO – who was their real operations guru – left at the start of the pandemic. Their President who really drove airline strategy has just retired.
When United’s Scott Kirby claims that there’s only room for two premium airlines in the U.S., it occurs to me that:
- It’s assumed that the two will be Delta and United.
- He said this when he was President of American Airlines – he indicated a desire to be one of the two then although American never leaned into this.
- There’s no real warrant for the claim that there can be only two, but if you accept that is true… why do we believe Delta will still be one of them, just because they are today?
Delta is getting lapped in wifi. They just introduced a new business class product that’s far from industry-leading. They’re behind in rolling out business class lounges. Their operation isn’t as good as it used to be, and their crews not quite as friendly either. SkyMiles delivers less value than AAdvantage, MileagePlus, and Mileage Plan.
They seem to make odd choices in where to invest – and where not to invest. For instance, their onboard food is (mostly) not very good, although I have to give them credit that their burger is better than United’s and American’s. Their buy on board food for sale product lags United and Alaska.
Delta’s choices for where to invest strike me odd. For instance, they don’t serve food on in first class on flights that other airlines would.
- They advertise meals in first class on flights over 900 miles.
- They advertise during booking that all these flights will have food.
- Yet they operate flights over 900 that don’t have their standard food in first class
This seems common on routes out of cities where they don’t have catering contracts – other airlines might board extra meals at their hub to use on the return trip (‘double catering’). Yet have a look at Spokane – Minneapolis.
It is over 1,000 miles. It is advertised as offering lunch in first class. Customers buy the ticket assuming they’ll have a meal. But when you go into your itinerary they no longer promise a meal. They’re non-committal over whether anything will be served, or what.
I understand not having a caterer in Spokane. But this is not even a plane that remains in Spoken overnight, where they would need to double cater from the hub with something shelf stable for the morning. This is a 2 p.m. departure and they don’t both to double cater it.
That is not very premium. And it’s a perfect example of where the marketing engine around Delta conflicts with reality on the plane.
Before the pandemic Delta was giving out amenity kits and welcome drinks on long haul flights in economy. They’ve cut complimentary earphones in coach domestic. In 2019, it seemed like Delta really was on its way to being a premium global airline. What happened?
