Fly Delta Jets
I’ve always liked that huge neon sign sitting atop one of the Delta service hangars between the gate and the end of the runway at Hartsfield. It’s like a relic of the past, twelve foot tall letters reading, “FLY DELTA JETS.” Simple and proud, in a sense: no justification necessary; this is the airline you should choose.
I’m probably the last kid on the block to realize this, or experience it first hand, but Delta really has a great profit center setup, and yet here is an airline with a tenuous footing on the edge of a cliff. Bankruptcy is patting the comfy bed below, inviting them to slip just a little. C’mere.
One month ago I bought a round trip ticket from Atlanta to Las Vegas for $300. The return flight was on a Saturday. Today I decided I’d much rather return on Sunday. What would you imagine such a change would cost me? Keep in mind there is a $50 penalty for changing your mind at this point, plus any fare differences.
If I bought my desired itinerary today (with the Sunday return) it would cost $700. Seven hundred dollars. Coach. Surely they wouldn’t require $400 + $50 to make the change. Me, explaining my wishes to Delta, asking for a quote:
Delta: Would you like me to calculate that price, sir?
Me: Yes, thank you.
(seconds pass)
Delta: The fee will be three hundred and thirty-eight dollars.
Let me get this straight. Because my itinerary changed by one day - and I recognize that Sunday is a more desirable day to leave Las Vegas - it will cost me $338 to make it happen. This is more than a one-way ticket (LAS to ATL) this late in the game. What’s a one-way, non-stop ticket cost, you ask? AirTran: $285. Delta: $295. Yes, Delta. That’s right. A one-way ticket costs less than changing my reservation.
At lunch today Glenn (work, not brother) regaled me with tales of the airlines under regulation. As much as it goes against my core principles, I can’t help but think that deregulation was a huge mistake. Paraphrasing Glenn: In the golden years (circa late sixties), you could jump on a bus and ride down to Hartsfield, march up to the ticket agent and say, “When’s your next flight to Kalamazoo?” Not “Do you have any seats” — there were plenty of seats! Tickets cost a bit more, but they were almost universally transferrable in all sorts of ways. Glenn told of finding himself in X one time, with a ticket from Y to Z on Airline One. Airline Two honored this ticket, taking him from X to Z. No $50 penalty. No fare differences. Can you even imagine such a scenario taking place today? Most incredible of all, the airlines were actually making money!
I flew United (not my choice), an airline that lost 1.6 billion last year, to Wyoming, and was impressed by the number of “maintenance delays” that occurred while sitting in the terminals. Our connecting flight to Denver on the way out was delayed for maintenance reasons; on the way back a flight leaving Denver our gate before mine was delayed (maintenance), and then the very flight I was waiting on was delayed. Maintenance. And then somehow they had oversold it. The gate agent was amusing over the intercom, and I laughed when he informed us that our flight was delayed, but you really have to wonder — what the hell’s going on here, United? I know you’re bankrupt, but get it together! A passenger on one flight was inquiring about an in-flight meal (presumably something to compliment the 8 mini pretzels they ration out), to which the flight attendant responded, “Nothing’s free anymore, ha ha ha! Not if I’m taking a pay cut!” Does that mean he’s going to strike if United were to offer complimentary bagels? Ha ha ha!
A lot has changed since the “golden years,” obviously, but has enough changed to warrant the kick-in-the-head service we get (and take) from airlines of late? Many more people are flying today, but I would think that would only result in more revenue if the airlines were still under regulation. This is probably as much as I will protest. I know the friendly Delta ticket agent didn’t set their asinine re-scheduling policy. I wonder, though: what’s it going to take to turn this thing around? How long do we have to wait until they all fall down and regulation returns? Is there any other answer?
March 25th, 2005 at 5:43 pm
Why didn’t deregulation work? There is a one word (primary) reason: unions.
March 26th, 2005 at 9:43 am
Fares will never fall for airlines –from here, out, the price can only go up. As more airlines declare bankruptcy and shut down routes, the few remaining routes will become jammed with more people. The two biggest changes since “the golden days” are that there are more people flying than ever before (Boeings new 737s have a ceiling of 42,000 feet, not 34,000 to handle the capacity of the sky) and fuel costs are astonomical. Airlines mus adapt to overcome these issues. Those that don’t, die.
Death to Delta, they deserve it. Compare them to a successful airline like Southwest. Delta doesn’t standardize their planes, they don’t even OWN their planes, and they weren’t smart enough to lock fuel contracts in years ago when they had a chance. That plus their constant fights with the unions to cut costs instead of simply changing their business plan… well, they can crumble as far as I’m concerned. If only the government wouldn’t keep bailing these dumbasses out. Ah, Delta — I loved them at one time, but I fly with the little guys, now, when I get the chance.
One really nice aspect of the Golden Days that has gone the way of security was the ability to go up to trade tickets with other people. It was like a bus pass: it didn’t matter who was using it. Thats just alien to me.
March 26th, 2005 at 9:48 am
Here’s something that sucks to think about that just kind of hit me: sometime, in the future, airline travel won’t be possible. When oil peters out, Jet-A is going to be really tough to come by.
March 29th, 2005 at 10:35 pm
Speaking of Delta…
March 30th, 2005 at 1:32 pm
..doh — no hotlinking, so my previous comment is boofed. Go here and click on “oops2.jpg”, in the far-right column, about a third of the way down.
July 8th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Well, to the anti labor slug, if unions are the problem, then why is SW doing so well?