Is Delta Airlines”sexy” as an airline? Can they measure up? What’s the good, the bad? Is there an ugly as well?
For those of you who haven’t flown Delta in the last – say – 7 years, forget your preconceived ideas. Delta today has nothing to do with Delta years ago.
So Delta doesn’t focus on overly fancy but focuses on quality, maintenance, and on-time performance with excellent customer service. Do they deliver?
Yes they do. Is everything good? Who is perfect?
The good
- The crew – you feel welcome and safe on board most Delta flights. I say most because I do not want to say all. It’s a people business but I fly them regularly and I have yet to have a bad experience from a crew perspective.
- Delta One (their business class) – you always have aisle access which is quite important if you travel for business. If you travel as a couple you can take the middle seats since the configuration is 1-2-1. The seats are fully lie flat with a certain hard comfort but nice pillows and a duvet are also on hand. Next step up are the Delta One Suites that Delta started to introduce on Asia flights and provide a fully enclosed Suite.
Delta Comfort +: I flew this on an internal flight and was impressed with the legroom.
Delta domestic First class: equally impressive…. - The app – clear, easy to use. It pays to keep your profile totally up-to-date including your mobile phone. Why? Well, when you call, the Delta system recognises your phone number so the agent welcomes you by name and usually has your next file already on the screen. Now that is what I call a time- and stress-saver when you need to reschedule a flight when you get stuck in travel. I was very impressed with this service.
You also can track your luggage. Minor point – if your luggage is not on board, it doesn’t really work… But it remains a cool feature - Inflight internet and the possibility to stream entertainment on your own devices. The internet access is easy if you need (want?) to work but you do not need to pay to use this to stream entertainment (movies, series etc) to your own device. Can be interesting since it gives you more liberty.
- Sky priority – this is valid across SkyTeam of course but it does work whether you get access through status or because you are flying upfront, recognition is at hand.
Sky Team partnerships moreover will get you around the world as Delta works together on the Transatlantic with Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic. On Transpacific they work among others with Korean Air while Gol and AeroMexico cover south of the border. That is a very extensive network meaning you can get from Europe to the US and around the US very easily. - On-time performance. Usually outstanding but… see point 2 in “the Bad”
- (Only for people who make contracts for their company – Delta’s account management is top notch. The account reviews are complete and they are knowledgeable people that grow on you.. 😉)
The Bad
- I’m repeating myself but there is the issue with food allergies. Being lactose-intolerant, I need to bring pills on board. If you want to order lactose-free, you need to go vegan. Not that I mind ordering vegan that but when you do, the food is inedible, even in First or Business. So I end up bringing pills, and choosing the least “dangerous” food. However since Delta is a US based airline, there is cheese and cream on almost all their food. Other airlines (including KLM, Delta’s partner, American, BA, ….) offer a lactose-free meal as a normal dietary request and these choices have never disappointed me.
But the food on Delta’s regular menu is good quality and the portions are quite big. They are just not great with exceptions. - Unfortunately that also applies to other out-of-the box situations – delays etc (like we had in January due to snow in New York) seem hard to cope with. If it is not part of the basic operation, the machine becomes less smooth and that results sometimes in chaos such as delays and lost luggage. I unfortunately also witnessed this but really only as an exception.
The ugly ? Conclusion
Quite honestly, they remain (one of) my favorite airline(s) and supplier.
The Delta spirit can be felt throughout the company and that spirit helps to give you an impression (hopefully it is a genuine impression) that people really care.
People clearly love to work at Delta. It is a cliché but so true – if your employees are happy, they will serve your customers well…
Have a great flight on Delta soon…