Delta Brings In-Flight Experience from the Skies to Midtown

This should be interesting - figured ya'll would want to know about this...

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Delta Brings Award-Winning In-Flight Experience from the Skies to the New “SKY360° by Delta” in New York City

Multidimensional lounge, open for six weeks in the heart of midtown Manhattan, will showcase Delta’s unique in-flight experience and worldwide destinations

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2007 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is bringing its award-winning in-flight experience to the streets of New York City. The airline will open “SKY360° by Delta,” a multidimensional lounge in the heart of midtown Manhattan created to showcase key elements of Delta’s unique in-flight experience and worldwide destinations.

The 3,500 square-foot space located at 101 West 57th St. (at the intersection of 6th Avenue) will be open for six weeks only, Oct. 3–Nov. 10, showcasing Delta’s on-board experience and worldwide network of destinations. Visitors can also interact with the airline’s state-of-the-art amenities – all within a contemporary, high-style space. SKY360° by Delta will feature:

Sky High Entertainment: An entertainment/screening area features Delta’s all-leather Coach Class seats and its new international BusinessElite® seats which recline into a fully flat position and will be featured on Delta’s new 777 Long Range aircraft in spring 2008. The seats in SKY360° feature the state-of-the art, Delta on Demand in-flight entertainment system, including movies, HBO programming, TV, music and more. SKY360° guests can:
Watch their favorite HBO program – “Entourage,” “Sex and the City” or “Sopranos”
Catch the latest films currently airing on Delta – “Ocean’s 13,” “Knocked Up,” “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
Listen to cool tunes – 90s mix, salsa, country and more
The Midnight Sky Bar: Serving coffee and complimentary Coca-Cola products by day and cocktails by night, including selections from Midnight Sky, the signature cocktail program created exclusively for Delta by nightlife proprietor Rande Gerber.
Delta Café Pods: Unique seating pods located throughout the space enable daytime guests to relax and sample selections from Delta’s new food-for-sale menu, featuring creations from Chef Todd English, including Roast Beef Steak Cobb Sandwich, Mediterranean Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Chilled Black Olive Spaghetti Salad.
The Reservation Area: A computer zone where visitors can check fares and worldwide flight schedules, as well as book reservations via delta.com.
American Express® Connectivity Lounge and Charging Station: A free charging station for an assortment of mobile devices, including cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPods, sponsored by Delta partner American Express.
AvisConnect Wi-Fi: Free Wi-Fi capability throughout SKY360.

“We are excited to provide customers with an opportunity to experience all of the unique, stylish and entertaining elements of Delta’s award-winning in-flight service in the heart of New York City,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s vice president of Marketing. “SKY360° is an experiential vehicle that enables Delta to highlight our robust array of in-flight offerings and provides a platform for visitors to try out our state-of-the-art amenities.”

Throughout its six-week timeframe, SKY360° will host for the public a variety of daily events and programs related to amenities specific to Delta and travel overall. Evenings will be reserved for a wide variety of private events. Thematic programming and select events include:

Oct. 2-6: Grand Opening – daily sweepstakes and giveaways;
Oct. 9-13: International Week – sweepstakes for international tickets on Delta;
Oct. 16-20: Living Well Week – free massages from Delta’s spa partner, Lather;
Oct. 23-27: Stress Free Week – packing tips and tricks and aromatherapy from Lather;
Oct. 30-Nov 3: Food & Wine Week – Filippo Berio Olive Oil samplings;
Nov. 6-10: Entertainment Week – a gadget lab, showcasing the latest media players, cameras and phones, and a travel photo exhibition.

Evenings at SKY360° will be reserved for a wide variety of private events, Tuesday through Saturday:

Esquire Magazine: Man at His Best Cocktail Reception – based on 'Man at his Best' editorial platform, guests are invited to experience the newest trends in fashion, luxury goods and culture.

New Yorker: Cartoons and Cocktails – guests will experience live cartoonist demonstrations, signed sketches, cocktails.

New York Magazine: International Cinema at SKY360° – in partnership with Rooftop films, the event will showcase international short films.

Peter Greenberg Book Reception: Cocktail reception to celebrate the newest book from Today Show correspondent Peter Greenberg: The Complete Travel Detective Bible.

About Delta
Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 310 destinations in 54 countries. Since 2005, Delta has added more international capacity than all other major U.S. airlines combined and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers more than 400 weekly flights to 53 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 475 worldwide destinations in 104 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.

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Delicious! I hear Tommy is going to be a VIP guest :)

Andy when are we going, maybe we'll get miles for it! LOL

This would certainly be a step in the right direction for sure.

Its kind of like being the hometown airline for the city for the people in new york.

I would love to see American do this in their hubs.

SWA does something like it in terms of participating with the public, in parades and such but nothing to the extent DL is doing with this.

Alex

Go Delta go!

Wonder how they will handle the logistics on the days it's open to the public. While they'd obviously like to get midtown professionals in there who might be potential high margin customer converts for DL, they will most likely also get alot of shall we say less 'well heeled' people looking for free stuff, especially if they are really giving away food and drink as it sounds like they might be. Anyway, the real value of doing something like this isn't getting people in to learn about the products and services, it's getting people to talk about it. Charmin's Times Square bathrooms last year got lots of free publicity via various outlets.

I don't work too far from 57th and have seen them working on it so if I happen to pass by while it's open to the public I will check it out but if someone beats me to it would be interested to hear your observations.

Thanks for posting and I would like to check this out, sounds cool.

LGA777

I DARE Tommy to go wearing a Southwest or AA t-shirt! They'd clobber him! :mrgreen:

If he does, someone be sure to get pics!

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

I DARE Tommy to go wearing a Southwest or AA t-shirt! They'd clobber him! :mrgreen:

If he does, someone be sure to get pics!

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Nah doubt they would...they would simply know I'm a WN and AA customer and perhaps try to get me to convert.

Chris look......all joking aside. I don't fly Delta as my preferred carrier for a reason. It’s not a stupid spotter reason either that "I don't like Delta's paint." I'm a business traveler who's flown 192,000 miles this year and have a valid reason. I've flown Delta twice in 2006 and in both cases Delta delayed my bag. Sorry but why would I try for a third time? The 767 I was on was dirty and looked rather worn as well, the MD-88 looked as though the cabin was the original from the factory. It just wasn't a good feel overall.

Now I will say when I flew Song it was rather good, the buy on board program was good, not as good as UAL's but a good value for the money. The drinks were good. even though the FA had no clue how to make a mile high Mohito and the IFE was decent. The problem with IFE like DAL's and other airlines it takes up leg and storage under the seat. Overall though Song wasn't bad, but Delta didn't earn my business like AA and WN did. I'm sure someone could say the opposite but, Delta has lots of flyers who love them, and I’m just not one. Unless I can be convinced otherwise.

Those are valid reasons. I love competition, Tommy. But 2006 was a rough year for the airline and I still think you should give them another shot, post-bankruptcy. It's amazing how the mood of employees changes when their employer is being successful...

In as much as there is rarely an aviation-related event or venue in Manhattan, would anyone be interested in meeting up there? It's open to the public between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Tues–Sat for the next few weeks and apparently free Cokes at least!

I'm interested in checking this out, but I'd have to fly up to NYC obviously. I'm off Tues and Weds next week so if that works out for you let me know and I'll book a trip.

-Chris

I checked out the lounge yesterday and while it was very hip and cool, it did not do enough to promote the Delta brand. Given Delta's huge international expansion I would have wanted to see information about their destinations. Destination pictures (like what they use on their home page, as well as last spring's "Cheat on New York" campaign) in simple black frames would have been very nice and let the public know where Delta flies from New York.

I think a lot of people walked away associating Delta as an airline that "gets it" and is hip yet also professional, but didn't know how to take advantage of Delta and where they fly. I wonder what the impact will be on people who go to this lounge and book a Delta ticket to somewhere that does not have the new Delta service (pretty much everywhere besides international and transcon flights), but expect the same brand image as well as physical airplane seats they saw in the lounge. If flying out of JFK, they may walk into the Delta terminal and think they were lost.

While I do fly Delta, it's usually when there is no cheap alternative or if I'm going to MCO and I can go via ATL and have widebodies on all legs. Even then, I credit the miles to my WorldPerks account because Delta is very bad with award tickets. The JFK terminal is a mess to put it nicely, one reason I will not even consider flying DL international in the near future (the other being that most flights are on 763s with no IFE in Y, and service is just not as good as other carriers).

The only bad thing about the lounge is the BusinessElite seat they have on display. It's basically a bigger economy seat that converts into a bed. It has that same tacky blue color and the leather is horrible. I kept thinking it was going to stick to my skin. I would certainly not pay extra to sit or sleep in that seat. The PTV screen was surprisingly small and was not much bigger than Virgin's new V:Port screens in economy. The tray table was very hard to take out, and the employee demonstrating it was trying to smile while pulling it out and getting her fingers nicked. This seat is a second-rate copy of superior offerings by Air Canada and Virgin, amongst others.

I couldn't help but feel this lounge was a quiet counter-attack on Virgin America. There were some design details that looked like they came straight from VX.

That all being said :D here are some pictures.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1506.jpg

Reading area
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1505.jpg

Virgin-like design
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1495.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1504.jpg

American Express-sponsored computer area with internet access (many of the people using it were on Facebook)
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1502.jpg

People thought this looked really good, until they learned it was a banana butter sandwich
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1498.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1499.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1496.jpg

The lounge was not that crowded and there did not seem to be any problem with the free drink and food giveaway.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1497.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1476.jpg

Seat area
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1501.jpg

Too bad Delta didn't put in the exact seat pitch to let people know what it's really like. :wink:
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1477.jpg

The rest of these are the new BusinessElite seat that will first be on the 777-200LRs, reportedly going to DXB first (smart move) then BOM. Configuration will be 1-2-1, and like other carriers the seats will be angled, so looking out the window will require turning your neck quite a bit.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1480.jpg

Cubby
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1486.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1482.jpg

Bad tray table and small PTV
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1485.jpg

Regular outlet, audio output, and USB drive
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...7/IMG_1481.jpg

In short: Cool place with food and drinks? Yes. Delta brand enhancement? No.

Nice job, Will. I was going to head over there and take some pics as it's just a couple of blocks from my office, but you've saved me the trouble. :)

Will outstanding report! Seems like a cool place but I'm curious as to you're take home message. It seems that if you were a "normal" off the street visitor you wouldn't leave feeling that Delta would be you're first choice in you're air travel. To address the point of the lack of destinations advertised there I did see the Sao Paulo behind the bar but was that it? One would think that Delta might have used LCDs placed in key locations running spots on their destinations from New York to spur the visitor to get excited about traveling to places like London, Paris, Central American, and even domestic locals. I know that when I generally see ads like that it spurs my imagination for travel.

I think you're report brings up a fact I was trying to make with the discussion I had with Phil the other day. While this place is hip and cool, and shows that Delta offers these onboard services the reality is you have a very good chance of not seeing any of these services on you're flight. This goes back to my phrase "Window Dressing" or even harsher but IMO not the case "bait and switch," here's what we advertise but here’s what you get....

The fact is, and these are numbers are right from Delta is that over 50% of Delta's RJ fleet which performs allot of medium haul lift to vacation destinations has no IFE of any sort. Only 30% of the combined Delta fleet of 75s, 76's, 73's and MD's have only overhead TV's, 4% of the 777s and 764s combined have PTV, and only 12% of the 75s have the full deal of Live TV and Games. So you're selling you're customer on the chance that they have a 12% chance of enjoying these new features. Purely from a consumer standpoint don't advertise on what you can't deliver at the moment. This is the point I was trying to make that it’s a far greater chance that you'll fly with nothing vs. what you're being sold and combine that with the operational issues still plaguing Delta it amounts to nothing more then “wow was the wool pulled over my eyes.”

Will, great report and photos, thanks for posting for all of us. I will leave early for work at LGA one day and take a swing by there. Just curious if any of the staff gave you any trouble about all the photos ? I would think not but these days you never know. Also did the staff seem like actual DL employees temporarily assigned to this lounge or did they seem like temps just hired for the short term event ?

Thanks

LGA777

I finally understand your "window dressing" analogy. And, today, your correct, Tommy. But some of the numbers you have for IFE deployment aren't exactly accurate...

The 767-400 fleet has four PTV-equipped aircraft flying with more being converted soon. The 777s were delivered new with Delta OnDemand PTVs throughout the cabin (they are being upgraded, however) - not to mention that 4% of 29 aircraft is less than 2 aircraft - c'mon, man! The 737-800 fleet has, and always has had, drop-down LCD screens since their initial delivery, as do the entire MD-90 fleet.

Where on Earth (or Mars) did you get these figures from?

My point is that Delta isn't stagnating. They really are changing, modernizing, and listening to their customers - finally.

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

I finally understand your "window dressing" analogy. And, today, your correct, Tommy. But some of the numbers you have for IFE deployment aren't exactly accurate...

The 767-400 fleet has four PTV-equipped aircraft flying with more being converted soon. The 777s were delivered new with Delta OnDemand PTVs throughout the cabin (they are being upgraded, however) - not to mention that 4% of 29 aircraft is less than 2 aircraft - c'mon, man! The 737-800 fleet has, and always has had, drop-down LCD screens since their initial delivery, as do the entire MD-90 fleet.

Where on Earth (or Mars) did you get these figures from?

My point is that Delta isn't stagnating. They really are changing, modernizing, and listening to their customers - finally.

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Chris got them right from Delta media relations. A nice girl named Betsy who works for Delta in press relations. The numbers are based on combined fleets. So if you're disputing the numbers talk to Delta.

I'm not disputing them, I'm telling you your information is non-factual, regardless of what Betty Bop told you to set the record straight and mow through all the baloney. :-)

[airlinerstp://www.airliners.net/open.file/1096178/L/[/airlinersairlinerstp://www.airliners.net/open.file/0743331/L/[/airlinersairlinerstp://www.airliners.net/open.file/1224313/L/[/airlinersairlinerstp://www.airliners.net/open.file/1253359/L/[/airliners:1c13c]

Ron, I had no problems with the pictures. At the beginning one person did give me a look, but no one said anything and many staff members were accommodating in stepping out of the frame for a second. I was told the entire place was run by actual DL employees. I think most of the employees are with DL, but there were some techies helping people in the AmEx computer lounge, plus security and catering. One lady I spoke to normally works in the LGA Crown Room.

Tommy, if I were an off-the-street person I would have an enhanced view of Delta, but I don't think it would become my primary airline, or one I specifically looked for when booking flights. The area to try out the seats was in the back, and few people went there during my visit. While I was over there, there was a businessman who was trying out the seat, only to ask what BusinessElite was. Was it first class? Business class?

Your analogy of the wool being pulled over your eyes is very fitting. While passengers flying out of NYC may have a better percentage chance of getting this service, it would still be a small number. Even if I knew I would get this service (say flying to the West Coast or to Europe) I would not go out of my way to fly Delta. I would actually pay more to fly a different carrier, unless it was much more expensive. IFE is not my top priority. An airline needs to win me with service (AA is a good example of a US airline) and comfortable seating. I haven't tried out the new economy seats, but I think the color would be enough to make me uncomfortable.

The advertising you saw behind the bar also ran as wall decoration in the seating area but no where else. I agree there could have--and should have--been more advertising. There were LCDs, but they were promoting Coca Cola. I loved the "Cheat on New York" campaign from last spring. It reminded me of how fun and exciting traveling can be, and it definitely made me want to travel more. And now with Delta flying to Cairo, Nairobi, and other places it's a world airline and brings back the faint memories I have of Pan Am and TWA. How many people know Delta will be flying to Nairobi? When I see Delta's current "Change is..." ad campaign, all I can think is "Change is...not Delta."

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

My point is that Delta isn't stagnating. They really are changing, modernizing, and listening to their customers - finally.

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Chris you had me up until you said Delta is listening to customers. Delta is playing the game of appearing to listen to customers while trying to reap as much profit as they can. The SkyMiles program is at the heart of all of this, and that's where probably the most important customers are. Delta needs to pick a side by acknowledging their customers and doing what's best for them, or announce they no longer care about them and just want money. US Airways basically did the latter when they re-configured the Airbus narrowbody fleet by taking out a closet and first class seats. A few months later, CEO Doug Parker wrote a letter that basically started with "We messed up" and announced a better configuration. US gained a lot of trust back from Parker's acknowledgment (but it should be noted customers are still pretty unhappy). If Delta wants to be successful with its impressive route map, it needs the full backing of its customers. Delta may not see the benefits immediately, but with due time they will.

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Delta is playing the game of appearing to listen to customers while trying to reap as much profit as they can.

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Well, yeah - they're a business (big surprise). What are they supposed to do? Throw their hands up and surrender? Liquidate? Perhaps you can give us some informed, educated, and factual examples as to how they AREN'T listening to their customers?

After all, IFE is being deployed throughout the fleet. These modifications take 2 weeks per aircraft and do NOT happen over night (regardless of what airline it is). New seats are being installed aircraft by aircraft (which, by the way, are very comfortable). Facilities are being rennovated and updated (been through Atlanta lately?). Buy-on-board meals are returning to the skies. The 767-400ERs have FINALLY been deployed where they need to be - internationally. The JFK schedule has been adjusted to help with delays (which, by the way, are NOT Delta's fault - every airline at JFK has a hand in it).

Hell, even the Dirty Martini has returned.

What MORE do you want? A red carpet? Free parking? A nonstop flight from LGA to Billings, Montana? An MD-80 with PTVs throughout the cabin on your 1 hour flight to DCA?

Tommy says all of these things are "window dressings" within the company. I (and no doubt, others) want informed, factual examples of this from you guys - the experts. :roll:

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If Delta wants to be successful with its impressive route map, it needs the full backing of its customers. Delta may not see the benefits immediately, but with due time they will.

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If they weren't successful (which they are, based on the latest numbers), why in God's creation do you think they are EXPANDING the network even further?

I really hope that Delta has the 767-400's fully fitted when our family goes to South Africa next March - I'd much rather have a PTV for 18 1/2 hours and hopefully keep 3 year old entertained for a while than trying to do it with something else like a drop down!

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Tommy says all of these things are "window dressings" within the company. I (and no doubt, others) want informed, factual examples of this from you guys - the experts.

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A few questions?

-What do consider infrormed factual examples?

-Who are the experts to you?

-Do you consider yourself an expert?

-Why is one travelers opinion not a valid opinion of the operation of an airline?

I think we all understand that Delta is changing but I also think its fair to say that people's opinions of any company are going to stick with them for some time until change is made.

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Tommy says all of these things are "window dressings" within the company. I (and no doubt, others) want informed, factual examples of this from you guys - the experts.

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A few questions?

-What do consider infrormed factual examples?

-Who are the experts to you?

-Do you consider yourself an expert?

-Why is one travelers opinion not a valid opinion of the operation of an airline?

I think we all understand that Delta is changing but I also think its fair to say that people's opinions of any company are going to stick with them for some time until change is made.

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What do consider infrormed factual examples?

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Something not completely incorrect (i.e. 4% of the 777s and 764s combined have PTV). You knew darn well that this wasn't the case, but posted it anyway because Betty Bop at Delta media relations told you so (allegedly). Another example would be your "dated fleet" remark a while back. Delta operates roughly the same age fleet that American flies and the various aircraft types are deployed similarly throughout each carrier's network.

Fact: the 777s were delivered brand new with PTVs (that's 8 total aircraft, 100%).
Fact: Delta's cabins went from being deep cleaned once every 18 months to once every 30 days.

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Who are the experts to you?

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Good question. But clearly you aren't, and neither am I - nor have I ever claimed to be.

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Why is one travelers opinion not a valid opinion of the operation of an airline?

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Take your opinion for example. Sure, you had a bad experience with Delta. Does that mean the person sitting next to you on your last Delta flight did? Or the person next to him, or her, etc.?

Fact: Delta has posted record load factor results for the last two months. If Delta performed so poorly in customer service, surely this wouldn't be the case.

In all honesty I'm tiring over this endless debate. Delta's expanding, people are happy - the employees, investors, and the customers. The airline is moving forward from a rough five years and painful bankruptcy. Surely they'll survive and flourish - with or without Tommy's blessing.

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Originally Posted by Winglets747

Your analogy of the wool being pulled over your eyes is very fitting. While passengers flying out of NYC may have a better percentage chance of getting this service, it would still be a small number. Even if I knew I would get this service (say flying to the West Coast or to Europe) I would not go out of my way to fly Delta. I would actually pay more to fly a different carrier, unless it was much more expensive. IFE is not my top priority. An airline needs to win me with service (AA is a good example of a US airline) and comfortable seating. I haven't tried out the new economy seats, but I think the color would be enough to make me uncomfortable.

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So, what are they supposed to do? Not market their new products until it is deployed fleet-wide? :roll:

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

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So, what are they supposed to do? Not market their new products until it is deployed fleet-wide? :roll:

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Actually that would be a very wise idea!


Southwest did this when we retrofitted our interior seats to all new, blue leather seats, We did not make the announcement until every aircraft had the new interior inside.

Why promise something we cannot deliver?

Once every aircraft had the brand new, leather interior seats, immediatly SWA could make claim, "come fly on our brand new interior aircrafts" and not have a 8% of fleet has them or, 25% are yet to be worked on. WN could promise something overall.

Alex

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Originally Posted by Alex T

Once every aircraft had the brand new, leather interior seats, immediatly SWA could make clima, "come fly on our brand new interior aircrafts" and not have a 8% of fleet has them or, 25% are yet to be worked on. WN could promise something overall.

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This made absolutely no sense. Care to rephrase that?

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

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Originally Posted by Alex T

Once every aircraft had the brand new, leather interior seats, immediatly SWA could make clima, "come fly on our brand new interior aircrafts" and not have a 8% of fleet has them or, 25% are yet to be worked on. WN could promise something overall.

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This made absolutely no sense. Care to rephrase that?

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Not sure what doesn't make sense? I did typo the CLAIM part, as in SWA Could make "CLAIM".

Otherwise, what part are you not understanding? You claimed, what should DL do, wait till all of the aircrafts have them?

I then said, it would be a great idea, as that is what WN did themselves. In 2001, when SWA started changing their interior planes, to the new blue leather seats we see now on board, SWA never made a claim, or a statement stating, "come fly us on our brand new leather seats" when in fact only 8% of them had been done, or we had to fill up 25% more of the fleet to new seat standards. They didn't wanna promise something, only 8% of the people traveling would experience...

So instead, SWA just waited until every single aircraft had the new interior seats and THEN announced, "come fly on us, we have new leather seats, etc etc", and WN could make a promise they could keep and every passenger flying us would.

Makes sense now?

Alex

I'm going to make this my last post on this matter.

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Originally Posted by FlyNavy

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Delta is playing the game of appearing to listen to customers while trying to reap as much profit as they can.

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Well, yeah - they're a business (big surprise). What are they supposed to do? Throw their hands up and surrender? Liquidate? Perhaps you can give us some informed, educated, and factual examples as to how they AREN'T listening to their customers?

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Rather than appearing to listen to customers, they should listen. If you want examples, go to the Delta forum on FlyerTalk.

[quote[Facilities are being rennovated and updated (been through Atlanta lately?).[/quote]
I was last there in February, and it was far, far better than JFK. Even if they did nothing to ATL and spruced up JFK, ATL would still be better because so many of DL's JFK terminal issues are deep-rooted (structural, layout) and need a serious renovation. DL has been quiet on a serious renovation and instead did small things like move BE check-in to T2, which is a bit nicer than T3. There's an example of window dressing.

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If Delta wants to be successful with its impressive route map, it needs the full backing of its customers. Delta may not see the benefits immediately, but with due time they will.

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If they weren't successful (which they are, based on the latest numbers), why in God's creation do you think they are EXPANDING the network even further?

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[/quote]
Because there's more money in Europe flights than there is in US flights (which is why DL's domestic flights have decreased). Further, there's more money in flying to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa than Europe. Delta can be successful in two ways: a successful airline people do not like or a successful airline that people do like. Right now, they're the first. If they want to be the second, they need the full backing of the customers.

We're merely customers discussing an airline and its faults. These are our views. Don't read anything more into that, and certainly don't take it personally just because you work for DL.