Over the weekend I wrote about 5 Ways Airlines Are Making Flying Worse.
The post was about an article from MarketWatch which made some interesting points while others seemed to be just a bit ridiculous….
After MarketWatch wrote their article, there was a post which was something like a rebuttal on Delta News Hub from the editor, Charles Gay about How Delta’s Making Flying Better.
Is Delta Airlines really making flying better? Let’s take a look.
Gay says that “MarketWatch.com missed the mark when it published a one-sided story“. He also says that the article’s “overallĀ portrayal of the airline industry contains more fiction than fact”.
So what if Delta had been contacted by MarketWatch about the story?
Here is how Delta would’ve responded to show how they are working harder to make flying better.
1. Delta’s investing more than ever to make flying better.
Gay says that Delta is spending billions of dollars to help improve the customer experience. He says customer satisfaction #s are up over last year according to JD Power.
I’d love to hear more specifics as to how Delta is improving the customer experience as this answer seems a bit vague.
2. About 90% of Delta’s seats recline.
This is good news to hear. According to the article, some seats don’t recline due to safety reasons and the back row on some planes don’t since they are against the back wall.
Fair enough.
3. Customers have more choice than ever.
“There (are) dozens of deep discount carriers, three national carriers and three global carriers in the U.S“. Delta offers customers lots of choices to decide what is the best options for them.
I wish we had better choices and value with how we could spend our Delta SkyMiles. And if we have so many choices, why aren’t flights much cheaper if/ when purchasing?
4. “Inflight perks are remarkable innovations“.
Lots of examples are mentioned here like First Class, “chef-driven” meals and other things which make the onboard food compare well to what we find at high-end places on the ground. Gay says legroom options are no longer just two classes. He also says that armrests haven’t gotten smaller and seats may have gotten narrower by a fraction of an inch because planes are narrower.
Personal screens where you can watch newly released movies, inflight WiFi and even the FlyDelta app are mentioned as inflight perks and innovations.
In the end many of these things are useful and great ways to make flying better but it seems like most of them come at a cost to us. If you want those fancy meals, you’ll need to pay up or upgrade, WiFi, you’ll pay for that too…
What do you think about Delta News Hub’s rebuttal to the MarketWatch article? I think some good points were made but Delta is still far from perfect…
Find out more about the ways Delta is making flying betterĀ here.
Christian- I found it interesting that Delta responded at all to the MarketWatch article! My guess it that it’s got to be tough for you to be comfortable on any airline, at least in coach.
Also- I don’t know of any airline catering to a “taller and heavier populace”. The airlines all seem to be trying to squeeze more seats onto planes to sell more tickets and make more money. While there should probably some sort of standard, I doubt it would be helpful for your knees…
I think that’s a pretty weak rebuttal. Bragging that most of your seats recline and that, despite your best efforts, there are still smaller airlines alive, tells me that there’s not much to say. How about explaining how you’re going to get a taller and heavier populace into tighter conditions, and how this makes for a better flying experience? I’m 6’5 and 250. Wifi and IFE are nice, but don’t do much for bruised knees.
Additionally, Delta has managed to badly screw up the very basics for me multiple times. During and after these screw-ups, I never got so much as a sincere apology. My situation is likely atypical, but it’s gotten bad enough that if I suggest Delta to my wife, I got a fight coming for sure. This from a previously near fanatical Delta fan.