Delta LikesOblivious CustomersDelta LikesOblivious Customers

Delta Adores Big SpendersDelta Adores Big Spenders

Delta RespectsPassengersDelta RespectsPassengers

Delta Hearts InvestorsDelta Hearts Investors

Delta Loves ItselfDelta Loves Itself

Delta LoathesUsDelta LoathesUs

Delta and SkyTeam
FTU SNA 2015FTU SNA 2015
Stefan Krasowski
Rapid Travel Chai

Ground Rules
1. Comments and questions should be applicable to
others in the audience
2. No customer service/irregular operations stories
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

My Delta Experience
Grew up in Minnesota as NWA flyer
Lived in China 8 years flying NWA
NYC-based, Delta as primary airline
Diamond Medallion and Million MilerDiamond Medallion and Million Miler
Flown most SkyTeam partners
Have had Silver, Gold and Platinums in the family
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Itinerary
Talk about Delta and SkyTeam
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Should SkyMiles Be Your
SkyTeam Program?SkyTeam Program?
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Air France/KLM FlyingBlue
Cons:
Customer service
Booking process
Pros:
Promo awards
Israel in Europe
Fees
Freeze accounts for
credit card transfers
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Book AF first class

AeroMexico Club Premier
Cons:
Customer service
Pros:
Award sweet spots
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Korean SkyPass
Cons:
Booking process
Pros:
Book first class
Award holds
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Stable program

The Problem With Partner Programs
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Awards on Delta Require
Delta Saver Award Availability
(but wait, it might be better than(but wait, it might be better than
for SkyMiles members)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Delta SkyMiles
Cons:
No notice changes
Deceptive/mispricing
Pros:
One-way awards
Virgin Atlantic/Australia
Still broken website
Delta award prices
72-hour cancel rule
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Delta is Also an Airline
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Delta as an Airline
Cons:
Still a US airline
Non-elite customer
service
Pros:
In-flight experience
Solid operations
service
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
twitter @DeltaAssist

About Delta Customer Service
Call or twitter
email and website customer service forms are atrocious
Even missing mileage I call in to get resolved
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Delta Cutting Off Interline Agreements
First American
Now Emirates
What next?
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Delta Screwing With Seating/Updates
May 16, 2016 Comfort+ upgrade system
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Separate PNRs for Travelers
Helps with individual upgrades
Hassles when things go wrong
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

But Pajamas are Coming
Hard to find any actual good news!
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Medallion Program
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2015 Earning
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Where are the Promos?
Few promos since merger
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

The Promos are in Seattle
Occasional geographically targeted promos (Washington
state residents)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

By the Way, Seattle is Annoying!
Revenue and award tickets pushed to Seattle
From the East Coast that is 6 hours in a 737 (some 757s)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

2016 Elite Status
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Rollover MQMs
MQMs rollover
Be strategic: 124,999 to roll over 49,999?
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Silver Medallion
“It’s really more of a teaser”
Upgrades on paid tickets
2 free checked bags
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Gold Medallion
+ Upgrades on award tickets
+ Same-day confirmed fee waiver
+ SkyTeam Elite Plus
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Platinum Medallion
+ Award ticket fee waivers
+ Choice benefits
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Diamond Medallion
+ Sky Club Individual Membership
+ more Choice benefits
+ unofficial co-terminal SDC (LGA/JFK/EWR)
My take: much better than United 1K (upgrades & service)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
My take: much better than United 1K (upgrades & service)

Delta 360
Invite-only elite tier, reported $40k+ annual spend
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Choice Benefits
Platinum 1 choice, Diamond 2 (plus Platinum)
Diamond Global Upgrades improved
Available when qualify – 2016 status good to 1/31/2017
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

SkyBonus
Small business program for $5k+ annual spend
Cancel accounts for not meeting spend
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Lounges
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

SkyClub
Improved snacks, some have paid dining
Bartender hassle
Individual $450 or 70k miles
Executive $695 or 110k miles
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Executive $695 or 110k miles
Diamond gets individual, 1 Choice Benefit to upgrade
Amex Delta Reserve (+2 guests)
Amex Platinum cardholder only (not Amex Delta Platinum)

SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus
Delta Silver = Elite, Gold and up = Elite Plus
Elite gets Sky Priorty-type things
Elite Plus gets lounge access + 1 companion on same-day
international travel (not 3rd-party lounges for economy)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse
Transatlantic to London biz class on Virgin or Delta
Gold in economy: JFK, EWR, IAD, BOS, SFO
Platinum & Diamond in economy: + LHR, LGW
Gold and above: 1 guest
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Gold and above: 1 guest

Where SkyMiles Can Take You
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Virgin Australia to Guadalcanal
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Aerolíneas Argentinas to Argentina
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

AF/KL Caribbean-ish to Europe
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Gol to Fernando de Noronha
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Tarom to Romania
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

AF/KL to Africa, North, South, East, West
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

AF/KL/KQ to Indian Ocean and Kilimanjaro
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

China Southern to Central Asia and Siberia
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Korean Air to Palau
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Saudia to Middle East & South Asia
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

But How to Book SkyMiles Awards?
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

How to Book SkyMiles Awards
Go to Tiffany’s Award Booking sessions 
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

What’s New in Awards
One-way awards
No free stopover
Website mispicing many awards (still)
5 award price levels (as of now)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
5 award price levels (as of now)
Award charts gone
Intermittent, unofficial 21-day domestic saver award cap
Promo discount routes from 10k one-way
Many more partners online

The Old Rules Still Apply
Know what an award should cost
Don’t relay on calendar (but it is improved)
Search segment by segment
Call if website is wrong
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Call if website is wrong
Call back if agent is clueless
Don’t ever agree to be sent to delta.com web support

Use Schedule Changes to Get What You Want
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Consider Pay With Miles
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Airline Partners
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Partner Airlines Principles
Group 1 airlines have good earning, 2-4 terrible
New: MQDs based on distance flown
Delta-coded flights earn as Delta
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Partner Airlines Awards
Partner awards price at low award level
Many Delta agents don’t know how to book partners
Call Delta to get partner PNR (Korean RSVN 8-digit #)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Partner Airlines with Fuel Surcharges
Aeroflot (especially domestic)
Air Europa
Air Tahiti Nui
China Airlines
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
China Airlines
China Eastern (massive, nearly same for biz and economy)
China Southern (slightly less than China Eastern)
Kenya Airways

Partner Airlines Call to Book
Air Europa
Air Tahiti Nui
Czech Airlines
Kenya Airways
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Kenya Airways
Tarom
Xiamen Airlines
*And always check case by case and if website working

Partner Airlines Blackout Dates
China Airlines
China Southern (new, most of the year)
Korean (peak dates replacing blackout)
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

AeroMexico (Group 1)
New Joint Venture application – expect more to come
Lie-flat Dreamliner New York – Mexico City
Flights to Tokyo and Shanghai
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Air France (Group 1)
Missing trans-Atlantic award space
Indian ocean network
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

KLM (Group 1)
Seat assignment issues (even on Delta metal out of AMS)
Gate upgrades to premium economy
Long AMS lounge shower waits
Missing trans-Atlantic award space
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved
Missing trans-Atlantic award space

Alitalia (Group 1)
Better experience than assumed but chaotic
Poor IT links with partners, Rome transit a pain
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Gol (Group 1, non-SkyTeam)
Dumpy experience
Orlando flight to Brazil
Good award availability
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Virgin Atlantic (Group 1, non-SkyTeam)
Great award availability
Fun, noisy flight experience
Great lounges, even at Newark
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Virgin Australia (Group 1, non-SkyTeam)
Great award availability, when working
Absurdly overpriced awards for Australia domestic
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Air Europa (Group 2)
Overlooked Europe option
Generic EU-style flight experience
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Kenya Airways (Group 2)
Good award availability, hard to get agents to book
Not great, but neither is Ethiopian
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Middle East Airlines (Group 2)
Regional flights
Pastel uniforms
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Saudia (Group 2)
Still good award availability
Transit times and process a pain, no more transit visas
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Tarom (Group 2)
Functional Eastern Europe option
Lots of ATRs in fleet
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Aeroflot (Group 3)
Great award availability, fastest NYC to Maldives
Better experience than expected
Surcharges makes domestic awards absurd, use Avios on S7
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Aerolineas Argentinas (Group 3)
Reportedly unreliable
Argentina domestic tickets others very expensive
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

China Airlines (Group 3)
The Taiwan-based SkyTeam airline, not mainland China
New planes on the way
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

China Eastern (Group 3)
Massive fuel surcharges on awards
Shanghai Airlines awards possible but poor availability
Delta co-locating at Shanghai PVG and expanding presence
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

China Southern (Group 3)
Also big fuel surcharges on awards
Better than Lucky says
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Czech (Group 3)
Typical EU-style
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Garuda (Group 3)
Most reliable Indonesian airline
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Vietnam Airlines (Group 3)
Decent Southeast Asia option
Revenue tickets buy from airline, not OTAs to save $$$
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Xiamen Airlines (Group 3)
Regional Chinese airline
“The soaring egret leads you to a wider world”
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Xiamen Airlines (Group 3)
Regional Chinese airline
“The soaring egret leads you to a wider world”
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Alaska (Group 4, non-SkyTeam)
Devolving frenemy relationship
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Great Lakes (Group 4, non-SkyTeam)
Regional US airline
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Hawaiian (Group 4, non-SkyTeam)
Inter-island flights only
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Korean (Group 4)
Delta and Korean plain don’t like each other
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

WestJet (Group 4, non-SkyTeam)
Earn only, no awards
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Air Tahiti Nui (No group, non-SkyTeam)
Awards only, no earn
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Asia/Japan Residents Only
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Non-Airline Partners
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Amex Delta Cards
Delta Reserve $30/60k = 15/30k transferrable MQMs
Delta Platinum $25/50k = 10/20k MQMs
Reserve/Platinum companion certificates are ok
Gold card is crapGold card is crap
Targeted sign-ups for elites
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Starwood (Marriott?)
Reciprocal earning
Pseudo-elite reciprocal benefits
Business class bedding
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Hertz
Delta elites gets Hertz elite status
Bonus rental mileage earnings
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Enterprise
First mileage-earning airline on Enterprise
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Why I Sort-Of Stick With Delta
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

I Have Been Sort-Of Boycotting Delta
Delta’s arrogance really irritates me
No notice changes
Deceptive practices and website that fleece customers
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Why I Haven’t Cut the Cord
United is decrepit and dispirited
American is hardly a NYC hub anymore
Diamond customer service and upgrades are great
SkyTeam works for me, especially in AsiaSkyTeam works for me, especially in Asia
SkyMiles value on partners
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

This is What I Get on United
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

And I Listen to Gary Leff
Gary’s preferred US airline:
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Thank You
stefan@rapidtravelchai.com
@rapidtravelchai
rapidtravelchai.com
©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved