Yesterday I flew from Honolulu to Los Angeles in Delta First Class, the first time I have flown Delta in four years. Overall, the flight was excellent. Service was particularly outstanding: both attentive and friendly. Although I was never...
Delta, Here I Come!
I’m trying something different for the trip home from Honolulu. United Airlines and I are still in a very healthy relationship, but sometimes you need to see what else is out there in order to appreciate your first love....
American Airlines CEO Suggests Hubs Matter More Than Management
During an earnings call last week, American Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker intimated that bad hubs rather than poor management are to blame for widening profit gaps between industry-leader Delta and American or United. When asked about the widening profit...
Can You Cancel Basic Economy Fares Within 24 Hours?
American, Delta, and United all have some form of a 24-hour courtesy cancellation policy. But does this apply to no-frills “Basic Economy” tickets, which are explicitly non-changeable and non-refundable? In short, yes. But there are limits. Let’s review each...
Delta’s Curious Move to Make Economy Class More Humane
New dishes and cutlery. Better pillows. Menu cards…all in economy class. That’s right, Delta is making the onboard economy class experience even better next year on longhaul flights. But why? Starting later this year, Delta will offer a number...
Defiant Delta CEO: We Will NOT Pay “Nonsensical” Bombardier Tariff
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has come out swinging, saying Delta will take delivery of its new Bombardier C Series order while also promising it will never pay the 300% tariff levied by the U.S. Government. I outlined the stakes of the...
How to Book Delta Flights Online Using Virgin Atlantic Miles
Using Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta flights often represents an incredible value. While you can always phone Virgin Atlantic to book your ticket, most flights can be booked online. But Virgin Atlantic does not make it easy. Here’s...
18K Points for a Transcontinental Flat-Bed Flight: Still Wide Open
Yesterday, One Mile at a Time noted an exceptional redemption deal for Delta’s premium transcontinental service. By combining an attractive transfer bonus from American Express to Virgin Atlantic and unusually excellent award space from Delta, transcon flights could be booked...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: October 1, 2017
Greetings from 38,000 feet. I’m in the air enroute to Europe, where I’ll be spending most of the week. No new products to review on this trip…TAP and Air India didn’t have award space… Some more disturbances in the...
Delta Sues Fraudulent Website Impersonating Delta
Delta Air Lines has filed a lawsuit against Delta Pets, a fraudulent pet transport website that portrays itself as part of Delta but has no actual relation to the airline. Open the website and you’ll immediately see the iconic...
Boeing Wins, Consumers Lose
Last week I wrote about a trade spat between Boeing and Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier over alleged subsidies. The US Department of Commerce has sided with Boeing and plans to slap a whopping 220% tariff on each Bombardier C...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: September 24, 2017
After a few weeks at home, I’ll be traveling again at the end of the week. Leaving home is always bittersweet. When you get used to your daily routine, especially with your family, it is particularly difficult to leave....
Delta Adds New Flights to Europe from Los Angeles
Over the last few years we have seen an explosive growth of transatlantic travel from Los Angeles. That growth will continue next summer, courtesy of Delta. The carrier has announced new nonstop service to Amsterdam and Paris from Los...
Delta Abandons Guam, Further Cuts Tokyo Narita Hub
Delta is giving up on Guam, ceding the Tokyo Narita to Guam route to United and JAL. It is also cutting service between Narita and Shanghai. The Narita hub keeps getting smaller. In January I wrote about Delta ending...
Woman Sues Delta, Claims In-Flight Meal Led to $10K Dental Bill
Who would ever guess that biting into a mid-flight snack on Delta would change your life forever? Two years ago a California woman was on a Delta flight from Istanbul to New York. Midway through the flight she was...
Delta Infuriates Me With Lack of Common Sense
I don’t fly Delta, but it is heralded by many as the best carrier in the United States with good operational reliability and great customer service. Forgive me for being skeptical. Yesterday, an employee was flying from New Orleans,...
Hypocrisy: Delta Announces (Subsidized) New Indianapolis to Paris Route
Good news for citizens of Indianapolis: starting next May, you can fly non-stop to Paris on Delta. Ironically for an airline that decries Gulf subsidies as distorting real demand, the new international route will be subsided by the State...
Delta’s Latest Stealth Devaluation: A Far More Expensive Close-In Booking Fee
Delta Air Lines, the airline that should not be trusted under any circumstances when it comes to the redemption side of its loyalty program, has done it again. I held off a few days writing about this to ensure...
Virgin Atlantic to Join Air France-KLM + Delta Joint Venture
Delta currently has a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic and a separate joint venture with Air France-KLM (and Alitalia). Today, the carriers announced the two JVs would merge into one. China Eastern and Delta also get a seat at...
Why Isn’t Delta Protesting South African Airways?
Delta talks a good game about the evils of government subsides. But you have to wonder, then, why a blatant case of a government propping up a failing carrier on a route Delta competes on doesn’t even merit mention. South...
