In a refreshing move that offers both a genuine apology and meaningful concessions, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has addressed the long hold times to reach an agent in an email to SkyMiles members.
Candid Apology Over Long Hold Times From Delta Air Lines CEO Is Action, Not Talk
Here’s the letter, which you may wish to read before I offer my commentary:
After a year of lockdowns, it’s been heartening to see so many of you returning to the skies this summer and reclaiming your lives. While we are pleased to welcome you back, the unexpected pace of the return of our customers has resulted in some unforeseen challenges as we ramp up to meet demand and handle a record-breaking level of calls. As you take a much-deserved vacation or travel to reunite with loved ones, friends and business colleagues, the last thing you want is to experience long hold times when you call reservations or receive a notification that your flight schedule has changed.
We know you expect more from Delta and assure you that these challenges are temporary. The Delta team is here to serve you and is taking significant actions to alleviate these pain points, including:
Accelerating staffing and resources to reduce wait times on the phone and at the airport. With the influx of travelers coming back after more than a year at home, our agents on the phone and at the airport have experienced an unprecedented level of questions about travel policies and schedule changes. That has resulted in significant wait times, which is why we’re rapidly adding staff and leveraging new technology to serve you in a timely manner.
The Reservations and Care team is welcoming back hundreds of Delta alumni to alleviate wait times while hiring 1,300 specialists who will be trained and ready to serve customers by September. We’re also adding a new phone platform that automatically equips our agents with even more details about your travel, so they can address your questions efficiently and get you on your way. In total, we’re hiring more than 5,000 people across the business, including more than 3,000 in Airport Customer Service and other operational areas, to supplement key service areas like catering, wheelchair staffing and our continued commitment to cleanliness.
Expanding digital tools to save you time and give you more control over your trip. Delta.com and the Fly Delta app are your go-to resources to change or cancel a flight, find baggage information and manage your SkyMiles® account. To gain confidence in the process, you can follow this step-by-step guide to cancel or make changes to a trip before your flight departs. Both expiring and newly purchased tickets in 2021 will remain valid through Dec. 31, 2022. And when you’re ready to use an eCredit, it can be redeemed at delta.com/redeem or on the Fly Delta app.
Starting tomorrow, customers booked in Basic Economy can make changes to their flights for travel occurring through Dec. 31, 2021, to help address call wait times as we increase staffing. As with all Delta flights originating from North America, there are no changes fees.
You can also stay updated on entry requirements with our Travel Planning Center or view country-by-country details to plan a trip with our Delta Discover Map.
Getting you to your destination as you originally booked it. As our teams work to accommodate the rapid return of travelers, flight changes are occurring that we know can be frustrating – you deserve to get to your destination at the time that best suits your travel plans. Our network planning teams are focused on minimizing changes in our schedule as we gain additional insights into travel demand amid the recovery.
There’s also a section on status matches, which I addressed here.
My thoughts:
- Ok, he doesn’t literally apologize, but it’s clear from his remarks that he (and Delta) are finally taking the matter seriously
- I found his initial comments last week so tone deaf and these comments properly recognize the seriousness of the problem
- The dual concession of making basic economy tickets fully flexible once again through December 31, 2021 and extending elite status for all SkyMiles Medallion members are serious gestures that show remorse
- Delta’s web and mobile infrastructure is still woefully clunky and inadequate when it comes to making changing on tickets – too often it errors out, forcing a phone call
- The letter does not address the currently-broken “call back” feature, which greatly reduces tensions when you are called back rather than forced to spend hours on hold with the same music cycling over and over
- While it is nice to see to see Delta hire back so many agents, the whole employee deficit nicely demonstrates how airlines pocketed U.S. taxpayer money intended to be used to maintain full employment only to encourage attrition through early separation and retirement packages that has saved Delta millions of dollars
CONCLUSION
The Delta CEO apology is appreciated, not so much because he groveled (the word “sorry” never appears in the note) but because Bastian expressed sorrow by extending status and making basic economy tickets flexible again. While I tend to think many consumers would rather just not have to wait three hours on hold, this is a very concrete step that shows Delta is serious about fixing the issue.
Perhaps I am being too optimistic, but I am hopeful this problem will be fixed by the fall.
image: Delta
Even before the pandemic, DL’s wait times were ridiculous. In 2021, it seems absurd that wait times are 4-6+ to speak to an agent. Notwithstanding a weather situation, I’ve encountered long waits with AA as well, but UA never really seems to be bad. At worst 10+ mins.
“Even before the pandemic, DL’s wait times were ridiculous.” Maybe if you did not have any status. Before the pandemic, I never waited more than 10 seconds for a Delta agent to pick up the phone already knowing my name.
I think the lack of training, awareness, and policies are even more frustrating than the wait times. Not only do I have to wait hours to get a call back, but I’ve had to call multiple times to do a SDC with a RUC applied, getting AF ticket reticketed with a GUC, informing the agents that I can same day change with a paid F ticket to any flight with available F seats… all things that were never an issue pre-pandemic.
I appreciate the status extension, but that only matters if issues like these are resolved. I can only be so loyal to a company who isn’t providing the bare minimum of a product. Between the awful construction at LAX and the operational issues, I was this close to switching to United. But I found an incredible deal on international paid J that will combine with this to give my Fiance and I both Platinum on Delta, so for now I’ll stay. But it’s certainly a tentative decision, Delta has to continue to earn my business, I have not been happy with them these past 16 months.
It’s not an apology if you don’t say “sorry”. Even my 7 and 4 year old boys know that.
I though everyone is so keen on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc., what happened to tapping away on phones to get a human, maybe it’s not so great a way to communicate?. Ridiculous, especially for those that choose not to have these accounts. I shouldn’t have to tap away on a phone or iPad to get to a human and then have to endlessly type questions. People in their 70’s and 80’s are going to be using “devices”
Nothing in that letter comes close to an apology, that letter is full of excuses and false promises. Delta received tax payer dollars to keep people employed instead what Delta did was offer buyout packages to reduce their employee cost, now they are trying to hire people off the street at rock bottom wages and are having a difficult time finding people willing to work at the low wages airlines traditionally pay new hires. For Delta to say things will get better in September because they are hiring thousands of new employees that is the false promise because every where you look companies are hiring but very few people are returning to work force at this time. High wait times will not end at any point during the month of September any reasonable person know that this.
For Delta’s CEO to say these long wait times were caused by the unexpected return of so many customers that is an excuse and a lie. Leisure customers have been returning to the skies in increasing numbers since January 2021. Delta’s Q1 passenger numbers showed a huge increase in traffic versus their Q4 2020 passenger numbers. For the CEO to say in July this was unforeseen is not an apology it is an excuse for which customers are paying the price, while Delta Airlines pockets the change.
Stop giving Delta Airlines a free pass on this issue because if this was any other US carrier including Southwest they would not get kid glove treatment.
He should apologize for the worst customer service I have ever experienced (and I’ve flown frontier, allegiant and avianca). I willbpay more to fly anything BUT Delta.
I started my airline career in the late 80’s, straight out of high school, working for Ansett Australia (AN) reservations in Sydney. It was a great, first job out of school because the airline industry is so dynamic and exciting. Anmd with the benefits afforded to me, I had seen most of the world by the age of 23, travelling on hugely discounted subject to load (similar to standby, but only for airline staff) tickets. I stayed in 5 star hotels for a fraction of the going hotel rack rate and met people who I still count as friends today.
But with the advent of the internet and the majority of travelers now booking airline tickets online without needing to call an airline’s reservations department to do so, this once great introduction to the airline industry was phased out for so many young people, dreaming of the opportunities that such a job afforded.
But after reading this article, I realise that there may still be a market for airlines to operate such call centres. Not for flight bookings. But for other related enquiries that deal with their travel experience with that airline, in a world post COVID. Areas like frequent flyer redemptions and points accrual for starters. The availabilities of lounges at airports and the services they offer. And of course, flight information, reservations and hotel/car hire services.
I’d love to see airlines go back to operating large call centers that employ locally based staff and individualise a person’s travel experience. And I’d hate to see greedy airlines go on to outsource these call centers to India, the Philippines or other such countries to save a few $$