usvi-on-line
What's Up With Delta Airlines?
What's Up With Delta Airlines?
Have 2 Delta free tix already to St John (early July '08). Was waiting for drop in airfare to purchase 2 more.. Next thing I know their fares jumped from an already high $600 plus to $900-$1,000 in one day and they "closed" some flights even though they were not full (unless a wedding party of 87 booked one evening last week).
What's up!
What's up!
I don't think Delta is the only one. I had been tracking flights from Washington DC to STT (for June) and United and American had been in the already inflated $550-575 range....and today jumped to $650-750.
American's "caribbean sale" sends on Tuesday and I am hoping they extend the last travel dates to my trip in June. Their May flights were only going for $375.
I understand oil prices have been going crazy, but these flight prices are getting ridiculous.
Eric
American's "caribbean sale" sends on Tuesday and I am hoping they extend the last travel dates to my trip in June. Their May flights were only going for $375.
I understand oil prices have been going crazy, but these flight prices are getting ridiculous.
Eric
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Delta has been wonky for a while on flights to STT. Took me forever and 4 weeks to book my free tix for August, and at that, I "had" to book 1st class to come home.
I get a feeling, based on past experience, that they're going to shuffle things up soon. They're running 2 flights to STT right now, and on my 2 trips, they always cut one and plunked everyone on the same plane in the end.
My outbound from RDU was changed from a 9:something to a 6:00. There's no reason to have me in ATL that early unless they A: Want to make me sad, B: Want to put me on an earlier ATL-STT flight.
Bottom line; Delta is pissing me off. And, with nearly 200,000 Skymiles that I can never seem to use, I'm an unhappy camper.
I get a feeling, based on past experience, that they're going to shuffle things up soon. They're running 2 flights to STT right now, and on my 2 trips, they always cut one and plunked everyone on the same plane in the end.
My outbound from RDU was changed from a 9:something to a 6:00. There's no reason to have me in ATL that early unless they A: Want to make me sad, B: Want to put me on an earlier ATL-STT flight.
Bottom line; Delta is pissing me off. And, with nearly 200,000 Skymiles that I can never seem to use, I'm an unhappy camper.
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Ms.Montana
- Posts: 119
- Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:55 pm
- Location: Montana
I booked my frequent flier tickets the earliest you could book them. (330 days in advance) And am still waitlisted from Atlana to St Thomas. Got rest of the trip confirmed but it seems odd that they can't confirm your flight on the first day it is available. Hopefully two seats will open up by the time we leave. It seems using your frequent flier miles is getting harder and harder. At least I know I'm not alone.
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
Delta is the bain of my existence. After many attempts I was able to use 120K miles for 4 tixs to STT last year. I consider it a freak occurrence since a similar attempt to get a flight to LA has been unsuccessful, only Skychoice seats, no Skysavers avaiable. My God, Its NY to LA for pity sake, open up some cheap seats!
Good luck...that was what we did...I called and could get there but not home (when I called a week later). There were NO FLIGHTS. After a month of checking and hemming and hawing, I did Skysaver 1st class. Same "price" as the Skychioice in coach.Ms.Montana wrote:I booked my frequent flier tickets the earliest you could book them. (330 days in advance) And am still waitlisted from Atlana to St Thomas. Got rest of the trip confirmed but it seems odd that they can't confirm your flight on the first day it is available. Hopefully two seats will open up by the time we leave. It seems using your frequent flier miles is getting harder and harder. At least I know I'm not alone.
On our trip to the DR in 2 weeks, I got big N/A's on the site. No Skysaver, no Skychoice. Just N/A. So, my miles continue to grow mold.
Hey all!
I'm a CVG resident (Delta hub). Been flying Delta for 25 years or so, never tons of business travel (about a half million miles flown on multiple airlines), but on/off steady depending on my job responsibilities. Have gotten about 15 DL Skysaver tix to the Caribbean over the last several years (as well as a few others). Couldn't get any for 2007 to STT (went to SXM instead), but got a pair for June 2008. Based on no availability for many weeks, then every day of June having bunches available for 2 days before going back to 0 (early last August), I figure someone in the Delta FF/computer department messed up and I got lucky that I caught it.
So, my opinions:
The Delta system has been evolving the last couple of years. The FF programs are not regulated, they produce revenue for the airlines, so as they sell more and more miles to credit card companies, car rentals, etc., they have more and more outstanding without having any more seats available. If anything they limit the seats more these days because they are flying fuller. After reading flyertalk (with some SERIOUS road warriors), I've come to the conclusion that the Skysaver availability is in part determined by Medallion status. The actual frequent flyers (25-50,000 miles a year) get first dibs on the better tix. Those who fly a few times a year or accumulate miles in other ways are last in line. The bottom line is that the airlines are effectively devaluing miles. But they still offer a few of those Skysavers so they don't have to change their advertising. The expectations set by what you've done in past years need to be re-set.
Personally, I've been trying to use up my miles based on this (and as of this trip we are down to x,000 each, less than a ticket). For our June trip, CVG-STT round trip, Wed to Wed, I've watched prices, and the CHEAPEST this flight has been is $500. It has typically been $700-800. And right now it is $1100. Bear in mind that CVG has held the distinction of most expensive airport in the US for awhile now (OK, not every quarter, but most/many).
In summary, check regularly because availability changes, don't rely on 330 anymore, and adjust your expectations.
Good Luck!
irbgolfin
I'm a CVG resident (Delta hub). Been flying Delta for 25 years or so, never tons of business travel (about a half million miles flown on multiple airlines), but on/off steady depending on my job responsibilities. Have gotten about 15 DL Skysaver tix to the Caribbean over the last several years (as well as a few others). Couldn't get any for 2007 to STT (went to SXM instead), but got a pair for June 2008. Based on no availability for many weeks, then every day of June having bunches available for 2 days before going back to 0 (early last August), I figure someone in the Delta FF/computer department messed up and I got lucky that I caught it.
So, my opinions:
The Delta system has been evolving the last couple of years. The FF programs are not regulated, they produce revenue for the airlines, so as they sell more and more miles to credit card companies, car rentals, etc., they have more and more outstanding without having any more seats available. If anything they limit the seats more these days because they are flying fuller. After reading flyertalk (with some SERIOUS road warriors), I've come to the conclusion that the Skysaver availability is in part determined by Medallion status. The actual frequent flyers (25-50,000 miles a year) get first dibs on the better tix. Those who fly a few times a year or accumulate miles in other ways are last in line. The bottom line is that the airlines are effectively devaluing miles. But they still offer a few of those Skysavers so they don't have to change their advertising. The expectations set by what you've done in past years need to be re-set.
Personally, I've been trying to use up my miles based on this (and as of this trip we are down to x,000 each, less than a ticket). For our June trip, CVG-STT round trip, Wed to Wed, I've watched prices, and the CHEAPEST this flight has been is $500. It has typically been $700-800. And right now it is $1100. Bear in mind that CVG has held the distinction of most expensive airport in the US for awhile now (OK, not every quarter, but most/many).
In summary, check regularly because availability changes, don't rely on 330 anymore, and adjust your expectations.
Good Luck!
irbgolfin
I just stole this directly from the WSJ site.
Delta Air Lines says it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees -- more than half its work force -- and cut domestic capacity by an extra 5% this year to deal with soaring fuel prices. Full article coming soon.
Woohoo! 5% fewer opportunities to cash in miles. Can I transfer my skymiles to another credit card/airline program?
Delta Air Lines says it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees -- more than half its work force -- and cut domestic capacity by an extra 5% this year to deal with soaring fuel prices. Full article coming soon.
Woohoo! 5% fewer opportunities to cash in miles. Can I transfer my skymiles to another credit card/airline program?
I live in ATL and just saw the Delta news. Times, they are a changin'. It's not just Delta that's making it tougher to use FF miles, it's most airlines.
The hard fact is that Delta is not the best carrier to the Caribbean. AA offers many more flights to the whole Caribbean region. If one is interested in using miles for Caribbean travel, AA is your best option for an incentive credit card.
That said, you can still get to the Caribbean on Delta using your miles, but be prepared to have flexible dates or use double miles. We tend to see what's available and select our week that way, instead of focusing in on a specific week. We do get to us Skysavers that way.
Remember, though it hurts to use double miles, it's better than paying $750+ for a ticket, if that what fares are running out of your market. With rising fuel costs, the whole airline world will be different.
Oh, and I saw this morning that weeknights after midnight and weekends after 5:00pm are the best times to book your airline tickets if you're buying them. So if you're waiting for those fares to go down, you may want to check tonight after midnight and see if you have better options.
The hard fact is that Delta is not the best carrier to the Caribbean. AA offers many more flights to the whole Caribbean region. If one is interested in using miles for Caribbean travel, AA is your best option for an incentive credit card.
That said, you can still get to the Caribbean on Delta using your miles, but be prepared to have flexible dates or use double miles. We tend to see what's available and select our week that way, instead of focusing in on a specific week. We do get to us Skysavers that way.
Remember, though it hurts to use double miles, it's better than paying $750+ for a ticket, if that what fares are running out of your market. With rising fuel costs, the whole airline world will be different.
Oh, and I saw this morning that weeknights after midnight and weekends after 5:00pm are the best times to book your airline tickets if you're buying them. So if you're waiting for those fares to go down, you may want to check tonight after midnight and see if you have better options.
I agree on Delta to the Caribbean. We chose them in 2000 on the advice of my parents who use Delta to go to Maui. At the time, we were living in NJ and had never been to the Caribbean.
Now, we live in Raleigh and vacation in the USVI. We're in so deep with Delta that we have no choice. And, unless we're going on a major trip, there's no reason to use miles. I can fly to FLA on Southwest or drive there for a lot less hassle.
Now, we live in Raleigh and vacation in the USVI. We're in so deep with Delta that we have no choice. And, unless we're going on a major trip, there's no reason to use miles. I can fly to FLA on Southwest or drive there for a lot less hassle.
pipinale - since you're in Raleigh (I grew up in CLT and went to school at UNC, by the way), does it make more sense for you guys to gradually make the switch to US Air out of CLT for Caribbean travel? At least that way you're not dealing with the leg from RDU to the hub? I probably have less problems using my Delta FF miles since I originate in ATL and don't have to find availability from my home city to a Delta hub. I certainly understand being too deep in with Delta miles, but they are increasingly becoming unusable. We are seriously considering switching to an AA card since we travel mostly to the Caribbean.
I am nearly completely locked into Delta also. This is because I live in Cincinnati (hub) and fly quite a bit for work. I will tell you that getting Medallion status helps - I am platinum medallion - but not tons. I just checked and even a my medallion status, there isn't a single flight to STT during the months of August or September (low season). However, I did get 5 Skysaver tickets this year to STT in June - Tuesday to Wednesday.
It can be done. It is a major PIA. I hate Delta's FF system with a passion.
I have learned from others I work with that getting a Capital One card is the way to make it work. Their FF system is based on the actual ticket cost - not the availability of skysaver seats. So you can always get seats on whatever day you want.
No, this doesn't help everyone (including me with my roughly 15,000 mile per month accumulation), but I'm going to do it next year.
Good luck.
BTW, I tried to fly to Tahiti two years ago on Skysaver seats. There wasn't a SINGLE seat available during the 330 day window. Nice. And Skychoice seats were 150,000 miles EACH! Needless to say, we didn't go.
Ken
It can be done. It is a major PIA. I hate Delta's FF system with a passion.
I have learned from others I work with that getting a Capital One card is the way to make it work. Their FF system is based on the actual ticket cost - not the availability of skysaver seats. So you can always get seats on whatever day you want.
No, this doesn't help everyone (including me with my roughly 15,000 mile per month accumulation), but I'm going to do it next year.
Good luck.
BTW, I tried to fly to Tahiti two years ago on Skysaver seats. There wasn't a SINGLE seat available during the 330 day window. Nice. And Skychoice seats were 150,000 miles EACH! Needless to say, we didn't go.
Ken
My St. John Photos: http://rcplanefan.zenfolio.com/
We're going on Delta this year, mainly to try and use the SkyMiles while we still can...
Last year flew direct from MIA to STT with no problems, but we did have to drive to Miami, which is about 3 hours with good traffic. We landed back in Miami in time to take rush hour traffic back as far north as West Palm Beach, which was a pain.
Using the SkyMiles from our hometown was no more expensive than if we flew out of ATL, so we'll board the morning MLB-ATL and head north before turning around and flying south to STT.
But I ain't complainin' - at least (as of now) we have flights in both directions.
Which brings up something I hadn't considered - if Delta changes their flight schedule and eliminates one or more of our flights, how much leeway do they have to screw us over since we're holding (E)tickets?
Last year flew direct from MIA to STT with no problems, but we did have to drive to Miami, which is about 3 hours with good traffic. We landed back in Miami in time to take rush hour traffic back as far north as West Palm Beach, which was a pain.
Using the SkyMiles from our hometown was no more expensive than if we flew out of ATL, so we'll board the morning MLB-ATL and head north before turning around and flying south to STT.
But I ain't complainin' - at least (as of now) we have flights in both directions.
Which brings up something I hadn't considered - if Delta changes their flight schedule and eliminates one or more of our flights, how much leeway do they have to screw us over since we're holding (E)tickets?
Come see us!
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
My miles are all on United, and they're hurting too. Today's Chicago Tribune business section has an article about United, Delta, and Northwest reducing fleets (and flights) and cutting jobs. We're likely to see more charging for extra bags and increasing flight costs in an effort to offset increases in fuel costs. United is talking about spinning off their frequent flier business. I don't know how that would work but it's probably not good news for those of us trying to get back to the islands.pipanale wrote:Woohoo! 5% fewer opportunities to cash in miles. Can I transfer my skymiles to another credit card/airline program?
