Archive for the ‘Frequent Flier News’ Category

Southwest Airlines route map showing new nonstops from ATL

Stay tuned to The TICKET for AirTran/Southwest news (and our commentary and advice) as Southwest enters the Atlanta market over the next few months. Here’s what we’ve got now…stay tuned for more…

HERE COME THE RED BELLIES! This time next month, travelers at ATL will notice a new bird buzzing around the airport— Southwest’s Canyon Blue (upper fuselage) red (undercarriage—the “belly”– and tail) and orange (tail) Boeing 737’s. Empty planes will be ferried in from Dallas on Saturday, February 11, and the first scheduled Southwest flight will depart ATL on Sunday morning, February 12 at 6 a.m. destined for Baltimore. Later that day, flights will depart for Chicago MDW, Denver, Houston Hobby and Austin. On March 10 Southwest will add nonstops flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix. On June 10, it will add one daily nonstop between ATL and LAX in addition to AirTran’s three daily flights. Southwest flights will, at least for now, arrive and depart from Concourse C at ATL.

AIRTRAN DOWNSIZING. As Southwest moves in and re-arranges things to its liking, ATL will be losing some nonstops to smaller cities currently served by AirTran. Starting August 12, AirTran will stop flying to Allentown, Lexington, Harrisburg, Sarasota, Huntsville, and White Plains. Southwest will not deploy its aircraft on these routes leaving the nonstop market to Delta (only) so you can expect to see higher fares and more restrictions on those tickets. (See below…)

KEEP AN EYE ON SEATTLE. On August 12, those loooong flights between ATL and Seattle will changeover from AirTran to Southwest aircraft… meaning no more business class, and no more guaranteed Gogo wi-fi. (Southwest offers wi-fi on only 150 out of 500 jets now…so there’s no guarantee you’ll get it on the ATL-SEA flights.) Keep an eye on Seattle fares… it’s going to be interesting to see how Delta and Alaska Air respond as the only two carriers with nonstops with premium class service between ATL and SEA—and will help us predict how Delta will respond when Southwest no longer offers AirTran business class between ATL and other long haul west coast routes like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES ROUTE MAP. (See map above) If you are interested in watching how Southwest takes over AirTran’s hub at ATL…keep an eye on its route map. Right now, AirTran and Southwest offer two separate maps, and will continue to do so until they get a “single operating certificate” (SOC) from the FAA—expected this March. Southwest told The TICKET, “The Southwest route map shows what Southwest is currently selling; the AirTran route map shows the same for AirTran.  Until we obtain SOC from the FAA, the carriers continue to fly separately and have not published any schedules where the networks are connected. When Southwest launches ATL service on February 12, we’ll do so with the nonstops and published schedules we’ve already announced:  Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Denver, Houston (Hobby), Las Vegas Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.  The Southwest map references those nonstop options and additional, published connecting services. AirTran continues to offer its schedule and, as the integration progresses, it will have fewer flights and Southwest will have more – more routes, more Employees, more aircraft, etc.”

ATL-DFW: A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME? As most TICKET readers know by now, AirTran/Southwest was forced to abandon its nonstops between ATL and Dallas Ft Worth due to the Wright Amendment. We predicted that fares would increase on the nonstop route dominated by only Delta and American. Today we got this email from TICKET reader RP: “Wow, what is up with prices from ATL to DFW on Delta? Pricing out three and four weeks in advance and its $700 round trip. I’ve been traveling from ATL to DFW for 11 years and have never seen prices like this outside of the 14-day window and plenty of seats are unsold.  Just for fun, I priced out a ticket for next week and it’s not much more.”

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AIRPORTS TRIM THE FAT. Eating healthy on the run has always been a challenge that road warriors must face, but the nation’s airports are beginning to take notice. According to the latest report from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which assesses the fare on offer at restaurants in 15 major airports, Delta’s Detroit hub offers some of the healthiest food option in the country. Other airports that ranked high include Washington Dulles and San Francisco. Airports are ranked based on the percentage of their restaurants that have at least one healthy option on the menu including a low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free vegetarian entrée. Charlotte scored as the most improved in the country. Other top choices included Minneapolis/St. Paul, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, and Miami. Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson and Washington Reagan National ranked at the bottom of the pack. (You know you’ve been sneaking in too much of that fried chicken and waffle fries at Popeye’s and Chick-fil-a.) Regarding Atlanta, the report offered this advice: “But travelers looking for healthful meals can find a few choices, including spicy tofu made with vegetarian broth at Asian Chao, burritos or tacos with black beans, pinto beans, or tofu crumbles and grilled veggies (hold the cheese) at Moe’s Southwest Grill, or Bistro Del Sol’s Mediterranean Trio: hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves.” Gosh, imagine what’s going to happen to the score when the Varsity arrives at ATL…What’s YOUR favorite food at ATL?? Leave your comments below.

DELTA SKY PRIORITY GOES GLOBAL. The Sky Priority branding familiar to Delta SkyMiles Gold, biz and first class passengers that provides expedited boarding, ticket counter assistance, and other preferred travel benefits in the US will now be adopted by the entire SkyTeam alliance. This means that eventually, the Sky Priority features will be available on all SkyTeam flights including the popular separate boarding lane allowing customers to bypass the line. It will take some time to implement this at all SkyTeam airports, but major hubs in the alliance network will see it first including Amsterdam, Nairobi, Shanghai, and Taipei. In 2013, the premium airport program will be rolled out at nearly 1,000 airports worldwide. SkyTeam is the first alliance to adopt such a program for its premium travelers.

DO BIZ TRAVELERS LUV SOUTHWEST? A Travel Leaders travel agent network survey found that many AirTran clients are seeking alternatives that offer a premium cabin now that Southwest has announced it will eliminate Air Tran’s business class offering. Southwest does offer two free checked bags and does not assess those awful $150 change fees, but many travelers have come to love their Delta upgrades and see them as the only solace left in today’s travel environment. Delta is bound to be the prime beneficiary of defectors, but other airlines may also take notice and offer competitive fares and frequent flyer promotions to lure away AirTran loyalists. What about you? Will you give Southwest a chance when it arrives on February 12? Please leave your comments below.

TECHNO-DELTA. PC World magazine named Delta the top tech-friendly airline in the US. Delta has been a leader in this category with amenities like recharging stations in the top 19 airport gate areas, a clever smart phone app, and more wi-fi equipped aircraft than any other carrier. A favorite of many passengers is the smart phone app’s baggage tracking feature and the ability to view upgrade lists in real time. The @DeltaAssist Twitter program also has earned instant respect from travelers who reach out for assistance during their travels and receive on-the-spot assistance. Do you agree? Please leave your comments below…

SKYMILES UP NORTH. Delta has signed a codeshare agreement with Canadian airline WestJet allowing travelers to earn SkyMiles, through check their bags, and book connecting itineraries with ease. In the partnership’s first phase, the Delta code will be placed on WestJet flights to 15 cities including flights between Toronto and Edmonton, Halifax, Kelowna, Ottawa, Regina, and Vancouver; between Calgary and Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Victoria; and between Vancouver and Honolulu, Kelowna, and Las Vegas. The WestJet code is being placed on flights to five Delta city pairs including between Detroit and Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa; and between Boston and Toronto.

AIRTRAN DUMPS XM. Atlanta is preparing for Southwest’s arrival, which will bring many positive changes for travelers like no baggage or change fees. However, one change will not be so exciting. Southwest has opted to remove XM satellite radio from Air Tran planes to standardize its entire fleet. The free amenity will be removed from planes progressively beginning immediately. What do you think? Did you use the XM service? Will you miss it? Leave your comments below.

NEW FLIGHTS TO HAITI. Delta will launch new Saturday-only flights from Atlanta to the Haitian capital Port Au Prince April 7. This new flight follows a two-decade hiatus for nonstop service from Atlanta. Delta also flies daily from JFK to Port Au Prince to serve the large Haitian community living there. After the massive earthquake in Haiti two years ago, Delta was among the first airlines to fly relief aid to the country.

(Photo: Skampy / Flickr)

NOT TOO LATE FOR MQM PROMO. Delta has extended the time in which SkyMiles members can buy their way into Medallion status with MQMs next year. When the news about the promo broke in The TICKET last month, Delta said it would end on Dec 14. But last week it extended the deadline to Dec 30. (Why would Delta put limits around a nice revenue stream like that?) Did you take Delta up on this offer? LET US KNOW! Leave your comments below.

FREE WIFI AT ATL! Skype is sponsoring one hour of free wi-fi at ATL (and many other big airports) during the holidays– Dec 21-27! Details here.

MORE FREE HOLIDAY WI-FI. eBay is sponsoring a half hour of free Gogo inflight wi-fi on Delta flights now through Jan. 2. The move should help  spur online shopping purchases for the holidays and post-holiday sales—you can shop on eBay as long as you want, but access to the web ends after 30 minutes. Has anyone experienced difficulty logging on or staying online as a result of heavy usage by others? Please leave your comments below!

DELTA BUMPS UP BRAZIL. With business booming in Brazil (and demand soaring for flights there), Delta has placed its 767-400ER aircraft (with true lie-flat seats in biz class) on all nonstops between New York and Atlanta to Sao Paulo. Delta now offers daily service between Detroit and Sao Paulo and Atlanta and Brasilia. These latter two flights, however, are not part of Delta’s all-flat announcement just yet since they do not operate with the 767-400ER aircraft. In addition, Delta recently announced that it would make a $100 million investment in Brazil’s Gol Airlines, a SkyMiles partner.

A Virgin America A320 touches down in Palm Springs, the carriers's newest destination (Photo: C McGinnis)

VIRGIN AMERICA TO ATL? “We want to be flying to every major business travel destination, and Atlanta is in the top five cities we are targeting for expansion,” said Virgin CEO David Cush in a recent interview with TICKET editor Chris McGinnis. “But we’ve got Delta, the 800-lb gorilla, to deal with there, and we want to see how the AirTran-Southwest integration plays out before we make a move. We won’t fly there unless it is profitable for us, especially since it is a long haul route.” I asked, “Do you think there would be an opportunity for you to capitalize on Southwest’s decision to eliminate AirTran’s business class on the route, leaving Delta as the only carrier offering premium seats on those long hauls to San Francisco and Los Angeles?” After a long thoughtful pause, Cush grinned and said, “Yes, that is something we are taking into consideration. Our first class, and even our coach class is like something Atlanta’s never seen before.” What new carrier would YOU like to see at ATL? Please leave your comments below!

WE [HEART] PRE-CHECK. We continue to get plenty of love letters (and comments on our recent post) from users of the nifty new TSA Pre-Check lines at ATL. TSA recently has or will soon expand Pre-Check to three more airports: Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. Will it last forever?

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TICKET SURVEY! Thanks VERY much to our loyal TICKET readers. We were heartened at the HUGE response we got to our recent rader survey—620 of you took the time to tell us a bit more about you and your travel habits. Stay tuned for a full report on exactly who you are! So far, we’ve been super surprised and delighted. Thank you again.

SORRY SILVERS. Delta quietly instituted another sleight to Silver Medallions last week by cutting their allotment of free checked bags from two down to one (but with the more generous max weight of 70 lbs).  Of course, if the Delta Gold, Platinum or Reserve AMEX is in your wallet, you still get that second free checked bag!

Delta tail and La Guardia's new control tower (Photo: Pro-Zak / Flickr)

DELTA’S MARCH ON NYC CONTINUES. Delta’s long-sought “domination” of the New York market is getting closer… With its slot transfer deal with US Airways complete, Delta has announced more than 100 new flights from its rapidly expanding La Guardia hub, pushing it to near top of the heap in the NYC market. By next summer, Delta says it will be serving 60 cities from LGA, up from the current 35. The majority of flights will be operated by Delta Connection and fly to cities along the East Coast, replacing those that were operated by US Airways prior to the slot swap. While the addition of flights for Delta customers into the New York area is great news, passengers in many communities on the East Coast are actually losing flights because US Airways operated to LGA with heavier frequencies than Delta is planning. Delta will soon expand into US Airways Terminal C in addition to its Terminal D, and continue to operate its shuttle flights between LGA and Chicago, Boston and DC from the Marine Air Terminal.

CITIES getting additional or new Delta service to LGA include Burlington VT, Denver, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Norfolk, Richmond, and Roanoke, Charlotte, Greensboro/High, Point/Winston-Salem, Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, NC, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Miami, Cleveland, and Dayton among others.

MORE JFK, TOO. Delta is also boosting its capacity at JFK by adding new flights to Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, New Orleans, and Kansas City. Other existing JFK network cities like Buffalo, and Richmond will see additional frequencies.

SKTEAM BEIJING. All SkyTeam carriers now fly from under the same roof at Beijing Capital International Airport’s sprawling Terminal 2. Speaking of SkyTeam, check out my recent BBC.com biz travel column about the best airline alliances and see how it stacks up to the competition.

ATL TO LOSE “BUSIEST AIRPORT” CROWN. According to a variety of sources, Beijing Capital airport is set to overtake ATL as the world’s busiest next year. Too bad it will lose the title in the same year it opens the shiny new International Terminal F.

VOUCHER? SCHMOUCHER! Do you have any Delta electronic travel credits in your account that need to be used? Be careful. Delta has quietly implemented a policy that limits the number that can be used per ticket to just one. This means that if you have only one ticket to book before two vouchers expire, you will need to choose the one with higher value to use. If you received these vouchers (denied boarding, remaining credit from unused ticket, etc) before Dec. 15, you can still use more than one at a time, but only one post-12/15/11 voucher will be applied per ticket going forward.

WORLD’S LARGEST CARRIERS. A series of mergers over the last decade has created a group of mega-airlines that reach almost every corner of the globe. Here are the world’s largest airline companies based on the number of miles their passengers flew in 2010:

1. United Continental: 181,939 million
2. Delta Air Lines: 165,900 million
3. American Airlines: 125,443 million
4. Air France, KLM: 125,043 million
5. Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian: 108,811 mm
6. British Airways, Iberia: 97,384 million
7. Southwest, AirTran: 97,360 million
8. Emirates: 89,266 million
9. China Southern Airlines: 68,689 million
10. Qantas Airways: 62,082 million

Source: AP calculations on International Air Transport Association data

NEED A NEW BAG? I’ve dragged around the same black, two-wheeled Briggs and Riley carry-on bag for at least 10 years, and it’s still going strong. But when I’m at the airport and see travelers toting four-wheeled “spinners” or shiny polycarbonates in a rainbow of colors, I get luggage envy. To help me decide if it’s time to bag my old bag and try something new, I asked the experts for some advice on what to look for, and wrote the results up here in a recent BBC.com column.

How do you define business casual? (Photo: Tink20seven)

DEFINING BUSINESS CASUAL. “Two of my least favorite words in the English language are ‘business casual’ as it means different things to different people,” said Joyce Newman, president of the Newman Group, which offers high-level speaker, media and image consulting to global executives. “The definition varies widely between cities, countries, cultures – even industries – and it’s a real dilemma for travelers because you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Are you vexed by invitations to business casual event in the US or abroad? Then check out my recent BBC.com column “Defining Business Casual” which offers some great tips and advice.

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ATL's train...or a four-door Porsche Panamera? (Photo: SocialisBetter)

Delta is being uncharacteristically coy about a flashy new program underway at ATL since early November. Several TICKET readers report being pleasantly surprised by  new chauffeur service (via Porsche no less) from the jetway to their cars upon arrival at ATL.

Here’s what we are hearing:

From reader Eason Jordan:

As I disembarked from my LGA-ATL Delta flight last night, I was surprised to see in the jetway two young men holding up signs with the names of six passengers – my name included.  When I asked the fellow holding the sign with my name on it what he wanted, he escorted me down the jetway stairs to the tarmac and ushered me into the front passenger seat of a new Porsche Cayenne SUV.  He told me Delta recently embarked on a trial program in partnership with Porsche to show their love for top-tier Delta frequent fliers.  Two fellow frequent fliers hopped in the back seat, after which we were whisked not to the main terminal but directly to our cars in separate parking lots at opposite sides of the airport. What a ride!

I quizzed the gregarious driver about the program.  He said the unpublicized program was the brainchild of Delta’s CEO.  Why Porsche’s involvement?  Porsche is moving its North American headquarters to a new site adjacent to the airport, and Porsche wants to impress Delta’s most elite passengers – potential Porsche customers.  The ATL Delta-Porsche program fields eight always-working passenger-shuttling Porsche vehicles – six SUVs and two sedans.  Two vehicles work each select inbound flight.  Sometimes the Porsche team shuttles late arriving connecting elites to a far-flung terminal connecting flight, while other times the Porsche team shuttles incoming elites directly from the arriving tarmac to their cars in airport parking lots.  My driver said the program caters to medallion fliers – mostly Diamond, but others, too.  I’m a three million miler with Delta, and at times I’m among Delta’s most vocal critics.  I pleased to say this surprise reward program is a big-time winner, leaving me grateful and dreaming of owning a Porsche SUV.

Here’s another from Reader JK:

Have you heard about the DL/Porche customer appreciation program that started Nov. 1 (I’m sure you have…you know everything!).  We landed this morning at ATL, B24.  As the door opened, my name and another passengers were announced to proceed to the plane door where we were met by a member of DL’s Elite Service Representatives.  He briefly explained that as Diamonds, we were to follow him down the jetway stairs where a Porsche Panamera was waiting.  He told us that DL and Porsche were partnering to provide a special customer service for Delta’s best customers.  We loaded into the car and he drove us from the tarmac to our cars in the Daily Parking lots!  What a thrill!!!!  Way to go Delta!  Way to go Porsche!

**Porsche because, as you know, it will be building its NA HQ on the site of the old Ford plant adjacent to I-75 and end of runway.

Interestingly, Delta’s being very tight lipped about this. We asked for more details, but Delta would do nothing more than just confirm that the program is indeed in effect. Delta’s only made one public comment about the program over on the FlyerTalk boards:

I see that you’ve noticed a few of the spanking new vehicles trolling around ATL. It’s true that we have a team dedicated to transporting our highest value customers around the Atlanta hub and they’ve got a fleet of several vehicles with which to do so. As part of our partnership with Porsche (which includes shipping cars from Germany to Atlanta), they’ve provided us with a few fancy new rides to add to our VIP fleet. A couple of things to clarify:

1. Delta didn’t pay for these cars.
2. You won’t see any of our executives in these cars – they’re for HVCs ["High Value Customers"] only.
3. The Porsches are quite literally a new toy we get to play with so we’re testing out how to best use them. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, they’ll be used as a “surprise and delight” for some of our best customers.

Have you been picked up in a Porsche yet? Why do you think Delta’s being so coy about this? Perhaps they don’t want to be seen catering to the recently maligned 1%? Maybe they don’t want Medallions to start to expect the service, and complain if they don’t get a ride? Please leave your comments below! And if you get picked up in a Porsche, take a picture and send it to us… we’ll post it right here!

___ ___ ___

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A HOLIDAY GIFT FROM DELTA. TICKET readers have been waiting with baited breath for this one: Today Delta rolled out a short-term program that helps busy SkyMiles members avoid those time-consuming end-of-year mileage runs and instead buy their way into Medallion status in 2012.

Here’s how it works: Between now and [UPDATED) December 30, you go to www.delta.com/buymqms and top off your account by buying bundles of Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM’s) at the following rates:

• 2,500 miles for $295
• 5,000 miles for $495
• 7,500 miles for $695
• 10,000 miles for $895.

Delta SkyMiles head Jeff Robertson told The TICKET: “We know that many of our customers are just one trip short of the next Medallion tier toward the end of the year, so hopefully this will make it easier for them to get there.”

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This program is similar to the one Delta ran last December, which offered MQM’s to SkyMiles members who donated to a variety of charities. Sources tell us that the charities (such as AID Atlanta and Grady Hospital) brought in about $800,000 each as a result of the promo. This year, the promo’s similar in terms of the quantity of MQM’s you earn per dollar spent, but the charities are left out.

What do you think? Will you plunk down the cash to earn or maintain status, or take a mileage run? Please leave your comments below.

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DELTA CUTS DEEP AT ATL. As we near the ribbon cutting in spring of 2012 of Atlanta’s new international terminal F, several flights will be missing from the departure boards. They include Athens, Copenhagen, Guayaquil, Moscow, Prague, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv. The routes, most of which were already seasonal, will not be restarted in 2012 due to the economic slowdown. Delta is not cutting ties with any of these cities. In fact, all of these cities (minus Guayaquil) see nonstop service from JFK with the exception of Shanghai, which keeps its nonstop service from Detroit. JFK-Copenhagen will get an upgrade from a skinny B757 to a wider B767 in the summer.  It is sad to see fewer destinations at ATL with the new terminal opening, but markets are cyclical and many could return in the future.

DELTA BIGGER IN BIG APPLE. Additional frequencies will beef up Delta’s schedules at JFK to Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Juan, and Santo Domingo and Santiago, Dominican Republic. The network also expands with new flights from JFK to Austin, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Fla., and Milwaukee. LaGuardia will also see new, nonstop service to Nassau, Bahamas.

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SKYTEAM FOCUSES INWARD. SkyTeam CEO Michael Wisbrun (yes, airline alliances have their own CEOs who manage the grouping) spoke at London’s World Travel Market and outlined that the Delta-led alliance is nearing completion of its network. While this does not rule out the addition of carriers to the alliance (especially in places like India and Brazil), it does indicate that the alliance is finished with its major growth phase. Wisbrun stated that the next phase is focusing more on customer benefits with improved IT infrastructure (sorely needed since many airlines’ reservation systems still cannot “talk” to each other) and opening additional SkyTeam-branded lounges in places like Beijing and Tokyo. Already on the books to join the alliance in the coming couple of years are Aerolineas Argentinas, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia.

SKY CLUB UPDATES IN MOTOWN. Delta’s got big plans for Sky Clubs around the system refurbishing and overhauling them to a stylish, new concept. However, the Detroit clubs have a cozy, residential feel left over from their Northwest days that many travelers have come to love. In a previous version of The TICKET, we incorrectly reported that these clubs will be overhauled to the new club decor. However, travelers will be happy to know the Detroit clubs will keep their same homey aesthetic with fireplaces and cozy sitting nooks. The central Sky Club in Detroit’s terminal A will be reconfigured to provide more space for customers by removing conference rooms and adding more seating. Swiveling tables over the chair’s armrest and convenient electrical outlets will continue to be one of the club’s most popular features. It is not clear when these clubs will have the full makeover like the swanky new style in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Miami, or the A-17 and D clubs in Atlanta. But, for now, these clubs are holding up well and are perfect on those chilly and snowy Detroit travel days.

BIG BONUS FOR LONDON FLIGHTS. Fly round-trip between London Heathrow and the US in paid BusinessElite (Fare Classes: J, C, D, I, or S), now through December 31, 2011, and earn 25K to 150K bonus miles.  To get the miles, you must register by December 15, then book and fly now through December 31, 2011.

WELCOME XIAMEN AIRLINES. SkyTeam is already the largest airline alliance in China, and it just got bigger now that Xiamen Airlines has announced plans to join by the end of 2012. Critics are quick to point out that SkyTeam is bringing in airlines of lesser quality than other alliances, but there is no doubt the network in China is the strongest available. Xiamen operates a mostly domestic route network with a fleet of 737 aircraft. It has placed an order for six Boeing 787 Dreamliners with plans to fly long haul to Australia, Europe, and North American in the future.

ATL’s TERMINAL F nears completion…By May 2012, international travelers will have a whole new world to discover at Atlanta airport when terminal F goes into full operation. Together with Terminal E, there will be a total of 40 gates for international flights. This new terminal will also eliminate the need for ATL-bound travelers to recheck their bags and clear TSA security again to leave the airport making it easier for arrivals. Keep an eye on http://www.atlanta-airport.com/InternationalTerminal/index.html for photos and more information on Terminal F.In case you have not been watching, here’s a very cool time lapse video of terminal construction from groundbreaking until now:

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CHEAPO AIR: Air, hotel car rental and package deals galore from CheapOair.com

HOTWIRE: Great hotel deals and $13.95 per day rental cars with low Hotwire Hot-Rates!

Why wait in a long holiday taxi queue? Reserve a car instead! (Photo: Enrico Salad / Flickr)

As the peak holiday travel season approaches, everyone’s looking for a deal or a steal. But the truth of the matter is that bargains are difficult to come by during the Thanksgiving and Christmas peak travel season.

And if you snag what you think is a bargain, you might end of  “getting what you pay for.”

As a matter of fact, paying a little more at this time of year usually translates into more peace of mind, more quality time with friends or family, and the increased likelihood of a low-hassle trip home for the holidays…. which is what we all want.

Here are six examples to illustrate what I mean:

1> Take a nonstop flight. While you might be tempted by the price of a one-stop flight, by choosing one, you are increasing your chances of a delay or cancellation by 100%! Why take that chance, especially if you are headed home for just a few days, and a delayed or canceled flight could spoil the entire trip?

Cost: $50 to $200 depending on flight length

Example: Flying during peak Christmas week between Atlanta and San Francisco, you’ll pay $660 (ouch!) for a six-hour one-stop journey on Frontier connecting in Denver. On the other hand, fly four hours nonstop on Delta or AirTran and the fare is $730 (ouch again!)– $70 more. Worth it to fly nonstop? I think so. (Fares checked Nov 13 for flights departing Dec 23, returning Dec 27 and are subject to change.)

2> Book your trip via a real, live travel agent. Most budget-conscious travelers shy away from travel agents who charge fees. But as the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) likes to say, “Without a travel agent, you’re on your own.” Most travel agents can use their experience, connections and clout to help get you out of sticky situations, plus they’ve got knowledge and experience to offer you the best alternatives when or if you get stuck.

Cost: $20-$50 or negotiable

Example: ASTA’s motto surely rang true last year when a monster storm blew up the East Coast on Christmas day, stranding travelers across the country. Most of those who booked trips via travel agents were able to get through to them by phone and adjust travel plans faster than those who only had airline 800-numbers. (Note: Be sure the travel agent you choose has an after hours emergency number.)

Rooms dip as low as $80 over Xmas at a brand new Best Western near Dallas, TX

3> Stay at a hotel. Why burden the in-laws with the stress of houseguests during the already stressful holidays? Instead of bunking on that lumpy sofa bed or stuffy guest room, book a nearby hotel. Tip: Due to lack of demand from business travelers, most hotels are dirt-cheap during the holidays, especially those located in suburban office parks. Travel expert John DiScala, who edits the popular johnnyjet.com website suggests that the holidays are a great time to consider redeeming loyalty points for nicer hotel digs, saying, “For example, Hilton HHonors points can also now be used to upgrade an existing reservation to a premium room or suite at hotels worldwide, with no blackout dates.”

Cost: $50 to $100 per night, depending on location.

Example: Thinking you might want your inlaws to stay at a hotel? A nice, newish Hilton Garden Inn in the northern Atlanta suburbs costs only $67 per night during Christmas week—but book it two weeks later when business travelers are back on the road and you’ll pay nearly twice that much– $127.

4> Review your charge card benefits. Most banks have added a slew of new benefits to charge cards in recent years to woo free-spending, credit-worthy frequent travelers, so you might be packing more power in your pocket than you know. While annual fees are higher for such cards, many now offer benefits that come in handy for holiday travel such as waived baggage fees, access to airport lounges, early boarding privileges, early check in/late check out or upgrades at hotels, concierge services and more.

Cost: $100-$500/year

Example: While the American Express Platinum card sounds expensive at $450/year, the benefits can pay off big time when it comes to peak travel season. For example, the card gets you out of the airport holiday mayhem and into 600 airport lounges (gratis) around the world, covers up to $200 airline fees from checked bags to in-flight food or cocktails, and Global Entry membership, which gets you to the front of the line US Customs and Immigration. The $95/year Delta SkyMiles Gold card now offers a free checked bag and early boarding privileges, regardless of your Medallion level.  Many high-end cards also offer concierge services that can help get you out of travel jams—worth a call if you get stuck!

5> Book roomier airline seats. While you can always pay a lot more to sit in first class, you can now pay a little bit more, and get a more comfortable coach seat. During the busy, crowded holidays, that’s money well spent. While getting a few extra inches of room always helps, the real benefit of paying for a better economy seat is that you usually get to board early—with elite level flyers—which means you get first dibs on scarce overhead bin space.

Cost: Varies based on carrier and flight duration– $10-$100 per segment

Example: Delta is expanding its popular, roomier “Economy Comfort” seating from just international flights to domestic ones, too. For example, it’s now available on transcons between New York and San Francisco or Los Angeles.

6> Hire a car service to/from the airport. There are lots of reasons why you should use a car service for a ride to or from the airport during the holidays. First, don’t burden friends or family with the chore of driving to the airport during rush hour traffic to pick you up or drop you off. Second, when arriving, you walk straight to your waiting car instead of waiting in those long, cold taxi queues at airports that form during peak holiday season.

Cost: 10%-20% more than cab fare

Example: Last month I was greeted by a taxicab queue at SFO at least 100 people deep after a loooong transcon flight. Wish I had booked a car service! In New York, I always use the economical Dial 7 car service (212-777-7777) which costs $5 or $10 more than a cab, but offers a comfortable sedan ride to/from Manhattan versus the tight squeeze, bumpy ride, and possible wait for a NYC Taxi.

Where are YOU headed for the holidays? Please leave your comments below.

(Photo: DavidKenny / Flickr

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NEW CHARGES FOR PREMIUM BOOZE AT SKY CLUB. Delta is quietly unveiling new charges for premium brand liquor, wine and specialty cocktails at its Sky Club lounges, while well brands and non-premium beer and wine remain complimentary.  Other airlines charge for premium brands in their airport lounges, but Delta’s offering appears significantly more expensive with drinks such as mojitos and premium, top-shelf or call-brand cocktails fetching between $10 and $35. Prepare for the up-sell from your bartender mixologist! Not all clubs have instituted this program yet, but watch for it coming to a lounge near you soon– expect a formal announcement from Delta within days about this. (UPDATE: A TICKET reader just sent us what he says is a new Sky Club premium liquor menu, which includes $35 for Jose Cuervo 1942 tequila, $24 for Talisker 18 scotch, $18 for Johnny Walker Green, $12 for Bulleit bourbon or Ketel 1 Vodka, $199 for a bottle of Dom Perignon among others.) Have you paid for a cocktail yet at a Sky Club? What do you think about this new policy? Do you mind paying more for a premium brand that may not have been available before?

NEW TRUSTED TRAVELER LANES AT ATL. The AJC reports that the TSA’s beta test of a trusted traveler program called “TSA PreCheck” has begun at ATL. About 2,000 Delta frequent flyers and those with “Global Entry” status on their passports chosen for the program can use a special lane for expedited screening at the South security checkpoint. The lane has a metal detector instead of a full body scanner, and does not require travelers to remove shoes, belts or jackets.  TICKET reader Rupert Barkoff of Atlanta was startled to find the new expedited line open at ATL on Tuesday, and wrote, “If I hadn’t prepared for going through security (i.e., shoes, coat, pockets, etc.) I would have made it through South Security at Hartsfield from entry into the security area through the machine in less than a minute.” What do you think? Is a “trusted traveler” lane the answer to our woes, or is the current special lane for elite members enough for you? Please leave your comments below!

NICE ‘N EASY AIRTRAN A+ DOUBLE POINTS PROMO. Fly to any AirTran destination from September 15 through November 7 and earn double A+ Rewards credit for every flight. With this offer, you’ll earn two A+ credits for each one-way flight, which means you can earn a round reward flight after just 4 legs. Plus, if you book in business class, you will receive three A+ Rewards credits for each leg. You must register to get the bonus. And don’t forget, those A+ Rewards will eventually convert to Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

GOGO EXPERIMENTING WITH PRICING. Gogo has launched a new $1.95 15-minute in-flight wi-fi pass perfect for those who need to make a quick scan of email or check a website on a short flight. Right now, these bite-size passes are available on select flights only and appear on the Gogo home page when logging on during the flight. It’s also offering a $4.95 flight pass available on flights up to 650 miles, which is quite reasonable. On the higher end, Gogo is experimenting with raising rates. On a recent transcontinental flight, your TICKET editor paid $14.95 for wi-fi– $2 more than the standard $12.95 rate he was used to. A Gogo spokesperson told The TICKET:  “We are currently testing some new pricing structures on various routes to better gauge the value of the service on a per route basis.” Question: What’s the most you’d pay for wi-fi on a transcontinental flight? How much is too much? (I’ve always thought that charges for inflight wi-fi were quite reasonable given how much more productive I am on long haul flights. However, price seems to be an object for the general public—only about 7% of all passengers opt for wi-fi.)

SPEAKING OF GOGO. In a recent issue of The TICKET, you read that Delta Connection’s fleet of regional jets would soon begin getting Gogo wi-fi access. The first CRJ-700 of Atlantic Southeast Airlines is now ready to surf the web with 250 more to follow rapidly, and all regional jets with first class (CRJ-700s, CRJ-900s, EMB-170s, EMB-175s) will have wi-fi by early 2012. Have you flown one of these Barbie jets yet with wi-fi? Did it work just as well as mainline or was it faster due to fewer passengers on board? Good luck fitting your laptop on those tiny RJ tray tables, though!

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IS DELTA GETTING INTO BED WITH VIRGIN? Delta and Virgin Australia will launch a transpacific codeshare beginning in November as part of their existing joint venture. V Australia’s flights will move to Delta’s terminal at LAX to boost the number of passenger connection opportunities. This codeshare easily opens up nonstop flights to Brisbane and Melbourne from LAX in addition to Delta’s existing B777 service to Sydney. Earning and redeeming miles on each other’s flights and reciprocal lounge access are other benefits for consumers. And with Richard Branson’s near constant mentions of Virgin Atlantic’s interest in joining a global alliance, will this help SkyTeam bag one of the industry’s hottest names? Only time will tell! (Remember back in the day when you could redeem SkyMiles for Virgin flights to London from JFK?)

MCGINNIS ON BBC.COM. Have you read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s recent business travel columns on BBC.com? Here’s a sampling of his most popular recent posts:

>How to book a better hotel room

>Using the train to catch your plane

>Five easy ways to brush up quickly on a new country

>Getting your money’s worth in business class

EASIER ROUND-THE-WORLD SKYMILES TIX. If you’ve racked up enough SkyMiles to take a trip around the Earth (and that would be 180,000 miles in economy and 280,000 miles in business class), it just got a lot easier to plan. In the past, travelers were forced to endure long phone calls with agents crafting together these complex itineraries with rules (like no geographical backtracking). Now, SkyTeam has launched a user-friendly tool on its website that allows travelers to piece together their own round-the-world itineraries themselves before calling Delta to book them. The awards cannot be booked online and must be booked through a special service desk, but this new online tool eases the experience considerably. Here’s the link. Bon voyage!

LATIN/CARIBBEAN SKYMILES BONUS. If you have flight plans between Atlanta, JFK, or Boston and several destinations in Latin America or the Caribbean this fall, there are some bonus miles in your future. Register for this Sept. 15-Nov. 15 promotion at  and fly one of the promotional routes to qualify for double SkyMiles. Destinations include Santo Domingo, Bermuda, San Juan, Buenos Aires and Rio.

DELTA HUBS TOPS IN ON TIME PERFORMANCE. FlightStats ranked airports based on on-time departures during September, and Delta’s hubs performed quite well. Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, and Minneapolis/St. Paul airports all exceeded 90% on-time departures. The average on-time departure performance for the group in September was 78% up over 6 percentage points from August’s 72%. On the downside, New York La Guardia and JFK ranked near the bottom.

1. SLC Salt Lake City – 92.01%
2. SEA Seattle – 90.84%
3. PDX Portland – 90.79%
4. MSP Minneapolis – 90.17%
5. MEM Memphis - 86.66%
6. OAK Oakland – 86.01%
7. TPA Tampa – 85.58%
8. YVR Vancouver – 85.28%
9. ATL Atlanta – 85.21%
10. PHX Phoenix – 85.14%

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Happy end of summer! Hope you all are having a good one…or had a good one.

NO PLANS TO CHANGE DELTA’S NEW 72-HOUR RULE. Our post last week about Delta’s new rule that disallows changes to SkyMiles award tickets within 72 hours of departure was the most read and forwarded post on The TICKET to date in 2011. Folks are ticked off! If you missed it, here’s the post--be sure and read the comments. Despite the outcry, Delta seems intransigent on this one. The TICKET sent Delta the following message: “Can you tell us if Michelle and the gang have decided to soften the 72 hour rule at all? Are they even discussing it, or is it case closed? We think most TICKET readers, once they get over their frustration, sort of see Delta’s point, but feel that the rule is too harsh, and perhaps it could be softened a bit. Seems like the few bad apples have spoiled something for the rest of Delta’s best, and mostly fair-minded customers. Let us know if you know if anything’s in the works.” Delta’s reply to The TICKET: “Thanks for checking in.  We have no plans to make further changes to the 72 hour rule.” There you have it.

SKYMILES TRANSFER BONUS NICE BUT NOT CHEAP. From TICKET reader Tom in Atlanta: “I decided to be nice and transfer a few miles to a friend of mine since Delta was offering to double the miles I transferred (good thru 30 September).  Boy, was I surprised to find out Delta charges .01 per mile to transfer AND $30 per transfer.  So, according to my math,  I was going to give a friend 50,000 miles that would be doubled to 100,000 (what a nice guy I am). . .and it would cost me $530!!!  Not much of a deal if you ask me!  I’m nice, but not THAT nice.”

NEW AMEX SKYMILES BENNIE. If you’ve lost Medallion status, here’s a bit of good news: If you have the Gold or Platinum Delta Sky Miles American Express card, get ready to head back to the front of the line. Beginning Sept. 1, cardholders will receive priority boarding on all Delta and Delta Connection flights. This means boarding along with SkyPriority passengers including Medallion and SkyTeam Elite-level members. No need to show the card– if it is linked to your SkyMiles account, you and up to eight travel companions booked in the same reservation will automatically be placed in one of the first boarding zones. Once on board, you also get a 20% discount for inflight purchases including food, drinks, and movies. These extra benefits are in addition to the already substantial checked bag fee waiver.

TRIMMING THE FAT. Delta is discontinuing its seasonal routes from Atlanta to Barbados and from Atlanta to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Delta has also said that it’s discontinuing flights to several tiny cities that had been subsidized by the federal goverment’s “Essential Air Service” program. Delta is also right-sizing its hub at Salt Lake City– cutting daily departures from 260 to 224. No route cuts planned, but flight frequencies will be reduced.  AirTran is discontinuing its flights from Atlanta to Atlantic City, N.J. (in January) and Newport News (in March).

We’ve got a BIG QUESTION for you this month, and we hope you can take a moment and share your comments at the bottom of this post: How has the recent stock market roller coaster affected your plans for fall business travel– if at all? Have you decided or have you been asked to cut back on travel spending at all over the last month as a result of the uncertainty? Please leave your answers/comments below.

TOO COZY WITH DELTA? The AJC reports that former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is joining the board of Delta, nearly two years after pushing for a lease deal between the city and Delta that some criticized as too favorable to the airline. Thoughts?

EASY 1000 SKYMILES. Don’t forget: Using Delta’s new mobile app to check-in earns you bonus miles. First register, then check in using the Delta app to earn 1,000 miles between June 30 and September 7, 2011.

FREE INFLIGHT INTERNET IN AUGUST. Were you able to log on for a little bit of free inflight wi-fi this month? Diet Coke sponsored two promos that seemed to be a hit with TICKET readers….except that so many folks signed on that service slowed to a crawl. Our post about this was very popular this month…check it out and see the comments if you missed it. By the way, you should still be able to get a free 30-minute trial between now and Sunday, August 31.

Video of the week: Bat on a Delta plane.

NEW AMIGO: AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS. The TICKET recently reported that Aerolineas Argentinas had been invited to join the SkyTeam alliance. While it is not a full member yet, Delta has begun codesharing with the Argentinean flag carrier between both Miami and Atlanta and Buenos Aires. Beginning next year, passengers traveling on Aerolineas Argentinas can earn and redeem SkyMiles for their flights. Currently, a reciprocal club access program is already in place for SkyTeam Elite Plus members at the airline’s lounge in B.A. Speaking of amigos, Delta recently bought a 4% interest in Aeromexico…which is already a SkyTeam and codesharing partner.

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SHIP LUGGAGE. EARN SKYMILES. FedEx has a partnership with Delta allowing those who ship packages to earn SkyMiles. Between now and Oct. 15, earn triple miles for each dollar spent. For every fifth shipment, SkyMiles members get a 1,000 mile bonus. Not only does this benefit those who ship packages for work, but travelers tired of paying overweight or oversize bag fees. The price (depending on the weight of your bags) may not be that much more expensive, and you get the added bonus of scoring Sky Miles too. Who wants to schlep bags to the airport when the FedEx delivery truck can escort them from your front door to your destination?

LIVINGSOCIAL WITH DELTA. Delta has partnered with LivingSocial, a web site focused on aggregating destination deals and bargains in tandem with trips booked at Delta.com. The initiative will make it easier to save money once you land by highlighting specific restaurant, hotel, attraction, and business promotions that can save you money and time. The offers appear in the My Trips section of delta.com and align with the dates and times of your trip to zero in on the promotions that would only be of benefit during your travel. Some of the deals hack as much as 50% off a variety of services. Worth a look!

NEW DIGS AT JFK. You may be surprised to learn that Delta is the largest airline in the state of New York serving 11 cities with 439 daily departures. The bulk of its operation now takes place at its creaky JFK hub. However, work is well underway to demolish, reconstruct, and renovate Delta’s facilities at Terminal 4, next door to the old Worldport. Want a sneak peek at what you have to look forward to in 2013 following the completion of this $1.2 billion construction project? Take a look!

BETTER FIRST/BIZ CLASS. Those enjoying the occasional complimentary Medallion upgrades (and those who pay for first class) will soon see a refreshed product in domestic and Latin American first class. Those pesky placemats are being crumpled up and replaced with classier tray linens along with new china, silverware, and service items. Business Elite service between JFK and Los Angeles and San Francisco is also getting classier and tastier with the introduction of menus from Napa Valley chef Michael Chiarello.  Amenity kits on international flights will have a new look and feel plus larger toothpaste, a softer eye mask, and high-quality Greek Korres brand toiletry products.

SKY CLUB PAYMENT PLAN. Considering a Sky Club membership, but don’t want to fork over for an entire year at once? Delta has taken a hint from financial services companies and now allows you to spread out the annual cost into monthly installments of $25.99-$39.99 each (depending on Medallion level). Like many lounge programs, there is a small annual fee (ranges from $25.99-$39.99 also depending on one’s status) in addition to the cost of the monthly payment. It is important to note this is not a true monthly membership since you must commit to one year, but it certainly does lessen the financial burden for cash-strapped travelers.

SPEAKING OF SKY CLUB. We need some comments about the new A-17 Sky Club on Concourse A at ATL! Did you know that this is the busiest Sky Club out there with 55,000 monthly visits? Delta removed the rarely used conference rooms to free up much needed space. Has anyone been yet? Please start a discussion below. What do you like or not like? The new club on Concourse D, down at “wheel level” is supposed to open this month…let us know as soon as you get in there! A new rooftop Sky Club is due to open in the South Satellite at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport—let us know when you check it out!

Repeat from above….We’ve got a BIG QUESTION for you this month, and we hope you can take a moment and share your comments at the bottom of this post: How has the recent stock market roller coaster affected your plans for fall business travel– if at all? Have you decided or have you been asked to cut back on travel spending at all over the last month as a result of the uncertainty? Please leave your answers/comments below.

***

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Is loyalty really a two-way street, as Delta points out here in a recent ad campaign?

Delta really raised the ire of its frequent flyers this month with a last-minute, poorly announced rule change. Starting August 15, if you want to change or cancel a SkyMiles award flight within 72 hours of departure, your miles will be forfeited.  You read that right: If you must change or cancel your award flight within 72 hours of your trip, you now forfeit the miles. Poof! Gone! Buh-bye…

SkyMiles can still be redeemed for flights within the 72-hour window (without a close-in booking fee), but all awards now become non-refundable and non-changeable within 72 hours of the departure flight. There are no exceptions to this rule for Platinum or Diamond members. Delta “announced” the rule change just this week (see below)–only six days prior to its effective date of August 15.

This means, for example,  that if you redeemed a ticket for a flight at the high level and it drops to the lower level two days before departure– too bad, you are stuck paying the higher amount of miles.

Delta claims this is to prevent misuse by members who have been booking award seats and then not actually traveling on them (later requesting a change or refund) and causing as many as “a million seats”  to fly empty.

Limiting cancellations with this policy might hold some weight…but we feel Delta’s very best customers– those who have shown enough loyalty to earn award flights–   should still be allowed to at least change their ticket within 72 hours.

We at The TICKET were as stunned as everyone else when we received word of this most recent, radical change, and contacted Delta for confirmation. The news was indeed confirmed, and we were told to find Delta’s explanation for the change on social media channels…interestingly, the change was not officially announced anywhere on Delta’s web site. [Update: We found it on Delta's site today.]

On Milepoint.com, we found the following (surprisingly smug and somewhat condescending) post from Delta’s social media maven:

Late last month, I posted information about recent changes to our Award redeposit policy. The changes were made after we reviewed the number of award seats that were going out empty and the number was large – massive, in fact. So we made some adjustments to help address the situation and increase award availability.

In response to that post, members asked if we were looking at making changes to the policy for any time prior to departure. In fact, we were. During that review we determined that there are more than 1,000,000 award seats that were going unused at the 72 hour mark prior to departure. That is 3 days in which those seats could otherwise be sold or used for other SkyMiles members who truly intend to sit in the seat and travel.

As a result, we’re updating this policy once more. So, effective August 15, 2011, SkyMiles members who wish to cancel or make changes to their award ticket now need to do so at least 72 hours before their flight departure (for changes, this applies to each flight segment – outbound and return). This change will make those seats available to other members and ultimately increase award availability. Miles for tickets cancelled within 72 hours will be nonrefundable. Taxes and fees for award travel cancelled within 72 hours will be refundable upon request. Same-day standby options will remain.

For changes or cancellations made at least 72 hours prior to departure, Diamond and Platinum Medallion members will continue to receive reissue and redeposit fee waivers. Reissue and redeposit fees will continue to apply for other members.

We will be sending out an email to customers with advance award travel booked later today – delta.com is being updated with this information as well.

Because it was a trending theme in last month’s thread, let’s address another issue head-on. We understand that extenuating circumstances do happen and our agents are equipped to review those situations on a case-by-case basis to determine if an exception is warranted. (Just do us a favor and try to make sure it’s not the 8th time your great uncle has passed away.)

Candidly, we expect that this change may be unpopular with some – and we will hear all of your concerns related to it – so we are communicating this early and will be sending a variety of communications to customers later today. When program changes occur, we want our members to be aware of them so that they can adapt accordingly.

Now let’s start the conversation. I’m gathering your comments and bringing them all back to the team…

Michelle, SkyMiles | Delta Social Ambassador

A Delta 2-Million Miler wrote to The TICKET in disbelief, but thankful that he made a last-minute change last week, before the policy went into effect, “I was one of those last minute changes just last week when an unexpected business meeting caused me to cancel plans for AMS and CDG. But these things do happen, and to lose your miles is just harsh, very harsh.”

[Update:] On the other hand, another TICKET reader from Dallas writes: “Diamonds were booking business/first class seats using miles but not putting in their Skymiles number (since you can book a seat using miles for anyone). Then, the same Diamond would book a coach seat in hopes of getting an upgrade to business/first -naturally this reservation contained the sky miles number. The net result is a double booking of this person. Once they get the upgrade on the coach booking, they would call and cancel the second reservation booked in business/first with miles – sometimes while at the gate – which caused seats to go empty. I find it hard to believe that it resulted in one million going empty – but I see Delta’s point. A few people found a loop hole, exploited it, and we are all paying for it.”

So, TICKET readers, what do you think? Is this fair? Will it affect you? Is Delta making a smart business decision that will improve SkyMiles for everyone? Or is this just one more of the proverbial 1000 cuts? Does it make you feel more like checking out what Southwest will bring to the table next year?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

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Then, book your trips with our advertising partners.

DELTA: Click here for the latest fare sales and deals at Delta Air Lines

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ENTERPRISE: Free upgrades when renting a car for airport pickup at Enterprise.com

WELCOME NEW TICKET READERS! You’ve joined a very influential and informed group of frequent travelers. We are glad to have you on board! –Chris McGinnis, editor and publisher

Gogo's new logo

GOGO INFLIGHT EVOLVES. Inflight Wi-Fi provider Gogo announced some big changes this week that will go into effect in the fourth quarter of this year on Delta. While Gogo knows that it has frequent business travelers wrapped around its finger, it has a tougher time with the broader leisure travel audience. Therefore, the “new “ Gogo will offer more free content (such as online magazines, games, shopping and access to sites like OpenTable) as well as streaming movies (for a fee). Gogo tells The TICKET that movies will be streamed from a server on the plane– not from the ground– which is good news given the current difficulty of viewing a 2-3 minute YouTube video from the sky. Prices for Internet access (its core product) won’t change much. Gogo also says that it will eventually (2015 or so) move to a satellite-based system (from its current network of land-base antennae), which will enable Wi-Fi access on over-water international flights.

BREAKING: Two Delta jets, a Boeing 767 and a smaller regional jet collided on the runway at Boston’s Logan Airport on Thursday night. The Amsterdam-bound 767 took the tail off the Raleigh-bound ComAir RJ with its giant winglet. Only one passenger was injured.

Delta's boxy flat bed seat on its 767 fleet

LIE FLAT GOOD AND BAD. Based on the comments we receieved on our recent post about finding Delta’s lie-flat seats, the consensus seems to be this: Love ‘em on the 777, but not so much on the 767. The 777 has a superior “herringbone” pattern, but the 767 sports a tighter, boxier style with less space, forcing limbs into the narrow aisle and legs into “the hole.” What do you think…would you rather have the cradle back on the 767, or is the new lie-flat at least a modicum of improvement? Have you flown other airlines that you feel do lie-flat better than Delta? PLEASE leave your comments below.

EXPEDITED TSA SCREENING FOR SOME. The AJC reports that the TSA is going to select a handful of ATL-based Delta frequent flyers as part of a pilot “trusted traveler” program. Those selected MIGHT (important word) be able to forgo taking off shoes and removing laptops from bags. Participants will get special bar codes on boarding passes that TSA agents will scan as they enter security, and then they’ll be sent to a special lane for expedited screening. Full story here. We at The TICKET think its smart when the TSA looks for dangerous people and not just dangerous items. What about you? Leave your opinion below.

iPHONE APP FOR MEDALLION UPGRADE LIST. The upgraded Delta iPhone app now includes a feature that allows Medallion members to see their position on the upgrade list without logging onto delta.com or standing at the gate waiting for the upgrade list to appear (for a short five seconds!) on the gate information screen. The ability to change seat assignments has also been added. This feature is only available for iPhone users, but is coming to the Android and Blackberry versions soon. Users must download an updated version of the app to enjoy this new feature.

SPEAKING OF THE APP: Delta’s giving everyone who checks in via their mobile device 1000 SkyMiles. Registration is required.

DELTA TO BOMBAY. Delta is moving its Bombay flight a bit closer to its ATL hub. While not nonstop (as incorrectly reported in last month’s newsletter—sorry!), it will be a one-stop, same-plane flight via Amsterdam starting in late October. Previously this flight has operated from Newark on a one-stop flight (also via AMS) to Bombay. With the move of this flight back to Atlanta, the long slog to the subcontinent should be a bit easier.

NEW CHINESE PARTNERS. China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines have officially joined the SkyTeam alliance and add another feather in Delta’s cap for increased market presence in Asia. SkyTeam already has China Southern in the airline group, and China Airlines of Taiwan is expected to join soon. This gives Delta flyers more SkyMiles earning/buring opportunities when crossing the Pacific. China Eastern operates nonstop flights to Shanghai from several North American cities including NYC, SF and Los Angeles. Have you flown a Chinese airline yet? If so, what did you think? Long ago, we heard only horror stories, but lately, we’re hearing that the service is greatly improved. What do you think? PLEASE leave your comments below.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE TICKET? You can email us, too!

DISCOUNTED AWARD TRAVEL. Delta is offering discounted award redemptions for flights within the continental U.S. on Tuesdays or Wednesdays to select SkyMiles members. First, register here to see if you are eligible for the promotion (yep, this is another one of Delta’s “targeted” offers). Then book reward travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday. If the entire itinerary for domestic travel is only on a Tuesday or Wednesday (traditionally the lightest days of the week to travel), you can receive a 5,000-mile refund. If travel takes place partly on one of those days, flyers can receive a 2,500-mile refund. Reservations must be booked by July 31, 2011, and travel must be completed by Dec. 31, 2011.

HUGE PLUG IN FORBES. Welcome to all the new TICKET readers that have come onboard as a result of this very flattering article about The TICKET on FORBES.com. Here’s a snippet: “Way back in 1993, before anyone but Al Gore knew what the internet was, Chris McGinnis launched a newsletter called The TICKET devoted to flyers out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport, the world’s busiest… At the time, he lived in Atlanta and covered aviation and especially Delta for both the Journal Constitution and later CNN, which was based there, and ever since, he has been THE authority on all things Delta and ATL. This now includes AirTran, also using the airport as its hub, as well as other carriers into Atlanta and all of Delta’s international SkyTeam partners, from Air France to Korean Air.” Gee willikers, that’s nice! Thanks to Forbes’ Larry Olmsted for the kudos. Return the favor by checking out for Larry’s hedonistic “Great Life” blog on Forbes.com.

FLYING TO/FR LAX ON JULY 15, 16 or 17? Beware of the planned 53-hour closure of Interstate 405, LA’s main north/south freeway—and the primary route for getting to/from LAX. As Angelenos are fond of saying, “Take surface streets.” (The old freeway is getting much needed widening and repairs.) There’s even a special Carmageddon section on LATimes.com.

THE TICKET PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION IS BACK! YAY! For all of you who’ve been asking us to bring back a print version of The TICKET, we’ve now got you covered. Scroll down to the bottom of this post, look for the row of icons across the bottom and choose “PRINT WITH PRINT FRIENDLY.” Easy!

HALF OFF BUSINESS ELITE UPGRADES. For overseas flyers, there’s some good news this summer for people using miles for upgrades. Until Aug. 31, 2011, Delta is allowing upgrades to Business Elite for 50% fewer miles. For example, transatlantic mileage upgrades are typically 15,000 miles each way. This summer, they can be had for 7,500 miles each way. Upgrades are permitted only on Y, B or M Economy Class fares, which are usually quite expensive, and are subject to availability. Before redeeming miles, it is best to call Delta to see if “Z” availability is open since that is the class that must be open to upgrade with miles (or with systemwide upgrade certificates). No registration is required. Click here for more information. While using miles can be a good deal, keep in mind that Delta often sells Business Elite seats at a discount, which can be even cheaper than a full Economy Class fare, but come with many restrictions. Be sure to research all the options before redeeming your hard-earned miles!

PUSH MY BUTTONS. According to Reuters, Boeing has moved the flight attendant call button far away from the overhead light button on the new design for its popular 737 model. “Usually located next to the reading light button and often indistinguishable from it, the dreaded button causes flight attendants to make countless pointless trips down the aisles every day, only to hear embarrassed passengers say they were just trying to switch on the light,” says Reuters. Great idea!

5 FEES BUSINESS TRAVELERS LOVE. Lately, travel headlines practically shout: It’s a fee frenzy! A fee-for-all! Travelers are fighting mad about fees! But are all fees bad? Not necessarily. Many of these so-called “new fees” can be viewed as charges for new products, like in-flight Wi-Fi, that travelers could never “buy” before. And for many business travelers, it’s worth the cost to pay for something that improves comfort or productivity while in the air. Do you want to buy your way to a better trip? Here are five ways to do that. (from my BBC.com column archive)

DO U H8 DELTA? The Atlantic magazine says that Delta is the #2 most hated company in America (after #1 Pepco, a public utility in the DC area). US Airways, United and American were also included in the top 10. Here’s what The Atlantic said about Delta: “Complaints include additional costs for food, beverages and baggage fees. The airline collected more than $952 million in baggage fees from flyers in 2010, almost twice as much as any other airline carrier. Since acquiring Northwest airlines in 2008, Delta’s consumer satisfaction score has plunged.” We know that most TICKET readers have a love/hate relationship with Delta, but… hate is a pretty strong word…what do you think? Deserved or just headline grabbing? Leave your comments below.

BARBIE JETS GET WI-FI. Installation of Gogo Wi-Fi on Delta Connection regional jets with First Class cabins is getting underway. The entire mainline Delta fleet of narrowbody (one aisle) planes and 767-300 domestic aircraft now have Wi-Fi access. The first Wi-Fi equipped Delta Connection plane rolled out in June, an ASA CRJ-700 with fleet wide installation complete by the end of this year.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE TICKET? You can email us, too!

OLE AND CHEERS. Delta is adding a tequila cocktail to its lineup of beverages in Sky Clubs across the country. The new drinks will be prepared using Avion Tequila, which recently won a World Spirits Competition honor. To celebrate the new drinks, several Sky Clubs will be hosting mixologists to shake and stir drinks and offer tastings to customers in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York (LaGuardia and JFK).

WHACKY CROSS DRESSER IS BIZ TRAVELER. Remember the recent story about the guy who likes to dress up in skimpy women’s wear when flying? It ends up he’s a regular old business traveler just trying to have some fun. “Howard,” the 65-year-old consultant flies several times a month as an elite member of US Airways Dividend Rewards program. In this San Francisco Chronicle article, he says’ that he’s flown in scanty female clothing for several years. “I’m a business consultant and would be extremely vulnerable to being discredited. … This is just something I do for fun. I don’t mean any harm.” Do you buy it? Leave your comments below.

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Korean Air's new A380

SUPER-DUPER JUMBOS AT ATL? Atlanta is preparing to welcome the world’s biggest airliner, the Airbus A380 by spending $30 million to widen taxiways and runway shoulders and make terminal improvements that will enable it to handle the double-decker jumbo jet. Air France could bring theirs in during peak summer travel season next year. While it won’t yet commit to it, Korean Air says that Atlanta is one of the US gateways under consideration for its biggest blue bird. KAL starts A380 flights this summer between Seoul and New York-JFK, and then to Los Angeles-LAX in October. (SIDELINE: Have you seen Air France’s lovely new bird? Here’s a gorgeous video made by your TICKET editor Chris McGinnis of its first A380 touching down on cool cloudy San Francisco earlier this month.)

GOOD MAY AT ATL. AirTran and Delta ranked second and third, after first place Alaska Air, in on-time performance for the month of May according to FlightStats.com.

OVERSEAS BAGGAGE CHARGES. Flying across the pond this summer?  On Delta, the first checked bag when flying overseas is free, and the second bag is a whopping $75 (or $60 if purchased online). Delta has reduced the weight allowance from 70 lbs to just 50 lbs per bag for international coach passengers (including  Medallions). If you travel heavy, be sure to weigh your bag ahead of time to avoid the additional $75 overweight bag fee. (Note: The 70 lb bag weight limit with no fee remains in effect for first/biz class passengers.)

NO WI-FI ON THIS DELTA JET? Delta now offers Gogo Wi-Fi access on all of its mainline aircraft that regularly fly domestic routes. But remember that international aircraft flying domestic legs DO NOT have Wi-Fi. If you are unsure if your plane is an internationally configured aircraft, check the layout of the Business Elite/First Class cabin. Boeing 767 aircraft have four rows up front on domestic aircraft. If your plane has more than four rows in First/Business Elite, then you are on an international aircraft that will not have Wi-Fi. Boeing 757s can be trickier as some international planes are used on domestic routes between New York and LAX/SFO. The international 757s have four rows up front whereas domestic planes have six or seven rows up front. The latter are guaranteed to have Wi-Fi while not all of the international 757s do. No Airbus A330s, Boeing 747s, or Boeing 777s have Wi-Fi access. Domestic routes that may use international aircraft include ATL-LAX, DTW-LAX, ATL-DTW, ATL-LAS, and ATL-JFK.

QUAD MILES AT MARRIOTT. Marriott Rewards is offering quadruple Delta SkyMiles to those who stay at any Marriott brand at least twice between June 1 and August 31. Registration is required.

ECONOMY COMFORT IS HERE. Delta is now rolling out its new Economy Plus seating in the first few rows of all of  aircraft flying international routes. Seats are designated with a special headrest cover sporting the Economy Comfort logo. Other benefits include priority boarding and complimentary mixed drinks. The best benefit, though, are the four extra inches of legroom and improved recline. The seats are now available for sale on delta.com. Until now, it was pure luck if customers assigned to those rows flew an equipped plane. Now, delta.com sells the Economy Plus for a nominal fee on the flights that have it making it easier to get a modicum of comfort out of your long-haul coach experience. Of course, Platinum and Diamond Medallion passengers get access to the seats for free.

NEW BLACK  BOX. Under development: Aircraft black boxes that transmit data to satellites instead of going down with the plane (as was the case with Air France 447 which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.)

THE TICKET ON FACEBOOK: Are you signed up for our FACEBOOK page? If so, you would have learned first about nifty nuggets like a Delta/Zappos promo, a report on Delta’s average fleet age, or when AirTran will dump its ATL-Dallas/Ft Worth nonstops. Come on! LIKE The TICKET on Facebook today!

DISCOVER HIDDEN SKYMILES AWARDS. Delta.com has its fair share of kinks that you must work through when booking SkyMiles award tickets. But, there is a way to reveal those hard-to-find seats at the lowest redemption level. Here’s how: Simply sign up for Air France-KLM’s FlyingBlue frequent flyer program. That’s right…use another airline’s web site to find Delta and partner airline flights. Just look for “Classic” awards, which are the same as Delta’s lowest level redemptions. The FlyingBlue web site also searches Air France, KLM, Alitalia, CSA Czech, and Kenya Airways award availability. To enroll, sign up free here. You can then call Delta directly to book the flights that show Classic availability for Delta’s lowest mileage level. Delta.com does show Air France, KLM, and Alaska partner availability and allows you to search a month at a time. However, it is temperamental and not always accurate. Try using the FlyingBlue site to do your research and find more opportunities to use your SkyMiles—and let us know it this works better for you! We’d love to hear your feedback.

DID YOU KNOW… that airlines are now raking more fee income from checked baggage than they are from those onerous $150 change fees?

THE NEVER ENDING BONUS. It’s baaack! Delta and American Express are again offering mega bonuses for first time transfers from Amex Membership Rewards points to Sky Miles. The promotion requires registration. Transfer as few as 1,000 Amex points to Delta and receive a 50% bonus. So 1,000 Amex points becomes 1,500 SkyMiles. Plus if you transfer 100,000 Amex points, you will receive 25,000 MQMs (good for Silver Medallion) and 150,000 miles. This is only valid for first time transfers so if you have taken advantage of this promotion in the past then you are not eligible this time around. The offer is good until Sept. 30. NOTE: If you’ve transferred miles before and you don’t qualify for the above bonus, Delta’s got you covered… those who have transferred before can earn a 25%-40% bonus with a different promo that requires registration.

AMEX PLATINUM BONUS. Speaking of American Express Membership Rewards points, don’t forget to stop into any SkyClub if you have the AMEX Platinum card. Currently, all guests who enter a Delta lounge using the AMEX Platinum card (not the Delta-affiliated SkyMiles card) will receive a certificate good for 300 Membership Rewards points.

TO FLY…OR DRIVE? That is the question for a lot of TICKET readers. To help answer it, check out the cool Fly or Drive Calculator from BeFrugal.com. This site helps answer the age-old question among frequent travelers…. Whether it makes more financial sense to drive or fly to your destination. What’s clever about this calculator is that it allows users to enter specific data about their trip, which helps it come up with a specific answer.

THE TICKET PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION IS BACK! YAY! For all of you who’ve been asking us to bring back a print version of The TICKET, we’ve now got you covered. Scroll down to the bottom of this post, look for the row of icons across the bottom and choose “PRINT WITH PRINT FRIENDLY.” Easy!

BETTER DINING AT DELTA GATES. Remember Delta’s major overhaul of restaurants at its terminal in LaGuardia last year? Well, they’re doing it again, but this time in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Plans include an upgrade to the dining options in the terminal with several new restaurants including Minnesota Beer Hall, a Japanese noodle and dumplings bar, a raw bar and brasserie, a grab-and-go gourmet food outlet, and an eatery under the direction of Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods fame. Another unique feature Delta is testing at the airport is the rental of pre-loaded iPads featuring movies and games. Travelers can take them on board their flights and then mail them back upon landing. Like!

WI-FI AT ATL. While Atlanta remains one of the declining number of airports that charge full freight for Wi-Fi, some airports are rolling out a tiered system: Free for basic access such as email access, but a premium for heavy duty access for streaming or loading photos, programs, etc. Some hotels are already doing this. Thoughts?

COCKTAILS ANYONE? Delta is bringing back some of its signature cocktails for summer with the new “Margaritaville” mixed with tequila. The “Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey” combines Jack Daniels bourbon, honey liqueur, and ginger ale. Both are available for $7 in economy. Don’t forget that Medallion members can use free drink coupons that come in their annual renewal package for these drinks. (We’ve also seen Delta offers free drink coupons to Medallions who don’t get an upgrade and check in online…have you?) If you’re worried about alcohol breath, don’t worry, Wrigley’s Gum is also being added to Delta’s EATS food for sale menu.

WHO PAYS FOR FIRST CLASS? Passengers from the following cities purchased the most first class airline tickets in the first five months of this year: Beverly Hills, Greenwich CT, Atherton CA, Palm Beach FL, Haverford PA. Source: Airlines Reporting Corporation.

HELP A SICK KID, EARN SKYMILES. Delta has teamed up with the Children’s Miracle Network, which is hoping to reach $100 million in donations this year to help fund 170 childrens’ hospitals throughout North America. SkyMiles members who donate $50 or more by June 30 earn 1000 miles. Donate here.

PLAY BALL WITH DELTA. In New York for a Mets or Yankees game? Well, Delta has you covered, sponsoring free water taxis from either South Street Seaport or East 53rd Street Ferry Landing to all home games. Tickets are free on the two Delta-branded water taxis operated by New York Water Taxi. Taxis depart 90 minutes before opening pitch. On board, enjoy Delta-signature Fly Ball cocktails or other drinks and snacks while basking in the sun on the boat’s open deck. Reservations are not allowed, and each taxi can only take 147 people so be sure to get there early.

AIRFRANCE-KLM ELITES GET MORE THAN ME? Reciprocity ain’t always fair…Did you know that Air France-KLM elites get complimentary upgrades when traveling on Delta flights? It’s true. Their domestic upgrades are back in full force (a remnant of the agreement that Northwest originally had with KLM). To be fair, foreign elites only clear after every single Delta Elite has had the chance for the upgrade. Still, it’s a shame that Delta elites cannot be upgraded to Air France-KLM’s premium product within Europe. But, again in the spirit of fairness, not even Air France-KLM elites have the chance for free upgrades within Europe. Delta elites still come out on top, but don’t be surprised if you see partner elites inquiring with gate agents about upgrades.

DELTA DOWN UNDER. Delta and V Australia have announced a further codeshare on additional routes to Perth, Canberra and Adelaide in Australia plus Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand. This means more redemption opportunities for Delta Sky Miles members and opportunities to earn miles when booking flights on codeshare tickets.  Initially, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were the only cities included in that agreement. Sky Club members also benefit from access to V Australia lounges across Australia as well.

JUNE BABIES. If you were born in June, be sure to try and register for this promotion offering 1,500 bonus SkyMiles for a roundtrip flight flown before July 31. It is a targeted offer so not everyone may be eligible. You also receive a $100 discount on a future Delta Vacations package. While Delta has offered more lucrative birthday bonuses in the past, this one is better than nothing. Remember to insure that your birthday is listed in your Delta.com profile so that you can be included in similar future offers. Register at dmn.delta.com/ace_offers/june_bday/

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR TICKET READERS! ACTION REQUIRED!
We are shifting to a new email distribution method powered by Google’s Feedburner. To continue getting The TICKET via email, you MUST sign up again– and it’s easy. Just enter your email in the form in the upper right corner. IMPORTANT: You’ll be asked to verify your subscription by clicking on a link in an email Feedburner sends to you. Be sure to click on the link! SIMPLE! QUICK! EASY! Please just do it today. We’ll continue sending emails alerting you to The TICKET via Constant Contact for a few more months, but we need you to go ahead and take action now. THANK YOU!

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IT’S BACK. AMEX OFFERING FAT SKYMILES BONUS. Through May 31, members of American Express Membership Rewards who transfer points to Delta SkyMiles earn a 50 percent bonus. Register online. It gets better: If you move at least 50,000 Membership Rewards points to SkyMiles, you also get a one-time bonus of 25,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs). That’s instant Silver Medallion status, meaning waived bag fees, the occasional upgrade, and early (ish) boarding. That’s a total of 75K SkyMiles if you transfer a minimum of 50K MR points. (Note: This offer is only eligible to first-time users of this transfer option.) This is the biggest and best offer that AMEX has run lately, so if you’ve been thinking about transferring to Delta from AMEX, now is the time to do it!

75K SKYMILES PLUS NEW BENNIES FOR AMEX PLATINUM. Have you read about the new bonuses and benefits on the new American Express Platinum card? While the card is pricey at $450 per year, you can easily make up for that cost. Here’s how: Sign up for the Platinum card by May 31, spend $1000 and you get a 50,000 Membership Rewards points bonus. Once those points are in your MR account, transfer them to your Delta SkyMiles account (see above) and get a 50 percent bonus, so 75,000 miles–  which helps defray the $450 annual fee for the Platinum card, which now comes with a raft of new and existing bennies such as membership in Delta, American and US Airways lounge programs, Priority Pass, no foreign transaction fees, a Global Entry pass rebate and more. Here’s the link to sign up for the Platinum Card. What do you think? Is it worth jumping through these hoops? (Note: This MR transfer offer is only eligible for first-time users of the MR to SkyMiles transfer option.)

FOLLOW YOUR BAGS ONLINE (AND MORE). Delta has instituted unique new service that allows you to track your checked bags from start to finish just like you can do with FEDEX or UPS packages. Simply enter your surname and bag tag number and follow the status of your bag during your travels. If your bag is lost, you can check its progress on the way back to you with the file reference number you receive at the baggage claim office. The system can also send text messages to your phone if there are bag irregularities often alerting you before you reach baggage claim. While it may not reduce the number of lost bags, it can certainly ease the stress of knowing the status of your missing underwear. And there’s more: In addition to being the only airline offering this bag tracking service, Delta says that it will refund baggage fees if checked bags are delayed by more than 12 hours. This goes above and beyond recent DOT rules that require fee refunds only if bags are lost or destroyed. (Now if they could just do something about those late night carousel clusters at ATL!)

FAST TRACK TO MEDALLION. Delta has sent out targeted offers to many Medallion members who have had slower than normal travel patterns this year. The offers are meant only for the recipient of the email and encourage a specified number of flights within a certain time period to earn double miles. Flights beyond that specified amount earn a mileage bonus for every flight ranging from 50 to 100 percent. It varies for each member (and remember, not everyone receives the offer), so be sure to check your spam or junk folders for any emails from Delta. You could be missing out on lots of miles!

GET NEWS LIKE THIS FASTER! Are you signed up for our Facebook and Twitter feeds yet? If not, WHY NOT? It’s a great way to keep up with news like this. Come on! Follow us and Like us!

DELTA ON TWITTER. You’ve heard us proclaim the benefits of Delta’s Twitter team @DeltaAssist, and we’ve been following the comments from frequent users on Facebook and Twitter. Recently, TICKET contributor Ramsey Qubein experienced the service first hand and is hooked. While traveling in India, he was trying to confirm a ticket he had on hold, but delta.com was not cooperating. With no access to an affordable phone line, he turned to Twitter. Within minutes of sending a Tweet to @DeltaAssist at 6am ET, he had a response. Within ten minutes, his problem was solved. The social media team at Delta has almost a dozen staff members monitoring the various online channels to help travelers. If you find yourself stuck, without a phone, or at the end of your rope, give it a try!

DELTA DIAMOND UPGRADES. At a recent travel industry conference in Atlanta, SkyMiles chief Jeff Robertson said that Delta Diamond Medallions get upgraded 94 percent of the time.

BONJOUR PARIS! This summer, Delta and Air France will each offer two daily roundtrips between ATL and Paris CDG (for a total of four). Air France will add its second rotation on March 27, while Delta will introduce its additional flight June 1. Atlanta and Paris are two of SkyTeam’s biggest and busiest hubs– last year saw 126,000 passengers who traveled exclusively between the two cities, 65 per cent of whom traveled on Delta. That’s a lot of baguette and cheese-loving traffic. With that much lift between the two cities, travelers should have a better chance for more award seats this summer (especially on Air France, which seems to offer more award availability than Delta on this route). Keep checking delta.com since Air France awards are made available on the site.

(Photo: Salim Virji / Flickr)

DELTA AT LAX. Delta is spreading its wings further at Los Angeles International in an effort to gain a stronger foothold on the West Coast. Beefed up schedules mean flights will operate almost hourly between LA and San Francisco and LA and Las Vegas. These highly competitive routes have lots of strong competition so expect fares to be lower than usual this summer. By July 1, Delta Connection will fly 11 times daily between LAX and SFO. The CRJ700 and CRJ900 Barbie jets plying the route are equipped with First Class. Delta and Delta Connection will operate nine flights between LAX and Sin City. Nearly a million people travel between these two cities every year so there should be enough business for all of the airlines to share. Significant connecting traffic from Delta’s Tokyo-Los Angeles flight keeps this route busy; Asian travelers love Las Vegas (Baby)!

TRANSATLANTIC SUMMER: If you are considering a summer trip across the pond, now’s the time to make a decision. Ticket prices are getting painfully high, but there are some ways to skirt them if you are flexible. Plus there are plenty of business class deals to be had. To learn more, be sure to read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’ latest BBC.com column Transatlantic Summer Travel.

DELTA CUTBACKS. While Delta is full steam ahead in certain markets, world events are slowing its growth in others. This month, Delta has announced the discontinuation of nonstop flights from JFK to Cairo and Amman, Jordan due to political unrest. Previously, Delta had discontinued the Cairo flight for a few months, but now both routes are gone indefinitely. Check your reservations if you had plans to travel there. Delta is rebooking passengers on Air France/KLM flights or offering refunds. Also on the decline are load factors to Tokyo Haneda due to the recent earthquake, tsunami and lingering concerns about radiation. For now, Delta has suspended flights to Haneda until June due to low bookings.

SKYMILES MAKES IT RIGHT. A recent post on The TICKET included mention of a SkyMiles bonus program that we said applied to both mileage transfers and mileage gifts. It ends up that it only applied to mileage gifts. However, one longtime TICKET reader transferred miles based on our advice, but never got his bonus due to this technicality. Since it was our mistake that got him in the mess to begin with, we took our issue to our Delta SkyMiles contacts, who graciously made an exception in this case, and offered up the bonus miles to this TICKET reader. Thank you for going above and beyond, Delta!

DELTA CRJ GETS CLIPPED AND SPUN AROUND BY AIR FRANCE A380. In case you missed the 30-second video of this mishap at New York JFK last month, here it is. A Delta CRJ waiting on the taxiway gets pushed around by an Air France behemoth. Scary!

HEARTH TO HEARTH. Delta’s recent merger with Northwest has resulted in a melding of styles among Sky Clubs. Both airlines had lounges that had been renovated recently while others were sorely lagging in pizzazz. Northwest, especially, had some 1980s relics (Clubs at LaGuardia and SFO were certainly retro throwbacks). But Northwest clubs had something Delta’s did not: fireplaces, which Sky Club members can now find in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco.

SHOWERLESS IN SEATTLE? From TICKET reader SG: “Delta has had a nonstop flight between to SEA and Osaka/Kansai for over a year. I have repeatedly asked the Delta lounge staff when the facility plans to install showers for passengers coming through after a 10-hour flight across the Pacific. There has been no response. Narita has showers. Atlanta has showers. Showers at these end points are not as useful because there is no time to take advantage of the service. Many SEA connections have a three-hour layover, presumably because of the need to pass through U.S. immigration. It would be nice to have a chance to take a shower. Might you be able to give the DL corporate managers this clue on how to vastly improve passenger satisfaction? Other lounges are receiving a makeover; why not SEA?” ANSWER: Delta is building a brand new Sky Club in Seattle’s South Terminal to replace the aged ex-Northwest World Club. The new club will be over 8,100 square feet with seating for more than 150 members and guests. It should be open by the summer of 2011. The new club will also include two shower suites and a contemporary interior design similar to the new Delta Sky Club elements as recently introduced in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Atlanta (B-10).

HOW ARE WE DOING? We live for reader feedback at The TICKET. So please, let us know what you think! How are we doing? What’s good about The TICKET? What’s not so good? What could we do to improve it? What did you learn in this issue? How has The TICKET improved your life as a frequent traveler?  LET US KNOW!!

FREE BAGS ON ALASKA AIR. Delta Medallion members (including Silvers) no longer pay fees on the first two checked bags on Alaska Airlines flights. Currently you have to show your SkyMiles credentials to a counter agent to get the fee waived, but Delta says it’s working on providing the waiver automatically at online check-in, or at Alaska Air kiosks. Another reason to keep that Medallion credential in your wallet!

FDA TO DELTA: CLEAN UP! Read this only if you have a strong stomach and can bear to see words like “rodent excreta.”

(Photo: Asplosh /Flickr)

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Where are YOU going for summer vacation?

With winter blahs and collegiate spring break nearly behind us, it’s time for frequent travelers to start contemplating late spring and summer trips. Here are some things to consider:

Airfare: There’s no doubting that airfares are on the rise this year. Depending on whom you ask, average fares are up 10% to 20% over last year. This is due to three factors: rising demand, higher fuel costs, and a reduction in the number of seats flying.

• Demand is up because the economy is improving. Business travelers are eager to get back out on the road and face-to-face with clients and colleagues they haven’t seen in a while. Among leisure travelers, there’s a lot of pent up demand for vacations getting released now that they are feeling more confident.
• Fuel costs are up due to uncertainty in the Middle East and rising demand for oil as economies around the world recover from the recent global recession.
• Frightened by the sudden rise in their fuel costs airlines have recently announced that they are cutting back expansion plans, and reducing capacity nearly across the board. When airlines reduce supply as consumers increase demand, basic economics means that prices are going to rise.

Buy now or wait? I suggest buying your airline tickets for spring and early summer travel now. Despite momentous events in Japan and throughout the Middle East, the global economy seems to be on an upward track, which means higher fares (see above). Airlines have increased fares almost ten times so far this year. Fuel surcharges are popping up everywhere. Shop around, and when you see a fare that feels right, book it, and don’t look back.

Airline Fees. Everyone loves piling on the airlines about the raft of “new fees” they are piling on customers. The only fees that really irritate me are: the $25 fee for the first checked bag and the $150 fee for changing a ticket, and the $25 fee for booking tickets using a human agent via phone. But most of those other “new fees” we are hearing about lately about are not fees at all. They are simply charges for new OPTIONAL products. For example, I’m happy to pay $13 for in-flight Internet access on a cross-country flight. I’ll gladly pay $8 for a clean pillow or blanket that no one else has used. On full flights, it’s sometimes worth it to pay for early boarding (something Atlantans might get used to once Southwest moves in). For longer flights, I am actually happy to have the option to pay more for a seat with more legroom– like Delta’s new “economy comfort” seats or AirTran’s business class.  I’m happy to pay for a healthy fresh in-flight snack than the awful plastic pressed chicken and rice we used to get “for free.”

Loyalty Programs: It’s too late now to redeem for summer trips at anything other than astronomic “full-fare” levels. But if you are thinking about a fall or holiday trip, now’s the time to lock in those dates. Big spenders should be on the lookout for huge mile or point bonus offers and new benefits from credit card companies as they battle for frequent flyers switching alliances due to airline mergers. Might be time to re-evaluate the plastic in your pocket.

Hotels: Hotel prices are not expected to increase as much as airline fares. . .but they are on the increase for the first time in several years. This is especially true in cities where rising demand from business travelers and leisure travelers is occurring, so expect to be shocked at hotel prices in big convention cities along the coasts such as New York, San Francisco or Boston, especially if there’s a large convention in town. Even long suffering Las Vegas has experienced recent gains in average hotel rate. Travelers will still find hotel deals in the heartland however– rates in cities like Chicago, Atlanta or Denver are still relatively flat. The best hotel deal is not always the one with the lowest rate– check on whether extras like parking, internet or breakfast are included or not.

Gasoline Prices: Americans will be paying close to $4 per gallon this summer, but I don’t think it’s going to keep people home. They’ll still take their driving vacations and business trips, but will look for other ways to cut back. They’ll take shorter trips, stay at less expensive hotels, dine out less often. But they are still going to go. I think we’ll see the emergence of special deals designed to assuage fear of high gas prices– during previous peaks in gas prices, hotels and resorts have made offers to pay for a tank of gas, for example. If gas prices remain stubbornly high, travelers should be on the lookout for these types of promos.

Timing and Flexibility: Did you know that there are certain days in July and August that now outrank Thanksgiving as the busiest air travel days of the year? With demand like that, you can always expect to pay top dollar during the peak season, which generally runs late June through late August. If you have the flexibility to book summer business or vacation trips in early June, or late August, you may still find a few deals.

Shoulder Season: Prices are even lower if you can travel during what’s known in the travel industry as “shoulder season.” Spring shoulder season runs from the week after Easter (April 24) until the week before Memorial Day weekend (May 28-30). Fall shoulder season starts in mid September and runs until early November. Travelers will find advance booking prices lower during these periods. Shoulder season is also a good time for those with flexible schedules to consult online booking sites for last minute deals, which are much more prevalent when demand is weak.

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DELTA’S TOKYO-NARITA SKY CLUB DURING EARTHQUAKE

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE. Having just visited Japan last year, our hearts go out to its gentle people this morning. News is happening faster that we can cover here in The TICKET. But anyone with plans to travel to Japan over the next month should re-consider. The US State Department has sent out an alert advising travelers to stay away until at least April 1. All flights to Tokyo have been canceled or diverted to cities in southern Japan. Delta is waiving change fees. All public transport in and around Tokyo is shut down. While the US west coast is under a tsunami warning, public transport (such as BART in SF) is operational. Low tides there could cancel out any significant impact of the wave.

DELTA’S #1. FORTUNE magazine puts Delta in its own elite status category, recently naming it “Most Admired Airline” worldwide in its annual survey that takes into account feedback from industry professionals and airline analysts. This is the first time Delta ranked at the top of FORTUNE’s heap, besting legendary greats like Singapore Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The honor ranked Delta highly in areas such as social responsibility, competitiveness and quality of management. However, when it comes to “quality of product” Delta ranked far below competitors.  I’m certain that there is divergent opinion among TICKET readers about this, so please, fire way! Click on the link below to leave your comments.

ELITE PARKING FOR ELITE FLYERS. Driving to an Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field later this spring?  Delta is offering a new benefit to hometown loyalists that extends beyond the airport. SkyMiles Medallion level members will enjoy private parking in the Green Lot close to the stadium featuring 500 spaces reserved just for them. Flash your current membership card and pay the standard parking rates ($12) and save yourself a few steps. The Delta lot is directly across from the Turner Field main entrance at the corner of Hank Aaron Drive and Ralph D. Abernathy Drive. (NOTE: Keep an eye out for more Atlanta-specific bennies like this as Delta prepares to wage war with Southwest later this year.)

A NOTE ABOUT AIRTRAN. More AirTran news and updates forthcoming. While the Southwest and AirTran deal is scrutinized by regulators, no one is saying much. The deal should close in May….and there will be a LOT to say after that. One thing we have noticed is that Southwest’s once high-flying on-time performance record has tanked over the last year. It will be interesting to watch Southwest try to pull out of that hole once it’s largest hub is delay-proned ATL. Stay tuned!

BUSINESS CLASS TO LONDON: Delta’s new flights to London from Miami and Boston must be kinda light…the carrier is discounting Business Elite to just $599 each way from certain cities (not ATL)  March 26-May 17.

SPRING BREAK WARNING. We are in the midst of Spring Break. That means business travelers should be prepared for crowded airports and airplanes full of rowdy students, especially on flights to/from beachy climes. Beware, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when most students are traveling. AirTran lines at ATL always seem to swell surprisingly at this time of year. To avoid noise,  consider asking for hotel rooms away from hotel pool areas at this time of year. Book away from the beach. (Unless, of course, you’d like to join the fun!)

DELTA FACE-FIRST INTO FACEBOOK. Social media mavens will be glad to know the popular @DeltaAssist Twitter contact is now making a presence on Facebook. Followers of @DeltaAssist have been pleasantly surprised with the nearly instant responses to questions and concerns regarding their travel plans. The positive feedback has led to the expansion of DeltaAssist to Facebook. Kudos to Delta for jumping face-first into the social media landscape. Customers now have another way to connect for anything from an unanswered complaint to a flight irregularity. (Speaking of Facebook, are you following The TICKET? Please do!)

Delta passenger wait to board at Tokyo-Narita (Photo: Elmada)

AWARD LEVELS TAKE A LEAP IN ASIA. Delta has made some changes to the SkyMiles award chart. There was no warning this was going to happen so those planning to redeem miles on certain routes are now slapped with higher rates. For example, awards within Asia used to cost one flat fee of 20,000 miles in economy. Now, it varies based on distance—so for example, it’s 15 ,000 miles for a Tokyo to Seoul roundtrip, but Tokyo to Bangkok roundtrip clocks in at 45,000 miles. To be fair, the old redemption rates were fairly generous for longer trips, and this change puts the mileage cost more in line with the actual cost.

JAPAN-BOUND TRAVELERS RACK UP Traveling to the land of the rising sun soon? (SEE ABOVE WARNING) Score triple miles for purchased Business Elite tickets and double miles for economy class tickets of all fares between now and May 31. Simply register and fly on Delta’s new nonstop flights between Detroit or Los Angeles and Tokyo Haneda Airport. Register here.  (Tip: Be sure to check arrival and departure times at Haneda. Flights are restricted to wee hours of the morning, and getting to/from the city by train might prove difficult.) Also, Delta’s swapped out 747′s for 777′s on Haneda routes…I guess the business they’d hoped for has not materialized. Have YOU flown to Haneda? LET US KNOW! Leave a comment below…

REDEMPTION DEALS? Delta SkyMiles may be tough to redeem for some, but for the savvy, it’s not so bad. The trick is knowing which routes are more likely to have award seats. Clearly, busier or higher revenue routes like ATL-London Heathrow are going to be slim pickings. But consider some less-traveled routes and you might luck out.  For example, some better-than-normal redemption opportunities can include routing yourself via new Raleigh-Durham/San Antonio flights to get to Cancun; JFK-Cairo (once the route resumes May 1– despite predictions, tourism is already picking back up); and JFK-London Heathrow might be opening up a little now that a third flight has been added to the schedule.

NEWER, LARGER REGIONAL JETS ON THE WAY! We’re all glad to see more of those those 50-seater CRJ-200s get axed from the Delta schedule, but that doesn’t mean that bigger jets are going to replace them. For now, the older Northwest DC-9 aircraft are helping to fill a gap in some markets, but these old planes will be retired within a year. Eventually, Delta will add newer, larger regional jets to the mix, many of which offer first class cabins and in-flight Wi-Fi. In addition, Delta is getting some new Embraer-170 aircraft from Virgin Blue of Australia. These jets will soon appear on the Delta Connection network under the Compass Airlines brand and they’ll offer coach seats only at first but will eventually be updated with first class seats.

BONUS MILES FOR FREE (ALMOST). Purchasing miles to top off your SkyMiles account? Score an extra 50 percent bonus between now and March 31. Simply purchase new miles or gift/share miles with a friend or family member’s account to earn the bonus miles. Register here first. This is the ideal way to reach that next award redemption level quickly.

(Photo: Andrew Currie)

MORE SKY CLUB ACCESS OVERSEAS. Delta’s Sky Club membership comes with access to a few partner lounges overseas in addition to Delta’s own branded clubs. Visit Delta’s list of lounge locations and select the Delta Sky Club member drop down to see the complete list (read the rules carefully as only certain lounges participate).  The list includes one of Air France’s lounges in Paris or Johannesburg, one of KLM’s lounges in Amsterdam, and the Air France lounge in Zurich. Note that certain SkyTeam lounge locations like London Heathrow do not participate in the Sky Club member access program. Important: Many lounge agents overseas are unfamiliar with this unique Sky Club agreement so be sure to have a printout of the list and rules handy. This list should not be confused with the more substantial list of lounges accessible to Business Class and SkyTeam Elite Plus members, however.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you think about The TICKET? What’s great or not so great about this issue? What else should we be doing to make it better? Email your comments to us or leave them below. WE LIVE FOR FEEDBACK! So come on! Let us know.

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TICKET editor Chris McGinnis

CHRIS PREDICTS: BIG RISE IN AIRFARES. You can kiss all those rock bottom, dirt cheap fares that we’ve seen over the last few years goodbye as the economy warms up and demand rises faster than anyone expected. Add in higher fuel prices due to instability in the Middle East and airlines’ new-found discipline around capacity increases, and you’ve got the recipe for BIG fare increases, especially this summer when demand peaks. So far this year, airlines have been successful in pushing through several fare increases targeting mostly business travelers. So get ready for a pricey ride this year, especially if you are flying on routes where there’s no low-fare competition. If you’ve got summer plans to fly during July or August, it’s probably time to go ahead and buy tickets now…you’ll find prices already extraordinarily high, but they won’t be coming down. For example, we priced summer round-trip coach fares to Europe from ATL this week, and they are already averaging around $1200.

SKYMILES EXPIRATIONS EXPLAINED. This week Delta ditched the frustrating, consumer un-friendly (yet widespread) practice of putting an expiration date on miles earned. Until now, SkyMiles members had to show some sort of activity in the program at least once every 24 months, or face losing their earnings.  While this is not much of a problem for the frequent traveling TICKET reader, it does come into play for less frequent-flying retirees sitting on big banks of miles or those who may have moved away from a Delta hub. When Delta starts scrapping with Southwest later this year, you can bet it’ll pull this arrow out of its PR quiver since Southwest Rapid Reward miles expire after 24 months of inactivity. And don’t think that this is permanent– Delta once promised its Frequent Flyer miles would never expire (remember?), and it they changed the rules. It could always happen again!

AIRTRAN+SOUTHWEST. We’ve hammered our contacts at both AirTran and Southwest to get the scoop on when the proposed deal will close and the Southwest Red Bellies will soar over Atlanta skies. But no one is saying a peep as long as antitrust regulators are snooping around. Stay tuned! All we’ve heard is that the deal could close in “late spring.”

Delta borrowed the Economy Comfort idea from SkyTeam partner KLM

DELTA’S NEW ECONOMY COMFORT. As hinted late last year in The TICKET, Delta has unveiled its newest class of service on international routes and dubbed it Economy Comfort. This small subset of rows at the front of the economy cabin will be available on more than 160 Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and Airbus A330 international aircraft. Similar to United’s Economy Plus, passengers in these rows (designated by a special headrest cover) will pay a small premium to sit here and will benefit from up to four additional inches of legroom and 50 percent greater recline than standard Economy seats. (We’re a little concerned about what it may be like to sit behind someone with 50 percent more recline…but we’ll see…) The buy-up fee will average between $80-160 each way, but Diamond and Platinum Medallions (and up to eight people traveling in the same record) will have complimentary access to these seats. Customers who purchase full-fare economy tickets will also have access to these seats but Gold and Silver Medallion members on discounted fares will have to pay a fee. Delta’s Economy Comfort section has one additional benefit that United’s Economy Plus does not: free booze. All Delta international passengers enjoy free beer and wine, but Economy Comfort and Business Elite passengers have a complete open bar. On a similar note, the “New United” announced that it’s popular Economy Plus seats found on both its domestic and international planes will be a permanent part of the combined operations of United and Continental going forward.

BIG SPRING BREAK. With Spring Break just around the corner, Americans are opening up their pocketbooks and investing in travel. According to an AOL survey, 72% of respondents said they have more (31%) or the same amount (41%) of money to spend on spring break this year compared to last. So get ready to share your airport and airplane space with the shorts and flip-flops crowd if you are traveling anytime between early March and Easter (late, on April 24 this year).

PFC’s COULD RISE. Part of President Obama’s new budget plan could bump up ticket prices later this year. Currently, airport Passenger Facilities Charges (PFC’s) that airports use to fund improvements, are capped at $4.50 per segment. The budget proposal would move the cap to $7 per segment, potentially adding $14 to the cost of a nonstop round trip, $28 for one-stop roundtrips.

FREE FLYING FACEBOOK. From February 1 – 28, Delta, AirTran and five other airlines’ customers can access Gogo Inflight Internet to connect to Facebook without purchasing a flight pass, courtesy of Ford Motor Company. Just fire up your laptop or smartphone inflight and click on the ad from the Gogo landing page. And if you’ve not done so already, be sure to LIKE The TICKET’s Facebook page.

AIRTRAN OVERSEAS. AirTran cranked up its new flights to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic this week—and will add new daily flights to Bermuda from Baltimore/Washington beginning April 7 and from Atlanta on May 26. AirTran now flies to sandy destinations such as: Aruba, Cancun, Mexico, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Nassau, Bahamas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

SkyTeam lounge at London Heathrow

LOUNGE ACCESS FOR GOLDS. Remember that as of March 1, all SkyMiles Gold Medallion members are welcomed into the fold of SkyTeam Elite Plus meaning they gain access to all SkyTeam lounges overseas (even when flying coach). Since this is a new alliance-wide policy, confrontations between uninformed lounge staffers can be expected so always carry your Delta SkyMiles Gold Medallion card.

FEEDBACK? COMMENTS? Email us or leave your comments in the space below!

DELTA FLEET ENHANCEMENTS. Delta has announced the expedited retirement of more than 100 regional and aging mainline aircraft from its fleet as capacity growth is trimmed. Rising fuel prices have played a role in the move. First to go will be the remainder of the DC-9 fleet over the next 12-18 months. By late 2012, those gas-guzzlers will be long gone (good riddance).  Also on the chopping block are the 26 Saab 340s (buh-bye!) inherited with the Northwest merger. The remainder of cuts comes from the removal of about 60 50-seat CRJ-100s, which is certain to bring applause from frequent travelers tired of the cramped Barbie Jets. This news comes on the heels of Delta’s recent request to review a narrow body replacement for its fleet to begin later in the decade. Keep watching The TICKET for any major aircraft orders that may be on the way.

CANADA’S SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. A new interline agreement is now in effect between Delta and Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet. The partnership is similar to that launched recently between Delta and Brazilian carrier Gol permitting passengers to connect between the two carriers’ flights, but SkyMiles earning/burning potential is not part of the deal yet. Calgary-based WestJet handles a third of Canadian domestic flying.

LEAK SCANNER IMAGE, GO TO JAIL. Even though the TSA insists that new body scanners cannot capture and store images, two U.S. senators propose criminalizing the dissemination of airport full body scanner images. Chuck Schumer (NY) and Ben Nelson (NE) are hoping to add an amendment to the aviation spending bill that would prohibit anyone with access to the images from copying and distributing them. If they do, they’ll face fines of up to $100,000 and a prison term.

ANDROID APP. If you’ve been feeling left out of the Delta smartphone app craze because you’ve got an Android device, your wait is over. Now, in addition to Blackberry and iPhone app, Delta’s Android app is ready for downloading from the Android Market. With the app, you can get your flight status and gate info, search schedules, get eBoarding passes, check SkyMiles balances and even set a reminder about where you are parked at the airport. Eventually, these apps could help customers stuck in winter weather situations, allowing them to view and choose flight alternatives.

HEY JAVA JUNKIES. Delta has announced a partnership with Seattle’s Best Coffee (a subsidiary company of Starbucks) to serve their coffee on board. This premium coffee brand will be served in all three classes worldwide. Quietly, Delta conducted actual taste tests aboard select flights with passengers to determine which blend would have the best taste at altitude. The winner? Level 4 (based on a scale of 1 to 5 of roast intensity). Level 4 will begin appearing on Delta mainline and Delta Connection flights in March. (We’ve just learned to travel with a handy pack of Starbuck’s VIA, a TICKET sponsor, to avoid the possibility of bad travel coffee!)

SEPTUAGENARIAN. Delta recently reached its 70^th birthday serving Atlanta and celebrated with a big bash. As “Georgia’s hometown airline,” Delta deployed a new Boeing B777-200LR and christened it the “Spirit of Atlanta.” It will fly mainly on routes between ATL and Tokyo, Johannesburg, or Dubai.

NEW LOOK, BUT… The SkyMiles booking tool at  delta.com may have a new look, but feels as clunky as ever. Delta made a big splash about new options to filter, modify, and sort flight search results. However some available flights are now hidden unless searching by schedule (rather than price). Also, the site still displays crazy itineraries priced at 375,000 for a Business Class ticket. To be fair, Delta does offer some “low-category” mileage tickets around the globe, especially when traveling with partner airlines, but they can never be found on delta.com due to the consistently poor search engine. As always, to score the very best award deals you have to call a Delta agent. (And remember, you don’t pay the fee for the call unless you book a ticket.)

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you think about The TICKET? What’s great or not so great about this issue? What else should we be doing to make it better? Email your comments to us or leave them below. WE LIVE FOR FEEDBACK! So come on! Let us know.

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New SkyMiles Medallion credentials on on their way to you this month.

Buffi Planas, Delta’s Marketing Communications manager in charge of SkyMiles credentials, provided The TICKET with a few interesting nuggets about this year’s tags:

>The envelope that your credentials are mailed in is clear, and the package is less bulky, using more recycled paper than before.

>The design of the credential package reflects Delta’s new black and white “Keep Climbing” campaign.

>All Diamond Medallion packs were stuffed by hand (!) and mailed out this week. Silver, Gold and Platinum packages are on a staggered schedule over the next two weeks.

>Like before, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond cards are plastic. What’s new this year is that they are one solid color: Platinum is all charcoal, Gold is all gold and Silver is all silver. (See below)

>The Diamond luggage tag and lanyard are made out of sturdy, clanky aluminum (not plastic) this year.  (More clank = More recognition, right?) Note: The Diamond Medallion wallet card is plastic, the luggage tag is aluminum.

Thanks to TICKET readers for sending along photos of their new Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion credentials for 2011. See photo of the Diamond card and mock ups of Silver, Gold and Platinum below. Have you received yours yet? If you’ve got new Silver, Gold or Platinum credentials, send us a photo and we’ll post it here! . (email to: ticketatl@travelskills.com )

Delta's new Diamond Medallion tags mailed Feb 2011. The card and lanyard are both metal; noisy, but tough.

Back of the Diamond Medallion tag. Note the classy raised lettering.

Note the "2" Million Miler notation

Thanks to TICKET reader Dan for sending this in!

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