To clarify some issues that the average Freeper may wonder about:
Nothing will change immediately regarding operations. You don't need to cancel your tickets, get a refund, rebook on another airline, etc. Show up for your flight and your ticket will be honored.
It remains to be seen what will happen with your FF miles. They could disappear, or nothing could happen. It seems most likely that they may be somewhat devalued, but it's entirely possible they could retain full value.
Delta is not "folding" or going out of business.
This is not the fault of "unions"; only the pilots of Delta are unionized and they have and will continue to make concessions. The rest of the nonunion employees also have and will continue to make concessions.
This is not the fault of present management. Blame Ron Allen, but the current team has been very proactive in the face of enormous external obstacles.
If you want to "blame" any single factor, look at fuel prices. A distant second is labor, but Delta has and is continuing to cut those costs. But with fuel at a speculation-free $30-$35/barrel, Delta would be profitable.
Uh.......nope.
Truck lines and the railroads are demanding 13-20 percent fuel surcharges and getting them. Guess I don't understand why airlines don't raise their fares.
I watched Gerald Grinstein turn around Burlington Northern in the early 1990s, to the point where they were able to acquire the Santa Fe Railway, and BNI is now the most profitable railroad in the country. If Gerry couln't pull the rabbit out of the hat, nobody could.
According to Delta.com:
Your SkyMiles are secure – The award-winning SkyMiles program has not been affected, and you can continue to enjoy the program’s benefits—including Delta Crown Room Clubs®, double miles on qualifying purchases with the Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, and the opportunity to earn and redeem miles on the thousands of flights offered by SkyTeam and our vast network of global airline alliances.
Thank you for your reassurance. We have recently purchased tickets for a late October flight to Atlanta (college trip).
"If you want to "blame" any single factor, look at fuel prices. A distant second is labor, but Delta has and is continuing to cut those costs. But with fuel at a speculation-free $30-$35/barrel, Delta would be profitable."
Delta is also saddled with a poor route system. Its costs are actually below average for a legacy carrier (at least following the 2004 wage concessions) but the revenue yield on its system is farther below average.
The Atlanta hub continues to be workhorse of the system, but Cincinnati and Salt Lake City are marginal hubs, at best. And Delta management took about 10 years too long to close the DFW hub.
The best thing that Delta management could have done in the past 15 years is to have merged with Continental when it had a chance (about 7 years ago.) They could have consolidated the DFW hub into Houston, and the JFK international operation into Newark.
Rumors are that Delta and Northwest might get together as they pass out of bankruptcy.
Somehow or another, Delta needs to rethink its route system. Cost-cutting isn't going to solve that problem.
"Nothing will change immediately regarding operations."
That's right folks. They will still manage ineptly, and their customer service will still be atrocious. What am I talking about, you say? I'll tell you what recently happended to me. Last December I flew OUTCONUS and my mother and stepfather, a Korean war vet, came out to meet me. He got hurt and had to stay in a hospital and I stayed with him until he could fly out. I had hell convincing Delta to change his ticket so he could fly back to the states. Reluctantly their "special services" on the phone agreed. I arrived at the airport ticket desk with my stepfather, gave them a confirmation number, and stood back and watched the games begin. The desk jockey said they couldn't honor the request even though I had a confirmation number. I was told I had to buy another ticket. It was 11pm at night and I looked over at my stepfather sitting in a wheelchair brought directly from the airport with a catheter inserted, and bought another 1100.00 ticket. As we were flying back CONUS I turned to someone sitting next to me and said that there was no doubt that this airline was going to go under.
You tell the corporate execs and those in charge of "special services", and their jobs, to rot in hell.
They deserve it. Hopefully the mechanics can get on at American, who does a decent job, and Southwest who does an incredible job.