[eacrowley]

I have been on three flights in or out of Lexington Kentucky (Bluegrass airport) in the last week on Delta. Of these flights, all three have been delayed or cancelled. In fact, I've been tracking this over the last year, and they are running less than 25% of the flights I have been on that have actually been on time.

On this flight the ticket agent said, we don't guarantee to get you there on time. We just promise to get you there some time! This is in response to the fact that they were making me miss the first day of a conference I am key note speaker for (the second time this has happened this year) because they could not get me there until one day later.

Fortunately I was switched to America (who knows how to fly on time). Of course, Delta wouldn't give me a seat assignment. They did give my two associates seat assignments. This is for an 15+ hour flight to Sydney Australia. So I'm sure by the time I get there, I will get some bad middle seat with no leg room. Thanks again Delta. Oh, and by the way. I'm a Delta Medalion (the highest level). My two associates do not have any status with Delta.

[jimworcs]

Why on earth do you stay with them? The reason arrogant anticonsumer monolithes like Delta survive is because of people like you. It confounds common sense... They are terrible, but you stick with them and use them so much you get Medallion status.

Ths perfctly illustrates the market distortion created by frequent flyer programmes. They know perfectly well that the majority of miles are racked up on the employer's costs, and are spent by the individual. This totally distorts the normal market forces..the individual becomes willing to put up with pisspoor service, high fares, and bad performance, because they don't want to give up the "perks" generated by the frequent flyer programmes. The air market in the US is a mess and badly needs re-regulation. It is a series of local monopolies, dominated by huge carriers and protected from competition. It is high time something was done about it, but nothing will change as long as people like you continue to patronize airlines that deserve to go out of business.

[eacrowley]

I am CEO of my company and I have decided (and directed my staff) that we will no longer use Delta. We spend, as a company, about $150,000 with them a year. Of course, they are so big and 'fat and happy' that they don't care about losing a customer like us. I've stuck with them a year longer than I should have. They are arrogant idiots.

[jimworcs]

That is great... I hope you will write and tell them. Delta have been on a downward slope for many years... and it was made worse when they were taught an important lesson by the government. Standard economics says that if you provide poor service and manage your business badly, you will go bankrupt. Delta did indeed go bankrupt.

Instead of allowing the market to work and new, more efficient hungry carriers stepping in and chasing all that new custom, Delta was rewarded. It was allowed to walk away from it's obligations, merge with Northwest and emerge from bankruptcy as the largest airline in the world. We know what happened to the banks when they believed they were "too big to fail" and this is exactly the same arrogant attitude Delta displays now.

For international travel, it is very rare for a US based carrier, particularly in premium cabins to offer anything the quality of service other international carriers offer. For international flights, Asian, Australasian, Middle Eastern and European carriers all offer superior service to US based carriers, often for comparable or lower prices.