- Delta began making it harder for many customers to earn elite status and access to airport lounges earlier this month.
- Delta CEO Ed Bastian promised “changes” to the latest program overhaul earlier this week after backlash from customers.
Delta Air Lines Boeing 717-200 aircraft on final approach landing at New York JFK John F. Kennedy International Airport, NYC, USA.
NurPhoto / Contributor
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the airline will be making “changes” to its loyalty program in the next few weeks following a recently announced overhaul that would make it more expensive for many travelers to earn elite status and in airport -Lounges encountered a problem and backlash from customers.
“There’s no question about it, we probably went too far,” Bastian said Monday at the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
The program changes Delta announced earlier this month would reward customers with elite status based on the amount they spend, a model similar to American Airlines, and access to Delta’s popular Sky Club lounges for many American -Restrict express cardholders.
JetBlue Airways sought to capitalize on some customers’ anger over Delta’s changes by offering status matching for frequent flyers, saying: “We’ve made it easy for you to get used to a new loyalty program and see where it goes.” .”
Delta is struggling with a surge in elite travelers, fueled by pandemic and post-pandemic spending, and swarms of travelers trying to get into its lounges, creating long lines for many customers. The airline and its competitors, including American and United, are racing to build larger airport lounges to accommodate growing numbers of large customers.
Bastian said the airline will announce the updated program changes in the coming weeks. A Delta spokesman declined to comment further on the changes.
“Frankly, we are at a point where we have such great demand for our premium products and services that it far exceeds our ability to effectively serve them in terms of our assets,” Bastian said.
He said the airline has doubled the number of members with Diamond Medallion status compared to Covid.
David Neeleman, CEO of Breeze Airways and founder of JetBlue, told CNBC on Wednesday that he has Delta Medallion status and tries to use Delta’s airport lounges, but that sometimes “there’s a long line and it’s not possible worth it.”
Delta announced several changes last year to address club overcrowding. For example, employees were prohibited from using these clubs on standby flights with business travel privileges, even if they had appropriate credit cards. The Atlanta-based airline also increased club membership prices for regular customers.