Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
MIflyer12 wrote:It is unlikely Delta is going to get into detailed service standards for AM. AM sets its own.
ual777newpaint wrote:I've been wondering about this myself. There are a lot of areas where AM's operation pales in comparison to DL.
For example, upon arriving in MEX last January, on a paid F ticket, my bag did not show up on the carousel. The person (who barely spoke English) at the baggage desk said, "It must not have made it on the plane," and had me fill out a form with my address in the MEX area, and sent me on my way. When I got to my friend's house and checked the status of the claim, I found that my address had been entered incorrectly, and all I could do was look up its status in this extremely archaic website. The only way I could contact AM's baggage service department directly was via email.
If this had been DL, I could have checked the status of my bag via the Fly Delta app, as all DL bag tags are equipped with RFID chips which are scanned automatically whenever the bag is sorted, loaded, offloaded, etc.
Also, DL FF's receive only the basic Skyteam required benefits on AM, and AM has even started charging for assigned seats in the first half of the coach cabin. Skyteam Elite Plus members receive no fee waiver until 24 hours before departure, and it does not extend to even one companion. Real-world example: My family and I are traveling BOS-JFK-MEX-JFK-BOS for Christmas. The JFK-MEX-JFK legs are operated by AM, and they are charging $50 each way for seats in rows 12-27. This means that I, as a Skyteam Elite Plus member, am stuck 5 rows from the back of the aircraft, unless I want to pay $300. If this were a DL flight (even as an AM frequent flier), we would receive preferred seats for free.
All in all, I'm happy to have improved options for getting to Mexico, but as a DL Medallion, I avoid AM operated flights if I can. I doubt DL will materially influence AM's fee structure or customer service levels, but hope that they work to improve their tech/operations some.
Fly123123 wrote:Being that DL used to fly several routes which DL is now turning over or "delegating" to AM (such as MTY-LAX , BJX-LAX, one of the MTY-ATL flights), does anyone know if DL has required that AM improves and ups its game and offer a more uniform travel experience comparable to the one Delta provides and its flyers deserve/expect?
AR385 wrote:ual777newpaint wrote:I've been wondering about this myself. There are a lot of areas where AM's operation pales in comparison to DL.
For example, upon arriving in MEX last January, on a paid F ticket, my bag did not show up on the carousel. The person (who barely spoke English) at the baggage desk said, "It must not have made it on the plane," and had me fill out a form with my address in the MEX area, and sent me on my way. When I got to my friend's house and checked the status of the claim, I found that my address had been entered incorrectly, and all I could do was look up its status in this extremely archaic website. The only way I could contact AM's baggage service department directly was via email.
If this had been DL, I could have checked the status of my bag via the Fly Delta app, as all DL bag tags are equipped with RFID chips which are scanned automatically whenever the bag is sorted, loaded, offloaded, etc.
Also, DL FF's receive only the basic Skyteam required benefits on AM, and AM has even started charging for assigned seats in the first half of the coach cabin. Skyteam Elite Plus members receive no fee waiver until 24 hours before departure, and it does not extend to even one companion. Real-world example: My family and I are traveling BOS-JFK-MEX-JFK-BOS for Christmas. The JFK-MEX-JFK legs are operated by AM, and they are charging $50 each way for seats in rows 12-27. This means that I, as a Skyteam Elite Plus member, am stuck 5 rows from the back of the aircraft, unless I want to pay $300. If this were a DL flight (even as an AM frequent flier), we would receive preferred seats for free.
All in all, I'm happy to have improved options for getting to Mexico, but as a DL Medallion, I avoid AM operated flights if I can. I doubt DL will materially influence AM's fee structure or customer service levels, but hope that they work to improve their tech/operations some.
On the other hand, last time I flew SCL-MEX-MTY on a paid F ticket, upon arrival in MTY my bag did not make it. I filled the normal sheet with the baggage person, who was very nice and very efficient and within 10 mins. I was on my way home. With the local PHONE NUMBER of their lost baggage office at MTY with me. Next time, maybe you should get that number, even though I know we live in the "e-mai/linternet" era, a phone call still gets a lot more attention. Anyway, my bag arrived the next day, in the afternoon, but it was literally destroyed. It looked like they must have dropped it either at SCL or MEX, and some vehicle ran over it. Many of the contents were also lost or destroyed. I was pretty pissed, but I called the person using the phone number they gave me and was promptly asked for the value that I estimated my bag and the lost items were worth. I gave them a pretty high number, and to my surprise they didn´t dispute it, and was refunded that amount. I would call that sterling service.
One horror story/anecdote, particularly in the service industry does not mean that particular provider has subpar service.