Modern Lounging in the Sky?
When I think of flying, I think of making sure I have socks on to get through security planter’s wart free, being wedged between two large men who hog the armrests and most of my personal space, crappy peanuts and cranky flight attendants who should have retired at least fifteen years ago. However, it seems that my hometown airline is trying to change these perceptions. Delta has opened the temporary Delta 360 lounge in NYC through November. Included in the lounge are the new flat-reclining seats that will be coming to Business Elite soon, OnDemand HBO shows, free coffee and Coca-Cola products, cocktails created by Randy Gerber, a menu created by chef Todd English and free wi-fi. This seems like a pretty clever marketing move, designed to suck in those coveted few patrons who actually pay full fare for first class and business class. Has anyone checked it out?
   
Hey Delta, all I really want is an armrest of my very own, free headsets with something to watch more recent than an old episode of Frasier or Golf TV, and something to eat that does not involve massive amounts of sodium and peanuts.
first two photos from delta.com. Third photo by Stephen Chernin for AP via ajc.com
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:21 am
I nearly missed my own wedding as a result of Delta. On August 31 of this year, they failed to have enough pilots scheduled to make the three, regularly-scheduled morning flights from Louisville to Atlanta, which resulted in the cancellation two of them and the third being delayed for two hours. Their was no appology and the desk clerk told me that I should have left more than a day-and-a-half in advance of my wedding anyway. Thankfully, American Airlines was kind enough to honor my Detla tickets and found a way to get me there on time.
Delta Airlines will need to do much more than build a faux airport lounge to get me to onto one of their planes again.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:55 am
Yup John, everyone has a horror story for every airline. For me, it’s Continental, and I refuse to fly Airtran. USAir also pretty much sucks. Let’s face it, they all suck. The do suck a lot less when you are one of those first class full fare paying customers they are trying to woo with the lounge.
I’ve made the drive from L-ville to ATL many times. FYI, it’s only about 5.5 to 6 hours if you haul ass.
Becky
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 am
That’s pretty much the truth. Basically the only airlines I’ve never had any problem with have been Southwest and American, though I’ve heard other people tell stories about them. (And that reality show about Southwest makes the airline look pretty bad sometimes!)
Had I known that my flight would have been messed up, I would have driven to Atlanta and at least caught my connecting flight. However, when I checked Delta’s website the night before and again in the morning before leaving for the airport, it showed all three flights as on time. Surely, they didn’t find out there was an error in scheduling in the 15 minutes between the last time I checked and when I arrived at the airport…
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:09 am
Hey John! I thought your final destination was the ATL. IN my vast experience of scrambling, if the other airlines would not have helped me, I would have tried to get to the Delta Cincy hub (a little over an hour if you totally haul ass from L-ville). By the way, have I mentioned that I LOVE Louisville? It’s such a great town!
Becky
October 24th, 2007 at 4:13 am
I love Louisville too! And Museum Plaza, which I believe you’ve mentioned in an entry before, is having its ground breaking tomorrow evening. If it ever stops raining, it should be an exciting time.
October 27th, 2007 at 3:50 am
peanuts? when is that last time you flew? who has peanuts anymore? they are all too freaked by the peanut allergies to serve them.
October 27th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Um, three weeks ago. And about 5 or 6 times just over the summer. And Delta carries peanuts, peanut butter crackers, and biscoff cookies. The lady sitting next to me on my way to Portland was allergic to peanuts.
Becky