Delta hosted corporate and agency customers at its Insights
conference in New York this week to update them on its initiatives over the
coming years. Here are highlights:
Ironing Out Alliances
"Seamless connectivity" across Delta's global
partnership network will be a focus this year, Delta president Glen Hauenstein
said.
The global needs of Delta's corporate customers have been
accelerating rapidly, managing director of sales development Frank Hull said.
Over the past three years, the number of corporations with international
point-of-sale deals has doubled, and over the past decade, it has increased
eightfold, he said.
Part of that seamlessness will occur as Delta and its
partners better line up product offerings, such as the Virgin Atlantic fare
structure announced this month. Delta also is making check-in and seat
selection across carriers available through any portal, said president of
international and EVP of global sales Steve Sear. Hauenstein said, "We
think that's where the next wave of success will be. Customers were frustrated
that they didn't get the same products and services on different
carriers."
That will include some work on the sales side. The carrier
already is working on how it directs calls to help centers from travelers
flying across different carriers, said global sales support managing director Tina
Iglio. All Delta partners have a "bat phone" through which partners
can reach sales support to answer questions, and the partners also are
embedding their own members into each other's teams, she said.
Delta is globalizing its Delta Edge portal for travel
professionals, as well, Sear said. "It ultimately will be defined as a JV
Edge," he said, referring to the abbreviation for joint venture. "Our
partners are working toward being able to provide the same recognition of
travelers throughout the journey."
The carrier has invested significantly in establishing JVs
over the past few years, including not only ones with Korean
Air and WestJet
that are awaiting regulatory approval but also a combined
JV with existing partners Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic. Alitalia's
role in that JV remains uncertain as it navigates
its way out of bankruptcy protection, but Sear expects Alitalia ultimately
will be a part of it. "It will probably be another six to 12 months before
they decide what will happen," he said. "We want them to be able to
stay as a part of our JV, and I think they want to, as well."
Distribution
While Delta is working closely with partner Air France-KLM
in advance of that carrier group's global
distribution system surcharge that begins on April 1, the carrier has no
plans to implement a similar charge in North America, Delta global sales SVP
Bob Somers said.
Even so, Delta is pressuring GDSs to invest tens of millions
of dollars to improve display options, chief marketing officer and SVP Tim
Mapes said. The carrier sees the International
Air Transport Association's New Distribution Capability standards as
"the lowest common denominator and not a world-class offering in terms of
display." More is required to meet Delta's satisfaction, he said.
Sales technology and CRM business development director Sara
Reid said Delta also is negotiating with Concur to enhance Concur Travel so
travelers have a better idea of what they are buying.
For now, Delta's distribution "world will be
stable," Mapes said. "We like TripLink very much, we have good
relationships with all three GDSs, and we've completed long-term
agreements."
Building with
Passenger Data
Delta continues to work to make passenger data more
accessible to its employees so they can "make the 200 million customers a
year we have feel special," Hauenstein said. For example, if a flight
attendant could know a passenger had just faced two delays in a row, he or she
could soften the frustration by offering that passenger a drink voucher, he
said.
Wi-Fi Problems
Delta executives acknowledged onboard Wi-Fi reliability has
been an issue as of late. Many of the failures this winter stemmed from the
moving of satellite antennas to the top of aircraft. That was meant to provide
better service, Hauenstein said, but during de-icing, water intrusion makes the
antennas stop moving, which disables Wi-Fi access. Delta is meeting regularly
with its Wi-Fi supplier, Gogo Inflight Internet. "This will get better as
we come out of de-icing season, but we need to make sure it doesn't happen next
winter," Hauenstein said. The carrier aims to have Wi-Fi reliability back
to an upper 90s percentage by June, SVP of engineering, quality planning and
logistics David Garrison said.
Operational
Improvements
While Delta has continued to outpace its competitors in
on-time performance and cancellations, it continues to seek ways to improve in
that area, executives said. This year, it is focusing on recovery from
irregular operations. "How do we get back to 100 percent in 24 hours
instead of 48 hours?" is an example Hauenstein cited. "What are
constraints in keeping us from getting back on track faster?"
SVP of flight operations Steve Dickson said
Delta is undergoing a "digital transformation," including re-architecting
IT systems and examining flight crews' schedules to make them as efficient and
flexible as possible. The carrier also is working with technology that allows
it to gate aircraft safely during thunderstorms.