Delta wants more for AirTran passengers

[dbaker]

Delta wants more for AirTran passengers

ATLANTA- Delta Air Lines has told competitor AirTran Airways it plans to charge more for carrying its passengers when flights are canceled, saying the smaller airline is handing off more and more of its passengers to Delta.

''It's going to cost us. We can't afford to pay full Delta fare,'' said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran's marketing director. ''It took us by surprise, but we're actively negotiating with Delta to develop a solution.''
Kennedy said Delta has to raise the rates because it has seen an increase in the number of bumped passengers from AirTran. Hutcheson said the Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran sends thousands of passengers a month to Delta, but it denies there has been a a surge in the number.

[B717mech]

Okay whats the problem here. Yes we send passengers to delta that either have mis-conections due to weather delays, ATC delays, and yes baker mechanical delays. Delta is charging Airtran more simply because our ticket prices are so much cheeper. Delta needs to try and do something to make money. Just to let you know Delta, American, United, US air, Frontier, NorthWest, and America West, all send passengers to us on a dialy basis. Try harder!! Your slipping!

[ithisk]

Um, since when is posting an article a personal attack? You folks are constantly flooding the forum with articles and nobody blows a lid, but then dbaker posts an article and you act like he just tried to burn your house down.

[B717mech]

In my opinion dbakers intentions are to do everything in his power to discredit Airtran. You are right he just posted an article and didn't write anything along with it. So I do apologize dbaker.

[sal55]

As an internet board for frequent travelers, I am sure that dbaker and the other people here are aware of how this all works and how common it is. There is even some technical explanation on ITYT I saw earlier (can't find it now sorry, the search doesn't seem to look at everything) that explains how all the passenger-transferring stuff works and how you can do it easily.

[Nugget]

I think you mean The library entry on Rule 240 which can be a really useful phrase to toss out when you get stuck someplace on any airline.

[FLAir]

Yeah Delta is having to charge more to us, because they have lost so many passengers. Look who is making money and who laid off thousands of employees. They have to make money somehow because they sure aren't able to do it from their own passengers.

[haze]

Originally Posted by ithisk

Um, since when is posting an article a personal attack? You folks are constantly flooding the forum with articles and nobody blows a lid, but then dbaker posts an article and you act like he just tried to burn your house down.

The articles we post are simply a response, a defense, a reaction to falsehoods already posted here. Balance, you could say. We're not "constantly flooding" the site with articles, we've just begun over the past couple of weeks. And those articles have finally begun to tilt the balance back to reality. Why should you blow a lid, don't you want the truth? Or just the propaganda?

[haze]

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 10/1/03 ]

Delta, AirTran end fare dispute

By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Rivals Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways have agreed to continue handling each other's stranded passengers -- but at steeper prices demanded by Delta.

To minimize hassles for passengers, most airlines have deals with other carriers to offer seats to the other's passengers when a flight is canceled. However, a spat erupted this month when Delta said the fees charged under a 3-year-old deal with AirTran were too low and proposed raising them.

Delta said the change, which sets the cost of reimbursements between the two carriers, will not affect its passengers.

AirTran complained about the planned fee increase, which starts today, and had hoped to talk Delta out of the change.

Previously, the two carriers reimbursed each other at about the average fare for the route. Now they will reimburse each other at prices above the highest coach fares for the route, raising the cost per passenger by hundreds of dollars in some cases.

AirTran said it agreed to the higher fees to preserve the so-called interline agreement.

"The interline agreement will remain in place. However, it's unfortunate that Delta is not putting the needs of the Atlanta passengers first," said AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson. "We'll continue to send passengers over to Delta, but we're just going to have to pay a lot more."

Delta said it demanded the higher fees because AirTran is sending over twice as many passengers this year as last year, disrupting its operations.

But in a recent letter to Delta, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AirTran said the number of passengers Delta sent to AirTran has grown 24 percent, compared with 19 percent growth in AirTran passengers traveling on Delta.

[FLAir]

I think Delta is full of S--- on this one and here is why. Let's say that AirTran has a plane break down, and we send passenges to Delta. Delto is only going to take those pax if they have a flgiht wth seats open on it to book them on. So let me see if I have this straight. It cost Delta more money for us to buy their seats (albeit at a discount, but still money they didn't have before), but if we don't send them pax and those seats go out empty and unpaid for at all, they come out ahead somehow?

I think that kind of mentality explains why we are making money and Delta is bleeding red ink. When we send pax over to DL we are giving them money, not causeng them to loose it.

Hey Delta - keep thinking this way. And keep treating your customers with that famous Delta screw you attitude. Oh and when you finally have bled all the red ink you can and it's all over, why don't you rip up that awful blue carpet on concourses A and B in ATL for us.

[Delta7203]

Hey, That is the best looking carpet in the northern hemisphere! (LOL)! It may take Delta a little logner to turn around than expected (money wise) because of one thing.... can you guess?.... Us! -- THE PILOTS!! We get paid way too much for doing the same thing that we did (for less money)5-45 years ago! Im not going to say how much I get paid now, but I will say that I started out around $53,000. I will soon join the ranks of the pilots at Song when my 757 gets repainted but, I will still get paid the same (it's just wrong!!). I don't know about the rest of the DA pilots but as for me, I do not want to be partially responsible for the crumbling of my employer!!

- John

[dbaker]

How many hours do you have?

[Delta7203]

Almost 20,000

[dbaker]

And you don't consider that rare enough to justify a high salary? supply/demand, etc?

[jetmech717]

Hey Delta! I'm glad to see you are willing to do something to help save your company. Sounds like IF DBaker was a pilot for Delta that he would still be asking for more money down to the last flight for Delta. We Mechanics have a saying at AirTran "we can be the highest paid un-employed technicians in the industry, or just enough to live comfortably and help the airline make $$$" now I plan on having a job at AirTran for many, many years to come. Ive got nothing but time and I would like my airline to be there to help pay my bills later on too. Baker you are a guy that looks at it like "whats in it for me RIGHT NOW". You may get yours right now but you'll be paying for it later. Hang in there Delta you have the right attitude. P.S. You are going to have to buy some neon accessories to go with that new paint job on your 757....lol

[Delta7203]

Thanks for the support AirTran!...Im already looking in the catalog...

Right now there is no demand for pilots and pilots are everywhere (I think the ratio is 1pilot:11people)! Infact, Im lucky that I didn't lose my job!! Now, in a few years (say 15) the baby boomer pilots are going to retire and there is going to be a huge demand for pilots but not a big enough supply!... What I am trying to say is that the supply and demand model is out-of-wack in the airline industry!! It is unbelievable how (Ummm....) corrupt (maybe...) the industry has gotten. The airline employees that you talk to on the internet can only give you tiny peaks of the really huge problems that we are all facing today.