[Update: apparently the word is out that Delta's activity information is errant. Must be that the Skymiles retrieval system is also hosed, since each representative I talked to called me by a different first and last name, so I had to give my account number to each rep. Was funny for the first two, but after three separate names, it made me wonder what's happening to the "new" Delta.]


[Update 2, January 2010: Apparently Delta is willing to put technology into place that doesn't fully work. See follow-on blog post for more details]


For those of us who don't live at a major Delta hub (Atlanta, Cincy, JFK, Salt Lake City, etc) one fact of life is the need to fly through a hub to get to another location.

For instance, if I want to fly from Asheville, NC, to New York's Laguardia (LGA), I either have to fly through Atlanta or Cincinnati. This means one short hop (typically less than 500 miles) and one longer leg (typically longer than 500 miles) for a total of two legs or segments.

The downside is a significant amount of flying in small planes that act as feeders to larger planes.

The upside is that Delta's Medallion status can be achieved by segments, rather than just by miles. Called MQM segments or MQ segments, the allow someone living at a smaller airport has the chance to achieve a Medallion status equal to those who might fly direct flights from a hub city.

There was a controversy a few years ago when Delta scrapped segments and only used miles for Medallion qualification, and the company admirably came around when it realized it was losing customers in smaller cities to competitors, adding the MQM segments and MQM miles to the mix.

Now, however, Delta's completely hosed its Delta.com online activity viewing. This problem occurred about three weeks ago, more than a month after Delta and Northwest merged their frequent flyer accounts.

The problem started when Delta added a column that is called MQ Segments Earned. It was compounded when Delta chose to combine segments together for the feeder and long-haul flights.

The end result is a snafu that's eliminating the ability for the frequent flyer to view his or her flights and segments. Here's an example:


This example is from November, where four flights were taking - two short hop and two long hauls - with the 500 mile MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Miles) being listed correctly, but the segments showing as zero. Is Delta doing away with MQM segments?

To add confusion to the mix, it is no longer possible to view each flight segment. Dropping down into the monthly view, here are the flights that match the miles for the first two flights:



Notice that it shows TWO flight segments departing SFO on back-to-back days (not impossible but highly unlikely) and are differing lengths (500 and 2139 miles, respectively). In reality, one flight left SFO on the 19th and flew for 2139 miles to Atlanta, arriving on the 20th; the second flight left Atlanta on the 20th of November and arrived at TRI that same day.

To add even more confusion, the most recent issue is a retroactive combining of flights under a single flight number. Here's an example from October:


Notice the repeat of "air activity" between Midway and Richmond with two separate mileages (500 and 590 miles) but a single flight number (Delta Flight 1044).  What isn't listed is Delta 1711, which is the flight from Midway to Atlanta, which then changes to Delta 1044, from Atlanta to Richmond.

Confused? You should be, since most frequently fliers don't have time to send in every single ticket stub for every single flight, nor to call or email after every single flight.

Confusion also reigns for Delta representatives, including those at the web assistance desk.  The most frequent response I got when talking to five representatives from the Medallion, Skymiles and Web desks was:

"Hmm, it must be that you stopped at an airport along the route of your trip."

This means it's up to the frequent flyer to explain what's happened, without the benefit of flight numbers (unless someone remembers to keep their ticket stubs for almost multiple months).

It also means that Delta's got a real issue on its hands at the end of the year, especially for those of us who may be close to gaining another level of Medallion status but don't have the time to go back through every single one of our flights for the year to confirm mileage/segments.

Management at Delta.com was not available for comment, even after repeated requests, and those I spoke to continued to say they have made repeated requests to have this addressed yet have received no timeframe for a fix.

One knowledgeable representative did say that over 4,000 emails have been received by those who are requesting confirmation of their yearly flights / status levels.  Makes one wonder if it would be easier to move to another airline than have to constantly babysit an errant frequent flier activity account.

For those who travel frequently, encumbered with significant amounts of electronic equipment, the term road warrior might better be termed seeker of power - as in power outlets. The odyssey is often circituous, and even in locations that having power makes sense, it's often hard to come by.

One welcome addition, for my travels at least, is the availability of power outlets at some seats on Delta flights.

For domestic US Delta flights, which I often get upgraded on, the addition of 110 power outlets is a welcome benefit. For Delta, this means flights on select Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 planes.

On Northwest, the almost-subsumed airline carrier that Delta is merging with to create a single operating entity (SOE) that will be called Delta, the Airbus and Boeing 747 planes have outlets.

There are two annoyances with this wonderful addition.

First, while a few of the Delta planes have power outlets in particular coach class locations, at least according to Delta Sky magazine (deltaskymag.com), the location of these seems to be a well-kept secret that's not shown at the time of the seat-selection when booking online (delta.com).

Especially for those of us who fly frequently, including international flights where we no longer get bumped to Business Elite (the seats formerly known as First Class), the ability to choose a coach seat for a 6-8 hour flight that had a power outlet would be ideal and a great start to an overseas trip (imagine charging your laptop before you land rather than having to find a power outlet in a foreign airport).

Second, perhaps more disturbing for a feature that may entice some flyers choose Delta over another carrier, is the inconsistency with which the power outlets work. On the last two domestic flights, in first class, my power outlet hasn't worked, even though my seatmate's power outlet was working.

In the first instance, a flight from ATL to SFO on a 757, my question to the flight attendant about the failed power outlet led to a rebooting of the power system, which then caused everyone's outlets to stop working for the remainder of the flight. For the record, as much as I needed to work on the flight, I would not have made the request, had I known it would knock out the entire power outlet system.

In the second instance, on the flight I am currently on, the outlet at my seat also does not work, but my seatmate's does, and she - having nothing to charge - was gracious enough to let me use her outlet after the flight attendant first tried a reboot on the system. I don't know if that reboot (pushing a green button in the front of the cabin) jolted my seatmate's power outlet to life, as I had not tested hers beforehand, but I know it had no effect on the power outlet at my seat.

My suggestion, then, is to enquire with an agent on the phone (after booking your ticket online to save the booking fee) regarding the location of power outlets on the flight so that you can select a coach class seat and still have power close by, even if you don't get upgraded.

The secondary tip is to always treat your seatmate with respect, as you'll never know when you'll need a power up.

Delta, please fix the two annoyances, since this really is a great feature that entices flyers to remain with Delta.