- Delta earlier this month started making it harder for many customers to earn elite status and get into airport lounges.
- Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian earlier this week vowed “modifications” to the recent program overhaul after a backlash from customers.
Delta Air Lines Boeing 717-200 airplane as seen on the final approach landing at New York JFK John F. Kennedy International Airport, NYC, USA.
NurPhoto / Contributor
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the airline will make “modifications” in the next few weeks to its loyalty program after a recently announced overhaul that would make it more expensive for many travelers to earn elite status and get into airport lounges was met with a backlash from customers.
“No question we probably went too far,” Bastian said at the Rotary Club of Atlanta on Monday.
The program changes, which Delta unveiled earlier this month, would reward customers with elite status based on how much they spent, a model similar to that of American Airlines, and reduce access to Delta popular airport Sky Club lounges for many American Express cardholders.
JetBlue Airways tried to capitalize on some customers’ anger over Delta’s changes by offering frequent-flyer status matching, saying “we’ve made it easy for you to cozy up to a new loyalty program and see where it goes.”
Delta has been grappling with a surge in elite travelers, bolstered by pandemic and post-pandemic spending, and swarms of travelers trying to get into its lounges, leading to long lines for many…
