Customer Experience
Delta connects with multigenerational, premium Black women travelers through a weekend of elevated customer experience touchpoints.
![Headshot of Delta CEO Ed Bastian](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_wide_horizontal/public/2022-06/ed-bastian-landscape-crop.jpg?itok=geZsBBWK)
As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads 100,000 global professionals who are building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation.
I always look forward to this time of year, but something about this summer feels different. The energy is undeniable as we plan our summer travel adventures.
Whether you’re off to Paris to cheer on Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, exploring a new and far-flung destination, or taking a well-deserved break somewhere quiet and calm – our team of 100,000 strong can’t wait to see and serve you in the skies.
Delta people continue to raise the bar for your travel, and we’ll never stop improving for you. While we’ve been busy bringing enhancements to your travel journey – from free Delta Sync Wi-Fi to our first-ever Delta One Lounges – we remain intensely focused on delivering an experience that you can trust. Delta was recently named the most on-time airline in North America by Cirium, a reflection of the rigor we place in reliability and punctuality. We were also recently named No.1 in First/Business Class and Premium Economy customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2024 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.
It’s an exciting summer ahead, no matter where your plans take you this season.
Destinations Far & Wide
We’re flying our largest international schedule ever this summer, taking you to new destinations all over the world. We have brand new routes starting soon like New York-JFK to both Naples and Munich, Seattle to Taipei, and Boston to Mexico City, plus returning favorites like Atlanta to Zurich and New York-JFK to Shannon, Ireland. Daily service from Atlanta has already begun to the new Tulum, Mexico airport. And in the U.S., we’re returning to popular getaway spots like Santa Barbara and Reno-Tahoe.
Elevating the Travel Experience
Travel should be seamless and comfortable, every step of the way. We continue to invest in a premium, elevated experience, opening five new Delta Sky Clubs just last year. In a few weeks, we’ll be debuting our very first Delta One Lounge at New York’s JFK – an exclusive experience that complements our highest tier of onboard service. Delta One Lounges in Los Angeles and Boston are on track to open later this year.
As a SkyMiles Member, I hope you’ve been taking advantage of our fast, free Delta Sync Wi-Fi, now available on most domestic flights. You can browse and stream just like you would on the ground, plus unlock Member-only offers and experiences from brands you love.
The Delta Sync seatback experience is also rolling out, turning our seatback screens into smart TVs that know your preferences and keep you updated through your travels. We have the most seatback screens of any U.S.-based carrier, full of options to keep you entertained throughout your flight.
Technology at Your Fingertips
Our popular Fly Delta app has been refreshed, just in time for summer. It’s your ultimate travel companion, whether you’re navigating your itinerary in real time or planning your next getaway. When the unexpected happens, the app’s new Help Center is your go-to, providing flight options, baggage updates and more all in one place. You can also connect with our Virtual Assistant with just one tap. And, if you’re already thinking ahead to your next adventure, you can take advantage of the “Explore” page for personalized recommendations to find, plan and book your dream trip.
We’re also continuing to expand our Delta Digital ID program, allowing SkyMiles Members like you to check bags easily and move through security without a physical ID. It’s available to opt-in today in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and both LGA and JFK in New York.
Wherever your travels take you, I’m wishing you a summer filled with joy and connection. I’m personally looking forward to some family time, particularly with my 18-month-old grandson who is learning to love the beach. There’s nothing like watching the world through his eyes.
Thank you for the trust you place in us to connect you with the people and places that matter most.
Delta embarked on a first-ever journey as the official airline of SXSW 2024, delivering exclusive experiences, premium rewards, and much more as it continues to reimagine and elevate the meaning of SkyMiles membership.
Delta will serve as the official airline of SXSW® this March in Austin, Texas, and CEO Ed Bastian will headline a SXSW featured session on Sunday, March 10.
On a mission to raise the quality of service and modernize the flying experience, Delta Air Lines is fashioning a new, personalized way for customers to enjoy their time onboard.
The Delta Professional website has redesigned its meetings and events offering to give corporate customers access to more streamlined tools to support corporate meetings, conferences and events, and global meetings.
New app enhancements, seamless security, special holiday treats and more await customers flying on Delta this holiday season.
Digital ID, Delta’s time-saving, industry-first technology that allows customers to check bags and move through security without showing a physical government ID, is growing its presence with expansion to three major hubs.
Delta will begin its final testing of new paper cups on board transcontinental flights starting in December 2023. This latest sustainability milestone underscores the airline’s commitment to innovation and progress. Pending testing, the new paper cups will be rolled out throughout Delta’s network.
Final numbers for the full holiday period of Nov. 17-28 are still pending**. However, from Friday, Nov. 17, through Sunday, Nov. 26, Delta carried more than 5.3 million customers on more than 43,000 flights systemwide.
Todd O., Delta’s most frequent flyer, was invited to the airline’s Atlanta headquarters to connect with Delta people and supply rich insight to senior leaders.
Delta customers traveling from the U.S. to Interior China connecting on China Eastern flights at Shanghai-Pudong International Airport (PVG) can now check in their bags to their final destination in China.
A recent CNBC Explores segment examines in-flight connectivity challenges across airlines and takes an inside look at how Delta is leading the industry by upgrading over 1,200 planes by 2024 to deliver fast, free Wi-Fi presented by T-Mobile to customers.
Customers traveling on Delta can take advantage of more than 650 weekly flights across the pond in peak summer, a remarkable 30% increase in the airline's seat capacity compared to 2022.
Delta served more than 2.7 million customers on 22,000 flights over the holiday period May 25-29, setting the stage for an operation customers can count on during a busy summer season.
A new year means a new onboard food and beverage refresh, including the return of the signature Delta One dessert cart along with Tip Top’s espresso martinis, traditional afternoon tea, seasonally-inspired menu items and more.
After a banner year of Delta Sky Club openings and expansions across Delta's network in 2022 that resulted in a record number of visits, the airline is changing some of the ways customers can access Clubs starting next year to preserve a best-in-class experience.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian will join MediaLink CEO Michael E. Kassan on stage Jan. 5 in Las Vegas to discuss the ways Delta and other consumer brands are combining technology with ingenuity to better know and serve their customers, engaging their members with increasingly tailored experiences curated just for them.
The lineup of new products highlights small businesses, suppliers from across the globe, and woman- and LGBTQ+-led brands, building on Delta’s recent efforts to create a people-first and values-led onboard experience.
The quality of Delta’s in-flight service, airport amenities and innovations earned it the number one ranking on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Airlines in the U.S.
As part of the first-of-its-kind arrangement, the companies will work together to integrate a Joby-operated service into Delta’s customer-facing channels
Delta is refreshing seatback entertainment content this October with new Spotify-curated collections, seasonal collections, exclusive partner content and more, giving every customer something to discover as they travel this fall.
Delta Air Lines and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) have completed another major phase of the Delta Sky Way at LAX: the brand-new T3 facility, featuring nine new gates* and spacious seating areas, will open to customers on Oct. 5.
Customers flying in Delta Premium Select, available on all trans-Pacific and most trans-Atlantic flights, will soon be treated to a refreshed and improved cabin experience, complementing a spacious seat design for which DPS is already known.
Delta Air Lines and MSG Entertainment are bringing a Jonas Brothers concert, filmed at Madison Square Garden, to Delta Studios. The concert, which took place on the floor of MSG earlier this summer, will be available in flight starting in October through January 2023.
Delta is expecting to serve up to 2.9 million customers this Labor Day holiday period. Performance and reliability has significantly recovered from the beginning of summer thanks to schedule changes and other measures the airline has taken.
![E.V.P. and Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_wide_horizontal/public/2022-01/allison_headshot.png?itok=yVNbzHKq)
Allison Ausband oversees the end-to-end customer experience that includes the Innovation and Customer Experience teams and the 56,000 team members in Delta’s Airport Customer Service, In-Flight Service and Reservations and Customer Care divisions who deliver those experiences. In an extraordinary two years for commercial airlines, Allison and her team have continued to innovate to meet evolving customer expectations while providing peace of mind during times of rapid change.
There’s no doubt the past few years have been challenging for our people, our customers, our industry and the world. But the Delta team continues to lead the way in delivering an industry-leading customer experience and ensuring the future of travel is personalized, enjoyable and stress-free.
MORE ON INC.COM | With three sentences Delta Air Lines revealed an important truth about what customers really want
In January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a standstill, Delta unveiled our vision for the future of travel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We showed off PARALLEL REALITY™ technology for the first time and shared a look at what a truly seamless airport experience could look like in the years ahead. Even though some of those ideas were temporarily put on hold due to the challenges of the pandemic, our team never lost its focus on bringing this ambitious vision to life.
The airport is a central part of the customer experience – and we know navigating such busy facilities can often be overwhelming. Thanks to a series of continuous airport infrastructure investments paired with truly exciting efforts in digital innovation, customers are beginning to see this concept come to life through Digital ID, PARALLEL REALITY™ and other experiences. And this is only the beginning. We’re laser-focused on making our airports “walking speed” – allowing our customers to journey through the airport at their own pace, hands-and touch-free.
Already this year, we’ve opened new terminals at LAX and New York-LGA that were thoughtfully redesigned with the customer in mind. One of the coolest aspects of the new T3 terminal at LAX is a 250-foot LED digital backwall in the lobby which spans the entire length of the check-in and bag drop counters. (Fun fact: It’s wider than both the wingspan and the nose-to-tail length of Delta’s flagship aircraft, the Airbus A350!) Currently, the screen shows dynamic content such as real-time Delta Sky Club volume indicators and flight status information, wayfinding in both English and Spanish, and intuitive icons to help guide customers based on their travel needs. A quick glance at the backwall allows our customers to easily absorb information as they navigate the check-in lobby. And there is so much more this technology will allow us to do in the months and years ahead.
A joint $2.3 billion investment to modernize and upgrade one of the airline’s key global hubs.
We unveiled domestic Digital ID technology at our Atlanta and Detroit hubs late last year, and we’ll soon make those capabilities available at our new terminals at LAX and LGA as well. Digital ID is facial matching technology that allows customers to opt in to check bags, go through security and board completely hands-free by using their digital identity, powered by TSA PreCheck. A “digital identity” is made up of a customer’s SkyMiles Member number, passport number and known traveler number from the TSA PreCheck or CBP Global Entry program.
Delta carries nearly 200 million customers each year. Each person who sits in our seats is important to us, and we demonstrate that by personalizing the travel experience in as many ways as we can, with the help of our people. We took a huge step forward in personalizing the customer journey when we launched the PARALLEL REALITY™ experience at Detroit Metropolitan Airport this past June. This mind-blowing technology, made possible through Delta’s partnership with tech startup Misapplied Sciences, was still in its conceptual phase in 2020. While we test this technology out at DTW, it is helping over 1,000 people seamlessly navigate the airport each day.
PARALLEL REALITY™ offers a large screen that displays personalized flight information, such as directions to the gate. Currently, customers can opt in to use this technology at the airport simply by scanning their paper or digital boarding pass. Up to 100 customers can share the screen at the same moment and see only their individualized information on the screen, with no hint of what those around them see.
I was in Detroit recently, and a customer walked by in a panic asking, “Which way do I go?” And then he looked up and saw the PARALLEL REALITY™ screen with his own information and said, “Oh! It’s right here for me. To the right, that’s easy.” This technology is for everyone, not just the tech-savvy or the travel pros. It was incredibly cool to see it in action and watch how it’s already taking some stress out of the airport experience.
Imagine a world where every airport flight information screen has PARALLEL REALITY™ technology – there are endless possibilities, all of which will enable these experiences to become routine. It’s about communicating with our customers in the simplest and most easily accessible of ways. Walking-speed airports are truly within reach.
As humans, we all want to feel valued. That’s why personalizing the customer experience is a priority for us. It’s one more way for us to say you matter and thank you for flying with Delta. There is no better time to keep climbing – I hope you’ll keep climbing with us to see our vision become reality.Visitors to the Club will enjoy unique design touches that celebrate Japanese culture, curated artwork and rich interiors reflective of traditional Japanese patterns and textures.
Delta has been closely engaged with the Port of Seattle on the construction of the International Arrivals Facility since teams broke ground in 2017. With this new facility, international customers arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will get to experience more comfort and convenience than ever before.
The talents of expert artisans are finding their way to premium and more sustainable amenity kits for Delta One® customers next month, through a partnership with the Mexico-based brand Someone Somewhere.
The fifth Delta Sky Club at the airline’s Detroit hub opened to travelers on Dec. 7 – the latest example of Delta’s ongoing commitment to enhance the customer experience, boost loyalty and invest in key markets.
Delta has been selected by customers as the Skytrax Best Airline in North America for 2021 and was recognized for its health, hygiene and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As more people reclaim the joy of travel, Delta is leading the way in extending Medallion and SkyMiles benefits.
Our core values include always learning from our experiences and using those insights to constantly improve how we serve you.
With an overall score of 860 out of 1,000, the airline was recognized as No. 1 in customer satisfaction among airlines in North America by J.D. Power
In opening keynote, Ed Bastian and special guests announced new innovations that will propel consumers into the future of travel.