Monday morning’s can be brutal for a business traveler. Monday is typically the longest day in the week and it’s nice to start it off on the right foot. No one ever likes to sit in a middle seat during the first flight of the day, so Delta is making it a little sweeter for Elite members who get “stuck” in the middle.
A usual Monday morning means a 4 AM wake up call for a 30 minute drive to the airport. The TSA Pre lines are usually a time saver, but not on a Monday at Hartsfield International Airport. The TSA Pre line is usually the longest line and move fast, but most of the time your better off going through the elite line in the main security area. A quick stop in the club lounge if there is enough time to grab a cup of coffee, then it’s over to the flight monitor to play the upgrade lottery. This week I wasn’t so lucky, missed the upgrade, and was stuck in my middle seat on a packed Monday morning flight.
Delta came through with a small gesture. They noticed that as an elite member and got “stuck” in a middle seat. Here is the note I received not long after enduring the middle seat on the first packed flight of the day.
Message From Delta
Hello Mr. Weekly Flyer,
Mondays are tough, and we’re sorry yours may have been less comfortable when you ended up stuck in the middle seat.
While we strive to give our most loyal customers our best seats, unfortunately, that’s not always possible. To thank you for your flexibility and understanding, we’ve credited 500 miles to your SkyMiles account.
It’s just one of the ways we’re expressing our appreciation for your loyalty to the SkyMiles program. And we’ll continue to take care of you—from booking to baggage claim and everywhere in between.
So thanks again. Next time, we hope to see you in First.
So I checked my Delta account and sure enough the miles had already posted.
Bottom Line
Getting “stuck” in the middle is not fun, getting a few (500) extra miles your loyalty recognized is. Well done Delta.
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About The Weekly Flyer
The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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I am impressed.
That’s pretty awesome
I was surprised last week when, after being stuck on a flight that was delayed 3 hours due to a mechanical issue, United called me and offered a choice of the following 1) 9000 miles 2) $250 voucher or 3) 10% off next flight purchase. Is this becoming a standard thing for elite members? Personally, I was very impressed and very happy!
In the last 4 weeks, I’ve had 2 lengthy mechanical delays with United (one for 3 hours and another for 5 hours). One of them caused me to miss a connection and for the other one, I was re-booked onto American. I didn’t receive any compensation for either delay (even after sending an email to customer care).
Not to be a Debbie downer, but middle seat Mondays as been out for a couple of years.
Hi LordofFish – I am as well.
Hi James – I concur.
Hi Brandon – United sounds like they did a good job on that delay.
Amit – Did you receive your United miles even though you flew American?
Hi MSPDeltaDude – Thanks. Not saying they weren’t, just I’m still amazed how quick they issue the miles and what a nice gesture it is.
I saw delta and Monday and knew what to expect.
I believe this even has roots premerger. Nice little bonus for getting stuck.
What I’d really like to see is the hoou work with mobile checkins.
So you basically got 5 cents worth of miles. =P GO SKYPESOS!!
That’s better than nothing but the old Northwest used to give me 1,000 miles when I didn’t get upgraded. This is a good deal.
They don’t do that anymore. I was stuck in middle seats twice in the past 2 weeks (fewer upgrades, btw) and got nothing. I asked one gate agent if she could check if there were any aisle seats available after she cleared the upgrades. “I’ll see what I can do.” Knowing when the upgrades were cleared I know that at the last minute I dropped from 5th w/ 4 seats on the upgrade list to 8th w/ 5 seats…and the aisle seat next to me got filled by a standby person. Quite the opposite of “here’s 500 miles for sitting in the middle seat.”