| Home | Our Work | TICKET Portal | TICKET Sign Up | About Us | Contact |

Delta redcoats are going . . .

(Atlanta, April 18, 2003) By mid-May, another icon of Delta's past will disappear completely: the redcoat. For as long as this Delta customer can remember, the redcoat was the go-to guy or gal when the going got rough at the airport. You could always look out into the sea of people, spot a redcoat and seek redress.

Redcoats were able to handle something as complex as obliging you with a fee waiver or a favor (like an upgrade) or as simple as providing directions to the nearest restroom. But according to Delta, that visibility was part of the problem. The redcoat had become such a lightning rod at airports that the agent wearing it wasn't able do much more than dispense information instead of solving more complex customer-service issues.

As a result, and as part of Delta's "airport transformation" (which includes more self-service ticketing kiosks and phone banks and fewer counter agents), the employees wearing redcoats will turn them in for regular Delta ticket agent uniforms, which will make them harder to distinguish from other Delta airport employees. But they will be promoted (at higher pay) to the new position of service excellence coordinators or "SECs."

Each SEC will be assigned to three gates at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, and will be responsible for the enplaning, deplaning, cleanup and on-time departure of each aircraft. In addition, the SEC will attend to customer-service issues gate agents are not able to handle. So if you want attention, don't ask for a redcoat anymore -- ask for an SEC.

Also, some SECs will be assigned to the check-in lobby area, where they will work with the new lobby assist agents or "LAAs" -- those agents that have moved from behind the counter to greet, assist and direct passengers to a kiosk, telephone or, as a last resort, a ticket agent.

Hilton Alters Online Game

Hotel giant Hilton is changing how it does business online, and you can expect other hotel chains to watch this move closely, and possibly match it in the future.

Hoping to improve the price integrity of its own sites, Hilton now will require all its hotels to offer the same rates on its proprietary sites as they do on any of the third-party booking sites (like Hotels.com, Expedia.com and other discounters). Hilton is hoping to ensure its customers know they cannot find better rates than what they get through Hilton-family Web sites. (These include Hilton.com, Doubletree.com, Embassysuites.com, Hamptoninn.com, Hiltongardeninn.com and Homewoodsuites.com.)

Also, members of the Hilton HHonors program will only earn points or miles for their stays if they are booked through a Hilton family site, and not on a third-party site. (Offline bookings through travel agents, call centers or corporate travel departments will still earn HHonors points.)

Last year, Hilton reported a more than 95 percent increase in reservations on its proprietary Web sites over the previous year. Online channels currently account for approximately 10 percent of the company's total bookings, with more than 75 percent of that total coming from the company's own sites.

AirTran Updates

On April 16, AirTran Airways launched its new online, automated frequent-flier program. If you have not done so already, visit the Airtran.com site to register for the free program.

At the airport, be on the lookout for AirTran's new ByePass ticketing kiosks, which should make their Hartsfield debut later this month. Now that AirTran has the kiosks, curbside Skycap check-in and online check-in, its sometimes lengthy counter lines should get shorter. Also, AirTran is working out a deal with airport authorities to swap ticket counters with US Airways, which will allow AirTran to consolidate at a single counter location instead of the current three.

On another note, AirTran no longer will require customers to have paper vouchers to get free drinks in business class. As on other airlines, anyone in business class will get complimentary cocktails. Also, business-class snacks are now a branded affair: Mrs. Fields Cookies and TGIF Potato Skins.

Smoking and Phone No-No's

I recently went to New York City for the first time since the smoking ban was passed there. It felt (and smelled) more like California. Almost all restaurants and bars have banned the butts, fearing closure by the city if they are frequently cited for allowing customers to ignore the ban. The law, which took effect on March 30, penalizes bar and restaurant owners with fines starting at $200.

Speaking of bans, a new law restricting the use of mobile phones in "any indoor theater, library, museum, gallery, motion picture theater, concert hall or building in which theatrical, musical, dance, motion picture, lecture or other similar performances are exhibited" went into effect in New York City recently. The fine if you are caught: $50.

This article also appeared in The Atlanta Business Chronicle

McGinnis manages The Ticket Portal, a free e-mail newsletter and Internet site for Atlanta-based frequent travelers at www.travelskills.com.

Sign up for free delivery of the monthly TICKET Newsletter at: www.travelskills.com/signup.htm.

Go to THE TICKET Newsletter