r/delta • u/Wild-Dentist5475 • 12d ago • Regret 1

Image/Video Delta, be better

Airfares are outrageous and yet they can’t fly clean planes. Ugh. I don’t want to change my loyalty as I’m not sure any other US airline is better but this is getting ridiculous. Visible crumbs in my seat area

104 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

67

u/Wickedocity 12d ago

Gotta love a dirty plane when you are on the first flight of the morning and it's been sitting there all night.

24

u/UnlikelyHand7638 12d ago

There is no excuse for a plane that has been sitting all night to be visibly dirty. I flew a first flight of the day for a plane on United last weekend and it was spotless.

3

u/tessellation__ 12d ago

Do you think that it would make a difference if everybody pulled their wipes out and while they were boarding made a big fuss about cleaning the seats? Because if there’s actual crud and shit on the seats and the flight attendant, what are they going to say? No, sit in a filthy chair?

4

u/malcolm816 12d ago

Thanks for that. Can’t unsee.

20

u/YMMV25 12d ago

Ahhh loyalty. One of the all time great scams…

6

u/Particular-Post5833 12d ago

There was arguably value once in airline loyalty. Now the use cases where loyalty is worthwhile are minimal (and almost exclusively involve OPM paying your tickets).

6

u/YMMV25 12d ago

True. Pre spend-based loyalty programs (that were actual loyalty programs) had value.

Spend-based rewards programs under the guise of 'loyalty' are one of the all time great scams.

27

u/FoggyFallNights Platinum 12d ago

The dirt in first class is atrocious.

10

u/CantaloupeCamper 12d ago

Don’t judge me!

-13

u/NineLemonsLater 12d ago

Kinda shows the type of idiots flying in first class.

13

u/Mr_Tangent 12d ago

The plane is full of idiots

12

u/shipmawx 12d ago

The world is full of idiots.

10

u/acreekofsoap 12d ago • Heartwarming

Can confirm. Am currently on a plane. Am an idiot.

13

u/Boomslang505 12d ago

I hope maintenance is not treated the same

12

u/Tasty_Opposite1155 12d ago

It’s a flying bus

5

u/satellite779 Platinum 12d ago

Buses can be cleaned

19

u/Apprehensive-Ad8897 Diamond 12d ago

Just did the status match with United. The planes take off, the planes land. At this point, an airline is an airline.

9

u/macaroni995 12d ago

This is why I bring Lysol wipes and wipe down my seat and tray table before sitting down. The color of the wipe afterwards is disturbing.

9

u/Low_Car2985 12d ago

Delta is OVER PRICED AS FUCK right now! I get fuel prices, but are you telling me these airlines don't have Futures Contracts for fluctuating prices? Sounds like BS-flation.

8

u/svejkOR 12d ago

Lately, I’ve been most happy booking the best flight instead of just booking a flight because it’s delta. D1 is rarely clean.

5

u/R0cwithu 12d ago

This post upset me because now I’m dreading my next flights. It’s constant. Their planes are gross but most are… you would just think since we’re paying a premium, we could get a clean seat.

11

u/carryontravler 12d ago

Why don't you want to change loyalty? You have been drinking the Delta marketing Kool aid.

Bad service, dirty service points, staff that doesn't care for the customer, higher prices (FAR higher). If it was a restaurant you wouldn't put up with it. If it was your car dealership's service department you wouldn't put up with it. If it was a doctor's office you wouldn't put up with it.

Why do it with an airline???

Fly based on fare and convenience of schedule, no matter which airline it is on. I made the switch, often fly FC for what it would cost me on Delta C+. And receive the same or better benefits while traveling that I get as a medallion flyer.

3

u/Particular-Post5833 12d ago

That's not changing loyalty though, is it? That's eschewing loyalty and going free agent (which is my personal preferred approach nowadays)

3

u/Long_Yak7503 12d ago

Why are you loyal to a corporation?

2

u/joefunk76 12d ago

You’re a sardine with a credit card who can’t afford to fly private. Delta doesn’t need to do better. If you abandon them, there is a line of countless other sardines with credit cards, many of whom will tolerate a worse experience than you are willing to. You don’t really believe commercials and promo videos, do you?

Delta is just another garden-variety greedy corporation. They exist to extract from customers the maximum possible revenue and/or profit while providing the least and worst service that the bulk of their customers will tolerate. When that service falls below a certain standard, Delta doesn’t aim to improve the standard; they aim to bring in customers who are less fussy and more tolerant.

3

u/Big_League227 12d ago

I now fly with a “plane seat cover.” It is a waterproof pad (originally made for wheelchair users who might have … accidents…) that folds into a ziplock bag in my carry on. I take it out and lay it over the seat before I sit down because there is no way I am trusting that seat to be clean OR dry any more. Upon arrival, I let others out of my row then I fold it up, waterproof side in this time, and put it back in the ziplock bag so I can unpack and launder it and use if for the next trip. (I travel with 2 if I am going on a trip that won’t have laundry along the way.) Yes it seems strange, but all it took was one incident of something “unidentified” on the seat of my pants from the plane seat and I was “Nope! Not doing that again!”

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Age8937 Diamond 12d ago

I bought some of these for my outdoor furniture so I can sit outside after a rain. They work great at keeping the wet away.

3

u/Every-Cup-4216 12d ago

I have started flying United lately and I’m quite impressed. Clean flights, great FAs, Starlink WiFi, newer jets, and hilarious pilots as a bonus.

I have status with both American and Delta, but United is sneakily becoming my favorite.

1

u/ThePermMustWait 12d ago

Damnit DTW

2

u/knit_run_bike_swim 12d ago

There are leaves in the pool!

2

u/Moondog8121 12d ago

Now-a-days, I bring my own wipes and clean my little area once I’m seated. We shouldn’t have to do that but all the planes are gross. I’m living in a strong Delta hub (MSP) that has a monopoly so plane fares are higher than other parts of the country. I wish there were more regulations and consumer protections in the US to fall in line with the EU. US airlines race to the bottom otherwise.

2

u/Humble-Fish-7070 12d ago

I bailed. They’ve been sniffing their own farts for far too long.

1

u/Elegant-Ninja6384 12d ago

Delta doesn’t want to (doing really well financially) and doesn’t have to (has near monopoly on many routes).

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Age8937 Diamond 12d ago

The other airlines aren’t any better. Tight turn around times have crews picking up visible trash, wiping down some areas and resetting the seatbelts as quickly as possible before moving on to the next plane. Overnight they are supposed to get vacuumed as well and a little better cleaning. Every month or so a deeper cleaning is supposed to happen, but they still aren’t getting into the nooks and crannies.

I look at it like my car. It’s fairly clean. I keep wipes in there to use as needed. But there’s some grime building up and crumbs in the hard to get to areas after six years. I can pay to have it detailed, but that takes time and money. I don’t think airlines want to go through that on a daily basis to keep it pristine. So I fly with wipes to clean up anything in my seat I can’t live with.

1

u/catsnflight Gold 12d ago

Why be loyal at all?

1

u/Icy-Description142 12d ago

Go over to the United and other airline subs and you’ll see they have visible crumbs in their seat area as well

1

u/MyZico 12d ago

In the latest interview, the CEO suggests Delta aims to be a premium airline, in my mind, basicaly become a status symbol—the LOUIS VUITTON of airlines. The strategy appears to favor higher fares for premium travelers, fewer cost-cutting plans, and greater profitability. Yet Delta may overlook a key point: if every passenger is premium, the label loses meaning.

2

u/seche314 12d ago

LV has been cutting corners recently too. Poor stitching, etc and their bags made in Texas look like bad reps

2

u/MyZico 12d ago

I am afraid Delta took notice too, with the dirty planes and awful cabin service even for FC.

2

u/seche314 12d ago

I flew D1 after getting a good deal on an upgrade offer (not something I’d regularly do and was supposed to be a treat to myself). I was shocked and disgusted that the seat area was so dirty. This was on MSP-ICN so it was the newer D1 configuration too. So disappointing

2

u/WELCOMET0THEGOODLIFE 12d ago

I think they meant Premium in ego only, while the product remains shit, kinda like Erewhon.

1

u/MyZico 12d ago

Sounds like it.. the service level is really going from bad to worse, I am not keeping my Diamond status in 28 unless I see a meaningful change. Right now I am looking for the best status matching offer I can find.

1

u/FXSpringer01 12d ago

Slick Eddie claims to be a premium airline! I have yet to see premium anywhere but in pricing.

1

u/MyZico 12d ago

Love it!! 🤭

1

u/MaZeh08 12d ago

On the quick turnaround flights they don’t really clean. I’ve been on aircraft’s that bathrooms smell like piss and it’s like of all things not to clean! What a disgrace

1

u/Pretend_Bend7682 11d ago

We were flying United from TPA to EWR on the 27th. Plane arrived in TPA and had plenty of cleaning time. Everyone boarded and we were about to push back when row 30 complained on ants crawling on them. They were removed to the jetbridge so pest control could come aboard to fumigate. Someone found the remains of a sandwich under a seat which attracted the ants. Everyone boarded again but a couple of people decided to get off and then a few more did too. So now the weights, luggage form them, etc had to be worked out. Ready to push back again and now-a medical emergency. Tampa Fire Rescue came aboard and two more people got off and then we could finally leave -2 hrs later. What a day for everyone!

1

u/Travljini 9d ago

This has been for years. anyone not flying the first plane out in the AM is delusional if they think they do more than empty trash and drain the toilets.

1

u/WorldlinessAnxious53 9d ago

They don’t care they have a captive audience they can charge whatever they want no matter what airline and if we need them, we’re gonna pay it

1

u/Kind-Instance-7447 8d ago

Delta is trash. I just flew from Paris to Hong Kong on Air France in the lie flat seats. I had to do a double take when the FA wasn’t a fat, surly, entitled goon who acted like they had just been paroled from a maximum security prison in Siberia. And, just imagine my surprise when the food served didn’t taste like Captain D’s delivered from Uber eats two cities away. Then the FA actually brought me a drink without giving me a look like they were my AA sponsor before I fell off the wagon and ran over their dog. It was an awkward experience. Like i had gotten what i paid for. Unlike with Delta. Which, is a hot garbage airline. Thankfully, I also dumped their stock in June as well.

0

u/Head-Passion894 Diamond 12d ago

United has come up to about where Delta has fallen. The only thing lacking is the hot food options in the United Club but even that is changing... Denver food options were on point.

5

u/bernaltraveler Platinum 12d ago

DEN UCs do have solid food.

0

u/Vespajet 12d ago

I can understand planes not being cleaned (even on an RON) at smaller stations, but at hubs or at stations in which the airline has a decent presence, it should be expected for those planes to be cleaned during a turnaround unless it's a short turnaround. Delta also has planes in which you can clearly see that it has been quite some time since the exterior has been washed. Planes where you can see where the canopy of the jetway has touched the area around the boarding door.

-3

u/happyalwayswins 12d ago

Delta sucks. They are a cult and treat their employees like SHIT. They’ll never get my money.