Ask Randy

Randy Petersen answers reader questions about how to maximize travel-related loyalty programs.

Dear Randy,

I recently used 100,000 Delta SkyMiles for a round-trip first-class ticket to Italy. Delta booked me on Continental for the first leg of the journey and Air France on the return. The flights to Europe on Continental (BusinessFirst) were great, but on the return (Air France), we were told while at cruising altitude that the catering service was on strike, and thus Air France wouldn’t be able to “give us the level of service we’d expect.” So, we got cold boxed lunches in first class! No snacks, no menus.

I feel that for 100,000 miles, this was not acceptable. I called Delta and they said they would not be able to reinstate any of my miles because it was on another airline and that wasn’t their problem. I find that ridiculous.

The unfortunate news is that I see these situations all the time. Not the fact that catering was not available, but the fact that airlines love to trump their alliances and partnerships and the value they have for their customers.

That, of course, is the pie-in-the-sky part of it. But when any problem comes up, there’s nothing they can do about it. Let me see—this was likely a codeshare, for which Delta likely paid some sort of currency for you to be on that flight. The response by Delta in this case seems to indicate that they are not interested in what they are getting for their relationship or their money. It’s not about you, it’s about what Delta requires from a relationship, and this example shows clearly that they simply don’t care—the old “not our problem” answer.

The sad part is that you can trade names with almost any airline other than Delta and the response is likely to be the same. If you are high enough in the pecking order for SkyMiles elite members, you can force a more responsive answer than what you received. Should you not have that sort of elite status, my memory tells me that you’re likely out of luck.

Ask Randy.

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RANDY PETERSEN is publisher of Inside Flyer magazine and is president of Frequent Flyer Services. Email Randy at editor@executivetravelmag.com.