Even with the excitement of a respected airline such as Southwest Airlines entering their market, most frequent business travelers in Atlanta will continue to fly Delta Air Lines, despite their complex relationship with our hometown carrier.
Atlanta business travelers love Delta for its deep southern roots. They appreciate being able to catch a Delta nonstop to just about every major city in the world, getting Porsche rides from the plane to the parking lot or relaxing in plush Sky Clubs.
Most of all, they love Delta for its SkyMiles program and the dream of “free” travel and special recognition.
Despite whining about the dearth of upgrades and difficulty finding award seats, they keep going back for more. In fact, they go out of their way to earn those SkyMiles that they love and loathe.
So, for now, despite mixed feelings about Delta, frequent fliers in Atlanta will likely stick with it due to a mix of loyalty, inertia and fear of the unknown.
At the top of frequent fliers’ list of fears about Southwest is its so-called “cattle call” boarding process: Southwest does not allow advance seat selection. But some travelers can board first and lay claim to the best seats — those traveling on more expensive, less-restricted tickets; elite level Rapid Rewards members; and those who pay a $10 “early bird” fee.
Still, frequent fliers like the security of being able to choose seats ahead of time. The boarding process at Delta is familiar, yet frustrating in Atlanta since so many elite-level passengers can skip to the front of the line, which feels like a cattle call. But at least there is no uncertainty around where they’ll be sitting.
There’s also the fear of getting on a plane without wi-fi. While it’s aiming for fleet-wide wi-fi, Southwest has it on only 150 of 550 planes and makes no guarantees regarding availability. But Atlanta-based business travelers have been spoiled by the availability of in-flight wi-fi on nearly all Delta and AirTran flights.
Business travelers have plenty of other fears about moving to Southwest: They fear starting off at the bottom of the Rapid Rewards program, which is based more on how much you spend than how many miles you fly. And with Southwest’s plan to eliminate AirTran’s popular business class, they worry about losing the ability to upgrade (or afford) to fly at the front of the plane on long flights out West. Time-deprived executives will be irritated at the extra step of checking southwest.com every time they want to do a complete fare comparison, as its fares are not listed anywhere else.
Despite those fears, the fast-growing population of more independent business travelers who are entrepreneurs and freelancers, or work for small and mid-size companies, will be the early adopters of Southwest. They are the ones for whom Delta’s $150 fee to change a ticket comes right out of their wallet, or shrinking per diem. (Southwest does not charge change fees.)
They are the independent sales reps who must travel with a couple of suitcases of samples and don’t want to pay Delta’s $120 fee to check two bags roundtrip. (No bag fees on Southwest.) They’re the fliers who just want quick, dependable and cheap transportation and don’t care much about airport lounges, lie-flat seats to London or the type of metallic card in their wallet.
So Atlanta-based business travelers, especially those with an expense account to fall back on, shouldn’t expect any major changes when Southwest arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson next week. But if you’re an independent, budget-focused up-and-comer, you’ll find a fresh new option to consider on your next flight.
Chris McGinnis publishes The Ticket newsletter for frequent travelers.
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