Peanuts Served Again On Northwest Airlines

Not everyone is happy with the return of peanuts as snacks on Northwest Airlines, which is now doing business under the auspices of the Georgia-based, peanut-happy Delta Air Lines.

Nowhere is this concern expressed more forcefully, and with more insults, than on the message board attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune story on the subject. Northwest, based in Minneapolis, had been one of many airlines that went peanut-free as concerns about allergies increased over the past 10 years.

I have preached in the past against pets in airline cabins, on the grounds that it’s unfair to people with allergies. (Which I don’t have.) And I got smacked around good for that. (No further smacking necessary, folks.)

I’m hoping that peanuts have fewer and less vigorous defenders because I’m going to suggest that if roughly one out of 100 Americans has a nut allergy (I don’t) we can probably find some other snack. I myself prefer a peanut to a pretzel, but neither is a staple of my diet.

Delta Cutting Capacity With Smaller Aircraft

I was just reading that Delta is downsizing the aircraft it flies between New York and Washington, and I’ve noticed that it’s doing something similar between Bradley and its Atlanta hub.

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Delta Modifies ‘Choice’ Seating Program

Delta Air Lines has told its elite medallion fliers that they no longer have to pay extra for aisle seats and exit rows under a program it adopted just a few weeks ago.

The rest of us, not so lucky.

Christopher Elliott argues on Tripso that Delta should just do away with the program. I agree.

I hate this “unbundling” of seats and hotel rooms and cruise cabins. There are extra amenities that people are willing to pay for and there are the little rewards you get for planning ahead, booking early and doing your homework.

Charging for the latter takes the fun and the strategy out of travel.

Delta ‘Aligns’ Fees For, You Know, Consistency

Curious that Delta Air Lines should choose one of the biggest news days of the past century to slide out some changes to its fee structure. Doesn’t Delta realize that people might be too distracted by the election to pay attention?

The changes are laid out in a press release most marvelously entitled “Delta Aligns Policies and Fees to Offer Consistency for Customers Traveling on Delta- and Northwest-Operated Flights.” And this is reasonably accurate, for I do now feel consistently aligned.

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Delta And Northwest Make Merger Final

The ink wasn’t dry on the license from the Department of Justice when Delta and Northwest rushed to the altar and made their merger final today.

Never mind that Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was leaping out his seat to protest, as Terry Maxon points out on the Airline Biz blog at the Dallas Morning News. The DOJ wasn’t listening.

So what does this mean to you, the airline customer? Not much, at least for a while.

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Delta Going All Wi-Fi

Here’s an airline fee I won’t gripe about: paying for Internet access on board flights.

Delta says it will have its entire domestic fleet wired by the middle of next year. The plan is to charge $9.95 for flights of three hours or less and $12.95 for longer flights. I’ll pay that, and gladly, as long as the connection is decent.

This is a smart move. Delta wants the cash infusion and passengers want the service. People aren’t likely to complain much because it’s something new, not something they used to get at no extra charge.

Several other airlines are dipping their toes into this pond, but it looks like Delta is going to do the cannonball that gets the party started.

Delta Restructures Frequent-Flier Program

Delta Air Lines has announced changes to its frequent-flier program, but not exactly what I expected.

I was betting on a straight-up, across-the-board increase in the number of miles required for award tickets. But it’s more complicated than that.  

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Delta Doubles Fee For Second Checked Bag

Delta has raised its fee for a second checked bag from $25 to $50, although it has not imposed a fee for the first checked bag. Yet.

“At this time we believe that the first checked bag is part of the service provided associated with the price of a ticket,” Delta spokesman Kent Landers told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But we will continue to evaluate everything given the fuel environment.”

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Flight Attendant Hands Out Crayons, Collects Art

Gotta love this story from the Los Angeles Times about a Delta flight attendant who hands out crayons to passengers and displays their drawings. There’s even talk of an exhibit at LAX.

Delta Loses Tons Of Money, Theoretically

Joe Sharkey points out that Delta Air Lines seems to have made a $137 million profit, despite its report that it lost $1 billion in the second quarter of this year.

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