New York Magazine@NYMag
Americans tend to hate airlines. But Delta isn’t like most airlines. Through a combination of tech savvy, deft marketing, and opaque loyalty programs, a company that grew out of a Georgia crop-duster operation a century ago has made itself the most unlikely of things: a lifestyle brand. Its customers aren’t just loyal. They post their boarding passes as status symbols on TikTok. They collect Delta trading cards that can go for thousands of dollars on eBay. And they obsess in online forums over how to secure access to — then not get expelled from — its elite tiers.
They also go to great lengths to avoid flying any other airline. Delta has the world’s most successful airline loyalty program, SkyMiles, with an estimated valuation of over $31 billion. Today it’s estimated that SkyMiles members have grown to over 120 million; the 360° program is estimated to have 5,000 members.
SkyMiles members are so devoted they barely flinched when Delta did something two years ago other airlines had long wished to but couldn’t: It tweaked the formula of its loyalty program to reward travelers for how much they spent instead of how many miles they traveled. This was a significant pivot for the airline industry, but it worked.
When consultant Peter Thorp got an email announcing an increase in the qualifications for his current status, he wrote a letter to Delta, saying, “‘Look, it’s your company, you get to do what you want. However, pardon my French, but don’t fucking tell me it’s a good idea to change it in a way that it’s going to be impossible for someone like me to continue at that level of status.’” Delta never responded. Still, Thorp sees himself continuing to fly Delta.
Read Ben Ryder Howe’s report on how Delta Airlines is winning by catering to the elite: nymag.visitlink.me/oOYjpu
