Delta’s “maintain climbing” motto could now apply to the worth of some SkyMiles awards.
It seems that with out discover, Delta Air Traces elevated the worth of its SkyTeam companion awards to match its personal flights, as first reported by Thrifty Traveler. Whereas this may very well be a technical or related short-lived error, this follows a 2021 enhance in companion award costs and the airline’s determination to axe companion candy spots earlier this yr. And and not using a revealed award chart, Delta has positioned itself to not be tethered to any set pricing mannequin.
That features flights on common Delta companions like Air France/KLM, Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic.
This implies companion awards that will have price 120,000 Delta SkyMiles to fly in enterprise class at the moment are going for as a lot as 330,000 miles a technique. Coach fares on journeys to Europe that had been as little as 35,000 miles now price 65,000 one-way. That will imply a reasonably substantial devaluation if this pricing sticks round. TPG reached out to Delta for remark, however hadn’t heard again by publication.
Here is what you’ll want to find out about this potential Delta SkyMiles devaluation.
SkyTeam award costs match Delta’s personal flights
For a number of years, Delta has used a dynamic pricing mannequin on its flights, which signifies that the award costs fluctuate, simply as money costs do. Nonetheless, a vibrant spot was that SkyTeam award costs had been extra steady, resembling the airline’s since-retired award charts.
Proper now, nevertheless, SkyTeam companions are pricing roughly in step with flights on Delta’s own-operated flights.
Let us take a look at a KLM-operated flight from Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS).
Earlier than this seeming devaluation, this flight would have seemingly price 35,000 SkyMiles in economic system. Now, nevertheless, the flight is priced at 56,000 SkyMiles. By the way, that’s the identical value because the least costly Delta flight connecting by way of Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport (MSP).
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The identical holds on soon-to-be SkyTeam member Virgin Atlantic flights.
The Virgin Atlantic flight from Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) costs on the identical charge as Delta’s personal flight.
Check out the favored New York to London route. The pricing is fairly surprising, each for Delta and for Virgin Atlantic-operated flights.
In all these circumstances, Delta flights at the moment are pricing the identical as partner-operated flights.
SkyTeam cities with out Delta service
Notably, the award charges we checked stay unchanged on flights that do not have Delta service and are solely operated by a companion airline.
For instance, Delta would not fly to Taipei’s Taoyuan Worldwide Airport (TPE), so the award costs on China Airways flights from america stay the identical as they’ve been.
Backside line
In our take a look at searches, Delta Air Traces is pricing SkyTeam partner-operated awards on the identical less-than-ideal award costs as by itself flights.
On the brilliant facet, assuming that is all intentional when Delta runs SkyMiles gross sales, there is a chance that companion award costs will drop, however that is mere hypothesis at this level.
TPG has reached out to Delta for remark. For now, it is trying like SkyMiles are value lower than earlier than for many who appreciated to redeem them to fly companion airways.
