John Bingham is a frequent global traveler, and he is displeased with Delta Airlines’ new restrictions on the use of earned frequent flier miles.

The views he expresses, while personal, have gained the attention of many frequent travelers since Delta’s latest announcement regarding restrictions on the use of miles upon death.

The new policy  clearly brings into question the ability of an airline to restrict the wishes of its most loyal travelers by preventing them from exercising their right and freedom to gift their frequent flyer miles to a charity or to family members.

Currently President and CEO of American Operations for a foreign-based aircraft manufacturer and Chief Marketing Officer for the Group worldwide, John Bingham has considerable sales, marketing and top-level executive experience in the personal and business aviation industry and high-end luxury automobile market. The wide-ranging demands of his work have necessitated vast amounts of global airline travel and enabled him to experience the pluses and minuses of many commercial carriers.

Death and Delta Airlines

By John M. Bingham

There’s a little secret Delta Airlines doesn’t want you to know about, and it may really surprise you . . . and your family: Beware. the friendly home town airline is not so friendly when you die.

Many of us today spend inordinate amounts of our business life flying all over the world to conduct our day to day activities, thereby participating in the palette of airline alliances, partnerships and frequent flyer programs that exist “for our flying pleasure. “

Within this heavily traveled group of individuals there are those who are, to use an aged expression, system hardened men and women who are truly road, or should that be “flying” warriors. These groups from within the millions of other flyers, and unlike their seat occupying neighbors, do not fly all year just to collect enough frequent flyer miles to get a free ticket to go and see great Aunt Maud in What-am-i-doing-here, South Dakota. They fly hard, every week, long haul, short haul, weekdays, weekends, day time, evenings and overnight. They do whatever it takes to ensure they are where they need to be for the next all important game-changing meeting somewhere in the world.

These are Gold , Platinum, Diamond, Senator level frequent flyers who are the major consistent income contributors that keep the airline seats full. These are the travelers who dance through TSA in three minutes, who land, from Asia, use “Global Assist”, are through immigration and customs within 10 minutes and who will be an hour into their next flight, when their fellow travelers on their last plane are only just clearing customs.

This group of such core importance to the airlines on a daily basis would surely be the group they would most want to have as their key brand advocate. These are the ones that arrive in the U.S. after a nine-hour flight from London and when asked about the flight experience, talk about what a great time they had, with a five minute personal security line and check in, a wonderful relaxing time in the lounge before flight and then a mixture of work, food, a movie and a snooze prior to landing fully prepared for a day’s work.

On top of that, when  they then go on to praise the frequent flyer program the airline offers, then the airline knows they have true believers and missionaries for their brand. Airlines need to keep these loyal travelers content in order for that vital expression of gratification and preference to remain in tact.

If there are, by any chance, any issues with these clients, the airline address’s them quickly for these are their most valuable clients — business travelers the airline has spent years cultivating and those that competitors would most love to steal.

This is a pretty simple customer retention model and marketing plan,  but every now and again one of the key airlines decide they are going to change the rules. There is a perceived opportunity to grab back a little something more from their best clients and customers to help prop up the bottom line. Hopefully no one will notice.

On this occasion it is the hometown boys from Atlanta — Delta Airlines –  and they have done a truly remarkable job reinventing Delta. When you are with them, they work exceptionally hard to ensure you are breathing, seeing and touching everything Delta. As you fly surrounded by this clean, contemporary new image and you are a Medallion flyer with them, you have every right to think they are looking after your best interests based on your commitment and loyalty to their company. This may well be the case until regretfully, you take your last flight on Delta Airlines and head from this world to the next.

As your loved ones grieve your loss and sort out your assets, the question arises: What happens to all the air miles you earned and what can be done with them? The miles have a real value. In fact, a frequent flyer account with 250,000 miles has the equivalent value of 10 domestic coach round trips and 300,000 miles has the same value as five coach round trips to Europe!

Air miles now feature as assets in divorce cases, and usually, they are divided equally between the two parties. You can buy them from respective airlines to get to the next, must-have, award level. For example 2000 miles cost $70.00. And if you really don’t know what to do with them then, instead of air travel, you can also use them to buy a plethora of commodities and items you never knew you could live without.

Are frequent flier miles part of your will? If not, they should be. The are a tremendous gift to give to friends and family alike or a wonderful gift to leave to charity. They are yours to do what you would like while you are alive and also upon your demise, except if you earned them with Delta Airlines.

As of April 2013, Delta’s Board quietly and stealthily, slipped into their Medallion frequent flyer program a change in the rules that states that upon the demise of the Medallion Frequent Flier, the air miles of the individual will instantly become the property of the airline and cannot be transferred to spouses , partners ,children , family or even charities. They cannot be past on as an inheritance because the miles are no longer yours. They now belong to Delta!

So as you get on your next Delta flight and you are reminded and thanked over the PA system for your loyalty and dedication to Delta and for being a whatever status Medallion member, remember that should something unfortunate happen to you, the same smiling, warm, welcoming company will be delighted to add to your loved one’s grief by removing all of the reward from your thousands of hours of loyally flying with them. They will not even allow your families to use them to fly relatives and friends to your funeral or for your family to use them for a much needed break as they attempt to restructure their lives without you! This is truly heartless.

Currently, I have my air miles bequeathed in my will to my family and some to charity. According to the CEO of Delta who wrote to me personally, I would not be able to honor either commitment upon my demise as they would claim back my hundreds of thousands of Delta miles ignoring my wishes and depriving my family as well as a worthwhile cause.

Like many other travelers after spending many millions of miles flying,  I wish to be able to donate to charity and give to my family, who have coped for long periods without me, air miles I have paid for and earned. Delta should have no right to dictate that I cannot do this. Luckily, most other airlines are not emulating this ridiculous slap-in-the-face. If  Delta fails to see reason and rescind this hurtful, short-sighted plan, their best customers will certainly go elsewhere.

I wonder if the hometown boys of Atlanta will see the error of their ways before their most loyal customers migrate to the competiton. Those competitors will be waiting with open arms and a firm guarantee to respect the wishes of loyal and valued customers now and in future.

What do you feel about this imposed restriction by Delta?

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