An ultra-elite Delta Airlines member expressed his frustration with the airline’s deteriorating service, sharing that he might not fly with them ever again.
Josh Kaplan, founder of a Los Angeles-based AI-powered distribution platform, took to X to express his disappointment with the service he’s encountered as of late.
His tweet came after Elon Musk took a jibe at the airline’s Wi-Fi service.
‘Best way to sandbox an AI is to put it on a Delta flight – it will have no chance of accessing the Internet,’ Musk wrote on his X platform.
Echoing the sentiment, Kaplan wrote an angry message to the Delta team, listing all the issues he’s experienced with the airline.
‘I’ve been Delta Diamond for 10(!) years. This year will be the last, at least for now. The streak is broken,’ he wrote.
Delta describes the Diamond Medallion status as its ‘highest loyalty tier.’ Members get exclusive benefits including enhanced mileage earnings, Sky Club membership, priority boarding and more.
John Kaplan was frustrated how Delta Airlines had treated its ultra-elite passengers, and explained why he won’t be an exclusive Delta member for much longer
Kaplan took to X to express his anger as he tagged the Delta team and noted down a list of problems he has faced while flying with Delta
The tech boss also said that the lines outside the Delta Sky Club are always long, no matter which tier members hold
In his tweet, Kaplan jotted down a few reasons why he won’t be flying with Delta anymore.
He noted that even after using the member-exclusive global upgrade certificate, he never got upgraded to Delta One, which is another luxurious service provided by the airline.
‘For a status that requires a pretty absurd amount of loyalty/spend, the actual benefits just don’t feel very beneficial anymore,’ Kaplan wrote.
He pointed out that the lounges had always been inaccessible for most of the year.
Kaplan added that in addition to there being a long line outside, the airline’s in-flight WiFi offering is disappointing.
‘The Wi-Fi is somehow worse. Anecdotally, I’d say it works properly on maybe 20 percent of my flights. And “works” is generous.’
The California tech boss said that since he flies a lot and catches up on work during his flights, the bad internet service is the ‘most frustrating part.’
Kaplan shared the photos from one of his trips, expressing his frustration that Delta Airlines’ member-exclusive services are not that great
The businessman also pointed out that Wi-Fi on Delta flights is pretty bad. He shared that the tickets for a main cabin seat from Los Angeles to New York is so expensive and that is another reason why he will not be using the airline’s services anymore
Kaplan’s complaints weren’t over yet. His posts, which have since gone viral, were followed by him explaining his disappointment with Delta’s onboarding service.
‘Half the plane seems to congregate around the gate before their zone is called,’ he said.
‘When an earlier zone gets called, you have to fight your way through a wall of Zone 5+ passengers standing there like stones in a river diverting the stream.’
‘I’ve been incredibly loyal to @Delta for a decade. I’ve actively chosen them when there were cheaper or more convenient options because I thought the loyalty went both ways. At this point, I’m just not sure what I’m being loyal to,’ he added.
The Daily Mail reached out to Delta for comment.
Musk’s rivalry with Delta has been in place for some time.
Back in March, the airline announced that it had inked a deal with Amazon’s Leo to provide in-flight Wi-Fi on 500 of its planes starting in 2028, prompting the SpaceX boss to speak out about it.
Musk took to X in May to hit out at the airline, saying Delta wanted to make its onboard Wi-Fi service ‘painful, difficult and expensive for their customers.’
Delta CEO, Ed Bastian, responded to the criticism at the time.
‘Amazon brings a lot more than just satellite technology,’ he told Bloomberg. ‘They bring great retailing capability and Amazon Prime and video gaming technologies, which Starlink does not have.’
