It is Consumer Electronics Show (CES) week in Las Vegas, so the tech world is abuzz with all kinds of chatter about stuff and things. For some reason, Delta decided a few years back that it wanted to be a big player at CES, positioning itself as a thought-leader or tech-titan or something like that. And this year, it went even bigger. The problem? It was all flash and almost no substance.
CEO Ed Bastian took the stage inside the vaunted Sphere in Las Vegas for a grand keynote. Sphere is the giant orb with an incredible, immersive screen both inside and out. I saw U2 play there and it was unreal. And to be clear, Sphere did not disappoint. You can see videos and more at this link, but here’s a still shot from the outside.
Image via Delta
The inside was no less cool with stars Viola Davis and Tom Brady lighting up the stage. But on such a grand — and expensive — platform with such hype behind it, there had to be some incredible innovation being released, right? Nope. This looks like a very pricey branding exercise that was more of an illusion that made it seem like there was something momentous and important happening.
So what was announced? There were four different press releases that seemed to be chock full of changes, but when you peel the layers back, there wasn’t much underneath.
Delta’s AI-Powered Concierge
Delta will add Delta Concierge to its app this year. It “uses generative AI to create seamless and personalized moments while making a customer’s journey easier,” which to me says that Delta doesn’t quite know what it’ll do in the end but it sure will be great because it has AI in it.
The idea is that customers can ask questions and get answers. It will also “eventually anticipate customers’ needs, provide contextualized guidance and take actions on customers’ behalf.” Note that word “eventually.”
So what will it have when it launches? Delta says that this year “Delta Concierge will notify customers about upcoming passport expiration and visa requirements.” I don’t understand this. You don’t need AI for this. It’s easy to use a database with some simple logic to make this happen. There will also be better wayfinding, but I don’t know why that requires AI either. Wayfinding in apps is not new.
I guess this is one of those things that may eventually be awesome, or maybe it won’t be.
Seamless Uber Partnership That Isn’t Seamless
I think my favorite headline in any press release is this:
Convening partners to create new modes of seamless, membership-unlocked travel
This level of corporate-speak reaches a new high. Keep climbing, Delta. But what does this mean? Well, in the future, Delta wants to make it so you can combine different modes of travel into one journey by better integrating with partners. And to start, it is kicking Lyft to the curb and parterning with Uber instead. Right now, this looks a lot like the Lyft deal in that you’ll be able to earn SkyMiles when you ride on Uber, but as an added bonus, you can now get miles on Uber Eats too. But you can’t even do any of this yet. You have to get on a waitlist for when that is available.
Further, Delta will do the same kind of thing with Joby for its eVTOL service and Wheels Up private jets, apparently, but none of that is happening yet and there were no details.
Watch YouTube Without Ads
I wish I weren’t kidding that this was considered a big announcement, but it is. Soon, travelers who are logged in with their SkyMiles number will be able to watch YouTube with no ads. Watching YouTube in general shouldn’t be an issue with modern, functioning inflight wifi. This just gives it to you without ads.
If that’s not exciting enough for you, get ready for Tom Brady’s new Delta exclusive onboard show called “Well Traveled” which appears designed to be a sleep aid by having Tom talk about how to integrate wellness tips into travel routines.
I’m not joking. This was such a big deal that TB12 himself came on stage to pretend he and Ed are best friends. Or wait, that’s not close enough. After all, Ed called him “brother” after they embraced.
A New Tech IFE System That Others Use
Delta is working with Thales to create the newest iteration of Delta Sync, its inflight entertainment system. It’ll have a fancy 4K OLED screen (something United already signed on for with Panasonic), Bluetooth (something United already has rolled out with United NEXT aircraft), and a ton of storage for content (a system Qatar launched).
With this, Delta says it will not only have a more personalized experience, but it’ll be “hyper-personalized.” A lot of this is likely fluff or far off in the future, but one thing that I do actually like is live translation of flight attendant announcements. Except, wait, it’s not actually that:
Flight attendants will have the ability to send specific messages to seatback screens and translate them into customers’ preferred language, marking an important step forward on the path to deliver even more robust and dynamic personalized in-flight communication capabilities in the future.
Delta and Airbus Will Do… Something
This is the oddest of the releases. Delta is going to be a partner with Airbus’s UpNext innovation lab, and Airbus is going to invest on production of sustainable aviation fuel in Minnesota.
UpNext is just how Airbus trials new tech. That’s all well and good, but there is no tangible benefit for Delta travelers at any point in the near or likely even medium-term future. Airlines participate in these kinds of trials, so this is nothing earth-shattering.
Did you see anything that impressed you? Because to me this looked like a big wish list of nebulous things that may or not ever happen. There’s not even a clear end-benefit, just a vague promise of future seamless travel. That as a general idea is fine, but there was nothing here that I found particularly exciting or appealing.
I assume this was just an attempt at continuing to tie the Delta brand to being upscale and revolutionary. If it’s a world that’s all about how things look, not what they do, then Delta may have won the battle. But that is not a world I live in. I care about real leaps forward in the experience, something that would make me want to pay more to fly Delta. I did not see anything even remotely like that.
