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AFTER A ROOF CAVES IN, GOOD SERVICE
By Chris Barnett
January 19, 2012 -- Delta Air Lines Flight 906 from San Francisco to Minneapolis/St. Paul boarded quickly and departed on-time, at 6:25 a.m. But unlike most domestic flights these days, the MD-90 was only about three-quarters full.

Good thing, too. A few minutes after the plane took off, a two-foot-long chunk of the ceiling came crashing down and dangled eerily on a cord above Seat 26A. Fortunately, Seat 26A was empty. The occupant had moved from the aisle to the window seat so she could sleep.

Three flight attendants tried to snap the plastic ceiling panel back in place above the overhead luggage bin, but no luck. Instead, they used some masking tape. The remainder of the flight to the Twin Cities and the connection to an Airbus A320 for a 50-minute hop to Madison, Wisconsin, went smoothly.

It's been awhile since I've flown Delta. In fact, I pretty much avoided the carrier after the regimes of chief executives Ron Allen and Leo Mullin, whose iron-fisted, bean-counting management style left Delta's employees embittered and the airline threadbare.

Although I'm basing this opinion on only four legs of my recent roundtrip, and even though the roof literally caved in on one of my flights, Delta does seems to be trying hard to please passengers.

In recent encounters with the airline's phone reservationists, airport ticket-counter clerks, gate agents, flight attendants and even pilots, I found staffers for the most part cheerful and helpful. And, shopping fares, Delta's pricing seems to be slightly below the other legacy carriers.

For example, Delta was originally charging $957 in coach from SFO to Madison during Christmas. Instead, by waiting until the first week of 2012, the fare was $247 plus tax, the lowest on that route. What's more, the interary connected through user-friendly Minneapolis-St. Paul and used full-sized aircraft all the way, no claustrophobic regional jets.

Delta's new Web site balked three times when I tried to choose seats on the outbound flights. So I called central reservations, immediately hit the zero to avoid the mechanical voice and, in less than a minute--I timed it--I was connected with a human being. The Manila-based agent apologized for the Web glitches, booked my seats, then apologized again that she couldn't get me an aisle seat on the SFO-MSP leg.

Here's a little known fact for West Coasters flying East on Delta. Many of the older ticket and gate agents are ex-Western Airlines staffers who stayed aboard when Delta bought Western in 1986. Western had that unmistakable California spirit and sense of fun. It also poured Champagne on every flight. In fact, its logo and commercials once had a slightly tipsy cartoon bird sitting on the fuselage, resting against the plane's tail, squawking "Western Airlines. The Only Way to Fly."

Sure enough, the silver-maned ticket agent at SFO was with Western when it was acquired by Delta. He checked in my garment bag (for a $25 fee, of course), found me an aisle seat in the exit row of the "sold out" flight, patiently explained my gate location and the security checkpoint and waved me on my way with a smile and a "Bon Voyage!" Except for that $25 baggage fee, that was good, old-fashioned Western Airlines service.

Delta had two gate agents loading Flight 906. And with four flight attendants working an aircraft only three-quarters full, the service was very good. Bordering on excellent, in fact. Sandwiches ($8.50) and other "eats and treats" ($3 to $6) were offered. At $7 a pop, though, Delta is making a fat profit on its beer, wine and liquor sales. Still, it was all dispensed without rushing or frowns. Three of the four flight attendants also flew for Western Airlines, I learned.

At Minneapolis/St Paul, the ground and flight crews were Northwest Airline alums who became part of Delta in the 2008 merger. The ones I encountered were also largely engaging and responsive.

A gate agent named Dave said to an elderly woman traveler, in an almost theatrical voice, "and how can I help YOU today?" Turns out Dave has 41 years at MSP, starting with the old North Central Airlines, one of the many carriers folded into Republic Airlines before it merged with Northwest in 1986. He struck me as a seasoned pro who was neither bored nor jaded by the repetition of the job.

On the return flights, both segments were filled to the gills, but they were relaxing enough. And the departures and arrivals were on schedule.

I asked a gate agent, ex-Northwest, how the Northwest-Delta consolidation was going three years on.

"Well, if you would have asked me that question a year ago, I would have told you 'brutal,' " he said. "But now, most of the problems are solved or being resolved."

ABOUT CHRIS BARNETT Chris Barnett writes about business-travel tactics and strategies that save time and money and help minimize hassles. He is based in San Francisco and has written for a wide variety of major newspapers and national magazines.

THE FINE PRINT Joe Brancatelli makes this space available to Chris Barnett in the spirit of free speech and to help encourage editorial diversity and the wider discussion of important travel issues. All of the opinions and material in this column are the sole property of Barnett. This material may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Chris Barnett.

This column is Copyright © 2012 by Chris Barnett. JoeSentMe is Copyright © 2012 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.