Delta Airlines Receives Lukewarm News After Big Announcement
On April 22, Delta made a big announcement, revealing its new partnership with Uber where customers can receive SkyMiles for using a number of Uber products
"SkyMiles Membership is about giving Delta's loyal customers more ways to earn even more miles, fly with more ease, and experience more of what really matters to them," Prashant Sharma, V.P. of Loyalty at Delta, said in a statement. "Our new partnership with Uber not only expands the value of loyalty and makes it easier than ever for our Members to get rewarded – it also opens the door for new audiences to find reasons to love SkyMiles, no matter how often they fly."
Here's the breakdown from Delta's announcement:
3 miles per eligible dollar spent on Uber Reserve trips
2 miles per eligible dollar spent on premium rides such as Uber Comfort and Uber Black
1 mile per eligible dollar spent on UberX rides to and from airports
1 mile per eligible dollar spent on $40+ restaurant and grocery orders with Uber Eats
While Delta had some exciting news for its customers this week, the company also received a bit of news of its own. On April 22 - the same day of Delta's announcement - the American Customer Satisfaction Index revealed the satisfaction benchmarks for each major airline.
"Airlines today face more challenges than perhaps any other industry, but are rising to the task. Ensuring passenger safety, satisfaction, and profitability can seem daunting, but ACSI's solution forecasts the expected results from various improvement strategies in terms of customer satisfaction, retention, and financial returns," ACSI said before its findings.
Airlines in general dropped 4% in overall satisfaction according to the latest survey, but Delta didn't see any change at all. While not the bad news that airlines like Alaska and American received, it's not exactly the good news that airlines like Southwest notched in their belts.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


WIRED
4 hours ago
- WIRED
Uber Just Reinvented the Bus … Again
Jun 7, 2025 7:00 AM Beyond the jokes about its new shuttle service are serious questions about what it will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion. Photograph:This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Every few years, a Silicon Valley gig-economy company announces a 'disruptive' innovation that looks a whole lot like a bus. Uber rolled out Smart Routes a decade ago, followed a short time later by the Lyft Shuttle of its biggest competitor. Even Elon Musk gave it a try in 2018 with the 'urban loop system' that never quite materialized beyond the Vegas Strip. And does anyone remember Chariot? Now it's Uber's turn again. The ride-hailing company recently announced Route Share, in which shuttles will travel dozens of fixed routes, with fixed stops, picking up passengers and dropping them off at fixed times. Amid the inevitable jokes about Silicon Valley once again discovering buses are serious questions about what this will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion. Uber promised that the program, which rolled out in seven cities at the end of May, will bring 'more affordable, more predictable' transportation during peak commuting hours. 'Many of our users, they live in generally the same area, they work in generally the same area, and they commute at the same time,' Sachin Kansal, Uber's chief product officer, said during the company's May 14 announcement. 'The concept of Route Share is not new,' he admitted—though he never used the word 'bus.' Instead, pictures of horse-drawn buggies, rickshaws, and pedicabs appeared onscreen. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was a bit more forthcoming when he told The Verge the whole thing is 'to some extent inspired by the bus.' The goal, he said, 'is just to reduce prices to the consumer and then help with congestion and the environment.' But Kevin Shen, who studies this sort of thing at the Union of Concerned Scientists, questions whether Uber's 'next-gen bus' will do much for commuters or the climate. 'Everybody will say, 'Silicon Valley's reinventing the bus again,'' Shen said. 'But it's more like they're reinventing a worse bus.' Five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report that found rideshare services emit 69 percent more planet-warming carbon dioxide and other pollutants than the trips they displace—largely because as many as 40 percent of the miles traveled by Uber and Lyft drivers are driven without a passenger, something called 'deadheading.' That climate disadvantage decreases with pooled services like UberX Share—but it's still not much greener than owning and driving a vehicle, the report noted, unless the car is electric. Beyond the iffy climate benefit lie broader concerns about what this means for the transit systems in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore—and the people who rely on them. 'Transit is a public service, so a transit agency's goal is to serve all of its customers, whether they're rich or poor, whether it's the maximum profit-inducing route or not,' Shen said. The entities that do all of this come with accountability mechanisms—boards, public meetings, vocal riders — to ensure they do what they're supposed to. 'Barely any of that is in place for Uber.' This, he said, is a pivot toward a public-transit model without public accountability. Compounding the threat, Philadelphia and Dallas have struggling transit systems at risk of defunding. The situation is so dire in Philly that it may cut service by nearly 45 percent on July 1 amid a chronic financial crisis. (That, as one Reddit user pointed out, would be good news for Uber.) Meanwhile, the federal government is cutting support for public services, including transit systems — many of which still haven't fully recovered from Covid-era budget crunches. Though ridership nationwide is up to 85 percent of prepandemic levels, Bloomberg News recently estimated that transit systems across the country face a $6 billion budget shortfall. So it's easy to see why companies like Uber see a business opportunity in public transit. Khosrowshahi insists Uber is 'in competition with personal car ownership,' not public transportation. 'Public transport is a teammate,' he told The Verge. But a study released last year by UC Davis found that in three California cities, over half of all ride-hailing trips didn't replace personal cars, they replaced more sustainable modes of getting around, like walking, public transportation, and bicycling. And then there's the fact that cities like New York grapple with chronic congestion and don't need more vehicles cluttering crowded streets. During Uber's big announcement, Kansal showed a video of one possible Route Share ride in the Big Apple. It covered about 3 miles from Midtown to Lower Manhattan, which would take about 30 minutes and cost $13. But here's the thing: The addresses are served by three different subway lines. It is possible to commute between those two points, avoid congestion, and arrive sooner, for $2.90. So, yes, Uber Route Share is cheaper than Uber's standard car service (which has gotten 7.2 percent pricier in the past year)—but Route Share is far from the most efficient or economical way to get around in the biggest markets it's launching in. 'If anything,' Shen said, 'it's reducing transit efficiency by gumming up those same routes with even more vehicles.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Joann, Rite Aid, JCPenney, and other store closings contribute to a 274% surge in retail layoffs in 2025
Layoff announcements from U.S. employers have increased 80%, to 696,309 job cuts, through May of this year. That's in comparison with the 385,859 cuts announced throughout the first five months of 2024, according to the latest layoffs report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based executive outplacement firm. Why you're catching the 'ick' so easily, according to science Uber's new senior mode aims to remove barriers for aging riders Why AI Is Making 1:1 Meetings Irrelevant Federal government agencies have been most impacted by planned job cuts in 2025, with 284,827 job reductions year to date, compared with 36,325 U.S. government job cuts announced during the same period last year. Retail is the second-leading industry in job cuts this year, with 75,802 cuts since the start of 2025. That's a 274% increase in retail job reductions compared with the same period last year, when U.S. companies announced 20,276 layoffs. According to the report, DOGE-related efforts remain the leading reason given for job cut announcements this year. This includes reductions in federal employee and contractor roles, and private nonprofit layoffs resulting from federal funding cuts. Market and economic conditions were the second-most cited explanation for announced U.S. layoffs, followed by store closings. In a news release discussing the layoff report, Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said: 'Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies' workforces. Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices.' Store closings being among the top reasons cited for U.S. retail layoffs is unsurprising. Fast Company has written extensively about retail store closings throughout the U.S., from companies like Kohl's, Macy's, and JCPenney. While some retailers have chosen to shutter the doors of some locations, others have filed for bankruptcy protection and announced company-wide store closures. In January 2025, Joann filed for bankruptcy for a second time. The fabric and crafts store previously filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2024. Similarly, Rite Aid publicized its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5. The retail pharmacy first filed for bankruptcy in October 2023. As for hiring efforts, U.S. companies have announced 79,741 planned hires through May of this year, an increase of 57% from the same period last year. However, planned hiring announcements remain historically low compared with pre-pandemic and early-pandemic years. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Earn up to 110,000 bonus miles with a new Delta SkyMiles credit card
American Express and Delta are out with all-new welcome bonus offers across three personal credit cards within the Delta SkyMiles suite: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. There are also new offers on Delta business cards: Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn 110,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. With over 290 destinations across six continents and more than 200 million customers served in 2024, Delta is one of the most well-known airlines worldwide. And you could reduce much of the upfront cost of flying to one of Delta's global destinations if you're able to take advantage of these generous sign-up bonuses. It depends on how you redeem the miles, but we value Delta SkyMiles at an average of 1.18 cents each. That means 100,000 miles equals about $1,180. However, as with many airline credit cards, the exact value of your miles depends on how you use them. Since Delta uses dynamic pricing, you can see different values with each redemption. You can find plenty of value with 100,000 (give or take, depending on the welcome offer) Delta SkyMiles. This is especially true when accounting for the TakeOff 15 benefit, which provides an automatic 15% discount on eligible award flights for Delta SkyMiles cardholders. Let's take a look at some possible redemptions. You can fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) for 38,200 miles. The cash price for the same flight is $1,341, giving you a redemption value of about 3.5 cents per mile ($1,341 / 38,200 = 0.035104). You'll still have plenty of miles left to figure out your return flight, which could mean including a stop in Australia after visiting Hobbiton (and while you're in the area). This flight from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Mexico City (MEX) will only set you back 26,300 miles. The redemption value for this flight is about 1.5 cents per mile, which is better than our average valuation. And with miles to spare, you can bring some friends or work on covering the return leg home. You don't have to get fancy with your redemptions; a short flight will do just fine if it saves you money, especially if it's a route you frequently take. Consider this example: A flight between Atlanta (ATL) and Miami (MIA) that costs 8,300 miles or $117. With 100,000 miles, you could take this flight 12 times, giving you plenty of opportunities for vacations or visiting friends and family. This particular flight has a redemption value of about 1.4 cents per mile. See which flavor — Gold, Platinum, or Reserve — of Delta SkyMiles card is the best fit for you. Consider which Delta SkyMiles business card is right for you if you run a small best Delta SkyMiles credit card for you depends on your goals and spending habits. If you only fly occasionally, maybe a few times per year, we recommend the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card. This card has the lowest annual fee but still provides one of the best benefits: a free checked bag. With only a few roundtrip flights, you can offset the annual fee in saved baggage charges. If you travel a lot, a card like the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex Card or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex Card may make more sense. These cards have higher annual fees, but they also provide more benefits. For example, the Delta Reserve Amex Card offers Delta Sky Club Access (at least 15 visits each Medallion year), which could come in handy the more you find yourself in airports. Business owners can apply for the personal or business versions of the Delta SkyMiles credit cards. The business credit cards are largely the same as their personal variants, but their welcome offers require increased spending, so keep that in mind when making your decision. All the Delta SkyMiles credit cards associated with these new welcome offers have annual fees. If you want to avoid an annual fee at all costs, consider no-annual-fee credit Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to the Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank's website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.