Hi – and welcome to my blog. Not sure what that means – but ok, here goes.
Have you been to JFK recently? If so you likely saw me or one of my team members. We’ve been @ JFK working to make the customer experience in the terminal better (notice I said better…)!
Has anyone by chance checked in at T2 in the Elite check in area? If so what did you think? If not – and you are a First Class, Medallion or Business Elite Customer, I highly encourage you to do so! It’s an area we’ve dedicated to DL’s most important customers – you! Enjoy and let me know what you think!
PS – While you are @ JFK be sure to try out the new Balducci’s – the Chocolate Covered Peanuts are delish!
Kelley Moore
General Manager
Ground, Lounge + Shuttle Products
Global Product Development
August 29th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I love the new JFK check-in area! I actually got there a bit early, and the small lounge area for waiting was really a nice touch. Thanks!
August 29th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Ive not been to JFK lately but what I can see of in the picture it looks great.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Your comments are reassuring. Since we live in an area where it is highly unlikely to get an international flight without connecting some place larger, we have always tried hard to avoid JFK, both due to comments from others and due to our own experiences there in the past. I’m now hopeful that a trial run a JFK might be on the horizon for us on our next international flight. Will be watching for more updates. Thanks
September 1st, 2007 at 4:36 pm
The new check-in area looks stunningly good!
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Kelly – great update and have to say the new JFK check-in for Medallions is great. I last flew through JFK in July to DEN and checked in through terminal 2. A much needed airport experience improvement that should pay in the long-run.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Hi! In July I traveled through JFK and took the opportunity to use the new area. While looking very nice, it was still plagued by the “JFK confusion.”
As we approached the area, there were a number of kiosks (to the right in the picture). I needed to ask a question so I declined to use the kiosk and headed to the counter. Now as you approach, the kiosks are on your right and the counter on your left. Past the check in area are the stanchions and ropes for the check in queue. There were no signs directing one to the queue for weaving your way through. Lacking direction we stood back a bit from the people in front of us and the counter agent yelled that we were to get in line! Now it was interesting that we were the only people there besides the family at the counter.
I am not complaining, only observing.
Bottom line: People moving through a queue need direction before a point of decision, not after. It doesn’t make sense to pass the counter to get in line for the counter. People naturally tend to stop and look where to go increasing the confusion for those still entering. This is the same situation in T3. You enter only to be presented with multiple decision opportunities.
I really liked the new look and am confidant that DL is getting things right but sometimes a change needs tweaking. Better signage, moving the stanchions, etc., would go a great way toward that goal.
Keep up the good work and I love the new blogs.
September 4th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Jackplum – thanks for this observation ~~ sometimes we are too close to the action and appreciate your common sense comments! I’m actually at JFK tomorrow and will make a point of observing these areas.
As always – we appreciate your choosing Delta!
kelley
September 4th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I’ve used the new T2 check-in area a couple times already……and have to say it’s a great improvement. I even used it when checking in for a flight departing out of T3……..which says a lot since I then had to hike all the way to Gate 4.
Anyway……I do have a concern about the check-in setup….that may or may not have already been addressed since I was last there in July.
Now…..both of the mornings that I used T2, I had to check at least 1 bag.
The first time…..I used curbside check-in without a second thought……..as it was quick and efficient…..not to mention the fact that I was carrying too much stuff to make it inside without some assistance anyway.
However, the 2nd time….I went to check-in via the kiosks like I’ve always done in the past for practically every Delta flight.
Unfortunately…….once that was done….I could not find any indicated place to drop off my checked bag…..such as the Kiosk dropoff counters like those at JFK T3 and LGA.
The only line that was visible was the regular check-in line…….which was quite long at the time.
Ultimately, I simply went back outside to the curbside check-in counter to re-check-in and check my bag.
Hopefully this situation isn’t the norm……and/or that it has already been addressed for times when there are only a couple agents at the ticket counter.
Other than that………T2 is great.
I also ‘discovered’ Balducci’s…..as it’s a great place to quickly pick up something before boarding a Delta Connection flight……as there’s usually plenty of time to eat while awaiting take-off.
A.J.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Nice pictures but as A.J. hints at above, have you flown (or tried to fly) recently on Freedom Air or one of the other Delta Connection carriers out of JFK recently?
The “service” is at the gate is beyond rude, no announcements ever seem to made no longer how the delay might be! Every afternoon it seem to be the same….a sea of RJs, massive delays and just a general lack of care or concern by anyone at Delta. Sad, really.
Maybe Delta should focus on the operations at JFK before they install pretty new ticket counters.
Oh, and if they hosed down the rest rooms in the terminals every few days rather than monthly, that would improve things a bit as well.
September 4th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Thanks Kelley – Nice to know that the feedback is working. I was at the Velvet Rope Tour last year with a few other Flyertalk members and many of our suggestions are now in practice.
Another observation: The multiple flight gates such as 23 or 25 are quite problematic. During my July trip, for example, we were waiting for a flight out of 23 to ROC. With the noise level and overmodulated sound system, the ability to discern what was being announced was quite difficult. A page was made announcing that the flight would be out of Gate 18 in the other terminal. Another announcement told the crew that the flight was at 18.
Everyone moved on over but no one was at the 18 gate. I observed that the status LCDs still showed 23. I went over to another counter and the GA said Yes the flight was out of 18.
The monitors still showed 23 and I headed over to the B/E Lounge to see if they had an update. They were able to tell me that the flight was out of 18 and that the displays would be updated.
Still no change so I called SMS who called JFK and they were able to find out that the equipment was at 18 but would board from 23 and the pax would be bused. Hence, the confusion. Back we went.
No more announcements and it was now well after flight time (but quite soon considering a JFK departure during the overseas slot time). Lots of carousing and jovial interaction by the GAs when all of a sudden, the announcement was made that the flight was boarding immediately. No heads up at all and the announcement was so distorted that it was difficult to understand. At no time did any of the gate monitors show that the ROC flight was even boarding out of 23. Only the Dep/Arr monitors showed that.
We board and the FA was quite apologetic for the delay as she had no clue on what gate to go to. She was told to go to 18 but found the same situation as we did. Eventually, she independently found out where and how to get to the equipment.
Bottom line (again!): Better queueing of the announcements and consideration of upgrades to the PA equipment to allow for better fidelity, better and more accurate display of flight information at the gates, if a change is made to a departure gate have a RedCoat there to assist, better supervisory overview of gate personnel as many are youthful and full of exhuberence and interest in the opposite sex and not necessarily the pax(!), and probably a few more observations that I cannot recollect at this time.
End of current constructive criticism! As before, great job with new DL.
jp
September 7th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Kelley: thanks for posting and sharing the information about T2. Having seen it and still been frustrated I wanted to share three suggestions: have the signage include SkyTeam Elite as it’s unclear if we are allowed to use that area. Also, the SkyTrain directory should be updated to list T2 for Elite check-in. Finally, I wish the kiosks were open 24 hours as I wanted to reprint boarding passes for a cancelled flight upon arriving at JFK at 1AM from a delayed flight, but alas the kiosks were closed. Good luck with the blog and keeping things moving at JFK.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Well I had the experience of having to pick up a ticket at the terminal go go to Anc about 9:30am one morning and must say had a wonderful experience the personal was helpful and friendly with no attitude.
They need to adopt the same service over at the other Delta Terminal as I had to go there a few days later. Oh I was snapped back into reality the same rude nasty attitudes of the personal. I have been thankful for the kiosk and online check in when I have to deal with JFK and LGA.
They need to adopt some sort of monitoring of the personal there.
Sad how I can call SMS and they know more about what is going on than the airport.
Well maybe one day the personal at JFK will be as nice as the new decor.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
T2′s new elite check-in was wonderfully quiet and easy. The security lines were also fairly short, but the TSA staff was the slowest I’ve seen in the past few dozen times I’ve flown.
A few other issues for terminal two and JFK flights: first, there was a real lack of monitors in the terminal showing all available flights – our flight had changed gates, and we had to do nearly a complete lap around the terminal until we found monitors listing our flight. There were, however, several monitors with incomplete listings.
Second, our plane (4:20ish departure from T2) spent a total of 90 minutes taxiing and waiting before take-off. I realize that much of JFK’s traffic is not within Delta’s control – but (thankfully, the pilot kept us well-informed) the first 40 minutes of the wait were spent at the gate waiting for other Delta aircraft to move out of the way. I went online later to check the departure/arrival statistics for our flight, and discovered that it was delayed 89% of the time. At what point do you determine that a scheduled flight is not sustainable?
September 11th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I have tried to make this comment to the regular Delta.com email address, but I got back the usual idiotic canned response based on the key word “crown room” in my email. Anyway, my suggestion to Delta is that you include the locations of all Crown Rooms, as well as NWA and CO clubs, on the Delta Mobile website. I am always searching for Crown Rooms in unfamiliar airports — such as the Kennedy Crown room. Thanks.
September 11th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Havent been there yet but you did a great job!! Looks beautiful.!! : )
September 23rd, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I waw just in T2 (Sept. 19) to fly JFK-SFO.
The building is one of the original JFK terminals (originally occupied by Northwest, Braniff International, and Northeast, which merged with DL in 1972). The terminal is showing its age.
You can put as much lipstick as you’d like on a pig, but the pig is still going to oink. The signage that directs people to the BE check-in (left side) and domestic premium (on the right) is easily missed. The low ceilings in the check-in areaa and poor lighting are unpleasant.
The afternoon I was there, the terminal was apparently doubling as a sauna, as it was unpleasantly warm (complete with aromas one gets in an overheated, underventilated building).
The BE lounge also has low cielings, is dark due to lakc of windows in the terminal itself, , and has furniture and fixtures that appear to date from the late 1980s/early 1990s. There is nothing sleek, contemporary, or comfortable about that room. Meanwhile, AA has unveiled its new $1B+ Taj Mahal across the field. JetBlue will open its new terminal next year. Meanwhile, Delta operates from buildings that are as outdated as the airlines that once operated from them — NE is gone, Braniff died 20 years ago, and Pan Am (Terminal 3′s original occupant) closed in 1991. Folks yu can take retro so far. It’s one thing for an airline to have “retro jets.” It’s altogether different to force your passengers and employees to endure buildings that are three to four decades old
Wallpapering the check-in area is nice, but isn’t the long-term solution to DL’s JFK situation. What’s needed is to knock down T2 and T3 and build a new single-terminal facility that meets the demands of running an airline in the 21st Century. Yes, I know that is an enormous CAPEX project, but what is the cost to DL if people avoid your airline because of the competitively inferior facilities you utilize at one of the most important US gateway airports?
September 28th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I for one still like JFK and have always enjoyed the BE check in area for all flights including when BE was at T3. If you fly some, you’ll find better terminals and terminals that are a whole lot worse than JFK. Even when flying out of gate 6, the walk from T2 to T3 isn’t that bad (10 minutes or so) and if I am going to be sitting for a few hours, I generally enjoy the walk.
As a critical international hub (and becoming even stronger for DL), I for one like the Duty Free shop at JFK a whole lot more than the one in ATL. Better deals and more selection.
My one wish for the terminal at JFK would be for Delta to find a way to reopen the roof-top parking lot. I realize that this would require a security search of the vehicle but buildings in Manhattan seem to do this just fine with underground parking. I can’t imagine it being a hardship to have someone walk around the car with a mirror on a stick and check out the trunk. If you were to limit it to passenger vehicles, I think it would be great.
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:28 pm
I flew from JFK to London early this month in Business Elite. We used the Business Elite lounge next to gate 14. We arrived several hours before the flight. When we arrived in the lounge, there was no food/snack available, and we had to “summon” someone to ask for something to drink. Food and snacks were made available around 5:00 p.m. We were sitting in the area that overlooks the runway. I felt a something on my foot, and when I looked down I saw a very large rat scurry across the area and head toward the wall which had several gaping holes in the drywall. When I went to report this to the attendant at the front desk, I had to interrupt her from playing solitar on her computer. While I realize the entire JFK airport appears to be under some form of construction, there is no excuse for rodents running loose in an area where food is served, muchless anywhere else in a public space. When reported to Delta at the Atlanta level, the response was obviously of concern on their part, but they did have to refer the rodent problem back to the Airport Authority which governs JFK.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Well how can I follow up a experience like the last blog!
I cant. I fly 35 to 40 weeks a year mostly out of LGA. I have flow and will fly in a few weeks out of JFK again. I for one as I am one of the crazy first flight of the day kind of people really like the T2 set up. I park long term and take the extra walk to get there as I have yet to have more than 2 people in line in front of Me! yes the Building is older however as long as it is CLEAN (which it is now) and bright it helps me get to my flight just fine.
ATL is much improved as well and thinking back how did I not notice how dark both were before! SLC is also much impoved. I am a person that honestly say I am proud to choose to fly Delta and tell Fam and Friends to try them!!!!!
Keep it up!!
October 28th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I have to say, this premium area looks great, and is definitely nicer than the old setup at Terminal 3.
However, is there an official stance on non-Medallion/BizE/Domestic F customers using this area? Right now they can use the kiosks and the security, since there are no signs (or staff) to stop them from doing so, and I’m worried this could cause crowding during peak times if more people find out about this “loophole”, which I’ve read about on some forums.
Thanks!
-a
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:08 am
Speaking of JFK, Delta could do 2 things to greatly improve the terminal like offer clean restrooms (not cleaner, just clean) and make sure the air conditioning works during the summer months. Also, when gate changes occur Delta could do a much better job of informing their customers. I go there twice a month and I’ve never left JFK on time but I can’t put that one on Delta. Compared to Atlanta, Tampa, San Diego, or Denver the JFK terminal is subpar at best. In all my travels the one time I’ve had luggage misplaced was at JFK and the attitude I got from the Delta baggage people was “Oh well, you’ll get it when we find it” with no sense of urgency whatsoever. I like the kiosk setup so I can check myself in and avoid a line.
November 25th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Last March, I had to fly suddenly from ALB to CVG due to a death in the family. My layoever at JFK was a disaster. Freezing cold terminal and so much construction noise that even the pub staff was having trouble being heard.
I’m well aware of the age of terminals 2 & 3 at JFK and it looks like all the racket and inconvenience was worth it. Will be going through JFK on a trip to Seattle for the holidays and will comment afterwards, but this key hub needed a lot of work.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:34 am
I must say you are so right Kelley.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Delta can’t be serious about JFK. It’s a nightmare. The international departures terminal has absolutely no services whatsoever: fly Delta internationally and you will encounter: (1) a long wait outside on an interminable line, just to get INSIDE the terminal; (2) a long wait on an interminable line, while they call people who arrived late, for flights about to leave, to move to the front; and (3) no services at all – no lobby, no waiting area no water fountain, no mens room, no chairs, nothing, just security. Very hospitable, very lovely. Now check out Air France. Vive la difference!
David
January 10th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
First: JFK T2 is a great concept and choose JFK/DL for it. Nothing beats the short security line and friendly staff at the counters. (Really.. friendly staff.. how often do people say that about an airline.) I’m a recent convert from US Airways and enjoying DL tremendously.
However, I have to agree with the other posts about the multi-gates for Delta Connection. I don’t know what is going on there, but it needs fixed fast. 1) No audible announcements; 2) consistently wrong information on the message boards; 3) cantankerous staff. The ‘Breezeway’ at the gate is non-existent. (It was being used as a carpet at the exit door the last time I was there.)
Also, seating is a strange problem. I think the passengers rearrange the seats for sleeping or putting up their feet. (Okay folks, this is a RUDE behavior I wish someone would speak up about… you don’t put your shoes and feet on the seats.. it is rude and disrespectful of other passengers). Delta might want to have a regular walkthrough and either keep re-arranging the seats to provide ample room to all passengers or bolt them down to the floor.
Otherwise, the JFK terminal isn’t too tough. I’ve been in much nicer (Zurich is a very, very, very nice airport with beautiful lounges for Star Alliance preferred passengers). However, I’ve been in much worse. For being one of the busiest airports in the US, it’s pretty clean and well-run.