When I talk to Delta’s frequent business customers in New York, many of them tell me the the most precious thing they have is their time - and, that there are never enough hours in the day or week to get everything done before the next one begins.

Our business customers also tell me that when they travel, they’re looking for opportunities that allow them to move quickly through the pre-flight or post-flight travel experience; they tell me that whenever possible, they seek ways to attempt to eliminate hassles and avoid lines. In short, they’re looking to maximize their precious time by increasing productivity and efficiency.

If this sounds like you, I’m delighted to tell you about Delta’s new codeshare relationship with US Helicopter in New York. Imagine traveling Manhattan to JFK in just 8 minutes. Our customers traveling to or from New York City have more convenient ways to book time-saving US Helicopter service between downtown Manhattan or 34th Street and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Through a new codeshare agreement, travel agents can now book Delta customers on US Helicopter via the major reservations systems, and customers can book directly at delta.com. SkyMiles members earn 500 miles for each booking.

While the speediness of the actual ride is worth talking about, using US Helicopter in conjunction with your Delta flight offers much more than that:

• Approximate eight-minute travel time between New York City Heliports in midtown and downtown Manhattan and JFK’s Gate 11 in Terminal 3
• When headed to JFK, you go through federally regulated TSA security clearance at either NYC Heliport before arriving at JFK; because you land inside the secure area of JFK, you don’t go through TSA security screening again at JFK
• You receive convenient check-in and boarding passes to final destinations for both domestic and international travel departing from and arriving in Manhattan — one check-in experience
• You check your baggage to your final destination whether traveling to or from Manhattan
• It’s easy! You experience convenient and efficient booking through Delta for your entire itinerary

This is truly a case of “you have to experience it to believe it.” As a New York resident myself, I recently booked the helicopter from JFK to the 34th Street Heliport after returning from a business trip to our headquarters in Atlanta. It’s hard to describe the efficiency and convenience you feel as you look down at the traffic below on the ground, while Manhattan’s skyscrapers quickly grow closer. On this particular trip, I boarded the helicopter at JFK at 7:15 PM and was in my NYC apartment at 7:40 PM. No kidding!

I can tell you that Delta is committed to giving our New York City customers convenient access to the world right from our JFK hub, and we’re always looking for ways to respect their busy schedules. US Helicopter is a great choice for you, our globe-trotting customer, as it reduces your travel time and expedites the check-in process especially for international flights.

US Helicopter trips can be purchased as you book your air travel on Delta. However, US Helicopter transportation is complimentary with the purchase of an applicable Delta international BusinessElite® ticket to and from Africa, Brazil, Europe, India, and Israel and is valid for travel through Dec. 31, 2008.

If time, efficiency, and convenience are important to you — like they are for me — this new Delta/US Helicopter codeshare relationship just might be an answer. Try it on your next trip between JFK and Manhattan. I think you’ll be delighted. Complete details can be found here. I have also included the schedule below.

Thank you for your support of Delta Air Lines. We appreciate your business.

Have you tried our helicopter service?

Brian T. Rutter
Director - Sales & Marketing
New York

**Complimentary helicopter service is included when purchasing applicable published through fares as described in the following. Origin or termination point must be JRB or TSS, via JFK, to receive the published through fare. Offer is not valid for point to point fares between JRB or TSS and JFK. All tickets must be purchased and travel must be completed by Dec. 31, 2008. Offer valid for tickets purchased on or after April 15, 2008. Valid only on nonstop flights between JFK and international destinations when purchasing a qualifying Business Class fare (designated by fare basis code beginning with C, D or J excluding Government/Industry Discounted fares). Round-trip purchase not required. Codeshare flights are eligible when booked as a Delta (DL) flight. Mexico, Central America and Caribbean destinations are excluded. Additional restrictions apply. Offer subject to change without notice.

All SkyMiles program rules apply to bonus mile offer. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide.

Hey, Road Warriors:

It’s Mark again, manager of user experience design for all the great electronic things you, our Delta customers, get to use every day, such as delta.com, GIDS, and today’s subject…Kiosk!

We’re in the midst of redesigning the Kiosk interface and experience. I’d asked for some feedback in September and you all had tons of great comments. We combined those with our own user research, competitive research, and usability testing to produce an entirely new design, which I’m proud to share with you today.

We ordinarily don’t show our in-progress designs to the public so early, but, darn it…you deserve it. We’ve tried to combine the best of the old Kiosk interface with elements of our new brand identity, as well as:

• improve the overall experience by collapsing multi-screen processes
• removing extraneous buttons
• surfacing the options that affect most users
• auto-advancing screens when possible
• and, in general, trying to make this as lean, mean, and clean as we can.

Enjoy this sneak peek and look for the full-blown mega Kiosk experience hitting your airport this summer…and, no, we won’t be selling tour t-shirts. (Although…hmmm…maybe red ringer tees with a flaming widget…)

Mark
Manager, User Experience Design

When you get right down to it, what we’re really about at Delta is getting you safely and conveniently from point A to point B and making sure you enjoy the ride. But, hey, we travel too, and we know that sometimes travel in the post 9/11 world can be a bit (?!?!) of a hassle. Being basically helpful folks with our roots in Southern hospitality, we created a section for delta.com called Travel Tips.

In this section, so far we have:

• Airport Tips, which includes some things you may not have thought of that will help get through the airport as painlessly as possible.
• Baggage Tips to try to demystify how, what, and how much to pack.
• Tips for Healthy Travel, which includes literally pages of information to help you make sure you stay well enough to enjoy your trip—particularly when you’re taking those fabulous long trips to exotic places. (Have you heard of schistosomiasis? Ewww!)

That’s all great, you say, but what’s the point? Well, here’s the payoff for you and me both—you get to tell me what’s missing. Do we need whole new sections, or should we add a bullet or two here and there? If you could write this section yourself based on your travel frustrations, what would be in it?

Tell me…I’m all ears!

Julie Palmer
Manager - Website Content
delta.com & self-service