Travelers are responding in
record numbers to Delta’s announcement of SimpliFares last week. The
industry- changing simplified fare structure drew a 300 percent increase
in single day traffic to the airline’s website, delta.com, on Jan. 5,
shattering all previous one-day sales records. Immediately following Delta’s national launch of SimpliFares, customers
overwhelmingly responded by purchasing thousands of tickets online. In the
first five days after the national launch, ticket sales on the airline’s
website increased 60 percent over the same period in 2004.

“Our customers are the ones who have made SimpliFares such a success,”
said Paul Matsen, Delta’s chief marketing officer. “Delta is peeling back
layers of fare complexity and replacing them with an easy-to-understand,
everyday value-priced alternative. We want every customer to know they are
getting real value for their money. This is a fundamental component if we
are to regain our customers’ trust.”

  Based on customer response, Delta achieved the following milestones:
  - On Jan. 6, delta.com ticket sales doubled the amount sold on an average day;
  - At peak volume, delta.com ticket sales totaled nearly $1 million per hour over a period of several hours; and
  - Delta.com recorded more than $10 million in daily revenue for the first
time since it began selling tickets in 1996

To promote SimpliFares, Delta has launched an aggressive advertising and
marketing campaign that includes online, direct mail, newspaper, radio and
outdoor advertising. Delta street teams have adorned domestic airports
with SimpliFares signs and are blanketing 17 cities . Atlanta; Boston;
Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Hartford, Conn.; Los
Angeles; Las Vegas; New York City; Orlando; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City,
Utah; San Diego, Calif.; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; Washington D.C.; and West
Palm Beach, Fla. . with marketing activities like distributing information
onboard flights, as well as riding advertising bicycles and driving
Delta-painted MINI Cooper automobiles. Additionally, Delta representatives
are mingling with fans at various sporting events, including Atlanta Hawks
and Utah Jazz basketball games, as well as college basketball games in
Cincinnati.
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