One of my favorite aspects about flying Delta Air Lines recently has been the unbelievably helpful mobile app notifications. American Airlines for example, notifies you of every single gate change leading up to departure, but always manages to ultimately be wrong. Delta’s mobile app notifications are perfect! I receive a notification 24 hours before the flight to check in, a second just an hour or so before the flight stating the departure time and gate, and lastly at the exact moment the gate agent begins the boarding process. It is that final notification that caused some issues on my recent Delta Air Lines flights from St. Louis to Milwaukee via Detroit.
No Boarding Notification
As per usual I arrived shortly before the scheduled boarding time at St. Louis Lambert Airport. I had been upgraded (for the first time on Delta) to First Class prior to my departure. I waited near the gate area until the boarding announcement, but when the gate agent announced the beginning of boarding process my phone did not notify me. I did not think anything about it at the moment, but looking back on it I wish I would have noted the anomaly.
Upon arrival to Detroit Metro Airport I quickly proceed to the Delta Sky Club in the B concourse. I checked in and found a comfortable seat for my nearly two hour layover (thanks to my American Express Platinum Card). Boarding was scheduled to begin just before 3PM (for a 3:35PM departure), but by 3:15PM, I had not received a boarding notification from the mobile app. Then, at 3:20PM, without a notification I was lucky enough to overhear the final boarding announcement for the flight while sitting in the Delta Sky Club enjoying a Layover IPA. Luckily I was very near the departure gate and made it to the gate in time. I was the last to board and the gate agent definitely was not happy that I had arrived so late to the boarding area. I was however incredibly thankful the gate agent did not give up my first class seat.
Lesson Learned
I love and have relied on the Delta mobile app boarding notifications for a few months now. After approximately 20 flights, this was the first time I had not received a notification (Yes, my notifications settings were all turned on!). One of my favorite aspects of flying Delta was knowing (believing) the days of guessing when a flight was going to board were behind me. Now I realize I must go back to the days of arriving to the boarding area 10-15 minutes prior to my scheduled boarding time to make sure that I do not get left behind!
