Musk's Warning Comes True: Rivals Poach Delta's Elite Flyers

Delta Air Lines' decision to use Amazon's low-earth-orbit Leo network for its in-flight Wi-Fi has sparked a heated feud between Elon Musk and Delta CEO Ed Bastian. In August, Musk predicted that Delta would regret choosing Amazon over Starlink, saying 'it will get much worse.'

Just six weeks later, rival airlines United and American are poaching Delta's elite flyers by offering them status matches with better Wi-Fi on their planes.

The fight for premium customers is crucial for Delta, which generates significant revenue from its loyalty program and high-end fares. In the second quarter, premium product revenue grew 17% and loyalty revenue grew 19%. However, if these elite flyers start to defect, it could impact Delta's bottom line.

United launched a 'Switch to Better Wi-Fi' status match, which includes a fast track to Premier 1K, its top published tier, for the highest-level members from Delta and American Airlines. Meanwhile, American rolled out its own tier-by-tier status matches.