Delta Airlines is Proudly Gay Friendly

I recently attended the 3rd annual gay and lesbian tourism conference in Buenos Aires.

It was sponsored in part by Delta Airlines. The office there did a terrific job. They were highly visible throughout the conference. They even flew a number of participants and journalists (including yours truly) who otherwise might not have been able to attend. Delta’s gay microsite is Delta.com/gaytravel.

I wanted to be certain the highest levels of management at Delta were aware of how much we conference participants appreciated their support so I sent their CEO, Richard H. Anderson, a letter. He replied, reaffirming Delta’s support for gays and lesbians and for diversity. Here’s his reply and my letter to him below that.

Dear Mr. Salvato:

So good to hear from you and to know how well Delta’s support of Gay and Lesbian Tourism was received. We are proud of our global support of Gay and Lesbian tourism. Diversity is important to our company and we value your patronage and appreciate your kind comments. I will certainly see that Traci receives your kind comments regarding her assistance with a customer service issue you had.

Thanks so much for writing.

Sincerely,

Richard

From: Ed Salvato

*****

Dear Mr. Anderson,

Delta did a terrific job this week and I wanted to share it with you.

First of all, Delta was a sponsor of the third annual GNetwork360 Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism (http://www.gnetwork360.com/buenosaires2010/conferencias.php) in Buenos Aires July 22-24. Delta showed incredible support and were proudly visible throughout the conference. The BA office, lead by Marcelo Costa, did an amazing job executing the Delta sponsorship.

It was great seeing Delta — an airline I’ve had great respect for over the years — at an event supporting the industry I work for. I was a speaker at two panels — the role of LGBT media and how to know if you are “gay friendly” — and I’m the editor of the world’s premier gay and lesbian travel blog, GPS.OutTraveler.

Delta supported the travel for us panelists, which made it possible for me to attend. It was during this trip that I experienced topnotch customer service for which I wanted to express my gratitude. In particular, I wanted to acknowledge one of your gate agents. Her name was Traci (unfortunately I don’t know her last name) but she said she was the only Traci at the international departure area for Delta. She was the gate agent at the Buenos Aries Flight 101 leaving Atlanta Sunday July 18.

Traci assisted me with a difficult customer service issue I had. She handled my concern with grace, humor, and efficiency. She really made my travel experience all that much better. The service aboard that night (business class) was terrific, too: Efficient, seasoned, and entertaining.

I wanted to share this with you since I’m sure all too often you hear the bad news.

Sincerely,

Ed Salvato

Editor GPS.OutTraveler.com

New York, NY