Delta brings back the stand-out Red Coats

The Red Coats are coming. Delta's Red Coats, that is.

Delta Air Lines has already brought back its roaming über customer-service agents in two airports -- Atlanta and New York's Kennedy -- but is expanding them to several other hubs, including the Twin Cities, in July.

Even at a time when airlines are struggling, experts say it's a savvy move that could help return Delta to its one-time position of prominence in customer service.

"Delta was always known as the airline with the very good customer service. I think everyone has to admit that it has slipped over the last five to six years. They're trying to get back to that good old Delta feeling," said airline analyst Terry Trippler of Minneapolis.

The airline started the Red Coat program in the 1960s but eliminated it in a cost-cutting move just before Delta filed for bankruptcy in 2005. These "super" agents carry hand-held devices that can issue boarding tickets if a flight is canceled or vouchers for customers, providing a personal touch, said Gil West, Delta's senior vice president of airport customer service.

"The Red Coats can resolve virtually anything," he said.

The Red Coats are current Delta agents who are elevated to the position. About 66 of the 600 Red Coats across the country will be phased in at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport next month, he said. Red Coats receive additional pay.

Airlines are looking for ways to separate themselves from the pack, said Dean Headley, co-author of the report and an associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University.

"Any time you can make one thing stand out over another, it can be good or bad," he said. "In this case, you'd think it would be good."

For Delta, it's a return to a tradition that helped define the airline and its focus on customer service.

"Delta has a long history with the Red Coats, and we know it does have a very powerful effect on customer service," said West. "It's time to bring them back."

The Red Coats were "very well received" at Kennedy International Airport when Delta gave them a trial run that started last summer, he said.

Trippler said Delta's efforts to boost its customer service in the face of such bleak news still makes sense.

"When things get tough for the airlines and the pie gets smaller with fewer people traveling, you have to cut yourself a bigger piece of pie," he said. "And they want a bigger piece of that pie."