Consumers have spent a long time patiently waiting for a native Delta Airlines App for their iPhones, one sorely needed by the fliers who frequent this airline, since it would mean quicker access to itineraries and information on check in.  American Airlines has a very cleverly thought out one for their customers, and this one has basically set the bar on the possibilities of airline applications.  Well, Delta has finally released an app for the iPhone, although one which only works on devices operating from iOS 4 and higher, and it does all the basic things you would need an app of this type to do, giving you the ability to save your login credentials; view your itineraries; view your current mileage balance; search for and check in to flights; and even adds the ability for you to mark your parking place with a photograph, note and location tag, for finding your car when you get off the plane.

Although this is all well and good, there are several relatively important features absent from this app.  To take an example, although users are able to view the balance of their current Medallion Skymiles, this is pretty much all they are able to do.  You cannot view breakdowns of your miles, nor will it show you the amount of miles left to fly before you can achieve the next Medallion Level.  Although you are able to search flight availability, you cannot actually book them from inside the application, and there aren’t any terminal maps available either.  Push notifications of flight changes and cancellations aren’t possible, and it would be great if the app was able to notify users of a check in time.  Information on which carousel your checked baggage will be on would also be a good addition.

The bottom line for this application is that while it is a great start, there are still many possibilities for improvements, and hopefully it will get better with additional features over time.  For individuals who make frequent use of Delta airlines, it is a must have, and is available free of charge, so there is no real reason to not make use of it.  The fact that it requires an iOS 4 to work is an annoyance however, and really lessens the user base that would make heavy use of the information this app does provide.