What I think is remarkable about the launch of Delta’s new social media ticket window is the amount of press/media attention it got. But is it newsworthy? Let’s take a look:

• Can’t book from foreign IPs

• Can’t book international flights

• Booking capabilities too limited

• On various browser platforms—including mine (mac safari 4.0.5)—no booking at all

• iPads/mobile phones: no.

What do customers get from this—the launch of a redundant, downgraded version of Delta.com’s own booking engine? Perhaps at the end of the hype cycle it’ll become evident that, in a Facebook-connected web, travel plans (or any type of info for that matter) can be easily shared across domains; that customers’ booking experience wasn’t changed by this new app; and sensibility towards the importance of user experience will grow again.

Hotels/Airlines that are interested in implementing reservation widgets on their Facebook fan pages might want to consider using what I refer to as Façade Reservation Widgets, for lack of a better term, which are simple, very low cost (from an implementation standpoint) html forms that pass reservation parameters to an external site where the final booking steps can be completed. Viceroy Hotel Group‘s social media booking widget is one of many examples: it does its job consistently across browser platforms & geolocations. Users who are into publishing their travel plans on social sites can still do so via the usual “share” button at the end of the booking process.

The bigger question for me is, what compels big networks and opinion-makers to buy into this story without pointing a critical eye at it?

A Groupon-style app for buying tickets—yes, that’d be bold and newsworthy. Discounts are appreciated on any platform/website, be it Delta.com, Kayak or Facebook. Or an app that makes it easier for my friends and me to get sync’d on travel plans (call it TripSyncr).  An app that (with my permission) looks into my geolocation & interests and that offers me relevant travels plans: “Flav, we noticed you are reading The Byzantine Empire by Robert Browning and we thought you’d be interested in a trip to Istanbul at a discounted price.” An [overdue] mobile app that displays a QR barcode on my iPhone screen and that clears me like a breeze through all layers at JFK; that knows I am an emergency row, aisle-as-backup person; that knows I am a goyam who eats kosher on planes; an app that immediately translates accrued miles into other relevant trips that revolve around my interests; that will greet me in Turkish and that will show me a list of Istanbul’s top 10 historical sites once I land there; that points me to the closest Baklava joint because it knows I have a crazy sweet tooth. In sum, an app that delivers an experience to me and that makes me happy.

PS: I’ll be keeping an eye on Alvenda, the platform Delta’s “ticket window” app runs on. The notion of contextual purchases, especially small ones—be it apps, advice or baklavas—seems very valuable.