Originally Posted by
enviroian
Well I'm three months into being comped a Plat with CO. I'll spell out the good and the bad below, but in a nutshell the bottom line is I'm in the back more than I was with DL
The Good
Nice new 738's and 739's for most of my trips on CO
Catering seems to be a tad better than Delta
Redeeming miles with *A easier than ST
Able to fly US and UA non stops to points out west while getting full EQM's
Direct TV a nice touch on the 8's and 9's.
Ease at using T2 at PHX (more of a personal benie)
Like the ability to get boarding pass on my blackberry
CO's website easier to navigate
Don't have to deal with ATL (although IAH isn't a walk through the park either, but still not as bad as Atlanta)
The Bad
No F in ERJ
DL has better updating mechanism for upgrades/standby's via the monitors at gates
I do miss the 76's and MD'88's
Usually batted 100% for upgrades either at the 5 day mark or battlefield (which was uncommon).
Coach is a wash for both, assuming I snag an exit row on each.
Overall star alliance works for me with my usual routings. I wonder if others in my neck of the woods flying CO feel the same.
Overall I agree with you... I'm IAH based, so I've been CO Plat for the past 5 or so years, but I switched over to DL this year because of the upgrade situation (lack thereof!). I think in general CO is a better airline, and I do think *A is a better group, but I was down to a 40-50% upgrade rate as a CO platinum. I know I'm not entitled to an upgrade if I pay for coach (especially T fares), but I have been upgraded every single time but once on DL since I switched over late last year (ironically the exception was a PHX-ATL flight) . Delta's first class product isn't as good as Continental's, but I'll take any first class seat over a coach seat anytime and it's much easier to navigate parking, check-in, and security at Term A at IAH.
FYI - if you're relatively new to Continental using
http://pda.continental.com from your cell phone is a priceless benefit. You get realtime status, seat maps, and standby lists. I checked it all the time when I was flying CO.