Originally Posted by
BearX220
DL in economy is only slighly worse than European airlines in the air, although you will find no free food or alcohol on your LAX-JFK leg; they charge a fee for everything. (There will be a free meal on the transatlantic leg.) DL ground handling, especially at JFK, is appalling. The JFK staff is hateful and the facilities haven't been appreciably improved in 40 years -- they're the old Pan Am facilities from the '70s and totally overwhelmed by human traffic.
I wasn't sure about the food in economy on transcontinental domestic flights as I get the elite upgrades. No food on a transcontinental flight is bad. When I have transited through JFK, I have not found the staff to be hateful, but they are indifferent until they find out that they are dealing with a Diamond or Platinum elite.