Originally Posted by
NOLAnwGOLD
Though this is no surprise to me since I can never get award seats in the regular "low" mileage category, even as a PM, lots of flexibility and variety of destinations....
Southwest - 99.3 percent (No change)
Air Canada - 82.1 percent (-11.5 points)
JetBlue - 79.3 percent (New for 2011)
United - 71.4 percent (+2.8 points)
Continental - 71.4 percent (No change)
Alaska - 64.3 percent (-10.7 points)
American - 62.9 percent (+5 points)
AirTran - 47.1 percent (-20.8 points)
Delta - 27.1 percent (+14.2 points)
US Airways - 25.7 percent (+15 points)
http://www.smartertravel.com/airfare...tml?id=8977054
Plus anyone getting upgraded?? As Plat, I'm now rarely upgraded....
That "study" is old news and is severely flawed. It doesn't compare apples to apples - not even close - and doesn't distinguish between different types of award travel. For mid-to-upper elites traveling domestically, Delta is perhaps the *best* for award travel. Low/saver availability, when compared on the same routes/dates, is now as good or better than peers, most notably when booked close to travel dates (relatively weaker in far advance). For mid and upper elites, almost all fees are waived, and 25K gets you first class confirmed within your window, and a good shot outside of it. Overall, a PM like yourself gets upgraded around 75% of the time... even Silvers get it about half the time... and a DM almost always gets an upgrade. Upper elites can even change/cancel (except within 72 hours) unlimited times with no fee. Add in other perks like the best WiFi availability, and Delta truly meets their "Best In Class" claim domestically.
International travel is different... they are relatively weak there, and their peers often have better perks. DL is not useless for international awards (there are specific uses where again they are the best), but in general, not as impressive.