Originally Posted by
Carolinian
DL's decent TATL service came from its takeover of NW, which had far superior service to DL. DL has downgraded that somewhat. Before picking up those NW birds, DL's TATL service was nothing to write home about.
If NW were still independent, I would still be flying them, but I want no part of DL and its crap ff program.
Actually, I disagree on that. Entertainment and J seats (old 763s) were a weak part of DL pre-merger (and still are until the end of this year). But for the service itself, DL was better right before the merger in my mind. I would personally say DL peaked right around 2007-2008, then dipped a bit in the 2009-2011/2012 period and has picked up a bit since then. And in any case, DL is still loads better than my last AA experiences, which were just pitiful. I can't think of any time since maybe 2006 that AA had better international service or food than DL.
That's not saying that SkyMiles is a good program. It isn't. But I can see DL's model of better product/worse FF program as being a viable one.
Also, I'd be willing to bet that AAdvantage is signficantly downgraded post-BK, even if AA stays independent. And if AA improves their onboard product, I'd be willing to bet its downgraded even faster.