This thread has gone far off topic...
Thankfully, I do not fly this route. How could anyone in the New York area willingly fly DL to the west coast nonstop, given all the other options, knowing that you have no chance for an upgrade, and instead, that DL staff on vacation will be getting them?
I've switched to laughing, it hurts less.
I go to SEA, and I don't see any nonstops out of JFK other than AA, and not nearly as many. I travel to JFK from Connecticut and getting to EWR would be a gigantic pain.
And for that route Delta is usually cheap like you would not even believe, for my tickets. I understand, though, that other people have a lot more choices.