In February, I relocated from BOS to IAH, so I went from having a choice in airline (where I picked DL) to being hub-captive to United. I did a status match to 1K and have access to United Clubs through Amtrak (which I also miss). YTD, I have ~60K BIS miles with UA with another 20K coming by the end of the month. Here are my observations and comparisons to DL, in no particular order, for anyone who may be curious (bottom line – I miss DL):
- Lack of upgrades. I think this may be a function of being hub-based. That said, I now have the ability to buy more YBM than I did previously. I did end up in the back on one occasion with an M fare. Additionally, I think the F cabin is just smaller than DL, on average.
- Consistently indifferent frontline customer service – there are exceptions, few nice FAs and GAs – mostly legacy Continental. Lag way behind Delta overall though.
- Perhaps my biggest complaint is lack of WiFi – they’ve got a long way to go – and when they do “have” it, it often doesn’t work
- I’ve been on Transcons (to/from BOS) in F without WiFi, IFE, or Outlets
- Meals: I’ve given up on eating on the plane. Not a big deal since I don’t rely on in-flight food, but with Delta, I would usually look forward to my meal (esp on Transcons or anything >4 hours)
- Incompetent phone customer service – one more than one occasion, I’ve had to explain their own rules to them. Such as guaranteed seat availability for 1Ks buying a YB fare. Delta agents were not perfect, but MUCH better.
- Delays due to lack of crews – this is a function of the merger. They still haven’t reached a deal with the unions. These delays occur very often. This is not an issue for DL very often.
- Planes: mixed bag – while they have some really old planes, the 787 and 737-900 are new and nice. Delta’s old planes generally tended to be cleaner
- Reward system not any better… nothing in the “saver” category, but the calendar does work online
- Not great for flying to LHR, fewer flights, overpriced. OK out of IAD and IAH, but out of EWR, I’ll take Virgin every time (and out of IAD). I think Delta wins that one with Virgin.
- United Club: wow. The cramped B concourse SkyClub in ATL? Yea, that sounds pretty nice right about now. Just awful, nothing good to say. The new one in BOS is OK, but the options are meh. Out of SFO, IAH, EWR, forget it. Not that Delta “wins” in this department, but United still loses.
My only “Delta” flying this year was a Virgin Upper Class flight to/from LHR. What a pleasant experience. We were in a ground stop due to weather and they apologized for the weather! And those lounges. Oh my.
I miss Delta and its fantastic employees. Delta is not perfect by any means, but they are miles ahead of UA.
Happy to answer any questions.