Originally Posted by DL Platinum

I'm CVG based, so I am sad about the DL cutbacks here. That said, I was Platinum on both NW and DL for three years prior to the merger because DL had no "level" beyond Platinum. DL has always had a superior domestic product versus NW. Leather, service, In flight entertainment, comfort. I often struggled with NW on trans cons in FC because the seats were so thin and often very worn. That said, I was ridding up front. I rode in back as NW platinum very few times, and got mileage bonuses because the upgrade didn't happen. FA's would often bring me free drinks and recognize the status. I enjoyed traveling on the NW partner Continental as they had reciprocal benefits, and a MUCH better product.

NW gate agents and flight attendants were "OK", but often horrible. I can remember multiple trips to the west coast with 3+ hours trips to have only two passes through the FC cabin. Hitting the call button did nothing. Never had that with DL.

So, 10 years in, is it "better"? Yes and no. Flights are almost always completely full now, great for DL, terrible for the traveler. Upgrades are non-existent. FC service is good if upgraded, poor if having to pay for it. Entertainment systems are showing more and more old re-runs and fewer "new" releases. In flight wifi is horrific and expensive. Food has stayed about the same (IMHO). Aircraft are more and more "tight" as they have squeezed every inch of space for more passengers.

"Sky Clubs" continue to evolve, but why is it that a major hub in Minneapolis has only TWO clubs? Given it's size, it needs two more, yet there are no plans to address this in MSP. Guess DL is just waiting out the contract with city that NW signed and will downsize MSP once they can move beyond that contract.

I am loyal to Delta because it gets me where I need to go in a modicum of comfort, but the future is still un-written with the bean counters in Atlanta and I expect more changes to come that will make our travel less and less pleasant