Every airline (or customer-facing company, for matter) has their bad eggs, but I'm batting way above .500 in terms of positive experiences on DL. I've had more F/As and GAs than I can count who were total stars, and while I'm hardly one who needs to be fawned over, when I'm exhausted from a work trip, it certainly is nice to feel welcomed when I'm on my way home.

I was recently traveling LAX-JFK with my immediate family, and my dad, who is in his 60s and never flies for work, dreads going to the airport, the crowds, and just begrudgingly deals with air travel because he has to. I never thought dropping off a few checked bags could be such a positive experience, but somehow, the LAX ticket agents at Sky Priority checkin helping us out totally charmed my dad - he never makes comments one way or another about customer service staff, and as we walked away, he was like "Man, they must've taken their happy pills this morning."

On the whole, and I know it makes me sound like a fanboy, I do think there is some element of a "Delta difference."