Originally Posted by dalehill

The airlines' use of the word “loyalty” is a stroke of marketing genius in the first place.

I feel no sense of faith, commitment, allegiance or obligation to DL.

I choose DL whenever feasible not out of loyalty but because (a) my experience has been that DL provides better service all around than the other options, and (b) I'm not a frequent enough flyer to attain meaningful status with multiple airlines, and having flown both with and without status, I know with is better than without. The minute any of that changes, I will switch my “loyalty” to another carrier in a heartbeat. That’s not loyalty, that’s me making a calculated, informed decision, which is what DL and every other business does and should do.

I understand this, so on the few occasions where I might feel a bit miffed at DL for one reason or another, I’m not further irritated by the false belief that the perceived transgression is somehow made worse due to DL’s lack appreciation for my so-called loyalty.

I realize that many here travel so much that they can attain meaningful status with multiple airlines, but for anyone with high status with 2 or 3 of the main carriers where ff miles no longer matter, do you choose one over the other out of a sense of commitment, obligation or allegiance, i.e. loyalty, or do you pick the one that offers the best combination of scheduling, convenience, reliability, service, comfort and price?

If “loyalty” programs didn’t exist, nobody would be loyal to an airline. That’s why airlines have loyalty programs.