It's certainly true about the labor relations and sometimes awkwardness as a customer. However, as an elite, there was a distinct change in attitude from the general cattle class NorthWorst to really quite easy and accommodating. Getting access to Chisholm call center was really great. Also, during irrops, things were really smooth for me. For example, once on a mis-connect as I walked off the plane, the gate agent at IAH, the gate agent apologized, said they had booked a hotel room at the Hilton, gave me my meal vouchers, rebooked me on the first flight the next morning in FC and asked if that was too early (which got me to the hospital with enough time too). NW did innovate. They were leading in the use of IT and their website, realizing it's usefulness but also savings economically if executed correctly. They began the idea of alliances and joint ventures with KLM, later CO and DL providing a level of benefit across multiple carriers and a more consistent experiences as a customer. They also had a financial stake in CO for a period of time. WBC and the angled flat bed seat was quite revolutionary and it took almost a decade before other US and other carriers started offering something similar.

I do appreciate that DL has continued to take things forward and resolving some of the many issues in years past. Hopefully, progress will continue in the long run and that my 2020 relationship with Delta (which now only consists of calling to rebook flights for the future), regresses back to SkyClub/flight/SkyClub/flight/SkyClub/flight....