<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jabez:
I switched to NW earlier in the year,but found myself back with Delta mid-year.The main reason is TIME. NW is much ,much, much ,much better than Delta for elites.They,however often take up too much of my time connecting.The new allaince opens some new possibilities.But I admit that although we in ATL complain about being "held captive",we've really been spoiled by so many direct flights. By the way,I agree that AirTran is a nice alternative (when available).
The problem with going with AirTran,it can make it more difficult to make higher level elite with your primary airline.</font>
The problem with AirTran for me is that I fly internationally about 85% of the time. You're right about being spoiled with direct flights, but it's a sign of my frustration that connecting in Newark or Detroit is becoming an increasingly viable option. Given that many of my trips entail an onward connection from Europe (typical flying time for me is 14-17 hours--sometimes longer!), another 1-2 hour layover is a small price to pay to not fly in coach.