Sealink

I generally only fly transatlantic with BA and VS, but this year have tried Delta and American, both J.

Food on both was superior than BA and VS. (I haven't sampled new CW on day flights yet)

I'd actually say that based on three flights (2 x DL, 1 x AA) that I preferred American.
Between DL and AA, I think AA food had the edge, certainly presentation wise.
And AA staff were head and shoulders friendlier than DL, who maintained a distance (I don't expect to be called mate by crew but maintaining eye contact when speaking to someone is important.)

I know it's a tiny base to start from, but first impressions and all that...

LPC3369

Thank you all for taking the time to contribute to this post. Most of you are way out of my league here as a lot of you seem to fly first class all the time. I'm not allowed to book a first class ticket for work. And i fly international only once a year.

The new Flying Blue isn't going to benefit me much, but at least I have FB Platinum status until March 2019 and I'll stick with it until then. Afterward, we'll see how often and where I fly to, which airline will be the best fit for these destinations, which will give me a status match, and what credit card offers will be available.

@sdsearch: good point about packing techniques, but I often fly with some equipment that isn't allowed in a carry-on. Also, when I fly back to France, it's usually around the holidays and for a longer period of time. So more clothes + gifts for family, and a 12-wine-bottle suitcase (I am French after all).. I really enjoy the 2 free checked bags for these trips.

I'm happy to hear that the "fancy" credit cards allow priority lane and lounge access even when buying tickets with a different card (as I need to use my company’s corporate card – too bad, I’d love the extra points and perks) in case I don’t fly enough in the future to maintain a decent frequent flyer status (which could happen as my company tries hard to decrease its travel budget).

Antarius

FT does skew towards the road warriors/people who enjoy traveling. That said, several of us cannot book J/F for work (domestically for many, internationally for some). If you fly enough to make PLT or PPRO then depending on where and when you fly, you probably will too.

I dropped down to GLD for a few months a couple of years ago and still cleared 100% of my HOU-DFW-MAF flights.

Kahn12

AANYC1981

Def AA Plat.....your UPG's ex-ATL will definitely be better than DL (non-existent). If you buy an Admirals Club membership, they have some of the best AA staff around too.

lds89

Midtier status on AA >>>> than bottom on DL assuming you're OK with spending a good amount of time connecting in CLT or DFW. You can just get the DL credit card and that'll get you pretty much silver status minus the upgrades (which silvers get basically 0 on any ATL-XXX itinerary). If you travel internationally, Plat will get you bus class checkin, lounge, and boarding and extra luggage allowance. You'll probably less than 50% for upgrades but not zero like DL Silver

jordyn

Silver hardly gets you anything more than a Delta Amex card would, so I'd get the AA Platinum. If you end up deciding the connections are annoying once you move, you can probably status match over or at the minimum get the credit card to make the experience of flying a bit more convenient.

socalduck

In either scenario, you will be spending a lot of time in coach. Personally, if most of your flying is domestic, I would lean towards Delta, as you get the benefit of way more non-stops, and a generally better and more consistent level of service.

Fraser

beachfan

355F1

In the last two months I have flown both AA and DL from West Coast to HKG in J.

I am AA EXP and DL DM.

DL has better food, more friendly FA’s and better amenity kits and blankets/pillows.

AA has SUPERIOR lounge offerings (QF First Lounge at LAX and the marvelous CX First lounges. The new Casper mattress pad is nice. Seats on that 77W are a bit better than anytime of DLs offered on the route. AA’s Asian partners treat you very well of you have status, too.

Both offer what appear the be the same pajamas....at least they look and feel like they were made in the same factory but branded differently...

tphuang

To me, if you are flying to HKG. Experiencing CX's first lounge is worth more than anything you could possibly get on DL. There is simply no comparison.

ElmhurstNick

I moved about 70% of my business from AA to DL+partners late in 2016, around the time the EQD priority for upgrades on AA was announced to be implemented in mid-2017.

What I've found is this:

- DL generally runs a more pleasant operation
- DL has better bulkhead seats in coach, they are half-bulkheads on the 319/320/739 so they have more legroom
- DL flies a lot more CRJ-900s. I happen to like them in F, and can tolerate 5B in coach. But others dislike them.
- DL has more non-bulkhead/exit MCE seats, but they are harder to get into for free unless you are Platinum or Diamond
- If I have to connect in a major United States hub, I pick Detroit.
- If you're fine with Premium Economy to get you to Europe, it's hard to argue with Virgin Atlantic.
- Both airlines do the rolling delay nonsense, but Delta isn't as egregious with it as American.

I still fly American a bit due to schedule as I still live in an American hub for another 18 months. And I haven't flown to Asia on either AA or DL.

355F1

Embarrasingly enough, the FC Lounges are one of the two main reasons I switched my 100k Miles per year MRing/Vacationing flights to OneWorld last year.

tphuang

not embarrassing at all. Last year, I was getting a massage at the Bridge and the staff was telling me that a family would come to the airport a day early, have their dinner and relaxation at the bridge before it closes at midnight, sleep outside for a few hours and then come back to get their massage, breakfast and drinks before heading out for a flight. Totally worth it if you ask me.