NYC CO Elite debating switch to DL..input!?!?
 

After 5+ years of being loyal to CO out of newark, I am debating jumping over to delta. Are there any other CO in the nyc area that have been with DL ? I understand Delta's product is not up to CO standards yet,but they seem to be on the right path.

Some of my top concerns-

1- Newark is impossible to fly in/out of in any less than perfect weather...when i check on the FAA website, it often has delays worse than JFK/LGA

2- Even on sunny days, you often hear the pilot say " as usual, we will be sitting on the tarmac for 2hrs due to traffic" when trying to depart out of EWR

3- Way too many elite members in the nyc area

I tend to travel mostly in coach domestically on the company's dime, while intl travel in first class on my dime. My thought would be to travel on DL metal domestically, then fly first on CO, but earn Delta MQM....at least while CO is in Skyteam

So does the switch make sense, or are the above gripes just the facts on flying out of the nyc area? Is DL's domestic product getting better/comprable to CO's?

Thx in advance for any help...

I fly CO, DL, UA, US and AA out of EWR. All the planes are packed. Tons of elite members from all of the airlines so its tough to upgrade. As for the delays, its part of being in the business capital of the world.

I am IAH based; but as someone who used to fly in/out of the New York area at least once a month and still do fairly often; EWR is the best of the three regarding weather. Maybe it's been my luck but I've had few delays and no cancellations out of EWR compared to JFK and LGA.

I'm considering the same switch. Mainly because of Delta's double EQM - if you can't beat 'em- join 'em.

opps wrong thread

Hahahaha, JFK better than EWR? Seriously? I've only had once or twice at EWR having to spend more than an hour waiting to take off. Whereas, JFK is around the 95% mark. Oh, add to the fact that JFK is a dump that has no PC.

As stated earlier, all airlines with major NYC operations have lots of elites on all flights. I would absolutely stick with CO. (Have you ever been inside of Delta's T2?)

I can understand the EQM argument, but in no way would that force me to the arms of another airline.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

If the main impetus is the crazy ATC delays I would wait until the slot controls arrive (have they already??) and evaluate after that with a clean slate view. I also wouldn't rely only on the FAA site. Depending on the route the carriers will prioritize differently. DL gives priority to their LGA-DCA flight while CO regularly relegates the DCA flights to the bottom of the barrel. If your route is one that the other carrier prioritizes then you will do better switching.

thx for all the input...i think waiting to see how the caps works out is good advice...also waiting to see how the whole AA/BA things shakes out.

And join them you will. There will be so many of them because of the EQM double miles. I hear continuously how one cannot get upgrades on CO because there are too many elites or you cannot use miles for trips because there are no seats available for reward travel. Just think how much less you will be able to do upgrades or reward travel on DL because every Tom, Dick and Harriott achieved plat status while traveling BIS silver miles but earned double for it! Welcome to Delta!


Newark is impossible to fly in/out of in any less than perfect weather...when i check on the FAA website, it often has delays worse than JFK/LGA

I don't think any NYC airport is dreamy, but JFK is not any better than EWR in regards to delays. They all share the same airspace.

I'm also considering jumping ship to DL. CO just raised the DCA-EWR fares...again.

I would check out the Acela train. its a very nice alternative.

I am Plat on both DL and CO; I fly through NYC a lot--JFK mostly nowadays. If you buy full fare tickets, stick with CO; if you don't switch.

There are delays out of JFK too; I frankly haven't noticed much of a difference between the two carriers. However, for reasons I can't comprehend, I am not bothered by delays, so I am probably not the best judge!

While the NYC area clearly has a large, concentrated population, the chances of an upgrade on DL are much greater than on CO. My upgrade percentage on DL last year was over 80%; it was under 20% on CO.

DLs international product is getting better. CO is now in a position where it's best product for BF international travel is on the B752s; when all the B772s are retrofitted, they should be impressive.

I don't regret splitting up business between CO and DL. If you have to pick one airline, I'd suggest DL.

Delta No More
 

If you have ever been stranded at Hartsfield Airport (ATL), by Delta you would not be entertaining this. Just my opinion but when this kept happening to me it became the final straw that made me switch to CO and AA.

Dude I'm going to leave NW/DL when it swallows up NW next year... and probably join CO. I can't even imagine wanting to do the opposite.

DL is awful. Whatever your complaints are with CO, trust me, they will pale in comparison to what you will make of the (new) Delta.

I fly CA to FL, so it may not be directly applicable, but I switched from flying CO to DL because of better route schedules and higher upgrade percentage. I was also impressed when DL booked me on an AA flight when there was a connection problem with one of my DL flights. I have never had CO offer me that option.