If the OP is looking for opinions that agree with his own - there is no reason to stay - I can offer a list of about 20 posters who put forward that opinion again, and again...

160 million represents the number carried by both Delta and Northwest in 2009. Now they have one operating certificate, it would be interesting to see a breakdown of passengers carried by operating certificate. Subtract out those carried by Comair, SkyWest, ASA, Pinnacle, etc., and then see who's the largest.

Yet, amazingly, you see nothing wrong with posting something as 'fact', even when you can't actually remember it...

I don't think that people are really happy with Delta. I think they (and the other airlines) should aim to have most people be ambivalent, which would probably be an improvement. I simply object to people tossing out the same inaccurate claims of 'lots' of surveys showing DL at the bottom and then not being able to actually name any such survey. It is, frankly, dishonest.

There is a whole thread on this, and I will say the same thing I said there. If you want to try and judge overall customer satisfaction based upon complaints from 0.0017% of an airline's customers, be my guest, but the 'fact' is that the statistics provided do not really provide you with any real support for that claim.

First off, I did not state it as fact, I simply commented that I have read more than one survey where Delta scored rather low and listed a few of them. The fact I failed to remember where one of these came from has little bearing.

Actually, I, along with others listed several surveys and links which you proceeded to try and spin in this way or that to make it look better. Which is more dishonest?

You must be a politician, or perhaps a lawyer? The spin you try to put on things is staggering. You're now discounting DOT statistics as invalid because they don't include a large enough sampling? Does the fact that they aggregated those numbers across the board mean nothing? It was complaints per x number of travelers. So basically, you're saying that the x number of travelers per 100,000 complaining about Delta are somehow different than the x number of travelers per 100,00 complaining about the other airlines? This is somehow your 'fact'? If forgetting a specific survey location is dishonest as you alluded, I would submit trying to spin every possible number so it's not as bad as it appears is delusional.

deleted.

Well said, we should make the distinction between the FF program and the airline.

This much is true. I'd say the best bet is to weigh the various factors based on how they appeal to you (you referring to a traveler in this case) and use that to decide.

For me, Delta is my only choice for non-stop service, and convenience is currently at the top of my list. So I stick with them, even when I'm dissatisfied with the level of service I feel they put out right now. If I was flying more routes where I'd have to connect anyway, I'd likely try the other options out to see which I liked better.

Comparing FF programs, while Delta seems to be continually stripping the things I liked about NWA's, it still seems better than most (or at least the same) from my view as a Silver. It's hard to compare since I've not had status on other airlines (had UAL, and AA at various points) in a few years, but from what I've seen of them, even the stripped Delta is about the same.

A "happy" criteria is a mistake. Assuming no other reason dictates your airline e.g. routes, hub, etc. the criteria should be which airline makes you the least angry on a consistent basis, recognizing that one really bad experience can be the deciding factor. Identify that airline and you have the answer to your question. For some folks, it is DL. I am currently not one of them.

A very short, and sad but true, commentary on our times. Remember not so long ago when it seemed airlines did lots of little things to try and make pax feel special? Now we're forced to decide on who treats us the least badly. Man how I miss the "good ole days".

You really have rose-colored glasses when it comes to DL, my friend. Defending DL's customer service is a huge to me.

Bravo. I said something similar when he was repeating similar nonsensical, ignorant-of-statistics nonsense on another thread regarding that very DOT survey.

I'm sticking with them because of price. Consistently out of PHX (and soon, my new home of Las Vegas) they come up the cheapest to where I have to go. I'll save the money and fly with them. Plus, they tend to have fly aircraft with large F cabins (757s and 767s) to both PHX and LAS so as a Silver, I have a decent shot at an upgrade.

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a huge response. Thanks so much everyone for your thoughts, I really appreciate it! ^

What I've taken from this thread and my own experiences is that US-based airlines are generally mediocre, and Delta is no exception. Maybe what happened to me and my fellow passengers could happen on many large airlines, although perhaps it's less surprising when flying with Delta. The "least bad" comment is too true.

Guess I can't go wrong avoiding Delta. It's not like I have 500,000 Skymiles to burn. I'll just use up the little bit I have (if they let me!) and move on. Life's too short.

Thanks again, everyone, for your valuable input!

Maybe, but in my opinion, using the FF program as a reason to stay on a bad airline is just saying "well, I don't mind so much being treated like **** as long as you bribe me enough for the rotten experience". You're sending the wrong message to the airline- that you can accept bad customer service as long as there's the occasional luxury flight you can take on some OTHER airline.

I think airlines need to concentrate on the experience you have flying on their planes first and foremost, THEN worry about "hey, how do we reward loyalty" after that, as well as the experience a first-time/non-elite flyer has flying your airline (and inducing your loyalty).

Let's turn that around for you.

How much money would you feel you were owed if you lost an appendage in a work accident?

Can I offer you that much money now? I can get a saw.

Just so we're clear, my note of the $50 (quoted in the post above) is a reference to Delta prices, which in my experience tend to be about $50 cheaper than other airlines. I was trying to say that paying $50 less but receiving bad service, or in other words, being paid $50 to get bad service, isn't worth it. It was a reference to ticket pricing, not the voucher ($200 or 25K Skymiles) I was offered for a previous flight.