avidflyer

You just have to be aware. The newly outfitted 737 are awesome. They all have PTV and the screens are significantly larger than DL. The first row of Y on these birds are 100% better than FC on the DL 767 domestic. The 77W is IMO the best airplane in the air at the moment of all the big 3. I have been on the 77w 10 of my last 12 Int flights. I did get an old 77 LAX-NRT but it was not the end of the world. AA works really well for a lot of folks who know how to pick the ac and find awards. That is just a fact. I have flown every DL and NW AC and config over the last 12 years and you have to be just as careful with DL as you do with any airline on what AC you pick.

DL2SXM

granted, the AA77W guarantees you the 1-2-1 flat bed seat and from what I have read is a really amazing experience, that plane is only flown, AFAIK, to LHR, HKG and to certain South America routes. That leaves a large portion of its international network flown by the outdated 777/767/757 fleet and its anyone's guess, especially in the busy summer months as to what configuration you will wind up on.

A big negative with the refurb 767 is the fact that in J, you still don't have IFE; you get handed a tablet! Really?? I mean, there is nothing more annoying then having to return your IFE to the flight attendant an hour or more before landing while your in the middle of watching a movie. Once AA completes the refurb of all the 767/777's, I will consider switching to them but by then, you can bet your paycheck the advantage program will look nothing like what it does now.

I don't do a whole lot of domestic flying and if I do, a few hours in an F seat is hardly anything compared to 14 hours on a ULH flight. I will not split hairs over a 3 hour flight.

avidflyer

AA has 10 of the 77w with 10 on order and those happen to be the places I fly . Fair enough though, if you are stuck with old bids on your route it would not make sense. There are routes like that on DL though usually not exclusive by AC. As an example: I am, willing to fly DL in paid FC LAX-ATL/BOS month and do as long as I can get the schedule I need without a 767 involved. More often than not I cant so I book away.

jtrue28

Bye Felicia.

pbarnette

That is true only if you care primarily/exclusively about award redemption or live in SEA or PDX. I do not consider it an attractive program because I fit neither of those criteria.

GRALISTAIR

Exactly - me neither. No question though IMHO that AS is a good airline.

HDQDD

To be fair, I haven't tried it personally (AA would be my last choice of the US3). I was relaying experiences I'd heard from two other people in the last month. As someone corrected me above, I think they're doing (paid) "challenges" but not straight up "matches".

pbarnette

I have actually been quite unimpressed with their on-board product the handful of times I have flown them. Operationally, though, they do an admirable job.

I probably should offer one other customer group that may find their program attractive... EK premium cabin flyers. From what I have read, Skywards is nearly worthless for redemptions, and if you fly premium cabins, you likely have limited use for the other trappings of EK elite status. Banking to AS would give you some decent flexibility for getting redemption value from EK flights.

Austin787

Most of AA's 737s do not have PTVs, only overhead screens.

And AA's 77W planes are the worst of the US3 if you fly in Y, a cramped 3-4-3 configuration.

avidflyer

Not in the forward elite compartment they aren't. I rarely fly Y but I did once and I can tell you 16A or F (first row of main cabin extra on the windows) are the best Y seats in any fleet. 8 feet to the wall, 3 3 3 config and just an awesome ride. These seats make me think twice about paying an extra $2k for J...

You could say EXACTLY the same thing about the non EC seats on any DL ac...

pbarnette

Save maybe the 747 (and I still think it is better), DL has no widebodies as cramped as a 10-abreast 777 or a 9-abreast 787 (where even MCE doesn't help). So, no, I don't think it fair to say that it is "EXACTLY" the same thing as any DL aircraft.

TrojanTraveler

Last year when DL eliminated transcon upgrades I had many colleagues jump to AA, and each one was a challenge, not a match. But I don't recall any of them paying a fee to do this. Most were DMs going to EXP if that matters. Interesting that AA is charging for this now.

javabytes

The Gold and Platinum challenges usually carry a fee. The EXP challenges are usually free.

avidflyer

I mean that you cant blindly pick a seat on any airline. Very few elites sit in the way back if they know what they are doing so we are comparing products that most everybody here (on FT) would not experience anyway. With 8 first class mini cabins, 52 J seats and 30 Main cabin extra seats (9 across and similar to EC) there are plenty of seats to keep you out of the way back if that's what you want.

As for the 10 across back of the bus on the 77W they seem to be filling every seat when I fly them so if the folks who are sitting there think it is that bone crunching then you would think the word would get out.

Peter T.

Delta's most valuable customers simply don't care about their miles. They care about on-time performance, the quality of Delta's aircraft, receiving great customer service and the convenience and frequency of Delta's flights. Those are the customers that Delta is seeking to please. Not that bargain hunters who want the most for less from their FFP.