LAXRuss

I’ve loved Delta service for many years. I’ve been a NW Elite/Delta Medallion for over 25 years. I have the lifetime SkyClub access through my former World Club membership. Until this year, I was a DL Diamond from the start and took the soft landing to Platinum this year. I completely congratulate Delta on the quality of service and its success in profitability. I have been very happy for many years and it is only over the past year that I have started thinking about switching carriers for many of my flights.
For all these years, I have passed up non-stop flights on my domestic itineraries in favor of staying loyal to Delta with connecting flights. I suppose, as I age, it is only natural to start thinking about the convenience of non-stop flights and the hours saved. However, there were three triggers over the past year that started me off on flying other carriers:

(1) Pricing—Delta’s pricing seems to have risen to a level where it is consistently costing me a couple hundred dollars more per coast-to-coast round-trip to stay loyal to Delta versus flying a competitor non-stop. The issue has become so acute that some of the short-hop routes I am looking at this spring and summer are actually cheaper on revenue American Up fares in revenue first class than just booking economy on Delta, let alone the new W fare.

(2) Convenience of travel planning: For many years, I used Expertflyer.com to check fare class availability and consider which DL hub connections were best for my travel. I also did well checking upgrade availability on different routes and credit many transatlantic upgrades to finding last minute availability such as switching to the EWR flight rather than JFK. Now that Delta withdrew Expertflyer’s ability to provide fare bucket information, published fare listing, and award availability, I find it much harder to obtain competitive rates on Delta versus simply going on Expertflyer and screening fares and fare bucket availability on competitor carriers.

(3) Million Miler program—Upgrade percentages for me have consistently declined through the years. As Medallion Access at Gold and Silver level are restricted increasingly in ability to book the Economy Comfort + seats with added legroom, I am pondering whether it is even worth caring about the million miler program anymore. As a Million Miler, I only have guaranteed silver status (while I would have at least had Gold on United with access to lounges on international travel for life; had I collected miles over the last ten years in Flying Blue, I would have had Platinum for life in that program). In another 100K, I will have 2 Million Miler which will provide me the lifetime lounge access internationally as a Gold Medallion but it still will not provide me access at ticketing to Comfort +. The past couple years I have had Virgin Atlantic Gold status and at times have thought about whether I should just start collecting Delta flights under that program, as the miles are much more easily redeemable than the Sky Pesos and Virgin Gold receives Sky Priority, better than a Million Miler Silver Medallion.

In any case, I am not complaining as I think Delta made some very good business decisions. I’m just starting to think as a consumer whether the increasingly higher fares for connecting flights on the routes I fly, the difficulties in seeking out best value now that fare buckets availability is no longer easy to check, and the indirect reduction in million miler benefits, is causing me to take pause whether I should simply move most of my business to other carriers and enjoy current lower fares on non-stop flights. I am curious if anyone is having a similar experience and appreciate any thoughts and comments, as I know my fellow Flyertalkers are the most savvy travel consumers in the industry!

Seat1A

Very much so. I currently have active itineraries on DL, AA, B6, and WN. I still value medallion benefits, but not as much as I used to, and I no longer "just book delta as long as the fare is sane."

I've also switched to burning miles for personal travel, since I'm not as concerned with hitting thresholds.

This is probably a good thing!

rylan

Agree with your points, and also in a similar situation with trying other carriers especially with intl business class travel. A recent trip on AerLingus in their new lie-flat J seats was actually quite enjoyable and cost 1/3 the price that DL was charging. Also found some domestic fares on AA with an up fare that were the same or marginally more than the DL flight in Y, and I didn't have to play the FCM game on DL or wonder if I'd get an 'upgrade' to C+.

nogophers

My next flight is on Sun Country, MSP-PHX. Roughly $300 cheaper!

banness

I agree with all your points. Well said. My loyalty as a million miler non business traveler is decreasing because the cost and longer routes totally outweigh the benefits lately.

leew

For many of us, our business travel (on other people's money) was primarily based on schedule and company contracts. Loyalty was rewarded by travel up front, in various ways. Some gave unlimited upgrades to the top x%, while others gave a limited number of upgrades based on the level of travel. The programs evolved to the tiered elite levels, but basically stayed the same...upgrades for valued customers, not much else for the rest of us. Loyalty was returned by us by choosing Delta/NW when we had a choice, and using the airline when travelling on our own money.
Then consolidation changed the nature of the industry. Less flights, fuller aircraft, and less competition. Prices went up, the airlines began to nickle and dime us with bag fees, no meals, minimum snacks, minimal seat pitch and so on. Upgrades were available to only the most valued customer, and the cost for redemption of miles for travel reached astronomically high rates. (Round trip to Maui priced out at 220k per person for business class last week)
So, with the consolidation and other changes, the aircraft are filled 50% or more with elites, and even the most fundamental services are no longer available (arrive at airport early and catch an open flight lately?)
I'm not in the something for nothing club. I don't expect an airline or any other industry to lavish me with free stuff for using their service. But, no longer do any of the airlines go out of their way to encourage loyalty. It's a two way street. If there's $100 difference between two airline trips, it used to be a no brainer which one to select: the one that treats you better, who gives you better service, or who rewards you with something you could use later (ie mileage upgrade, free trip after 10 or so trips). Now, with the monitization of first class, one can travel up front if one wants to pay for it. Otherwise, good luck unless you're a diamond or a platinum in a good city.
So I agree. with the OP. I stay away from Spirit because of the feeling you're on a cattle drive. But between the remaining US carriers, I don't see a meaningful difference.
One thing I will say, that is the front line employees of Delta have never been a problem. For the most part they are hard working, and friendly, and handle DYKWIA issues with ease.

DL2SXM

and nobody at DL can give two craps. As long as they are making money the way they are, they will see loyal members leave and new members join.

As much as I have thought about leaving, to me it comes down to customer service. DL didn't flinch the other day on getting me to Singapore on ANA when my JFK to NRT flight landed late and the DL SIN flight had already departed. Not only did they put me on a non skyteam airline, but they got me a business class seat on this ANA flight. I had bought a coach seat with DL but upgraded with a GUC. They didn't need to do that. I also did this via Delta Assist so not even a need to call. the whole process took less than 10 minutes. Try and do that on AA/UA...Good luck. Delta will continue to get my $$$ based primarily on their top notch customer service.

Seat1A

delta is still my preferred carrier, and all things being equal, that's who gets my money. But the premium I'll pay to fly delta has been shrinking every year. And I'm a lot less likely to fly a delta connection over a B6 nonstop for the same money, where I would have done it for even a little more a year ago.

DL2SXM

I love the Delta connection, especially those cabins that have a 1-2 layout in F. Being DM, those upgrades on a Delta connection are a pretty sure thing. To me, that far outdoes anything B6 can throw at you.

javabytes

Think he was referring to a flight with a connection, not a Delta Connection operated flight.

Seat1A

Correct. But I've got a "delta connection" trip nonstop BOS-CMH on April fools, because 12A on the ERJ beats anything I can get on Southwest.

I think I will not have to hit an upgrade list as a silver this year. My Feb 3-5 trip all cleared at the platinum window, and with carryover, amex, an ERJ roundtrip to CMH, and some A fares, I'll be gold before it happens. But the automatic-as-a-diamond upgrades are not my world.

(The sad part is, I even did a trip to ATL on an AA up fare, because delta's fares were a joke. )

DL2SXM

Automatic DM upgrades aren't my thing either and is not the reason why I choose to stick with Delta. Though, on the shorter flights its virtually guaranteed which is a nice thing, my overall decision to keep 100% of my flying with Delta is due to customer service. Also, being in NYC, I can get to most places with DL that I travel to non stop.

I got a trip coming up in a few weeks, LGA to MKE on a CRJ900. That's like the sweetest ride in F. No need to connect.

Seat1A

The LGA hub is a very nice add as a BOS flyer. (Until a year ago, delta flew hourly BOS-LGA and it was illegal to connect off of that.) Easy trip on the first leg, and much better upgrade odds to anywhere east of the Mississippi than going thru atlanta. And if things go south (at LGA? Never!) The irops website kicks in!

I still think delta is my best first choice. But no airline is so great these days as to be automatic.

DL2SXM

I could have chosen a cheaper way to get to Singapore other then with DL. Sure, the GUC's factored in but still, that wasn't guaranteed as there was no OP available. The point is, due to WX, I missed my DL flight NRT-SIN. Without hesitation and via Delta Assist, I was put on a non skyteam airline which allowed me to get into SIN with less than a 24 hour delay. Now, I am pretty certain that wouldn't have happened on airline A,B or C.

My point is, although folks leave DL for 'X' # of reasons, DL's customer service is what makes me stay.

IWontRegretThis

I have had AA pretect me onto non-OW airlines after IRROPS, and they have always booked me into business/first preserving my SWU upgrade.