defrosted

I hadn't noticed that.

runningformqm

MSPeconomist

MSPeconomist

orlandodlplat

I am friendly with a few upper management types at DL, who speak religiously about what they call the "Delta Difference."

Employees are trained specifically to use their brains and break rules (small rules, of course) to make the travel experience just a little better. This appears in all kinds of ways: in waiving a change fee... or throwing a Medallion (or a harried traveler) a free drink in coach... or really anything within reason.

Of course, not every interaction with a DL person will be positive. But they have metrics that show the customer experience is way more pleasant than UA/AA. It's good business, because they have developed the ability to charge more for better service.

apodo77

PBI was my home airport for 4 years (In TPA now) and the SC agents are great there. It is a small, quaint club comapred to many. In ATL I doubt you would ever get such service and feel like an unwanted guest in a herd of cattle.

TheHorta

runningformqm

ijgordon

IMHO, that's a tad bit disingenuous of them -- put in place some draconian policies (e.g., 72hr rule on awards) and then make us feel special by not enforcing them "as a one-time courtesy"?

beachmouse

The Spousal Unit ended up doing a lot of flights up to see his parents in the last year of their lives and then help wrap up the estate. And I burned through a good chunk of my miles & gift cards stash across the Big Four trying to make that happen in the most economical way possible.

When he was looking at about 90% odds of a misconnect with American, he asked for rebooking assistance fro ma GA, got a shrug, and was told they wouldn't do anything for him until he actually missed his next flight in Charlotte.

When it was about 50/50 odds of a misconnect with Delta, the GA was all 'I think you'll be good making the connecting in Atlanta, but if you don't, I'm proactively booking you a back-up seat on the following flight'

For the Delta one, he was waiting for a plane about five hours after his mother died. He's not the kind of person to ever play the dead parent card in attempt to get some sort of special request. But Delta had a system in place that gave him a lot more peace of mind that he'd get back to our house that day, and that system actually made a difference on on one of the worst days of his life.

SYRRDU

Good list. The two biggest standouts. AA has the better booking website that recognizes your status and allows you to book all eligible seats, without having to wait for the silly "You got upgraded" email after booking. DL does manage IRROPS the best. One thing not mentioned is phone line.

Elite Phone Line: I would go with AA. The DM line has suffered over the last few years or I have been batting well below .500 with competent service.

As I said in a different post, the change from DL to AA took some time to get used to, but EXP has been a very good experience so far.

jdrtravel

Those are very rose colored memories of NWA, IMO. Having grown up in an NWA fortress hub, I remember lots of labor issues and airplane cabins in serious need of updating. Remember that when NWA/DL merged, the 747's still did not have seat-back screens or power ports. Staff were often grumpy and there were many strikes. WorldPerks was generous compared to the Sky Miles program, but that is an industry wide trend, not something unique about WorldPerks or Sky Miles.

Yes, NWA was great at keeping the planes running on time, and DL has certainly inherited that, along with the much friendlier PMDL southern culture.

gypsycsc

I just took my first trip on AA in about 15 years. I had to book close to departure, and there was zero flexibility in my schedule. The only Delta option that would work for me was $980. AA has recently started service in my home airport (SBN) and they had an option that would work for $450. I would say that the plane was more comfortable than what DL flies out of SBN, and even had a small first class section. But what really impressed me was the IRROPS. Our evening flight CLT - SBN diverted to Indianapolis due to fog in SBN. By the time we landed in Indianapolis the pilot had told us the flight would be cancelled because the fog wasn't going to clear for a while. I was mentally making plans to call and book a hotel for the night, assuming no vouchers because it was a weather problem. When we landed there were agents to meet the flight. We all quickly received a hotel voucher (Crowne Plaza) and a meal voucher ($12), were told what time to be at the airport in the morning, collected our luggage at the carousel, and grabbed the shuttle to the hotel. I don't know if it's usual for AA to pay for hotel and meals when there's a weather-related cancellation, but it went far beyond what I expected, and beyond what I have come to expect from Delta in similar weather situations. I was impressed.

FlyBitcoin

PBI SC is great for many reasons. One of them is that Ed Bastian frequents it on the weekends.
https://www.bizjournals.com/southflo...ton-condo.html

Agree that the "Delta Difference" is not just a slogan. They do execute it well.

NOLAnwGOLD

So having originally been a NW patron for many decades before the merger with Delta, I have a perspective of how things have changed. Though much of the current leadership at Delta has origins at NW, it really seems that they have taken the best of both airlines and truly made the best of it all. Though there are plenty of things that don't go perfectly, in general, I find the airline to be trying it's best and working to better themselves.

Your stories are fantastic and hope that things are going to continue to improve both on the basic performance (way way better), hard product (I'm mixed because it sometimes seems like they are just giving to the uber rich and taking a bit more away from the middle of the road, though seems they are doing ok for the say basic economy segment), and service (which is often quite good).