NotHamSarnie

Please list the top THREE (we could all go on an on but let's focus our thinking!) you miss and don't miss about flying DL during the pandemic:

Top 3 things I don't miss:

1. Godawful whiny pre-departure and post-arrival music through tinny sound systems
2. Being packed in coach like sardines in a metal tube
3. Other people's cell-phone conversations

Top 3 things I do miss:

1. Takeoff
2. Landing in another country after hours of email-free bliss in Business Elite
3. Friendliness & regional variety of DL flight crews

sydneyracquelle

Top 3 things I do miss:

1. Ice
2. Being able to use my HOOU coupons for a free cold beer
3. A 400-pound person in the middle seat next to me

tardyturtle

OP seems to be focused from the perspective of someone not flying. I'll bite with my perspective having flown throughout the pandemic:

Don't Miss
- Boarding by zone. Boarding is much more civilized these days--it's been a while since I've seen a lice infestation.
- Flying without having to wear a mask. Honestly, it's just such a matter of routine these days that it's not that big of a deal.
- The CRJ2s that were replaced on my routes with CRJ9s.

Miss
- PDBs
- In flight beverage service
- More frequent departures to/from my home base (though the current schedule has ended up being quite convenient for me)

One positive of the post-pandemic timing is that many very short regional flights that didn't used to get any service at least get a sad bag.

Jon_R

I just buy first and I don’t miss having a seat mate. An empty seat next to you in first is pretty nice. I don’t miss boarding first though I still board early on the 757s. I certainly don’t miss goldfish crackers. Had more goldfish this year than the other 19 years of the 2000s combined.

i miss the bottle of water waiting, the snack basket, ordering a drink, and larger jets into some of the places I go like Cho and Cos.

My home airport is Mco and we seem to be as busy as ever with 757s and wide bodies mixed in almost hourly to Atl.

spryam

I too have flown throughout the pandemic. Here is my perspective:

Don’t miss
- gate lice
- having to check my bag because no overhead space
- long first class upgrade lists

Miss
- a full first class
- PDB’s
- real meals in first class. I don’t think I will ever purchase another orange snack box again after that substituting for a first class meal.

Repooc17

This is a really easy to fix. Just fly on another airline. Any airline with domestic F seats or even international J being used on domestic flights. You can't find many with empty seats, whether purchased or upgraded.

pfreet

Don't Miss:
Full aircraft
Long lines at security, even pre-check
Worrying about space in the overhead bin for my bag

Miss:
PDB - natch
International travel
Not wearing a mask

emma dog

Don’t miss:
TSA and other lines
middle seatmate
Ticket change restrictions

miss:
beverage service
meals in f
biscoff

Lomapaseo

miss

F/As walking up and down aisles asking if I want anything
Phone lines that don't leave you waiting an hour

Don't miss

The thumpa thumpa thumpa of the child behind me kicking the middle seat

NotHamSarnie

And everyone else who has answered shares your (interesting to me) perspective! Perhaps those of us flying a lot less mostly don't lurk here anymore?

ND76

Things I miss:

1. Cold bold pre-departure beverage
2. Enjoying a glass of cold beer in flight that is kept refilled by a great FA
3. Not having to wear a mask.

Things I don't miss:

1. Missing out on a UG by one person and then having to sit with two other large people in the same row
2. Standing in the jetway behind 50 other people trying to board
3. Fighting for bin space

I look back at my travels in 2020 and actually had great flights pretty much every time I traveled. I had to pre-plan, and stop at Trader Joe's for in flight snacks and at the Virginia ABC for miniatures, but I was always comfortable on board, whether I got UG'd or not. I enjoyed my Sky Club time. I've only gone out once in 2021 on Delta and because of some surgery I'm on the shelf until late April-early May. I need to travel to Oregon and I think that will be the trip where I get the 5,098 MQMs I need to cross the 3MM barrier and will set me up to be PM through January, 2025.

SeaHawg

Miss:

Proper FC service (ice/coffee)
No hold time for DM agents
Frequency to ATL from my home airport (5 daily flts now vs 7)

Don’t Miss:

Being 2 of 33 for 1 FC seat
Old boarding procedure/gate lice (except for MCO)
Crowded SkyClubs

MCO Flyer

What I Miss:
- Actual in-flight service
- Hot food in the SC
- Not having to worry about putting a mask on between bites.

What I don’t miss:
- Filthy Airplanes
- Gate Lice
- Change Fees

TuxTom

Top 3 things I don't miss:
1. People! Shorter lines, less crowded lounges, empty seats next to me, no gate lice, shorter upgrade lists. Travel for me on DL has been pretty comfortable with so few people.
2. Soft drinks
3. Change Fees

Top 3 things I miss:
1. F/C+ snack basket
2. New/refreshed IFE content
3. Woodford

ATOBTTR

Three Things I Miss
-Onboard service, especially in F (though I'm okay with the tradeoff of empty middle-seats right now, at least on the short flights I've been on)
-Racking up MQMs via BIS time (I earned plenty of MQMs in 2020 due to AmEx Spend but only around 20K BIS MQMs)
-Just being able to travel freely in general right now, especially internationally

Three Things I Don't Miss
-Longer Lines at Check-in and TSA
-Change Fees
-Chaotic Boarding
**Thanks to emptier planes, I feel no need to rush onto the plane to secure overhead space. I'm content waiting till the end of boarding to board because I know overhead space won't be an issue

They recently did an IFE refresh/update. I flew over Presidents Day weekend and my flights had new options
For # 3, go to the local liquor store. A bottle of Woodford isn't that expensive.