dlen111

if i was flying from msy to atl (which i do often), i would rather connect in iah, mem, or msp, or all three, rather than fly DL direct. They have become terrible. my brothers and mother also feel the same.

my mom, being an airline industry employee for 40 years (now with a DL subsidiary) is truly upset, for she feels that DL was truly one of the worlds best airlines at one time. She can fly free, but would rather pay to fly CO, WN or HP before flying free on DL.

their front line employees have been replaced with $7 an hour a-holes who could give a s#$t if you got anywhere. i guess i cant blame them though, for their managment have treated them even worse than they have treated their customers.

i have enjoyed one trip on DL, however. atl to mad in BE. one of my best trips to date!

Jax Tom

I am nowhere near as frequent a flyer as most on this board, so my reasons may not carry as much weight as some, but here they are:

Delta has, in the past, had the combinations of the best fares and best times for the destinations I was going to. I'm not a person who blindly spends extra money or time just out of loyalty to a program. But flying from JAX DL just has had the best to offer in these areas.

Delta's staff has always been great to me in both regular and irregular operations, often going out of their way even when I had no status with DL.

As a lowly silver, I did receive upgrades when eligible for them.

Thanks to tips from this board, I was able to get Elite Status with Air Tran, but haven't had a chance to fly with them yet, partially out of the limits of where they fly to and where I need to go. But at the right times and prices, I would consider them.

All said, DL and SkyTeam partners are still my default preference because of past experience, but that is subject to change in individual case situations. I also have membership with AA but haven't used them in a couple of years. Looking at these boards I see a lot of unhappiness with most of the major airlines and don't think the grass is that much greener on the other side of the fence. So, for me, it all comes down to who has what to offer when I need to fly.

CVG's DL Hostage

Why?

Non-stops to the places I want to go, although the RJs on longer routes just suck.

We like driving to nearby airports to fly right back through our homebase. We certainly get to enjoy the CVG CRC for those lengthy connections.

My name says it all.

indufan

Plain silly.

DONINTATL

My sentiments exactly.

You know speaking of changing times, I sure miss those bank tellers or the way Sears used to call me personally to invite me to one of their upcoming sales. As Edith said on "All In The Family" - "Those Were The Days"

I try to understand many of the comments posted on the board and simply offer this, "allow the airline to evolve to continue to meet the needs of its passengers while making money." I have already been impressed my Mr. Grinstein's leadership style and see many great things ahead for the airline. "Delta professionals are the cornerstone of a tradition that no courtesy is to small to extend to any customer anywhere in the world."

(I am also beginning to believe that the legacy carriers are the scapegoat for America's pains and problems. - I guess that's because the media has lead them to believe that they have been taken advantage of for so many years - The AJC seems to love Airtran)

JRF

That is because Air Train tries harder. Sort of like Avis, we try harder! Being number two means you have to work harder. DL employees used to be of this mindset, and many still are. It was Leo that hated the customers and it shows!

Dovster

Years ago, United Press International (UPI) was one of the world's top news organizations -- with reporters like Walter Cronkite.

When I worked for it in the 1970's it was still top notch but it started losing some clients to the Associate Press during a price war. UPI's owners, Scripps Howard, decided to handle things the way that Leo did at Delta. Instead of making UPI a better product to attract clients, they cut costs.

At first they did this by cutting back sharply on allowable expenses. Then they reduced the number of reporters in the bureaus. Finally, many bureaus were shut down.

The result was that few newpapers were interested in getting the now-shabby UPI service. More and more switched to AP. Scripps Howard sold UPI to a Saudi organization which started using it as a propaganda outlet and they, in turn, sold it to the Moonie church.

Needless to say, it has no credibility today and very few newspapers are willing to touch it.

I hope that Delta gets off of Leo's path before it turns into another UPI-type basketcase.

mikey1003

Very close friend of mine (was Red Coat before the got rid of coats) always flies some other airline. Has done it for years. Doesn't want to be bothered with standby and has a hell of a lot of FF miles to boot!!

andymo99

But they (Scripps Howard) still run the National Spelling Bee, right?

DrBeeper

C'mon now. All airlines are pretty much the same in the U.S. I am platinum at AA, Gold at NW, Gold at Delta. Delta (and AF) fly to destinations that I frequent. I have always had a good experience (except one AF flight that was the result of a French catering strike).

Several people seem to think that AA is the Singapore Air of the U.S. It isn't. As a platinum member, I have never been upgraded automatically. And I find some of their flight attendants to be a total drag. And don't get me started about the Beastro Bags!

I am 6'4 and find little relief in MRTC from AA. And AA flies Embraers everywhere from CMH. Delta at least allows me to fly mainlines (unless I have to fly to NYC, then I fly Continental 737s).

Yes, I have had good luck booking FF mileage trips on AA and have a little difficulty on Delta. Having said that, flying through Heathrow is terrible (worse than CDG in my opinions) and I prefer going on Delta through AMS or CDG. I have over 200,000 left on AA and don't plan to use them since I now fly Delta almost exclusively.

Frankly, I like Delta more than AA or UAL.

Dovster

I can't answer that but I do know they still own United Features Syndicate. This was the only part of UPI that continued to make money -- and the only part where they never cut back on the operating budget.

I figure they left it alone because their best cartoonist, Charles Schulz, refused to work for peanuts.

AuAAdvantage

I'm a former Silver Medallion on DL but haven't had any paid DL flights since 1/1/03 when they "enhanced" me. 50% credit on LUT did it for me. What few bennies they gave me as an FO cost them nothing, so they screwed up big time as far as I'm concerned. I'm PLT at AA now (almost EXP), thousands of $$$ worth of business DL could have had if they weren't making braindead business decisions. The other thing that wasn't a factor initially, but is now, is DL's horrible Skysaver award availability. Another bonus I got/will be getting from AA are 4 free tix from their AABOS and AA123 promos and unlimited upgs regardless of fare paid, once I make EXP (I'm 13K shy now). If DL has major problems because of their pilot's sky high salaries, they shouldn't bleed the money out of their customers. AA has treated me so well that I'm grateful for DL's stupidity.

robnsfla

As Delta adds more RJ's I seem to be flying less.
For example Ft. Lauderdale to Reno
1 connection via Houston on Continental all mainline
2 connections and an RJ on Delta

Ft. Lauderdale to Fresno
1 connection in Dallas on AMR all mainline
2 connections on Delta with an RJ

I want to fly on a real airplane.

Delta is just no fun any more also.
Lousy meal service. cramped seats, too many rules LUT MQM way too complicated like they are trying to screw their best customers...when a reward becomes too much of an effort it's no longer a reward.

indufan

They do.

http://www.spellingbee.com/

greg

I fly Delta only when necessary for the following reasons listed in order of importance (to me as a customer):

- cramped economy class seating (31" pitch vs 34-36" on AA or UA)
- bad experiences trying to claim Skymiles awards (vs AA or UA)
- really enjoy channel 9 on UA and fact that almost all aircraft have at least audio
- brand name- Delta seems to me an awkward name. i grew up flying Pan Am, so the Delta name and company culture just strike me as regional not global. hardly a showstopper for me but American and United are just much more appropriate names for US flag carriers. A lot of my European and Asian friends feel the same way. The Delta name just lacks any direct connection to our country.