There is no domestic Delta at 32 inch in economy. There are a few that are 30 inch.
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...s_A321-200.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...bus_A320_C.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...A320_B_new.php
They managed to squeeze 192 seats in A321 even with 20 First class seat. JetBlue all-core has 200 seat with no first class seat. That should give you an idea of how tight some DL flights are.

Again, the worst part is not the pitch alone. It's that they have a lot of 737s and 757s on these transcons that are just narrower seats (1 inch narrower). B6 is going to easily have the widest seats domestically once A220 is in service.

The thing great about AA at least out of NYC is that upgrades are now easily obtainable even for people not in the top level ff. Whereas DL ff need to be pretty high to get FC upgrades out of NYC.

Also agreed on AA and A321T. Their MCE is a really good product.

sounds like he does mostly transcons, where Jetblue does actually have pretty good coverage out of JFK. And also, mint runs significantly more on time than rest of their network.

Also, DL's network really only covers domestic and Europe well. If you travel to Asia a lot like me, *A is the way to go.

If you do opt to fly AA and credit to IB, be aware that IB's year for accruing status runs from April 1 to March 31. ;)

Yeah those noodles were amazing. The sandwich, not so much.

I looked up AA at least at present on the routes I usually fly and the economy seats are a painful 17.3 inches wide, whereas Delta on the flights I usually take are 17.9, only .1 inches narrower than JetBlue. I don’t know that I’m willing to suffer through 4 or 8 round trips to get status with that kind of flight...

I guess I’ll just have to try Delta with their “31-32” seats and see if they’re tolerable for laptop work...

It depends on the aircraft. The 737 and 757 are always going to be close to an inch narrower. Both delta and aa fly them. JetBlue only have aircraft with wider seats.

Again, you are not finding 32 inch coach seat on delta. They don't exist.

Assuming "non-discounted coach" is Y(/M/B) fares, I strongly suspect synzero is not buying those.

I'm mostly flying LAX-JFK and those are 767-300ERs, which have seats supposedly close to the same width as JetBlue. Since I work with my laptop, elbow comfort is key. As for not finding 32" on Delta, again I'm assuming that when SeatGuru says 31"-32" it means the pitch varies between 31" and 32". I wonder if "preferred" seats are more likely to have the slightly larger legroom. I guess I'll find out when I try this.
If you need to buy Y to get status, then of course we're not buying that (again: early stage startup). I usually know my flight dates at least a month or two in advance and paying the change fees when we do change plans is way cheaper than buying flexible fare economy.

If your trans-continental trips will not be on full-Economy fares, then crediting AA flights to Iberia will not work to get you oneworld status quickly.

They don't; they are just better locations. That's why in some rows middle seats are not preferred, but the window and aisle seats are.

I have never had an issue using a laptop on Delta. It is nice that all of their planes have power outlets of some sort now. I flew on their 737-900ER back in April in the exit row, in the window seat with no seat in front of it. The legroom was great, and even though the tray table was in my armrest (meaning the seat was even narrower) I didn't have any issues.

-J.

I think you probably need to shell out for comfort+ seat on DL 767 to get the same level of comfort as mint A321s. My personal experience with 767 have always been the seats are more narrow than the airbus seats or 777 9-across. But I guess to each his own. You do get "meal" on these D1 aircraft, but mint does have the market place. As for working on laptops, I think it's hard to replicate the same wifi speed on DL planes as on B6 planes, even factoring in the paid version.

Also, if you are doing mostly JFK-LAX, you should consider AA. Their A321T on this route is quite nice (unlike the regular AA configuration). The MCE seating is almost as spacious as EMS on mint. And if you get the exit row, there is basically unlimited leg room. And the upgrades are far easier to obtain on AA than DL. Believe me on this one. Especially on Saturdays.

I agree 100%. Delta's wifi will supposedly improve soon, but they have enough IFE options that I don't need to stream video.

Delta and AA also have music, which is something that the Mint A321s and Phase I A320s have (XM), but the Phase II A320s do not (they have no straight music option). I always enjoyed listening to music and just watching the moving map; on many non-Mint flights, this will not be an option for long.

Finally, AA's 321T is really a special product. I prefer Delta overall airline-wise, but I would not hesitate to fly AA on that airplane again. I had the exit row on that plane and it truly was several feet of space.

-J.

Based on your advice I did some research into the AA A321T - there are some appealing things about this. For one thing AA "Main Cabin Extra" is, from some cursory attempts to book flights on my usual dates, a lot cheaper than Delta "Comfort+". I could easily book that and stay well within our company budget for the round trip. The problem of having the IFE box taking up such a huge space wouldn't be an issue if I was able to book Main Cabin Extra, I think. AA is also Hyatt's partner.

However, I think the deal killer for me is lounge access -- basically no Admiral's Club access on my domestic travel unless I sign up for a pricey $450/year credit card, which I'm unlikely to be able to expense. It's possible I could qualify for Platinum in a year but even that doesn't get you lounge access. Whereas with Delta I've got SkyClub access with my Amex Plat, and getting checked bag free comes with any of their cards except for the no annual fee card, so that's a no brainer. I guess after the Centurion Lounge opens up in LAX and JFK things might change -- won't really need Admiral's Club access so AA might be worth a second look.

In the exit row, your bags have to go up top anyway. A small price to pay for unlimited legroom.

As for the club, I stopped going to the Sky Club years ago (of course, when I stopped flying Delta so much and switched to JetBlue). Now I just show up as close to departure as I can, usually an hour or so before with PreCheck, so I spend at the most 10 minutes at the gate before boarding. I can get a drink onboard, or even have something at home before leaving (if you keep some disposable paper/plastic cups at home, you can even make a roadie to finish while in line at security). I know this isn't the popular opinion, but for me, lounge access is not the deal breaker. (That said, it would have been nice during IROPS.)

-J.

That’s what I used to do before I discovered the pleasure of lounges :) For some reason for me just having some time before my flight to sit and work in a calm environment dramatically improves my overall trip experience. Plus I love getting free food/snacks.

After all this it’s going to be Delta. If I were still based in SF I’d actually stick with JetBlue despite all my negative recent experiences with them because Delta is narrowbody SFO-JFK. But it’s a nice wide 18” seat LAX-JFK and I’ll have to take my chances with seat pitch and hope it’s workable with my laptop. We shall see!