I agree that DL belongs at the bottom of the scrap heap, I left them for CO b/c of the severe deterioration of the Skymiles program, they sure didn't contact me or read my letters to them when they made that ridiculous comment.. Kudos to CO.. yes we can all improved but they have a heck of a program.. Also I'm still not sure how Starwood fared so well, I guess I will have to check them out. It just seems that all the FTers on here, complain about them.

The days where Delta spokesman Todd Clay could make such comments and speak truthfully are long gone. Delta has gutted its SkyMiles program and insensed its elite SkyMiles members. Compare all the other programs and you'll see that Delta has fallen far below where it once was and should be now, were it not for foolish, greedy, short-sighted decisions by its management.

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"Sire, it is not a revolt. It is a Revolution!"

[This message has been edited by Spiff (edited 04-28-2001).]

My preferred FF programs (taking all factors into consideration):

1. NW
2. US
3. CO
4. DL
5. UA
6. AA
7. WN
8. FL

Northwest gets *major* bonus points for allowing redemption on their web site and requiring (lately) only 19,000 miles for a domestic flight.

US Air is a quality airline. Its only downside is its limited route network.

I haven't flown Continental for some years, although I will be flying them twice in the next couple months. They used to be pretty bad, but apparently have improved. Their FF program is important because they partner with Frontier and America West, if for no other reason.

Delta is a pretty bad airline. The prefer to cut corners instead of maintaining quality service. I generally only fly them when I have no other choice.

United-- do their planes actually ever arrive?

American. Agh. Their fares are outrageous, they never seem to fly where I want to go, and I think (I could be wrong) that they don't even give FF miles on all economy tickets! I have no intention of flying them in the forseeable future.

Southwest. No partners = I don't fly them.

AirTran. I really can't imagine *any* circumstances under which I would fly AirTran. They are the worst airline, by far, that I have ever flown. I would consider flying Aeroflot; I would not consider flying AirTran. It is incredible that such an inept airline is still in business.

I am not considering seperately airlines which partner with the above airlines.

idomoneous-

To the best of my knowledge, AA gives mileage credit for all revenue fares. I've flown on every class of ticket in the alphabet with them (except, fortunately, M), and have never had a problem.

I've flown on the M fares on AA and have gottne miles. You can even get elite miles on web fares. AA matches most of the sales offered by every airline. Plus, nothing can beat More Room Throughout Coach. They're even adding More Room Throughout Business. AA eins in my book, hands down.

Doc: Thanks for pulling this out of the past!

I agree, Statistics lie, and any poll, survey, or ranking is subject to the bias of the way it is scored, phrased or created.

I personally stick with UA 'cause I'm in Denver and they dominate the market AND go most places I need to go, domestic & international.

My company is apparently about to seal a deal with Frontier so it looks like my fairly dormant CO is about to start getting more miles. I finally have a need to try to get a comp in another program for my 10 years of UA 1P.

RAD

RAD, no need to dust off the CO onepass, you can use the new "Early Returns" program from F9. You can get all the info at their website.
Doug

idomoneus-

FWIW, NW & US scored 6th and 7th respectively in this years Freddies balloting! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004488.html

Actually, I checked PUBLISHED fares today in the NY Times. They MATCHED all fares and wer the lowest on many routes.

In addition, they are the most liberal when it comes to earning miles on different fare tix.

They also are amongst the easiest to redeem miles on. Try redeeming your miles on Continental! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

This goes to show how subjective rankings usually are. Airtran A+ is my FAVORITE FF program simply because you can't deny the math: Take three flights, pay with AMEX, and your fourth flight is free!

That amounts to a 33% discount on all paid fares. AND you can fly in the Front Cabin on your award ticket for $25.

I just wish they flew somewhere west of Texas.


Mac



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Via con Dios!

Building a LARGE base of supposed frequent flyers, who may not qualify for anything, is a good SOURCE of information for SECURITY risks, etc. It is my guess, that only a small percentage of people signing up for programs, ever reach Elite status and/or qualify for a minimal award.

The data base might be priceless for the airline or company.

Just a thought to fill the spaces of the mind or mindless.

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It is never too late to have a HAPPY CHILDHOOD!

BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP!

[This message has been edited by ROADRUNNER (edited 04-30-2001).]

Hey, AirTrans flys into Denver...and I'm pretty sure we're just west of Texas. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[spelling error http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif]

[This message has been edited by RAD (edited 04-30-2001).]

Sorry, duplicate post... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

[This message has been edited by RAD (edited 04-30-2001).]

Nope, AirTran (FL) only flies as far west as DFW - see http://www.airtran.com/destinations/routemap/index.jsp . I think perhaps you are confusing AirTran with ATA = American Trans Air.

[Corrected AirTran code.]


[This message has been edited by davohuang (edited 05-01-2001).]

Actually, F9 is Frontier. AirTran is FL.