Happy Holidays!

I am wondering what airline(s) I should fly in 2004 to work to a FF status.

I am Delta Platinum for 2004 (based on segments because I've been Platinum for the last 7 years). I fly out of Melbourne because Delta is the only airline that flies here since 9/11. I had 76476 MQM's in 2003 and with the 750 base miles for 2004 I might make 100k miles in 2004, although it will be close.

I am rarely able to upgrade into/out of MLB because almost everyone here is a FF and most of the aircrafts are the RJ. I have asked Delta and the authorities at MLB to get more flights (currently only about 6 flights daily to ATL and back) but that is another story. My company makes me get the lowest possible fare, so I am always waitlisted for first, and when the timelimit is reached, the waitlist is always closed; the only time I have no problem upgrading is on a Wednesday.

I am getting very tired of going thru ATL and tired of the small number of flights from MLB. I travel mostly to PIT, CLE, PHL, CAK and MSP. If I fly out of Orlando, I have a much better selection of airlines, but my company is based in PHL and they will require me to fly USAir to go to PIT and PHL. They can get me Gold on US so maybe that isn't so bad.

My main question.... should I continue on Delta to try to get Platinum for 2005 or isn't it worth it anymore? Should I concentrate on US out of Orlando or just fly whatever is non stop? I made a decision to fly out of MCO on whatever was nonstop, but then Delta dangled the 750 mile carrot in front of me!

Thanks in advance for the help!



[This message has been edited by Traveller (edited Dec 27, 2003).]

If you're flying on the lowest fares the 750 minimum on DL will yield only 375 MQM -- not 750 MQMs.

I see that there are 7 daily MLB-ATL flights. 4 are RJs and 3 are MD80s.

If upgrading is a priority, if you aren't getting upgraded regularly now, and upgrades make it worthwhile flying out of MCO, by all means do so!

If you'll be required to fly US when headed to PIT and PHL, and you do so often, perhaps you should stick with US. It would be better than splitting your miles across two carriers, IMHO.

If you can get around that restriction, consider NW. You can credit your MLB-ATL flights on DL to NW and earn full mileage credit even on the lowest fares. And upgrades on NW metal are pretty good for NW elites.

I fly about 45 weeks a year, this past year I did fly mostly on DL from MLB but had a couple of flights on CO and NW and a few on US from MCO.

I don't always fly on the LUT fares, I try to wait until a week before the flight so that I don't get those fares, but it is a balancing game because most every flight out of MLB is overbooked, it's rare when they don't ask for volunteers to get off the flight, and sometimes I'm forced to fly out of MCO because I can't get a flight out of MLB.

First class isn't all that important to me out of MLB, after all it's only about an hour flight and DL 1st isn't anything to brag about anymore... all it is is a seat closer to the front.

First out of MCO is a big deal for me because of all the tired, crying kids in coach.

What's most important to me is to be able to board early since overhead storage on DL is so scare. Accruing more than the base miles is nice too since I have a big family that likes free tickets.

If I use MCO as my base, I have to use US to PIT and PHL, no way out of that at all. How does the US FF program compare to DL? And I rarely fly on YBM fares so as a Platinum I won't be able to upgrade when I make my reservations. Is US a stable airline, I did hear a rumor that they were pulling out of PIT.

Thanks! I almost wish they would do away with FF programs so they won't influence who I fly!

[This message has been edited by Traveller (edited Dec 27, 2003).]