MNnative

I'm PE for '09, but I see the handwriting on the wall. Are you just jumping to SkyMiles and taking it up the tailpipe, or are you exploring other programs, in or out of SkyTeam?

Alaska's seems to be pretty good. Drawbacks include all 737s with no IFE, and very limited routes.

I tried a search on this subject, but didn't get any hits...

MikeMpls

Right now that's kind of like putting your head underneath an elephant's foot and asking him to be gentle.

US Airways -- racing to the bottom, can't get there fast enough

United -- also racing to the bottom, showing some signs of remorse with regard to its frequent flyers but the company's long-term survival as an independent entity is in doubt

Continental -- quality airline but aligning with United & US, might well make a killing serving disgruntled customers from US & UA. Try to attend the upcoming CO DO IV if CO interests you.

American -- European hub is in the UK, not as convenient for many of us as FRA & AMS, otherwise a viable alternative for many.

WN -- great choice if they go where you need to go, options are expanding to include Canada & Mexico, Europe is still off on the horizon somewhere.

For domestic travel we're moving to WN. For international travel we've spent down our miles but are staying put with DL/NW while all the dust settles.

GUWonder

I would suggest that ditching SkyMiles makes sense for most members and that WorldPerks members quickly burn their NW miles before middle January or thereabouts unless wanting to feel the kind of pain that even DL Platinums like me are having with DL's SkyMiles program.

As far as I am concerned, DL SkyMiles program has become SkyLessMiles as of late.

Even CO's program has become more attractive to me than DL's program.

Carolinian

We have had a great program with NW, and we are going to have to accept something less anywhere else. That said, DL is one of the worst options. They are vying with US to be the leader in the race to the bottom as both airlines figure out new ways to hose ff'ers.

CO seems the best of the rest to me.

td_in_training

I guess I'll be taking it up the tailpipe, as I really haven't seen a compelling reason to jump ship just yet...

I'd echo most of Mike's comments on some of the other programs - I've heard colleagues (based in CLT) complain to no end about USAir... One of my buddies who lives in MSP and also does consulting flies United (his firm forces him to), so he's always connecting in ORD yet he doesn't complain much about the program. I personally would be between Continental and American if I ever left NW/DL...

I don't think anyone can sit back and say "airline X has the best program" - it really is a complicated decision that a number of personal variables are going to influence. If I lived in SEA and was dedicated to clients along the west coast - I'd certainly give Alaska some consideration... but I live in MSP, and serve clients all over the globe... NW/DL make a good bit of sense to me... likewise if I was paying for all of my own travel, or had some flexibility in scheduling, I might give WN a try... but for my current travel it doesn't make sense.

I'll probably get flamed here but there are a few things I'm actually looking forward to!

• I've always preferred Coke to Pepsi
• I'll enjoy earning SWU's before 120K miles
• A commitment to providing Inflight Wifi is appreciated
• I've had most of the cocktails the current NWA drink carts can create - naturally I'm looking forward to Mile High Mojitos
• The safety video!! (ok ok, I agree the finger wagging is a bit obnoxious - but the music is catchy and to be honest I'd welcome just about anything in place of the NWA airobics routine...)

That being said, there are a few scenarios that would leave a VERY sour taste in my mouth...

• Chisholm (nuff said)
• DL must respect the sanctity of the lifetime WC memberships
• I really like taking the 330 direct from MSP to Europe. I hope I never have to connect in JFK or ATL for this.

I'm sure some of you will hate on me for this - but I really do think that both airlines have some strengths - how they will be integrated and what the final mix will look like is anyone's guess... sure we can all speculate but the only thing we're really helping is our post counts.

Now, if someone could show me an announcement from Delta saying "We're replacing all of the E175s with Dash 8s" - I'd fax my mileage to everyone under the sun and hope for a decent status match, but at this point there is quite a bit left to be seen...

There. I've done it. I've come out as potentially optimistic with respect to the merger!

I'll be in the MSP G worldclub at about 11:00am for my mandatory tar+feathering.

-Tim

Tedeman

I'm with td_in_training on this topic.

I'm not sure the "sky is falling" yet and there is a LOT to like still about the potential NW/DL airline. If I can avoid ORD and ATL and get over either pond, I'm happy. I'm probably a bit lower maintenance than most folks when it comes to flying, but I'm not a UAL, CO, or AA fan in any way. Any.

Hey, if the Chisholm folks stay around for FFers and DTW is a key hub, that saves me a lot of angst... and money. Don't get me wrong - I'm not doing cartwheels about losing WP, but I'm not assuming the worst... yet. I may be wrong, but I'll wait and see before I spend too much energy worrying about it.

jimc_usa

I have recently become semi-retired and I will be flying on my own dime.
I have found it more and more difficult to find any domestic flights for 25K so hardly worth the time searching. I can find Europe for 50K but at my age flying really early or late is not my cup of tea anymore.

Soooo next year my flights will be to MAN and MAD/ALC and I can find flights less expensive than NW, and my loyalties have gone to my wallet.
It has been a journey, flying NW for the last 25 years, many ups and downs and no complaints. I will still be GE next year and will miss FC. Maybe it is time to try a different airline.......

humanoid94

My strategy is pretty clear, I am going to requalify for at least silver on NW/DL and then see how CO program shakes out post-Skyteam. Then in the second half of next year, I will comp over (with my then gold status) to the program that is the best deal for my travel patterns.

GTITAN

It really depends on a number of things, BIS miles, your location, where you are flying generally etc. If FF program is all you care about generally, and you fly more than 100K BIS miles, and Asia is not your primary destination, IHMO, EXP on AA is the best that you can do today. I grant YMMV.

Safe Travels.

GUWonder

In several weeks, DL intends to make that 50k US-Europe-US award for 50k go up to at least 60k miles. Something to keep in mind if you want to avoid a minimum 20% DL devaluation.

[A few US-Europe-Us itineraries that NW charges 50k miles for DL wants a minimum of 75k miles for the very same, which -- if accurate -- is a 50% increase in price.]

AA's program and some Star Alliance programs are much more my cup of tea than DL's (and soon to be NW's) program.

indufan

You know, of course, I have heard your excitement over the WN coming to MSP. So, does WN really satisfy all of the domestic destinations that you need? I know, for me, they aren't even close. I just made two trips to DRO, for example.

MikeMpls

WN flies to everyplace we've flown to in the U.S. in the last 4+ years except:

1) Atlanta, GA, one trip. This would have required a non-WN ticket.

2) Richmond, VA, on discounted (15K miles each) NW award tickets. Any cheap WN destination on sale would have been an eligible substitute.

3) Cincinnati, OH, CVG DO.

4) Houston, TX, Continental DO. WN flies to HOU but the prices aren't discounted enough to offset hotel parking @ IAH & the car rental.

So on average we'd have to book one domestic trip per year, maybe less, on some other airline.

WN is going to make a killing with no baggage fees. Wait until ski season is over and thousands -- maybe millions -- have been burned by the legacies with their baggage fees. These are the first holiday & ski seasons where customers will feel the full effect of the baggage fees. I predict a substantial shift in customers' booking inclinations for post-winter travel within the U.S.

To me the even better part of "LUV is freedom from fees" is the lack of change fees. I am already checking all of our WN itineraties (14 separate confirmations so far if my count is correct) daily, tweaking the bookings & collecting credits. Most of the Kettles & SixPacks will probably never fully catch on to this aspect of WN.