UA vs DL....share your perspectives
#136
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: SEA/NYC/IAD
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 1,922
The UA vs DL experience, as a business owner and primarily domestic traveler with equivalent status on each airline, is what makes me appreciate UA. UA is not without its issues - what business isn't, let alone one with such reach, regulation, and other external factors... but my experience on UA is far superior to DL overall. I have a hard time being critical of UA in a lot of areas in which I view it as the market leader for my business travel experience, even when the experience can fall short of ideal. In the absence of a better alternative, it's difficult to critique from the outside looking in (though I hope that's not the benchmark that UA measures itself internally).
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 6, 2024 at 1:46 pm Reason: split post
#137
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: EWR
Programs: UA 1K, DL DM
Posts: 255
I have seen DL flight attendants outright attempt to pick (verbal) fights with other passengers for zero reason other than being on a power trip. They are routinely more rude, more "snippy" when speaking with passengers. I've thankfully avoided all such ire - but I see it all.the.time.
Delta's in-flight experience is noticeably more amateurish. The bright lights that remain on in 5am departures until the minute before takeoff, the loud music blaring while boarding, more passengers who want the windows wide open in the front during dawn on a Tuesday while business travelers are trying to get a wink of additional sleep, the flight attendants who insist on shaking you awake 40 minutes before landing just to make sure your seat is all the way up when it never even reclined from the beginning. UA's flight attendants are addicted to Candy Crush, People Magazine, and galley gossip -- I see it too and I agree -- but they are far better than the DL FA crews, in my experience. Consistently.
Delta wins in two places for me only: 1) more of its regional jets have a domestic first cabin/seat -- though UA is phasing out its econ-only planes, and for my busiest routes it looks like they convert in March; and 2) there are some secondary/tertiary airports that I have to visit where Delta's schedule and route map provide for a far more efficient itinerary (like 4.5-5 hours for Delta including stopover, versus 6-6.5 for United -- that's too large a time gap for my schedule/value of my time).
Food is crap on both, and for the price you pay for a first class seat I'm not sure why airplane food is such a big thing here, specifically on non-premium routes. The wines are also pretty bad on both, so though I usually am not drinking due to work, if I partake it's a bourbon on the rocks, and I suppose I prefer woodford (DL) to buffalo trace (UA). Again, that's not why I'm flying. For connections when required, I'm no fan of ORD or IAH but ATL is pretty much the worst, but MSP is nice. So we're splitting hairs in all of these categories.
Put it this way, if United could get me everywhere Delta can, within 15% of the one-way time (including stopover), and within 25% of the cost, I would exclusively fly United. I would gladly pay more to stick with UA.
#138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 19,901
I definitely prefer DL over UA in terms of Y food. IMO, it's noticeably better. I still stand by what I said that UA's Y meals are disgusting. I still can't believe I had to eat that when I flew SFO-SIN every week from September 2022 to December 2022.
#139
Join Date: Feb 2024
Posts: 7
I am a United 1K from BOS so I do have to fly DL from time to time.
Super important to me are the website and app. Over time, the 1K reps have gotten worse so the technology (and self service capabilities) becomes more important. UA's website and app (Android here) are, by far, the best in the business. No other airline is remotely close. (I will say that UA does chip away at features from time to time -- why would they remove functionality that already exists? For instance, sometimes I want to find the flight that leaves the latest...not earliest. The website used to show either. Now, website sort only allows earliest departure time (or arrival time). But, if you want to work all day and take the last flight out, that functionality no longer exist on the website...it's now only available on the app. Annoying since it used to exist. But, I digress.)
Food on UA is simply inedible. I always try to pick up food in the terminal before boarding. It's shameful. DL has better food, in my opinion.
I really like the hard product on UA.
Edited to add: with UA as a 1K, I can add a companion to fly with me in E+ even if they are on a separate record locator. On DL where I was also Platinum in 2023, when I wanted to fly with my partner or boss in Comfort Plus (or whatever they call it), if they were on a separate locator, that seemed to be much more of a headache.
Super important to me are the website and app. Over time, the 1K reps have gotten worse so the technology (and self service capabilities) becomes more important. UA's website and app (Android here) are, by far, the best in the business. No other airline is remotely close. (I will say that UA does chip away at features from time to time -- why would they remove functionality that already exists? For instance, sometimes I want to find the flight that leaves the latest...not earliest. The website used to show either. Now, website sort only allows earliest departure time (or arrival time). But, if you want to work all day and take the last flight out, that functionality no longer exist on the website...it's now only available on the app. Annoying since it used to exist. But, I digress.)
Food on UA is simply inedible. I always try to pick up food in the terminal before boarding. It's shameful. DL has better food, in my opinion.
I really like the hard product on UA.
Edited to add: with UA as a 1K, I can add a companion to fly with me in E+ even if they are on a separate record locator. On DL where I was also Platinum in 2023, when I wanted to fly with my partner or boss in Comfort Plus (or whatever they call it), if they were on a separate locator, that seemed to be much more of a headache.
#140
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 4,998
Sure but there is a DL vs UA experiences thread somewhere on this board (or maybe it's on the Delta board)... so this may get moved there. With IRROPS assistance, UA objectively wins, and this is what I value most, especially during COVID. Everything else is anecdotal and based on experience, but from my POV, UA also wins on in-flight service, FA professionalism, plane comfort, website, iphone app, and inflight wifi service (I swear Delta's must work less than 15% of the time). UA's website and app blow the competition away, and it's probably the most frequent interaction its customers have with the airline - it's underappreciated IMHO.
I have seen DL flight attendants outright attempt to pick (verbal) fights with other passengers for zero reason other than being on a power trip. They are routinely more rude, more "snippy" when speaking with passengers. I've thankfully avoided all such ire - but I see it all.the.time.
Delta's in-flight experience is noticeably more amateurish. The bright lights that remain on in 5am departures until the minute before takeoff, the loud music blaring while boarding, more passengers who want the windows wide open in the front during dawn on a Tuesday while business travelers are trying to get a wink of additional sleep, the flight attendants who insist on shaking you awake 40 minutes before landing just to make sure your seat is all the way up when it never even reclined from the beginning. UA's flight attendants are addicted to Candy Crush, People Magazine, and galley gossip -- I see it too and I agree -- but they are far better than the DL FA crews, in my experience. Consistently.
Delta wins in two places for me only: 1) more of its regional jets have a domestic first cabin/seat -- though UA is phasing out its econ-only planes, and for my busiest routes it looks like they convert in March; and 2) there are some secondary/tertiary airports that I have to visit where Delta's schedule and route map provide for a far more efficient itinerary (like 4.5-5 hours for Delta including stopover, versus 6-6.5 for United -- that's too large a time gap for my schedule/value of my time).
Food is crap on both, and for the price you pay for a first class seat I'm not sure why airplane food is such a big thing here, specifically on non-premium routes. The wines are also pretty bad on both, so though I usually am not drinking due to work, if I partake it's a bourbon on the rocks, and I suppose I prefer woodford (DL) to buffalo trace (UA). Again, that's not why I'm flying. For connections when required, I'm no fan of ORD or IAH but ATL is pretty much the worst, but MSP is nice. So we're splitting hairs in all of these categories.
Put it this way, if United could get me everywhere Delta can, within 15% of the one-way time (including stopover), and within 25% of the cost, I would exclusively fly United. I would gladly pay more to stick with UA.
I have seen DL flight attendants outright attempt to pick (verbal) fights with other passengers for zero reason other than being on a power trip. They are routinely more rude, more "snippy" when speaking with passengers. I've thankfully avoided all such ire - but I see it all.the.time.
Delta's in-flight experience is noticeably more amateurish. The bright lights that remain on in 5am departures until the minute before takeoff, the loud music blaring while boarding, more passengers who want the windows wide open in the front during dawn on a Tuesday while business travelers are trying to get a wink of additional sleep, the flight attendants who insist on shaking you awake 40 minutes before landing just to make sure your seat is all the way up when it never even reclined from the beginning. UA's flight attendants are addicted to Candy Crush, People Magazine, and galley gossip -- I see it too and I agree -- but they are far better than the DL FA crews, in my experience. Consistently.
Delta wins in two places for me only: 1) more of its regional jets have a domestic first cabin/seat -- though UA is phasing out its econ-only planes, and for my busiest routes it looks like they convert in March; and 2) there are some secondary/tertiary airports that I have to visit where Delta's schedule and route map provide for a far more efficient itinerary (like 4.5-5 hours for Delta including stopover, versus 6-6.5 for United -- that's too large a time gap for my schedule/value of my time).
Food is crap on both, and for the price you pay for a first class seat I'm not sure why airplane food is such a big thing here, specifically on non-premium routes. The wines are also pretty bad on both, so though I usually am not drinking due to work, if I partake it's a bourbon on the rocks, and I suppose I prefer woodford (DL) to buffalo trace (UA). Again, that's not why I'm flying. For connections when required, I'm no fan of ORD or IAH but ATL is pretty much the worst, but MSP is nice. So we're splitting hairs in all of these categories.
Put it this way, if United could get me everywhere Delta can, within 15% of the one-way time (including stopover), and within 25% of the cost, I would exclusively fly United. I would gladly pay more to stick with UA.
Last edited by zombietooth; Feb 7, 2024 at 11:28 pm
#141
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,057
I
Edited to add: with UA as a 1K, I can add a companion to fly with me in E+ even if they are on a separate record locator. On DL where I was also Platinum in 2023, when I wanted to fly with my partner or boss in Comfort Plus (or whatever they call it), if they were on a separate locator, that seemed to be much more of a headache.
Edited to add: with UA as a 1K, I can add a companion to fly with me in E+ even if they are on a separate record locator. On DL where I was also Platinum in 2023, when I wanted to fly with my partner or boss in Comfort Plus (or whatever they call it), if they were on a separate locator, that seemed to be much more of a headache.
Last edited by xliioper; Feb 7, 2024 at 3:25 am
#142
Join Date: Feb 2024
Posts: 7
Yes, C+ seats are a separate fare class on DL and a companion on a separate PNR is only eligible for upgrade at check-in time (and you may only upgrade one companion). If on same PNR, they are eligible at same time (booking time for Plats and Diamonds) and priority. C+ upgrades are automated (just like FC upgrades) and priority based. When upgraded, you will be put in SU class (C+ comp upgrade class), FC upgrades use OU class/bucket. While they will pretty much always hold back FC seats from OU bucket until the gate for FC upgrades, they generally will not hold back any C+ seats from the SU C+ upgrade bucket (which means the seats can fill up pretty quickly with Plats and Diamonds as C+ cabins tend to be smaller).
#143
Join Date: Sep 2022
Programs: United Mileage Plus
Posts: 741
I don't know if this is a good status match offer for DL status or not.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-...c33865bd5f093b
Following Delta Air Lines' controversial 2023 announcement of elite status changes that would be implemented in 2024, the airline is seemingly hoping to gain customer favor by offering a lucrative status match challenge in the new year.
If you currently have elite status with another airline, the Medallion Status Match Challenge allows you to essentially swap it for an equivalent status with Delta, complimentary, for three months. Additionally, if you complete the challenge, you'll have the opportunity to extend your Medallion status through January 2026.
If you currently have elite status with another airline, the Medallion Status Match Challenge allows you to essentially swap it for an equivalent status with Delta, complimentary, for three months. Additionally, if you complete the challenge, you'll have the opportunity to extend your Medallion status through January 2026.
Three months is a nice window of time to enjoy elite perks, but if you want to extend Medallion status, you must earn the required number of Medallion Qualification Dollars during that three-month period. Specifically, you must earn 1,250 MQDs to extend your Silver Medallion status, 2,500 MQDs for Gold Medallion status and 3,750 MQDs for Platinum Medallion status.
You can earn MQDs by flying on Delta-marketed flights or with one of the carrier's partners; however, basic economy fares do not count toward earning MQDs. You can also earn MQDs by booking vacation packages through Delta Vacations. If you want to earn status quickly, you can earn MQDs with an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card
You can earn MQDs by flying on Delta-marketed flights or with one of the carrier's partners; however, basic economy fares do not count toward earning MQDs. You can also earn MQDs by booking vacation packages through Delta Vacations. If you want to earn status quickly, you can earn MQDs with an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card
#144
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,854
#146
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,406
Those amounts are for a 90-day period, and are approximately 25% of the yearly amount.