Transfer to Delta
 

I wanted to ask a question, I have just about had enough of the new airline, the fools that are running it and the changes that make my travel experience better.
I am a circa 275-330k annual flyer on the star ( 250-275 on UA)with around 75k with others. Delta are increasing services from my home based airport and when I have flown them in the premium zone and they they have always done well in terms of product and service
My questions are for anyone who has gone through the transition who perhaps keeps an eye on the forum.
- How did they treat you ?
- was the transition straightforward ?
- was it worth it ?
I am conscious that the grass always looks greener somewhere else and want to tap into any knowledge out there before making the move when I complete a trip down to Asia next week and while I still have a lot of flying left in the calendar year
Thanks

There are several similar threads on the USA legacy airline forums
The grass is not always greener. It may be very brown.
And UA will not care as you will be balanced by DL to UA traveller

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ch-united.html AA to UA?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...read-word.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...f-program.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ny-better.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...-customer.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

I will repeat what I have written on the DL forum in the past. I have flown DL for 30+ years. They have been as professional as they come. RA has Delta running on all 8 cylinders. Next week the numbers come out. Everything points to DL being on top again.

Now if redeeming your miles is the overriding concern, most people will tell you DL is not the best at this, but to be honest UA and AA are probably heading in the same direction. If you just want to know you can have a professional experience on your trip, and return home hopefully on time, DL is a no-brainer.

NOW with that said, and as I have said before, the other airline I fly at times is US. Never had a problem with them. Are they as polished as DL...no...but they have always done a good job.

YMMV...and I don't know how picky you are about things, but I think you will be happy with DL.

I am a former many year GS (200-250K miles, $50K+ yearly) GS. My flying is domestic mostly. I have mostly switched over to DAL at this point. As others have said, Anderson had Delta humming like a well oiled machine, while Jeff is turning UAL into a third world version of Ryan Air.

The "bad" on DAL? (1) harder to get redemption with SkyPesos, and (2) you only get 4 SWUs as a DM.

But (1) after UAL doubled the price of *A redemptions and clamped down on available seats, UA is now giving out Mpesos, and (2) the good part is that the DAL SWUs are now good on any fare (not just a W) which allows they to be used on (e.g. for me) cheapest fare family vacations.

If you are flying mostly domestic, you will be very very happy with the switch. Only reason to stay with UAL at this point is hub capture or flying a lot overseas in high Y fares where UAL has the network you need (so that you can use the SWUs when possible).

Many thanks , third world Ryan air ...the mere thought is disturbing

I agree 100%. I can't find any saver award seats as a 1K to save my .... Funny thing is I used some vouchers instead and the tickets were about $500 r/t and the plane was empty. United is getting very stingy on the saver award which is retarded if the planes are flying empty. Smisek and team are running United into the ground. As soon as the economy hits the next recession people will remember when they are begging you for your business again.

this thread is probably better posted in the DL forum, but alas. DL is much better operationally and from a product perspective than UA. UA is much better for mileage redemption, upgrades, and the like than DL (but that is changing).

i tend to enjoy my experiences on DL significantly more than my experiences on UA. i have had bad experiences on both airlines, though admittedly the last bad DL experience I had was several years ago while I have had several bad UA experiences in the last year alone. that being said, i have flown a lot more UA than DL until just recently.

I actually just made the opposite switch due to the customer service issues in my home airport. I actually love to fly DL, anywhere but MCI. The product is great, free booze in Y on intl, and until next year's change, very straight forward mileage program.

I made the change due to the fact that DL customer service in MCI is horrific, and I have had my bag loaded onto the wrong aircraft several times. UA mainly flies express aircraft which I am not a fan of, but the employees seem to be nicer, and will proactively rebook if they know of an issue coming up, and not wait until everything hits the fan.

I will say that for my comparison, both UA and DL in MCI have mainline agents working.

add: the thing I miss most about DL is connecting in ATL, on a long layover going into the city for lunch, and on shorter layovers that have smoking lounges. THAT is what I miss.

As a 1K member, who flies about 130K a year and spends around $25-30K, I'm thinking about the switch to Delta or American. I fly out of SFO a lot and I'm sick and tired of getting trumped for EVERYTHING (upgrades, seats, etc.) by the Google/facebook/Twitter GS members.

Any advice about where to go?

Well, it has been a while since I have flown AA, but my mother is ExPlat on them and swears by them, and I never had any major issues myself. I am just not sure who would have the better schedule for your flying out of SFO? More domestic or International?

I fly about 70% to international. Most of the rest is to NYC. I've been leaning toward Delta, because of their relationship with SPG (which I love and am truly loyal to).

I also pretty much insist on int. biz class -- if I can't upgrade to it, I pay for it. It seems like Delta often has very reasonable biz fares to Europe ($2700-$3700). AA seems more pricy -- though their seats might be better.

AA's new seats are better, but that's only on the 77W, which is currently in very limited usage. On the whole, DL's international fleet is much more likely to have lie-flats. This is one area in which UA still wins, with 100% lie-flats on long-haul international.

Out of SFO, if you're looking at DL or AA for international, there is literally zero nonstop lift - you'll be connecting through SEA/SLC/DTW/ATL (DL) or LAX/DFW/ORD (AA). So I think the partners become key for international, and IMO AA, with BA and CX, wins this one hands-down.

Delta new business class seats are great! AA is in the stone ages unless you get one of the few new planes.
It seems all airlines match prices when seat sales come about.

DL is more reasonable... but with either one for international there will be a connection involved. DL though has a lot of international lift out of SEA, and semi partner with AS on some flights to the west coast.

AA with BA/CX is probably the best in terms of network you could hope for. DL has the best service/seats for the price. UA has the best non stops out of SFO. I think that is a tough decision. I personally have a bad taste in my mouth for DL, but that was mainly at my home airport, never had any major problems elsewhere other than weather. AA seems to have their stuff together as well, and I think you might be able to qualify for Concierge Key, AA's GS essentially.

Interesting! Thanks guys for all the info.

Since I live in S. Oregon, flying int. out of SEA, PDX, or SLC is not really worse than SFO. Now I just have to decide if I want to stick it out for 1.5 years to get UA MM status before switching. Combined with my wife and kids, that's ~$50K of revenue UAL is losing. I think I'm going to buy some Delta stock and short UAL. :D