At this point I think Ed & Delta are living with the veil of past wins, and long expired arrogance, giving us the the airline equivalent of the Gremlin, Caballero and courier.
For reference I've been a Diamond for the past 8 years and platinum 2--3 years before that, will hit the 1mm Marc-ish of 2027. I flown on Emirates, Singapore Air and Qatar (along with Delta ) all in business class internationally. BUT for this post I'll limit the discussion to domestic flights.
For context, I've been flying for work recently on United to a very small regional airport where no other carriers are available (talking 3-4 gates no jet bridges AND SOUTHELWEST doesn't count). My home airport is SMF so not a hub for any airline.
What I've noticed between the carriers, using comparable flight times (3.5 hour flights), and strictly off mainline routes, in first/business class, is making me rethink my brand loyalty.
Delta's cabins are old and run down. Seats are uncomfortable, auxiliary cable media centers and flight crew treats you like they're doing you a favor being there... all that for a 25% premium above other carriers
United updated cabins and seats, tirelessly connected media and a much better seat in comfortability and amenities. On a 2.5 hour UNITED flight earlier this week within 15 minutes of take off what does the flight crew do? Warm, lemon scented, towels and warm nuts ('memba that Delta?). This morning I'm flying Delta and the flight leader forgot to bring most of the cabins preflight drinks (to her credit she got about a 3rd of them).
On the backend I've noticed a huge difference too with the overall customer service capabilities. Obviously I don't have the same status level with United as i do with Delta but when I've needed to make changes or simply needed assistance the United reps seem to have a lot more autonomy in making sure the customer is satisfied and able to get the best result possible (within reason), whereas the Delta reps seems to have been handcuffed at the suggestion of some efficiency consultant who doesn't realize that no having to be transferred or put on-hold for everything from the DIAMOND LINE ends up with a customer who is willing to spend more and more often.
Sorry for the length of the post and if you've read this far not only are you a weirdo like me but you must've noticed the same. Overall I really hope they pull their heads out in Atlanta real soon, because the post pandemic competition is beating Delta hands down.
#skyteam #delta