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First off, let me get some of the obvious questions out of the way. What questions? Well considering that today is April 1st, no, this is not an April Fools post. Next, no, I am not changing over to AA from Delta and there was a reason I flew this and it really is straight forward and you will see why. But first the flight.
This flight was not really AA i.e. it was not a mainline flight it was an AA regional partner (just like Delta’s partners). The E175 in 1A had a ton of room and I felt right at home. The only kinda weird thing is the micro overhead compartment, that is open on Delta regionals, was screwed shut. Now sure you can only fit a coat or something small inside them but why screw them shut? Strange.
Let me say that I almost exclusively fly Skyteam jets. It has been YEARS since I have been on a UA jet and my last AA flight was quite a while ago when I flew to COS to visit the HOM or Colorado Springs to visit the home of Boarding Area called “The House Of Miles” and the legend himself, Randy and his team. But back to this flight and my comparison to all things Delta.
I was offered a PFB or preflight beverage just like on Delta but there were no tiny Dasani water bottles like we see on Delta and I missed that I have to say.
Once up in the air nuts and wine was a nice starter course. Sure we get snack basket lite in first class (where there is a meal vs. no meal full snack basket) on Delta but this was a nice touch. Call me impressed.
Lunch was a cold chef salad with some kind of cooked and cold chicken. Now I know this may not look that great (especially the bland looking chicken that I am sure Matt likes) but the greens were fresh, crisp and quite good. My only real complaint would be the lemon cake for dessert as I am one who feels lemon is a scent for furniture polish not a flavor for food, but that is just me!
The crew were attentive, nice and I never once felt like I needed to “ding” them for anything. I liked not seeing the faux would trays (they are starting going away as of today btw on Delta). I really cannot say anything bad at all about this flight or the next one I took other than:
It was a bit strange before my next flight out of LAX to see a service guy bring two carts up the jet bridge into the gate area. Not a big deal but I just have never in my hundreds of Delta flights ever seen that before. Maybe it is just an AA thing?
So on to why I did this and I think you will agree with my choice. I needed to get to Dallas. I live in the South Bend, Indiana area. I could go to Chicago and fly direct but I hate that and AA points in business class nowadays almost always cost you 45-55,000 ONE WAY (yuck – AA dis-AAdvantage points makes SkyMiles look cheap by comparison). Same thing if I go from my second closest airport AZO or Kalamazoo and connect in Chicago. But for the same length of driving (about 2 hours) I can pop up to GRR or Grand Rapids with no tolls or traffic to speak of and fly direct down to Dallas. Not just that, but using British Air Avios points it cost just 15,000 in business class one way.
Not a bad deal at all for a direct flight and the points came from a Chase British Air Visa card that is NOT subject to the cursed 5/24 rule so you too can get this card, if you have not had it for the past 24 months, and have some Avios for direct flights like these at great value (it was just 7,500 in coach btw but I like business class).
So there you are. This was a nice flight with decent food and great service and even on time (I know shocking for AA that is often delAAyed). – René
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I switched to AA from DL (out of Atlanta) two years ago. Never looked back, I really like AA.
After 2mm on DL I also switched to AA two years ago and have been very pleased overall. BA Avios are a great way to fly AA domestically. I never try to use AA miles for domestic routes. They are much more valuable for international first class or business class on other airlines.
Thanks to rollover MQMs and the MQD waiver I’ve been able to maintain DL Diamond status with choice benefits while also qualifying as AA Executive Platinum. There are pros and cons to each airline. The few percentage points difference in on time performance is not a big differentiator IMO because there are delayed flights on both carriers and you never know when that will happen. For example my last outbound DL flight was delayed 45 minutes due to a late arriving crew and the inbound was also significantly delayed due to an engine problem. On either carrier the best defense to the effects of delays and irops is ff status.
Much like after the DL/NW merger, AA/US is still two different airlines in terms of onboard experience. In general, I like AA planes and the US service although AA service is improving steadily and on international routes is comparable to DL.
I flew AA Business Class Dallas to Paris last year. Wish I had been on Delta. (I was in a tour group that chose AA.) The flight crew to Paris was surly and not very attentive. My feeling was they were eager for everyone to go to sleep so they would have to deal with us. Sleep I sort of did, but the AA version of (sort of) lay flat beds don’t even come close to Delta’s. All in all it was not the best experience.
I switched to AA 2 years ago, after 20+ years on Delta. I’m still going first class and business class (first time Business on BA this year, so I can’t comment on business yet, but first class in BA is nice) still using points and miles. Have only paid for one domestic on AA.
One of the main things I like better about AA: OneWorld. Lot’s of options, and I dare say, using miles on OneWorld seems easier and more valuable than SkyTeam. Also: SystemWide upgrades seem easier to redeem than Delta.
No Airline is perfect, but I’ve just had an overall better experience with AA. I don’t feel like they are removing benefits daily, rather, I feel like they actually work hard to attract my business. Every time I’ve had an issue, their Twitter feed has helped and (usually) resolved any issue I’ve had. Maybe Delta has changed in the last 2 years, but I don’t remember them ever replying to a Twitter request.
Just my 2 cents. (From a Delta MM member)