Regular readers know I’m a long time Delta flyer that has recently attempted the unthinkable; a status challenge to American Airlines while living in a Delta hub city. This announcement was inevitable. I’m coming home Delta.

At first, the American Airlines upgrade policy worked great (until I ran out of upgrade instruments), I really enjoyed the seats, the power outlets, hot and cold nuts, and the flights were easy. But my travel patterns soon changed and the thought of connecting in an AA hub didn’t make sense at all. I’ll continue to earn AA miles through my credit card and through shopping portals. However, I’m shifting most of my business back to Delta for the remainder of this year in an effort to achieve Delta Platinum status.

Current Airline Credit Cards.

Delta Flight From ATL To LGA

How ironic that one of my first few flights back with Delta ended up being a route which AA services. It was interesting to compare the differences in AA’s first class product on this route to Delta’s first class product on this route.

For this flight, my upgrade cleared a few days in advance and I selected a window seat. Push back was quick and easy.

Departure View

The leg room is generous in first class, but as a tall person, it’s easy for your knees to almost touch the seat in front of you.

Leg Room

Meals are served on this flight. A warm towel is delivered to everyone seated in first class.

Hot Towel

American Airlines has holes in almost all of their napkins. I ran a small contest for readers to guess what the hole is for and most of you guessed it right. The hole is to affix the napkin to your shirt button and avoid spills while eating.

Delta does not have napkin holes. However, someone (not me-seriously) had previously created a self made napkin hole. I’m happy to report, their version of the napkin hole worked just fine.

Delta Home Made Napkin Hole

The entertainment on this route depends heavily on equipment. This plane did not have in seat entertainment but did have the isle over head monitors. I’m not concerned in the slightest with monitors as long as there is wifi on the flight. In this case, the gogo wifi was in full working order.

Entertainment System

The meal on this flight surprised me. For breakfast, they offered an omelette or granola. I went with the granola and it came with a very nice fruit plate. Keep up the good work on the meal service Delta!

Breakfast

Fruit

The arrival into LGA was great with fantastic views of the city and central park.

NYC

NYC

NYC

Bottom Line

Hub captive flyers rarely have alternative flight options that make sense. Unless you fly the same route to a competitors hub for a long term, it likely makes the most sense to maintain status with your local carrier.

I didn’t find the Delta power adapter on this flight, but I did end up finding them on another flight. I’ll soon report the power adapter location which certainly comes in handy to charge your batteries.

If you are looking for Delta Sky Miles or MQMs for status, Check out Current Airline Credit Cards.

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