Yes… it’s from an old SNL skit, but it rings in my head constantly when I fly. I’ll say it. I’m a Northwest girl {i.e. Northwest Airlines}, tried and true. Two things that made me this way: Minneapolis is {was} THE Northwest Hub and, when I moved to Los Angeles it was the only non-stop flight LAX-MSP. So it’s where I started earning  my miles, it’s the acquaintance ties I had, and hell, I once dated a guy who’s father worked for NWA.  Call me loyal.

When I was a kid, I had to fly Delta when I went to San Jose, CA to visit my Grandmother and only once-in-while did I fly United {a side note: United, the airline in which I developed my fear of flying, not to mention I hated the colors}.  But Delta  - which ALWAYS had to layover in Salt Lake City – was the other airline besides Northwest that I constantly flew. So one would think, naturally, I’d be ok with the merger that happened between the two. HA! Ohh, no no no no no. Had it been Northwest taking over Delta, maybe but the other way around made no logical sense to me {I’m sure it did in the world of big business}. I certainly don’t pretend to know what I’m talking about in that sense. But here is what I understood: Northwest was unionized and had only about 8,000 employees. Delta was not and had something like 20,000 employees {I’m speaking of flight attendants only at the moment}.  So from a numbers standpoint I see that 8,000 should join the majority, however, getting 20,000 to now join the union doesn’t sound that easy. That part had to be a given, but it seems to me that the employees with a union behind them would have a little more power and stability and should be the heavies. Why not have Delta join Northwest vs. the other way around? Ok ok, Delta had the bigger name? {and probably the moola}.  But Northwest had the better ideas and policies. In the end, it was recently explained to me that Delta had the larger brand and the larger fleet. Even more simply put, there were less aircrafts to repaint.

But I digress, I don’t pretend to know all the details, only what I’ve gotten from people I’ve talked to in-flight.  All I can say is that I miss Northwest and so do the flight attendants I’ve talked to since, who came from that side.

So here we are, Delta it is and I’ve had to adapt. And adapt I have. My miles are still intact, I get spectacular treatment {remember I’m also super nice – most of the time. Read “Bees with Honey” if you want more} and I spend a lot of money so that I can keep my elite status and my miles {close to half a mil and counting!}. The thing I recognize  most frequently is Delta’s constant commitment to improving. I get their emails telling me about changes and upgrades to their sky clubs, their programs, and their all-around customer service. It’s all a good thing, and compared to any other airline out there, they really seem to be ahead of the curve, contrary to some belief.

{What’s your favorite airline to fly and why?  We want to know!}