As a million miler with Delta and a million miler on all the other airlines combined- I can affirm that service has declined precipitously. The irony is all the airlines rail against Southwest saying people will pay more- yet they are becoming more like Southwest. Frankly, if you can tolerate the boarding process on Southwest the service there is the same, if not better, once your airborne.
Add in the boarding process for Delta Medallions getting onboard and the difference is less (although I must admit, being medallion level, I'm part of the problem-not the solution.
I find the passengers on Southwest to be more pleasant overall- I think for two reasons- you have less elitism-so none of those self absorbed ultra-platinum a***oles who feel they deserve the world and second, the pax on Southwest have lower, yet maybe more realistic, expectations- the patience level is higher.
That said, if I'm flying across the U.S., I'd rather make one stp, than 2-3.
Does this qualify as a rant? If it does, I think it's my first. It's feels rather good, but will I get billed for therapy?
Fly safe.