Travel Times?

[BinaryJack]

Not necessarily. With loads of airlines flying from JFK and EWR to Orlando, tickets can be picked up dirt cheap on expedia, travelocity, etc- or even the airlines own website.
Personally, I'd fly any other carrier than a US one because their standards have gone down the tubes since all that cost cutting began way back when. PLUS I don't like the Dakar stop at the ungodly hour and have security rummage through everything again- It's almost like Security doesn't trust their own Security in Atlanta!
Still people will look for the cheapest fares if it's on their own dime, but as I said before, I couldn't travel 18 hours plus. I'd rather split the journey in Europe and stretch my legs!

Delta is one of the airlines that have very cheap through fares to the rest of the US.
JFK is great for a stopover but as you said the DKR refuel is not the best but it is not that bad either, there are worse flights to the states.

For me it is value for money, which equates to as direct as possible for as cheap as possible and if you want to get from point A to Point B as cheaply and direct as possible, the Delta is perfect.

 

[Hosehead]

For me it is value for money, which equates to as direct as possible for as cheap as possible and if you want to get from point A to Point B as cheaply and direct as possible, the Delta is perfect.

Fair enough, but on the other side of the coin, value for money means different things for other people. - Alliance points, Advanced Entertainment systems on board, free drinks, (You pay for alcohol on Delta) reasonable leg room etc, Direct is an Oxymoron. All the airlines stop somewhere. There are no Nonstops in both directions yet except at some point SAA did in the past on the inbound). So what it really boils down to with many people who travel frequently is: Which alliance? as you need the points. Star, Oneworld or Skyteam. That's usually the deciding factor along with costs and the number of hours an individual is prepared to sit in a sealed tube without a stopover where you can actually get off the plane.

Link to recent delta experiences http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/delta.htm