I am loyal to Delta airlines. I consolidate my travel to the one carrier and have been rewarded with Gold status for three years, and Silver for more than a half dozen more. The status really does pay - I've been upgraded to first class quite a bit, and even having the ability to book into an exit row is worth it to me.
The loyalty has not come without at cost. Being captive in their markets, Delta has had the opportunity to really price gouge, and gouge they did. Lack of any serious competition, along with some friendly collusion on pricing, made it painful. However, there is one benefit to being in a captive Delta market - you are always going to get home.
With Minneapolis as a primary hub, regardless where you were stranded, if you could find a way to another hub (Atlanta, Detroit, etc.), you'd find a way back to Minneapolis. And if you got to Minneapolis, you had options in terms of getting the rest of the way home.
Just get to a hub, and you're golden.
No, it's no fun paying a premium for living in a captive market. However, if one looks at it as paying for insurance for getting home at a decent time, it makes the price a little more easy to swallow.
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