I've flown back east every winter for 10 years, and over time I've learned to always fly Delta. Delta is certainly no less awful than other airlines, but you can use its awfulness to your advantage. How? Well, Delta can't get you anywhere (not even next door) without connecting you through Atlanta. And Atlanta is spared something that every other airport in the country suffers from: Winter.

(I can't imagine who would decide to hub their airline out of Chicago O'Hare, for example. Did they lose a bet, maybe? God hates that airport.)