Now that I am flying actively on both airlines after years of avoiding UA, here are my comments from an AA Plat/UA Prem Ex:

For the travelling that I do up and down the West Coast and occasionally to Europe, SA, and Asia, AA used to be it for me.

Unfortunately, with the aircraft downgrades out of SJC, I am flying more and more out of SFO, necessitating a revamp of my previous thoughts about UA.

That said, I think:

(1) Routes.

AA's routes out of SFO are, as expected, more limited than UA's. AA's aircraft downgrades at SJC to RJs on the LAX, SNA, and PHX flights and no wide-bodies have forced me to look elsewhere. Recent flying to ORD from SFO was a good experience on AA with a pleasant, if small, Admiral's Club in SFO. UA's service to me has been surprisingly good when I fly to DEN or ORD and they even use domestic 777s - my favorite aircraft.

Re: International, I think UA's Asia routes are much more extensive than AA's but having JAL as an AA partner is fantastic. Comparing oneworld and *A, I think, is pretty much useless. UA and AA compete domestically and to a limited extent abroad and I consider BA and LH to be similar. UA/NZ competes with Qantas Down Under. Europe is a mess with a boatload of airlines on both sides. SQ is a real *A jewel but you apparently can't get a flight with UA miles; oneworld's Asian jewel, CX, is downgrading their relationship with AA miles. I think it's a wash.

Edge: Even (depends on where you want to fly)

(2) Clubs.

In general, I think the Admiral's Clubs I have visited (SFO, SJC, SNA, SAN, DFW, CCS, MIA, LAX, ORD, JFK, FRA, NRT) have been very good and I like the computers (and showers) available. I've only sampled the RCC's in FRA, NRT and SFO and they feel very large but without the computer access. My personal bias would be to say that the AA clubs are better but I haven't sampled enough RCC's to give you a firm opinion.

Edge: Toss-up (need to see more RCCs)

(3) Ground services.

Recently, I've met some very surly check-in and gate attendants at DFW which has made me think twice about flying AA more. The AA folks in SFO, SJC, ORD and LAX have been great. The same applies to the SFO, LAX, ORD, and NRT experiences recently with UA, unlike my experiences with them several years ago. At LAX recently, when we arrived early from Maui and the ground crew didn't send up a baby stroller, the UA co-pilot actually ran down and got it for us. Wow.

Edge: UA (if they keep it up)

(4) In-flight services.

In-flight services for both airlines in Y, C, and F are good but nowhere near that of Asian airlines. AVOD systems are important to me on long trips and are nowhere to be found on either airline.

Food is also wanting for both airlines. I like the warmed nuts and ice cream sundaes on AA domestic, but this seems to be a less frequent occurrence; the vaunted Obento on a recent UA flight was only passable to me. Re: AA, I did have a recent flight in which they ran out of plates and served a pizza on the (covered) tray. Yuk.

Edge: Even

(5) Seats.

I like the MRTC and the predictability of it on AA but I have to admit the UA E+ is equally good. The only downside to E+ is that you can't always get it because of aircraft. I also have to admit that I have been used to PowerPorts in all AA flights (except for the hated RJs), whereas the computer power ports on UA are less predictable.

Edge: AA

(6) Hotlines.

The AA Platinum and PremEx hotlines are both very good and I haven't had to wait for more than a few minutes on either line. The services are both efficient and friendly. I'd call this one a toss-up.

Edge: Even

My bottom line is that I am feeling more comfortable flying UA and I can sense an improvement in employee attitudes and service when compared to several years ago. I'm not absolutely certain that my recent experiences with AA at DFW are merely an aberration but I hope they are. Still, choice of airline, to me, is more dependent on nonstop routes and aircraft than the actual services, since they are pretty much equal.

[This message has been edited by cferret (edited 05-07-2003).]

[This message has been edited by cferret (edited 05-07-2003).]