I used to fly TATL quite regularly on United, and have literally just returned from a trip to the US on US Airways (my second in a year). In addition, I fly British Airways quite frequently, both across the Atlantic and to the Continent.

The difference is night and day. The US FAs were just not of the same calibre as the BA FAs. The US service was a joke. The IFE was broken. They wanted £5 for a can of warm Budweiser. Etc. UA is just as bad.

They can nickel-and-dime the customers all they want, but I am truly of the opinion that it comes down to attitude. When customers are treated well, they don't feel like they are wasting their money (and they are not unhappy about handing it over) and the vicious spiral downwards is stopped. The treatment of customers by these two airlines in particular is just abysmal and, to be frank, I wouldn't miss them if they disappeared.