Originally Posted by
demkr
Bottom line in my view:
AA = below average airline (in terms of planes, IFE, on-time issues, customer experience) with a world class FFP for its top tier elites.
UA = fantastic airline (superior route network even in non-hubs, E+, chan 9, DTV w/ CO, on-time) with an OK FFP that focuses a bit more on high rev.
I might quibble with your view a bit (e.g., I'd never call UA a fantastic airline) and add a few elements to the calculation, but basically I think you've summed up the differences quite well.