I can't speak specifically to other airlines, since my prior experience was with UA, but I will say this: the customer service at F9, for all the bad things we're apt to think about 'em from time to time, is amazing.

I've said this somewhere else, but in 18 months of flying with F9 now, I've had 3 flight segments that got messed up: one was my fault, one was WX, and one was MX. In all three cases they bent over backwards to get me on another flight. I have yet to speak to an agent of any kind that wasn't just plain wonderful. Yes, you run into folks in a bad mood from time to time - we're all human, but they don't take it out on us.

You sound like international travel is important to you, which is not the case for me. That's a tough one to weigh, but for me, I put a LOT of weight on attitute -- good attitude. In my book, F9 wins.

Now come down off that ledge before you slip and fall.