Originally Posted by
NiceLanding
No, I think what you're trying to do is bias the decision towards UA, which clearly has the most extensive route network at the moment, by weighting that advantage as 50% of the decision. You could just as easily have suggested that point 1 would be lowest cost, and then Southwest or even Spirit might have the advantage.
Maybe it really is pretty clean and simple for you, but it is not so for me. Without the FF program, I'd be comparing, for example, a long nonstop flight packed like a sardine into a CR2 or the back of a 787 on UA vs. two or three short hops on Jet Blue or Frontier and would probably choose the latter in many cases.
Right now, I'm perfectly willing to make a connection to Europe instead of taking a nonstop if it means I can be upgraded and far more productive on arrival. I consider every major trip as a whole, evaluating several different interrelated factors, before deciding which option is best for that trip. Therefore the best airline for me is the one that most often yields a good solution for my trips, not the one that may win on paper, but not in practice.
It would only be biasing towards UA if it was a UA hub. Who knows where the person flies out of. If it is an AA hub then that would weigh higher. Not every airport is biased towards UA. You are still putting your own situation and needs ahead of what I am pointing out as a generic evaluation. You say it right in your post, you are perfectly willing to take a connection to get the upgrade. Someone else may weigh a non-stop higher than the upgrade, that is why my evaluation scheme takes that out of the equation. Look at each item separately first then look at them together based on which you weigh higher from the first 2 points. You are still only looking at your own scenario and not everyone flies like you do or will make concessions like you to get what they want. You are you and I am me and someone else is someone else. Every situation is different, why can't you see I am not doing this for you, I am doing it for someone who is trying to decide, you have already made your decision. And regional jet vs mainline is still only part of Point 1 on flying patterns and has nothing to do with FF programs.