Originally Posted by sts603

I don't agree with your analysis and while to each their own, I think you're not acknowledging some pretty clear and factual AA advantages over DL:

(1) F cabins - generally speaking far more comfortable and spacious on AA
(2) Y cabins - I find AA's seats more comfortable than DL's
(3) F meal quality - for everything short of a BusinessElite transcon, AA's meals are generally vastly superior to DL on equivalent routes. The F meal offering even on DL JFK-PDX dinner was very poor.
(4) Clubs - DL's snacks may be a little better and for a while their free liquor was much better but AA's clubs are far nicer aesthetically and more spacious (DL just crams chairs together, often under harsh lighting).
(5) Mileage redemption - they call DL miles skypesos for a reason
(6) Better upgrade percentages - route dependent of course but in general, AA elites have better upgrade percentages - especially EXP vs. DM (anecdotal evidence only of course). And of course, DL has more upgrade shenanigans than AA.
(7) Alliance - OneWorld is arguably a better alliance but the benefits afforded to OneWorld Emerald definitely trump SkyTeam Elite Plus or whatever
(8) Alliance Integration - now you can't earn MQMs, or earn them at reduced rates on many SkyTeam partners. Not the case with AA and OneWorld.
(9) Wifi - DL is ahead but AA is catching up. And DL doesn't have any int'l wifi. AA does.

I'm sure I'm missing some but that's just a start.