Originally Posted by
austin_res
I'm on the fence on staying with AA or switching to UA - I'll decide on 3/1/2015 when my PLT status expires. I don't know where AA is headed but so far it seems as if Parker is trying to beat Smisek in the race to the bottom. UA/CO had their merger struggles and for the most part are now past them, while US/AA will soon be going thru their merger challenges. I don't expect US/AA integration process to be any smoother than UA/CO.
UA pros:
* Star Alliance network gives access to many regions in the world
* Website and app have many nice features (ie where is this plane coming from, inflight amenities, can make changes and upgrades online)
* Smisek gives ample notice about changes
* No extra surcharges on award tickets
AA pros:
* 100% mainline out of AUS
* First and business class are amazing
* 500-mile upgrade stickers which means better upgrade odds as not all Gold/Plat request upgrades on flights
* Power plugs on most planes
Many more UA cons to add, IMO:
A LOT more RJ flying
Nickel and diming elites at every turn
"Dark" planes - no power, WiFi, IFE
Horrible meal service in F: hope you like your white roll with your bready calzone
Un-merged pilot groups means if you take a CO flight out of IAD and your plane breaks or your flight crew doesn't show, enjoy waiting around for four plus hours while they fly in a new plane/crew from IAH
Getting beat out for upgrades with every Gold that paid more than you, plus every Plat, 1K and GS on every flight
I'm not sure where you're getting that AA is trying to race UA to the bottom... sure, we've lost a few things in the past few months - most substantially being good value AAnytime Awards - but AA still offers a vastly superior FF program and flight experience.