Originally Posted by
RealFan
As a major user of AA and UA, I see very little difference between them. Both treat me well - I have had consistent pleasant on board interactions, my upgrade rate is actually higher on UA, IRROPS handling is top notch on both, on time arrivals and delays are highly consistent between both airlines, and the food is just food to me. I also know several agents well on the CK and GS phone lines as well as at various airports in the US and around the world. All are top notch people.
I fly two to four segments a week with one third of my overall flying overseas. I do 100,000 BIS miles on each airline every year for the past three years. I made CK in 2012 (as well as 2013 and 2014) and GS in 2013 and also 2014. Most, if not all my miles, are exclusively on UA/AA metal. I have 125,000 PQMs YTD on UA and 75,000 EQPs on AA.
That's fine. Maybe as a GS your experience is good.
My experience as a 1K was a disaster, and my experience as AA EXP couldn't be better, frankly. I am hitting 90% upgrade rates with EXP. UA - maybe 15-20% on the same travel pattern, traveling between BOS, NYC, LAX, and SFO. So that is why AA makes sense for me now. I farm out my overseas flying to BA on the Atlantic side and CX on the Pacific side.
I am at 144K BIS this year so far (75% on AA) and I am guessing that you are at the same distance give or take. That's actually on the low side for me; I had 385k BIS last year.
So obviously each airline makes a different amount of sense for every individual traveler. I just think that AA (in the as-is form) and DL are making sense for an increasing number, and UA for a decreasing number. And I am saying this as a multi-year 1K before the merger.