A lot of people seem to think ill of United's chances going forward -- they just had an earnings miss, and a lot of their cost-controlling seems to come from abnormally low fuel prices, not economies of scale. They had a major bankruptcy a few years back, emerged alive, but a lot of the underlying issues with unions and management seem to still be around. I've got a lot of miles tied up in United, but I'm wondering if the grass isn't greener for me elsewhere.
I'm about to ramp up my business travel significantly in 2016 and beyond, and I'm hoping not to get behind the wrong horse in the race.
Should I switch horses to American, or should I stick with United? Or should I do something else? As a mostly domestic traveler, getting a good travel experience is important to me because I have to travel a lot.
I'm including my info from the wiki-thread, for reference:
1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
upgrades, priority services, baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access, etc.
>>> Reply: Upgrades. I don't care about lounge access because I always cut it pretty close arriving to the airport and don't take flights with long layovers.
2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
less than 25000 miles, 50000+ miles and 20-25 flights, etc.
>>> Reply: About 100,000 miles per year, 40 to 50 flights per year.
3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: Premium economy and first domestically. Premium economy internationally, sometimes first with upgrades.
4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Yes, I'm generally free to choose my airline. My fare class is premium economy for work travel; anything above that I pay the difference for. I travel mostly for work.
5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: domestic USA routes. Periodic international routes to Europe and AU.
6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: {IAD, CHO, RIC}.
7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: 600,000 lifetime miles on United, 150,000 lifetime miles on American. 240k banked miles on United, none on American.
8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: United.
What say you, smart FlyerTalk folks?