I flew WN for the first time in a while recently too, and it reminded me precisely why I love flying UA so much.

The checkin counter at SEA had a line that took an hour and a half to get through. I've never seen the UA counter take more than 15 minutes, and with *G it usually takes no time at all. The WN checkin agent said that the lines are like that every day, and I need to show up 2-3 hours before departure when flying WN.

Boarding the aircraft, the lack of an assigned seat is stressful. It requires thought to figure out at what point to stop going back and just grab whatever seat is available.

WN operationally is a nightmare in the evenings - they try pulling 30-40 minutes turns all day and when the delays invariably stack up, their evening flights are all delayed. I nearly misconnected in DEN, and the fact that I was the last person to board the flight stuck me with a middle seat in the rear of the aircraft, despite my A55 boarding number. Since I had sprinted for the flight in DEN, I didn't have time to purchase food at the airport, and there were no options at all to get food on board (and no, multiple bags of pretzels does not make a meal).

When i fly UA, I turn up at SEA/BOS at T-30 (when the aircraft has already started boarding), sail through TSA Pre, and board the flight at T-20 with my exit row window saved for me. That, along with the Same Day Change policy, makes UA a far better experience for me. I simply value my time too highly to make flying WN worth it.