Originally Posted by Chiro1979

Comparing only AC and UA, I was definitely in the AC is better than UA camp (in terms of services provided for what you buy, not status based as I don't have status with either). I preferred the Maple Leaf lounge over the United Club, found the food better on AC and preferred the inflight service on AC as well. Recently however, I've definitely noticed United getting better. In my opinion, the United clubs now have better food than the MLLs. Even in LHR, I prefer the United club to the MLL. It's even more pronounced at the Polaris lounge, which was by far the best lounge experience I have had in North America. It was definitely much much MUCH better than the international MLL in YYZ.

Internationally with the Polaris Product, I find the food to be better on United and I prefer their bedding as well. Heck, even the amenity kit is better. Presently, AC wins in the seat department, but I haven't tried the new Polaris seat. In terms of in flight service, I was very surprised by the level of service I received on my recent international flights with United (EWR-LHR and LHR-ORD). The flight attendants were better than any flight I have ever had with AC (I'm not saying this is always the case, obviously this can be an anomaly and I won't generalize based on two flights). Even on the domestic front, I've found the service on UA to be improving as well, and would now say it is comparable to AC. While internationally I find the food on UA to be much better than AC, domestically, I'd say it is more evenly matched, though I'd still give a slight edge to UA. The only exception is on shorter transborder flights, where I would say AC comes out ahead. And I will say that I much prefer the AC safety video to the UA one!!

In the past I would always choose AC over UA, however based on my recent experiences I am starting to change my view. The food at the UA clubs is better than the MLLs, which I never thought I would ever say. I've also found the service on UA is starting to improve as well, to the point that I'd say it is better than AC, especially internationally. As far as seats go, AC is definitely the winner here, though that might change with the Polaris hard product. Still, for overall product, I'd pick UA over AC, based on my experiences, especially on the sCO 767 or sCO 777 where I can have direct aisle access in the center seats. I'd also rank UA higher than AC for domestic routes, when comparing narrowbody to narrowbody. I'd pick AC over UA on the sUA 767 and 777 (solely for the seats) and for the shorter transborder routes.

So basically, that was my really long way of saying yes, I feel like AC is starting to fall behind the other NA carriers, in my opinion of course. I'm not saying they are the worst or that I'd never fly them, but whereas in the past I would always choose AC over UA, that is no longer the case, and in many cases, I'd actually choose UA over AC.