Originally Posted by
zen100
There are plenty of small items where BA give Golds (OWE), which AA do not give, to their own EXP or OWE, such as extra baggage for everyone on the booking, 4 bags in First, free seat selection for friends on other bookings, arrivals lounge access on long haul economy. I don't expect (or get) the same benefits on AA tickets.
Edit: All I ask is that AA treats me according to their commitment as part of the Oneworld alliance. And from my experience, they do.
Both airlines have strengths and weaknesses. I'd much rather be served by BA crew, generally, than AA crew, but if sat in Y as OWE they will give me a free drink and sandwich from the BOB menu. AA has better business class seating on short-haul than BA does. Yes, it's not First like they call it but it's better than the free-middle-seat rubbish we get in Europe from BA and others.
I like the AA seats more than the BA CW seats, even more than the CW suites, which I find myself hating due to limited foot space. And then there's the onboard temperatures that neither gets right. On a BA long-haul is like being in a sauna and on AA it's like being in a freezer.
But, you know, horses for courses and I'm glad we have a choice.