Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,472
Based on your parameters, UA wins hands-down on ground experience. Admirals Clubs at PHL and CLT are weak offerings for international business class. The Polaris Lounge EWR gets crowded but I’ve always had a nice experience. At CDG, the *A lounge is pretty nice, but I haven’t been to T1 since COVID, and it is/was pre-security. The Admirals Club at CDG is closed but I believe there is access to the “Extime” lounge in 2B, which I visited and found to be comparable to the pre-COVID *A Lounge experience.
Onboard, I would rank AA 777 > UA 787 > AA 787 in terms of comfort. Flight attendants are a wash. AA wins on food, but the gap is marginally closer now than, say, 6 months ago.
If you’re looking for the “total experience”, I’d probably pick United by a slight edge given the nonstop itinerary and EWR PL.