Based in Texas, I will still say WN is way better than AA. And these WN changes are actually for the better. I would connect through DAL or HOU anyday vs DFW or IAH. If you are not in one of the bigh cities like Dallas or Houston , AA flies American Eagle to all the other cities and they fly Embraers mostly. And those are constantly plagued with delays and cancellations. With WN, I know I get a Boeing 737 every single time. I despise AA Eagle , have been stranded overnight in DFW with their last flight being delayed or cancelled. Very rarely has that happened with WN.

Having said that sometimes AA first class is not that much more than WN preferred fare.. And if its an earlier flight in the day, I wouldnt mind taking that if the connection time in DFW is atleast 90 min. Or even if I am flying into DFW nonstop. Still, WN has more routes that are convenient than AA. Out of the Big 3, Delta is best, followed by UA and lastly AA. Delta in my neck of the woods has pretty much zero presence , so I very rarely fly it.