Originally Posted by Gardyloo

Of course it all ultimately depends on one's individual flying routes, habits and patterns. If one is based on the east coast, midwest or places easy to get to DFW, and your European desitinations are served by AA nonstops, then it's a simple enough benefit/cost analysis as to whether to give up the advantages of the AAdvantage program v. some other carrier's.

For those of us on the west coast, with zip regional service, lousy-to-none in AA transatlantic service and narrowbody LRTC being our only choice to AA hubs, then BA or VS (especially BA with its excellent western N. America coverage) becomes a more reasonable option. And with AS' program earning AA elite bennies and earning (not EQ, but something) on BA flights, it's hard not to think of AS as the default domestic carrier and BA as the default transatlantic. AS' mileage plan all by itself gets one to elite status pretty quickly too if that's your poison.

Which is not to say that AS' FC service is any great shakes itself, but having just spent a weekend flying on CX's J service and AA's domestic F, I'm just gobsmacked on how legacy domestic carriers can get away with these products.

If AA degrades the AAdvantage program much more, I think the flight of business class pax to other airlines, OW or otherwise, is really going to start to hurt and maybe they will take note. But I'm not holding my breath.