I have been flying American more often this year than in the past, and I have to admit that if the virtual automatic upgrade for Platinum elites in Continental ends or declines dramatically, the additional pitch on American aircraft makes flying in coach much more pleasant than Continental (plus the blocking feature for elites in the American program)
It does seem to me that Continental is believing its own rhetoric about being #1, and in doing so, making a series of decisions, particularly the international fiasco, that will drive away many of their most loyal customers. In the first three months of this year, American has received revenue from six flights that would normally have gone to Continental