Actually, I think that Jon has made a number of excellent points. But, let's face it, all of the airlines basically suck...CO, NW, UA, AA, DL, etc. They just suck in different ways. As consumers, we have to find the airline that sucks the least for our individual travel pattern. For Jon, that's AA. For someone who flies primarily domestically out of EWR or IAH, and flies to eastern destinations, you'd be crazy to fly anyone other than CO! Even today, CO is still clearly the best choice for that flyer!

And yes, I did give serious consideration to AA. IMHO, AA clearly has the best FF program for the intl. flyer! And the AAdmiral Clubs are really the nicest, if you can overlook the fact that you've gotta pay for drinks. And they have PC terminals, not just hookups. For me that's really nice, as I try to avoid lugging my notebook whenever possible.

But I finally decided to go with UA. They're the only U.S. airline to fly their own metal to SYD, which means I can upgrade them into SYD. And their partner NZ provides the best Coach seat into Australia!

UA's intl. upgrade policies aren't anywhere near as generous as AA, but they're miles above HoKeY! They're not the best...that's for sure! But they're far better than CO for upgrades. And they do give their top tiers 6 SWU's every year that will upgrade you on any published fare for free! And, if you fly mostly intl., you can rack up free 500 mile domestic upgrade certs fairly quickly, 4 for every 10,000 miles flown.

Add to that a route system that is the envy of every airline in the world. Only BA beats it! And a partnership that includes SQ and LH! Need I say more? And if you're a RCC member, you get to use their lounges internationally if you're flying on their ticket.

At one time, the free domestic upgrades on CO were so good that I was willing to put up with the regular connections at IAH and EWR. And, back then, CO's fares were competitive. But, with the loss of partner HP, a flight to LAS from SNA or LAX now costs me $1800. I think not!!! Well, times change, and now so does my airline.

Oh, BTW, yes, I'm booked for May 1 to SYD...on UA! That flight alone, will almost get me to Premier!



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"Read my lips! No more benefit cuts!"...Gordon Bethune