I marginally prefer FM to the others. But, I would not pay a premium to fly one airline over another because there's a decent chance you'll end up on the cheaper one anyway once your flight gets canceled.

Speaking of the cancelations, they used to bother me, but now my outlook is more favorable because I've picked up some useful proactive and reactive strategies over the course of the past several years.

Proactive: Pick flights that are less likely to get canceled (just use your gut and stay away from MU during rush hour, if you can help it).

Reactive: When you get to the check-in counter, get confirmation from the ticket agent that your fight is on time. This might involve them having to call someone else because many agents work for the airports as opposed to the airlines. If not, find out other alternatives that are running on schedule and initiate the rebooking process immediately (this requires standing in several more lines, but only takes 10 minutes or so).