Originally Posted by snic

Let's suppose I took a year off from flying, and fell all the way to GM status. Which airline would I choose when I needed to start traveling again - the one that forces me to put up with these kinds of shenanigans (no seat assignments until the gate, the dreaded and useless ICC, the terrible customer service during irrops) until I've flown thousands of miles with them, or the one that provides a decent level of basic service to everyone?