I actually have very few complaints with US. My #1 reason for flying US is because they offer the most non-stops from DCA to places where I need to go. I recently booked my first non-US flight in years, opting to go with UA to Toronto as I couldn't get a direct on US. But it's a rarity... flying out of DCA, DL wants to route me through EWR to get to MCO, and UA wants to route me through ORD or some such nonsense to get to JAX. No thanks. No reason to turn a 90-minute flight into a 7-hour travel day.

US is not on my company's list of "preferred carriers" but I take up the battle with our corporate travel desk now and then on this. I gave them an example of a DCA-MCO run a couple weeks back, where I could purchase through UA (a company preferred carrier) or purchase through US. It was a codeshare, all US metal, and the US fare was less than $200. UA wanted over $500 for the same seat on the same plane.

My upgrade percentage as a Gold is pretty high but I think that has a lot to do with where I go. Not a whole lot of Elites going to MCO and I end up there more than anywhere else. I almost always clear at my window and on the rare occasion that I don't, I use OLCI and usually get moved at the gate.

There are definitely carriers whose F product is fancier, or more comfortable, or prettier, but I'd rather be in the front of a dingy HP plane for a non-stop than taking my chances on another airline and having to connect through. Plus it's not like I will be living in that seat. Give me the extra legroom and keep my neighbor out of my lap and I'm fine. I don't really care if I get a hot towel or not. I'm perfectly capable of washing my hands in the lav.

I do have some complaints... I can never seem to check in via the kiosks unless there is a mysterious magical oddity happening. I used to think it was because the name on the corporate card used to book the travel does not match the name on my DM account or my own corporate card, but recently when travelling for pleasure, I couldn't kiosk-check either, even though I booked via USAir.com using my USAir visa, which matches the name on my itinerary. I would love for someone to at least explain to me what the kiosk is looking for before it will let you check in; I can OLCI when I am headed out and that's fine with me, but more often than not, the hotel printer is broken (or nonexistent) and I can't OLCI to come back.

I also wish the USAir website was more mobile-friendly. I hate the code they've used and if I try to check flight times on my Treo, it never works.

I suppose I am jinxing my US experience just by writing this post! But all in all, it works very well for me. Problems have been few and far between; most of those have been weather-related, and handled in a professional manner. As long as I am based out of DCA, I'll stick with US. Unless of course they really screw up! But it will take several screw-ups to chase me away.