1. Still better than the surcharges with BA and IB awards
2. Best J cabins coming, knock the socks off UA's 2-4-2 configurations; well worth going for eVIP upgrade, but remember, unless AA sells enough of these seats there won't be an airline flying
3. For me it was The Glenlivet...on this we can agree

No, I would expect one or two of them to naturally fail, opening up more market share for the remaining ones to continue to compete. The industry has been over-consolidated to the point where it barely needs to compete or provide acceptable service at all. Healthy companies are one thing, overly profitable greedy companies and shareholders are another.

I agree on these points (and particularly the Glenlivet) although I think these were mostly pre-merger decisions.

Adding to the good for me as a CP US Airways flyer is additional system-wide upgrades. The bad is that upgrades may be more difficult to come by on American, which is counter intuitive considering larger Business Class cabins. Perhaps it is only my imagination, but if it is real could be because of higher proportion business travelers and the said larger number of system wide upgrades.

Similarly, the only TATL redemptions available in J for 2 travelers are on BA. There's ZERO on most routes using AA or US metal through end of schedule. :td:

Okay one good post merger change is extending the comp alcoholic drink and BoB item to US flights for ExecPlats and Chairman elites.

As US Gold (now AA PLT), I have to say, over the last few year, US improved dramatically. The front-line folks (except PHL) were always extremely professional and accommodating. I haven't had a US flight without a PDB since 2008. Most flying is in the southeast, so US is a natural, but it developed into pretty good product of choice for short and mid haul travel. Charlotte topped Atlanta and the US snack basket was better than DL's.

Now, I will say I like the new glassware and the fact I don't have t fly to Denver to see a hot meal. That said, I have found AA front-line staff inconsistent with the Admiral's Club folks. To be honest, I'd much rather have a flight attendant who smile and makes sure my vodka tonic is full instead of some the AA folks who hand out lunch then hide in the galley.

Just my thoughts

+1 Have to agree - the lengths that US FAs go to to provide a PDB are truly impressive... I have gotten one even on flights that are running late while getting anything other than the occasional water / OJ offering on AA almost never occurs, at least on domestic flights.

I had my first flight on US metal in August as an AA Gold, and was OK with it. Got the upgrade to F without burning stickers. Service was fine on the flight from PHX-PDX. No powerports in F was a downside, but I like the bag tracking in the US app on my phone. Overall, so far I am OK - nervous about future benefit reductions, but so far OK.

Nope, I just expect to be treated in a decent and humane manner by a company that realizes that maximizing profit and shareholder value in the short term is not the best way to run a stable long term company. Sadly airlines like this are few and far between at the moment. There is a happy medium between massive losses and record profits where both the flyer and the airline can be pleased. Unfortunately in today's USA business environment the pursuit of creating value for only one set of stakeholders, the shareholders (specifically top management and institutional holders), is what matters. Other stakeholders like customers, employees and suppliers are all deemed less important than the mighty shareholders. This is a losing proposition in the long run for airlines and for the US economy in general.

Need a "Like" button. :D

I agree with you. The one thing I though US management would be able to do is get the AA flight attendants to start offering PDB - I always get one on US. I think the fact that US has so many southern based FAs tends to make them much more friendly than AA fas - I have had good an bad on both - but I usually find the US FAs don't hide out and spend much more time in the cabin refilling drinks, etc. Again - someone needs to train those AA FAs to offer PDB - its not that hard.

Why can't customers be pleased AND the industry generate record profits?

Also... what makes you think things are so terrible these days? I just bought round trip airfare from Seattle to Vegas for a touch over $200. In 1979 inflation adjusted prices (pre-degulation), that would be about $60. Which airlines were offering $60 advance purchase nonstop round trip fares for Seattle to Vegas back then?

Oh, right, I don't get a blast-chilled and reheated coach mystery meat meal as part of my fare (complete with cigarette smoke on the plane). I guess I'll just have to pay for food in a real restaurant.

Airlines have never been all that awesome at customer service; but gaining some ability to price discriminate ("buy what you want") isn't the worst thing that's happened.

Said perfectly. ^

Because when airlines devalue the customer experience to save $20 million more per quarter when they're already profiting in record amounts at $1.18 billion, why should customers be pleased?

Its like many other industries, competition has come down to a relatively few owning the market with smaller players at the side. B6 is the only differentiator that has any material amount of market share. Spirit is growing but is a bottom feeder.

Will airline executives look to invest in their product, yes on a limited basis. Money will still be poured into premium long haul cabins and modest amounts in domestic F. Y, it will only probably continue to degrade.

I will also chime in that I can't believe it's taken this long to announce a vision or handle some of the basics. I guess the converse of that is that they also have managed to not screw too much up, operationally, since the announcements, due to little change.

Still, it feels like they are very behind. As a long time US flyer who rode out the US/HP merger, which really never ended, they don't exactly have the best track record on timeliness.