I forgot to welcome you to BNA....... I am surprised at how many flyertalkers are in our city.

Thank you for the welcome. I am actually moving back home; born and raised in Music City. Left to attend college at Indiana University and landed a job as an IT Consultant for a company based in Indianapolis with the stipulation that I work out of Indy headquarters for at least one year, and then I would be able to live anywhere in the nation. So I chose to go home ^

Why wasn't WN an option? Is it because they only serve 28 cities non-stop from BNA? Even if you don't want to fly WN as your primary carrier, you may want to familiarize yourself with the Rapid Rewards program, in particular the car and hotel partners, it is often much more lucrative to credit rental cars and HHonors double dips to WN than to other airlines.

Anyway, you may want to apply for the AMEX Platinum Card which will allow you access to both the AA and DL airline clubs when you're flying them, of course the catch is you can't get access if you're flying another airline.

As a fellow road warrior I have flown WN many times, not by choice; rather for price due to last minute travel. My conclusion is that although they are a nice airline with good operations, I could never see myself committing to WN, based solely on these two things (all related to the FFP - which was a main concern for the OP):

-No true elite service -- I achieve top tier status fairly easily each year. The perks are amazing. Not only boarding before the masses but the >90% upgrade to F is truly a treat. Obviously with WN you're not going to get this as its one class throughout. And the fact that Joe-off-the-street can pay a few more dollars and board ahead of me is frustrating (from a road warrior perspective)
-No alliance and no international reward program -- Saving miles for those once in a lifetime vacations to me make life on the road worth it. WN offers no once in a lifetime destinations IMHO.

But like I mentioned, WN is a fine airline and has great operations. But from my perspective, flying WN leaves so much on the table.

I think Rudy pretty much covered my response. I don't hold anything against WN and I love the fact that they are the one program that has stayed tried and true to their mantra of 'low fares, no hidden fees'.

WN to me would be a great option if (and only if) I was flying to one of the 20-something nonstop destinations and/or was booking last-minute or travel that could be subject to change.

The thing about WN is that, while they are great in regards to their abundance of domestic nonstops, the lack of an international prescence and that tiered elite program are not qualities I desire in my quest for a primary provider.

As I have previously said, I will definitely consider WN as a backup whenever a situation requires, but for me to consider investing my time and resources, the least I can expect is some sort of recognition (beyond a free flight every 8 RTs).

But thanks Beckles for the suggestion; I had previously considered WN and will continue to do so.

I did also note that WN is good for certain purposes / routes out of BNA (and that I'm flying them in two weeks). I'll also fly WN to visit my new nephew later this summer. However, WN doesn't protect me in the case of IRROPs as DL/NW would ...

Agree 100% ^

I was faced with the same choice and went with AA when I moved here. Most of the reasons have already been covered. Neighbors told me they all used WN, but they don't seem to fly much. I needed something with overseas possibilities and upgrade capabilities.

I have taken non-stops to/from LAX to BNA and to/from LGA. But they are not always convenient, with scheduling changes./ I believe the only current nonstop from LAX departs around 3:00PM, putting you in at BNA well after 10:00PM. For more convenience, even though it sounds counter-intuitive, it is often better to go via DFW or ORD.

Speaking of which: I know I wasn't dreaming when I was able to fly BNA/ORD and ORD/BNA in F last year, M-80, several times. Not anymore. I could be wrong, but if you are flying AA BNA/ORD now, it will be in an RJ, no first class.

The Admiral's Club at BNA is nice, great people.

Have you experienced any issues with AA's slightly limited domestic coverage? Have you ever had to fly to MHT, ALB, BTV, etc?

If so, have you just sucked it up and flown with another airline, or have you decided to fly to a nearby airport and drive to your final destination?

BNA-ORD is ER4's and CR7's only (no first); BNA-DCA and BNA-STL are all ERJ.

So AA to DFW is the only opportunity for mainline updrades? BNA to DCA/STL provides 10 first class seats on the ERJ?

And if I recall correctly, DL to ATL/DTW/MEM all fly mainline metal?

You can go from BNA to ATL and DTW all mainline on DL with a little due diligence.

BNA-ATL, some CR-1's, 7s and 9s thrown in with the MD's, although the 9's don't bother me at all, and it's fun to get the u/g to the one seat side in F.

BNA-DTW, mostly DC-9's with an occasional A320 or EMB 175.

BNA-MEM, look forward to 60 mins. of CR-1 goodness. About 60 mins. too long in my opinion.

Haven't experienced those issues at all. Just lucky, I guess, everything so far and everything planned seems to be to places that I can reach.

I have lived in Nashville for the past 2 years and I am very glad that I stuck with AA after moving here from NYC. They offer more than any other carrier save WN in terms of nonstops (DFW, ORD, LAX, LGA, MIA, STL, DCA) and I have found their fares and schedules to be at least competitive with everyone else.

For the record, DFW, LAX, MIA, and LGA are all mainline (although LGA is switching from 3x mainline to 2x mainline + 2x RJ daily).

Upgrades are incredibly easy, especially on the LGA routes (I never missed an upgrade at the 24 hour mark, even as an AAdvantage Gold).

The Admirals Club is one of the best in the system IMHO and this alone has been enough to make AA my preferred carrier. Last October I was scheduled to fly BNA-ORD-SJC when the club staff called me the night before on my cell phone: "I see you are scheduled to connect through Chicago tomorrow. Your flights are still on-time but we are getting a little concerned for our club members about the weather up there so I made you a duplicate booking through Dallas that will get you in at the same time. Would you like me to cancel the original one?" This kind of pro-active, personal service can be invaluable to a business traveler.

DL may be a better option in the immediate term as they will match your status but I would keep AA in mind long-term, as most people would agree that AAdvantage is a better program and seems more committed to its elite customers.

No first on AA's ER4s or even the CR7s. The upgrade options on AA are DFW, MIA, LGA (couple flights a day), and the LAX flight.

On DL/NW, there are mainline flights to ATL, CUN, DTW, MEM, MSP, and SLC but there are some regional jets without F in the schedule (which one can work to avoid). Although there are non-stops, there is no DL/NW mainline service to CVG or JFK. Throwing out CUN, there are seven cities offering legitimate connections, and I'm OK with a CVG or MEM segment on an RJ.

Twelve of my 51 flights this year have been on jets without F (four of them on one four-segment trip to IAH). Throwing those four out, I get one non-first RJ about every six segments due primarily to cost / schedule, but I do go places like MCI and PIT.