I fly mostly TPACs and usually don't get to choose my carrier because the company policy is lowest fare. So I focus on trying to keep everything *A at a minimum. However I would say in general that there is a huge difference in overall attitude about customer service between the American carriers and the Asian carriers. So when I have to book a UA flight, I always cringe and set my expectations very low because I know what is in store for me. If I get to book OZ or NH or SQ (which is rare) I feel like I just won the lottery :D

The only time I really consider inflight service a lot is if I'm redeeming a three-cabin F award. Then, I'm likely to try for the best TPAC or TATL product my alliance has.

If I'm flying J, I'm less likely to go out of my way. Might opt for a good foriegn carrier if there's no time-cost to doing so.

If I'm flying Y, I actually prefer the U.S. carrier since that's where my elite status is and I'm not aware of other airlines that will actually put me in a premium/desirable coach seat online at booking time based on my alliance status. In Y, the only things that matter to me are (a) being able to confirm an aisle seat and (b) maximizing seat pitch. What brands of beer are served or what kind of food is served are irrrelevant to me. "Hottie" FA's are irrelevant to me as well.

The difference is staggering, and no one that I know of prefers to fly U.S. airlines unless they absolutely have to. As someone with lifetime status and a current EXP on AA, I hate to say it, but my experience in Y on a recent low fare trip on Korean Air was so much more enjoyable than my flights in C on AA or BA. I was dreading sitting in Y for international flights, but I didn't have to be. The seats were spacious with plenty of legroom, the equipment was new with working IFE with a good selection of movies and shows, the FAs were polished, efficient, friendly, and nice, and the food choices were tasty and there were many offerings of snacks. My companion and I were both very pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed the flights, in transpac Y, at a level that I've never experienced on any U.S. airlines in Y (and in some C).

Which type/seat on Korean? Seatguru shows most of their types as 33-34" in Y. (That's in between UA's E- and E+.) I wouldn't even describe Economy Plus (35-36") as "spacious", but it's "less bad". Did you have some sort of exit row or bulkhead and, if so, is it something that a partner elite could select at booking time?

I will give praise to Korean for apparently having no long-haul 31-32" seats. I flew the JAL 787 a couple months ago and it was far worse than any United flight I've been on since the advent of Economy Plus.

I have no status with KE. Our seats were just regular ones reserved 30 days prior by calling in. It may only be a difference of an inch or two, but it seemed and felt spacious somehow, maybe because no one reclined. ;)

Absolutely yes. I will avoid US-based carriers when I can

+1, and the questioning becomes more annoying if flying out of a country where one holds neither residency nor citizenship. I would imagine this is much less of an issue for US citizens flying an US airline back home (i.e., the vast majority of thread participants).

I normally fly Asian airlines these days, but I ended up in Y on UA a few weeks back, and must say that it wasn't nearly as horrible as I was envisioning (I used to fly UA a lot). Lots of legroom, passable IFE, SFO lounge better than anything in China, palatable food, okay service. My outbound was on JL in J (on their 787, no less), which was far better of course, but both experiences constituted me spending 12 hours in a metal tube, and getting very little sleep ("angled flat" seats aren't a whole lot better than UA's E+ in my book).

agree. for Y the difference isnt as drastic. (and for most people IFE makes the most visible difference... where its a function of aircraft and not really descriptive of carriers from one region vs another)

but in J and F where service is an *expectation* is where USA fails.

also, not just on-board but the soft service at check-in & especially lounges

To break it down even further, I think the U.S. carriers do okay with their newest J products but still fall far, far short of the best carriers in F.

A United Club isn't too different than a lot of the J lounges around the world. Some a little better, mainly because they don't serve American beer :p and have better food. Some a little worse because they're shared lounges and don't have an agent who can really solve issues related to your itinerary. I think the U.S. carriers are *close* when we're talking about J - close enough that I wouldn't significantly reroute my travels to avoid them.

One thing I hardly ever see discussed on FT: what are the best airlines out there that use a two-cabin service, with the forward cabin booking as J (whether paid or award), but a "near F" overall experience? Is there any J award in this world that would put me in a truly premium lounge and have a top-top-shelf liquor/wine list onboard?

NZ comes to mind: herringbone seats which I find spacious and very comfortable in bed position (plush memory foam mattress, turndown service), catering enjoyable (onboard cook, emphasis on NZ products), wines a discovery (all NZ once again), attention to detail refreshing (self-righting glasses, inflight map with historical POI's such as shipwrecks overflown), Koru Club lounges well above average, and quirky details (multicolored striped socks in amenity kit, safety announcement) fun if in the right mood. Technically it is a 3 cabin service however, with premium economy on offer.

Next would be OS's new biz class: acceptable if somewhat cramped flat seats, possibly the most elaborate food served in business class, both tasty, at times creative, always plentiful, once again with on-board cook, coffee menu with 10 selections, linens provided for the blanket and large pillow, and old-school service. However the lounges are at best average, and the wines no more than honest.

Those are two business class products which feel special in some respect, and obviously represent a carrier's best effort, something which cannot be said about most, which merely feel comfortable (just like US airlines' first class...)

Erm. What????

The American lounges I've been into all have had a poor food selection (snacks only), usually have stained, aged seating upholstered in a camel-hair/barbed wire blend and the bar charges for everything except the cheapest stuff. I have only seen showers in one US lounge, ever (I forget where) and quite a few charge for WiFi access. In contrast the J lounges in Europe, Asia and Australasia stand leagues above them. I can normally have a full (even if not exactly cordon bleu) meal, drink anything from a beer to a special edition single malt whisky and surf the net free of charge on all three PED's at once, if I so choose. Last night I was transitting in FRA after a long day in a hot lab and ducked into the Senator lounge in concourse B where I had a hot shower that felt like a warm cascade in a stunningly appointed private bathroom, followed by a weisen beer, turkey sausage and potato salad with salad and a pickle. I have never seen a J lounge anywhere in the US that even comes close.

Seriously???
 

What are you smoking* cause I want some!!!

*Only something with hallucinegenic powers could make someone actually WANT to connect at IAD or EWR!

Yes to the extreme!
 

Had to fly CX from JFK - LAX via YVR and HKG just to avoid American carriers.

Apart from the in-flight service the other main reason for avoiding US carriers is that they are more likely to be blown up.

In general my preference for carriers is Asian > European > Others > US.