Prove Me Wrong: American Airlines is the worst domestic airline

[ChiTownDoc 21152]

2 hours ago, bigup2dahorns said:

 

Reminds me of when I was a kid.  American had some badass looking planes.  I liked PanAm too.  Ah those were the days.  

*I couldn’t multiquote back then either

[Rougarou 594]

30 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Don’t do true first class.  Then you’re proper fucked.  

Luckily I'll never be able to reasonably afford a $15k flight 😛

[phdhorn 6224]

9 hours ago, bigup2dahorns said:

 

Hated that fucking plane.  A little more room and you could fit a Chihuahua in the seats.

[Prepuce of Doom 21066]

On 6/12/2019 at 3:07 PM, Prepuce of Doom said:

Bought a flexible return flight from LAX to ORD for tomorrow morning, shit changed (as suspected) so I'm heading home today instead. 

No seats on any direct flights from LAX to ORD today according to the customer service representative I spoke with, despite Kayak suggesting otherwise. 

So I booked a connecting flight out of Burbank to DFW to ORD at her suggestion, and despite asking several times whether the flexible fare would still apply given the different airport, and her subsequent assurance that there was no difference in fare, I was greeted with a strange message when I checked in at the kiosk and ultimately had to pay another $400 at the desk. 

Now, I may still have booked this flight anyway even if I had known, but it pisses me off to be explicitly told one thing on the phone, act in reliance of that information, and have shit chaned on me once I have no other options. 

Plus, fuck Burbank's airport. Undeserved hype for how small and easy it is. It's littered with Guy Fieri restaurants, for fuck's sake. 

Refund received, so my client gets their $400 back. 

Frankly, I'm kind of pissed, because they fucked me (and my wife and our three year old) far worse on personal travel a couple months ago and didn't do shit for us.

Seriously considering status matching to United once I burn all my free flights on AA. I'm pretty sure that I'll never use up all my upgrades though, but whatever. 

 

[FondrenRoad 4378]

1 hour ago, phdhorn said:

Hated that fucking plane.  A little more room and you could fit a Chihuahua in the seats.

I liked it except when I booked late and had to sit next to the engine. 

[Js1 85313]

7 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

Frankly, I'm kind of pissed, because they fucked me (and my wife and our three year old)

 

imgur

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

Hated that fucking plane.  A little more room and you could fit a Chihuahua in the seats.

TOTALLY DISAGREE. Best first class seats in the whole narrow body AA fleet . Plus the 2-3 config was perfect when I was flying with my wife.  

Have you flown on an Oasis plane yet? Holy shit it’s bad.

 

 

[milkman 428]

Hated that fucking plane.  A little more room and you could fit a Chihuahua in the seats.

Flew on one last week. Wasn’t too bad considering it was a short 1.5 hour flight. What sucks is sitting on the tarmac in that hot box!

[phdhorn 6224]

5 minutes ago, Gardner Barnes said:

TOTALLY DISAGREE. Best first class seats in the whole narrow body AA fleet .

First class maybe but not for the rest of us poors. They were horrible.

Edited June 26, 2019 by phdhorn

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

57 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

First class maybe but not for the rest of us poors. They were horrible.

Nah, 21A was the catbird seat if you couldn't get a first class seat and warm nuts on an AA S80.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

First class maybe but not for the rest of us poors. They were horrible.

Surly has poors. Hahha


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[TornACL 7698]

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 8:54 AM, FondrenRoad said:

I liked it except when I booked late and had to sit next to the engine. 

I flew back from the 2003 Holiday Bowl hungover as fuck and was in seat 32F.  When you're touch and go and may need to sprint to the lav at any minute to puke your brains out, feeling the buzz of a jet engine in your gut for 3 hours is not ideal.

[Rougarou 594]

Upgraded to business class, yet again, this time on the way back from LHR.

I mean, how many advantages can one person get? You can't even hurt my feelings! "Cracka!", Ohhh, taking me back to the days where I can get horizontal during the entire trip.

I now love AA, delete thread and ban user.

[Homercles 10205]

Looks like a recent policy change at AA...don’t rebook economy passengers onto a non-partner airline during delays/disruptions

https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/10/09/american-airlines-changes-rebooking-policy/

No wonder Dallas was such a cluster a few weeks back...most delayed airline’s most delayed hub and they won’t put passengers on another airline.

[PilotsError 2287]

Whatever you do, don't make the passengers' life easier in any way, shape or form.

[Bobby_Batronic 1994]

I have no doubt that someone did a cost benefit analysis that showed the pissed off customer revenue loss was offset by the cost of rebooking on a competitor, and a bean counter talked a middle manager into hitting the easy button. 

[ChiTownDoc 21152]

Quick work trip to NYC.  Back tomorrow.  The 6:30 is delayed to 8pm.  Our 7:30 is delayed a good hour so far.  They’re amazingly consistent when it comes to delays.  

Edit: Wheels up in couple minutes.  Delay of under an hour feels like w big win...For a 2 hour flight.  Let’s hope the talent at the baccarat hotel lounge lives up to its reputation as well.  

Edited July 9, 2019 by ChiTownDoc

[phdhorn 6224]

Well three out of four flights to St Lucia and back went off pretty well. But I'm sitting here in Miami 2 hours delayed waiting for a first officer from another flight. Will now get into Austin when the strip clubs close - maybe.

[Gil Bang 25944]

the thing with the mechanics is getting uglier and uglier. 

[ChiTownDoc 21152]

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

the thing with the mechanics is getting uglier and uglier. 

Both delays in Chicago to LGA were ‘mechanical’ for whatever the fuck that’s worth.  United back tomorrow night.  

[woohorn 1131]

5 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

the thing with the mechanics is getting uglier and uglier. 

Got stuck at SeaTac for 10hrs Sunday because mechs "noticed an oil leak". Got a $13 food voucher and free "food" and one bottle drinks on eventual red eye flight out. 

 

Assume there was no leak, of course. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by woohorn

[RPM 26318]

They best have all that sorted out by the time I have to fly to Vegas or I'm writing someone a very sternly worded letter.

[Gil Bang 25944]

New York (CNN Business)American Airlines has a big problem with canceled flights. The 737 Max grounding isn't helping, but it is not the primary cause of its troubles.

In June, American Airlines canceled about 4% of its scheduled flights, according to data tracker masFlight. American's canceled flight rate is twice the rate of Southwest (LUV), and is more than six times that of United Airlines (UAL), according to masFlight. It is nearly 20 times the cancellation rate at Delta (DAL).

That 4% doesn't count the 115 cancellations American has made every day because of the 737 Max grounding. Those flights weren't counted because they were already taken off the schedule weeks before the date they were originally scheduled.

American Airlines has two dozen 737 Max planes in its fleet. The 737 Max cancellations represent about 1.5% of American's schedule. It said Wednesday the 737 Max cancellations had cost the airline about $185 million in the just completed quarter.

 

So if it's not just the 737 Max, what's behind American's cancellation crisis?

American alleges that a major part of its flight cancellations are because of an ongoing labor dispute with the two unions representing its mechanics. The airline says mechanics are deliberately grounding planes as a way to put pressure on the airline during negotiations over a new contract. It has filed federal lawsuits against the unions.

The unions deny the airline's allegation.

"Our members value American Airlines fliers and work hard every day to ensure they have the best experience possible," said the Transport Workers union, one of the two unions representing mechanics. It said that American should return to the bargaining table rather than fighting the unions in court.

Despite American winning some preliminary decisions in the case, it argues in court filings that the mechanics continue to improperly ground planes. It says aircraft that were out of service due to maintenance issues is averaged more than 50 a day, up about 30% from the average during previous summers. It reached a high of 66 grounded planes because of maintenance issues on June 18, which the airline said is one of the highest totals in the airline's history.

 

"The continuing disruption is causing devastating harm to American and its customers, employees and brand," said the airline in a court filing.

The problem from the labor dispute is far more serious than the one involving the 737 Max, said airline consultant Michael Boyd.

"Not carrying people on a flight that was never booked isn't that big a deal. Leaving people at the gate because the airplane is broke and there's no plane to replace it is a much bigger issue," he said.

 

American is first US airline to drop a route because of 737 Max grounding

And in the age of social media, people who run into problems traveling on American are more likely to spread the word, discouraging others from booking on the airline in the future he said.

View image on Twitter

Marco Rubio

 

✔@marcorubio

 

 

When @AmericanAir cancels your flight, cancels your rebooked flight & then informs you every flight between Miami & DC is overbooked for the next 24 hours, you know it just isn’t your day.

 

911

12:48 PM - Jul 8, 2019

 

843 people are talking about this

 

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

 

"The problem with American is people talking about this and deciding to look elsewhere for their flights," said Boyd.

The good news for American is that the planes that are flying are full, and the fares are higher than it originally projected. Fuel prices are also lower than its original estimate for the second quarter.

The guidance it gave on fares and operating costs helped lift shares of American (AAL) and other airlines in Wednesday trading, despite the news about the flight cancellation problems.

[Anastasis 23469]

What a shit show

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-nightmare-summer-for-american-airlines-11562751006

A Nightmare Summer for American Airlines

Labor tension plus lousy weather have meant higher rates of delays and cancellations for the largest U.S. carrier

A federal judge ordered lawyers for American Airlines and its mechanics union to meet in person over an alleged work slowdown, but American’s top two attorneys didn’t show.

Their flights got canceled.

 

 

[RPM 26318]

8 hours ago, Anastasis said:

What a shit show

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-nightmare-summer-for-american-airlines-11562751006

A Nightmare Summer for American Airlines

Labor tension plus lousy weather have meant higher rates of delays and cancellations for the largest U.S. carrier

A federal judge ordered lawyers for American Airlines and its mechanics union to meet in person over an alleged work slowdown, but American’s top two attorneys didn’t show.

Their flights got canceled.

 

 

[Rougarou 594]

It was a good run of ontime flights, but finally today was a mess.

5 minutes from the rental car drop off at IAD I get a notification that my flight was cancelled-- not a cloud in the sky at that time.

Rebook at DCA, drive across town, get 5 minutes from the car rental drop off and that flight is cancelled.

So now I'm driving back across town to IAD again, in rush hour traffic through DC. I have to rebook on United and connect through Denver.

The flight out of IAD is delayed an hour and now I'm likely to miss my connecting flight.

[G650 14252]

On 6/4/2019 at 5:50 PM, Gil Bang said:

I don't get the LAX hate.  It's a fucking airport.  They have a TGI Fridays, a Chili's Too, some newsstands, and some overpriced bars,  LIKE EVERY OTHER FUCKING AIRPORT.

What exactly is better about other airports?    What can you get at DFW that you can't get at LAX?  At ORD?  

Not sure if serious.

[Your Mom 4805]

Terminal 1 has a new food court with PeiWei, some hippie fresh healthy sandwich place, Einsteins, Chik fil A, and Danny Trejo’s taco joint. How can you hate Trejos Tacos?


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[BrazilHorn 6586]

Challenge for AA is that they always had shitty customer service - Their FAs hate the customer. Now you add in the Max issue with the planes in fleet, the mechanic's slow roll strike etc and it is a nuclear bomb for AA.

I refuse to fly these guys unless absolutely forced to. They are the absolute worst.

[RPM 26318]

Not AA, but I thought this goes here.

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

I'm honestly at a loss as to why Austin business travelers use American Airlines for domestic travel.  If your company says you have to use them, nut up and get them to change that.  Their service to ORD is eclipsed by better itineraries and equipment on United, shit even Frontier is better to ORD.  If you're flying to DFW from Austin, you're a fucking idiot.  Be an adult and take a Vonlane. Delta, United, and SWA all offer better service to LAX.  Same for JFK via Jet Blue or Delta.  SWA wins on itineraries to Sky Harbor.  

Charlotte/NC, Philly, and Miami are the only real options where American is your surest and best bet out of ABIA.  I honestly look at those gates at Bergstrom nowadays and think what a relic they are.  American was there when you had to go thru DFW or Houston to get anywhere, but that hasn't been the case for over a decade.  What a colossal waste of time to fly them nowadays when that's extra hours you could spend with your kids.  

 

[Longhornmaniac8 255]

18 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I'm honestly at a loss as to why Austin business travelers use American Airlines for domestic travel.  If your company says you have to use them, nut up and get them to change that.  Their service to ORD is eclipsed by better itineraries and equipment on United, shit even Frontier is better to ORD.  If you're flying to DFW from Austin, you're a fucking idiot.  Be an adult and take a Vonlane. Delta, United, and SWA all offer better service to LAX.  Same for JFK via Jet Blue or Delta.  SWA wins on itineraries to Sky Harbor.  

Charlotte/NC, Philly, and Miami are the only real options where American is your surest and best bet out of ABIA.  I honestly look at those gates at Bergstrom nowadays and think what a relic they are.  American was there when you had to go thru DFW or Houston to get anywhere, but that hasn't been the case for over a decade.  What a colossal waste of time to fly them nowadays when that's extra hours you could spend with your kids.  

 

Hot take alert.

A quick glance at the AUS-ORD schedules show each of AA and UA having 4 flights a day, at pretty similar times, all on either Airbus or 737s. Enjoy Frontier's less than daily service (also, your credibility is totally gone at this point if you think F9 is better than AA in any capacity, current issues notwithstanding).

A quick glance at the AUS-PHX schedules show AA's 4 flights a day to WN's 3.

A quick glance at the AUS-LAX schedules show AA's 4 flights a day to DL and UA's 2, and WN's 1.

How that drink and package of pretzels on WN is somehow better than the same on AA or UA, I don't really get, but whatever floats your boat.

Also, if you think the hub-and-spoke system isn't alive and well, well, I don't really know what to tell you.

 

[Anastasis 23469]

Frontier LOL. 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Hub and Spoke is alive and well for people in cities that don't have a choice.  That ship sailed from Austin.  There are now plenty of non-stop options for nearly every city of business significance.  American fails at everything from on-time averages, customer service, equipment, to prices, to itineraries.  I'm talking about from Austin.  I know they dominate many other routes.  But if you're doing business in primary (and some secondary markets) and live in Austin...American is the worst option of the Legacy Carriers.  In some cases, like JFK...I'll gladly opt for Jet Blue instead of American.  Never indicated anywhere that I thought hub-n-spoke isn't alive and well.  It's no longer necessary from Austin, and certainly not necessary on a shitheap like American.  

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

I'm honestly at a loss as to why Austin business travelers use American Airlines for domestic travel.  If your company says you have to use them, nut up and get them to change that.  Their service to ORD is eclipsed by better itineraries and equipment on United, shit even Frontier is better to ORD.  If you're flying to DFW from Austin, you're a fucking idiot.  Be an adult and take a Vonlane. Delta, United, and SWA all offer better service to LAX.  Same for JFK via Jet Blue or Delta.  SWA wins on itineraries to Sky Harbor.  

Charlotte/NC, Philly, and Miami are the only real options where American is your surest and best bet out of ABIA.  I honestly look at those gates at Bergstrom nowadays and think what a relic they are.  American was there when you had to go thru DFW or Houston to get anywhere, but that hasn't been the case for over a decade.  What a colossal waste of time to fly them nowadays when that's extra hours you could spend with your kids.  

 

At this point guys like me are so invested in AA ExP status that flying those other options are not worth the year long effort to gain matching status. I have tried to ask for matching status from delta and they don’t do that any more.

 

It’s really not as bad as some people say. I fly every week to JFK and PHL. I am upgraded about on 3 out of every 4 flights except during March, June and, December.

 

Also as long as I avoid DFW connections and opt for Charlotte or Philly I rarely encounter delays.

 

However - let’s track for funsies. I have 4 flights this week.

 

Monday 1:05 to Charlotte and then 5:45 to LGA

Tuesday 3:00 JFK to Charlotte 6:49 to Austin.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

On 6/25/2019 at 10:08 AM, gecko said:

All my team members live in hub cities....Dallas, DC, Chicago, NY, Detroit, and Mex City with the exception of one.  She lives in Raleigh.  Guess which one is late or struggles to get to every team meeting...

Non-hub cities are probably best to live in but are a beeotch if you travel for bidness

I bet if she moved, she'd still be late.

Late people don't miraculously start respecting others.

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

I dislike both American and United.  But sadly for many of us who have to connect to either IAH or DFW,  I rather take my chances at DFW because of the weather.   United will cancel flights down here even with rumors of bad weather.   Now I'd rather take Southwest more places, but because again I have to connect at Hobby, the layover times coming and going are horrible.

Ah I can't wait to get closer to a REAL  international airport.  

Edited July 14, 2019 by Nueces River Rat

[Rougarou 594]

12 hours ago, Gardner Barnes said:

At this point guys like me are so invested in AA ExP status that flying those other options are not worth the year long effort to gain matching status. I have tried to ask for matching status from delta and they don’t do that any more.

 

It’s really not as bad as some people say. I fly every week to JFK and PHL. I am upgraded about on 3 out of every 4 flights except during March, June and, December.

 

Also as long as I avoid DFW connections and opt for Charlotte or Philly I rarely encounter delays.

 

However - let’s track for funsies. I have 4 flights this week.

 

Monday 1:05 to Charlotte and then 5:45 to LGA

Tuesday 3:00 JFK to Charlotte 6:49 to Austin.

 

 

 

 

 

This is exactly me; I get upgraded every 2 of 4 flights and the points/status is what makes me married to AA.

i have a DFW to BNA (confirmed upgrade to 1st) on Monday

and BNA to cLT to SFO on weds let’s see how it goes

[Rougarou 594]

DFW to BNA delaaaaaaayed wah wah wahhhhhh

[Prepuce of Doom 21066]

On a related note that doesn't deserve its own thread, is there a more consistently disappointing dining experience than an airport Chili's? 

You know it's going to be barely edible crap, and because sometimes it's your only option, you suck it up and take the plunge knowing full well that it's going to suck.  And still, on each of those occasions with hardly any bar of expectations to clear whatsoever, it still manages to disappoint and underwhelm. 

Fuck airport Chili's in the goatass. 

[Guest Lobo]

My point was only about Austin travelers not using American.  But y'all keep chiming in with your status levels, terribly interesting stuff while I take a shit.  

But yeah, to Prepuce's point...you know it's a chili's.  You know it's gonna suck and somehow it's always even worse than anything you could possibly imagine.  Last one I was at was St. Louis and I still have a pierced colon from it.  

[Uncle Boobs 1248]

My point was only about Austin travelers not using American.  But y'all keep chiming in with your status levels, terribly interesting stuff while I take a shit.  
But yeah, to Prepuce's point...you know it's a chili's.  You know it's gonna suck and somehow it's always even worse than anything you could possibly imagine.  Last one I was at was St. Louis and I still have a pierced colon from it.  

I gave your mom a pierced colon.

[Guest Lobo]

She did comment your wife's fingers were awkwardly long and dangling.   

God I hate flying.  

[Js1 85313]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

My point was only about Austin travelers not using American.  But y'all keep chiming in with your status levels, terribly interesting stuff while I take a shit.  

But yeah, to Prepuce's point...you know it's a chili's.  You know it's gonna suck and somehow it's always even worse than anything you could possibly imagine.  Last one I was at was St. Louis and I still have a pierced colon from it.  

The king of terribly uninteresting stuff is annoyed people discuss their status instead of just agreeing with his almighty opinion. 

[Guest Lobo]

Sorry I picked on American on a thread titled to the effect of how much that airline sucks.  My point was and remains, I think it's a shitty option for Austin fliers no matter their awesome status.  I mean, your status in your family lets you out of the house so why can't we all be brothers? 

And as terribly uninteresting stuff, I'll have you know that I was behind the Kenny Rogers tour bus on MoPac on Saturday afternoon for a couple of miles.  And I received an opportunity for a one-night upgrade at Lost Pines resort next month with the family...so there Mr. Hotshot.  And on top of all that, I'm on the list to possibly receive tickets to an ACL taping.  

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

Sorry I picked on American on a thread titled to the effect of how much that airline sucks.  My point was and remains, I think it's a shitty option for Austin fliers no matter their awesome status.  I mean, your status in your family lets you out of the house so why can't we all be brothers?  And as terribly uninteresting stuff, I'll have you know that I was behind the Kenny Rogers tour bus on MoPac on Saturday afternoon for a couple of miles.  And I received an opportunity for a one-night upgrade at Lost Pines resort next month with the family...so there Mr. Hotshot.  And on top of all that, I'm on the list to possibly receive tickets to an ACL taping.  

 

 

My point is that I don’t want to be forced to fly in the back next to people like you who drone on and on about RE deals or Austin politics for a year. So I deal with the AA occasional BS until I get moved back up front.

 

Perhaps that is why some people in Austin choose to fly AA?

 

See how that works?

 

[Guest Lobo]

You picked a weird site if you don't like reading about Austin politics   Plus I'm a hoot to sit by on a flight.  I haven't talked to anyone in the last 200,000 miles of flying.  But if anybody buys a drink in my row, I pick up the tab as a preemptive thank-you for eventually letting me get up to urinate.  I can make it about 2 hours without pissing at altitude, but anything beyond that like JFK, FLL, BOS, LAX, SFO...I gotta piss once.  

Speaking of that, tell our mutual friend with that new job in real estate to email me back.  

I'm actually not allowed on American since the incident, so there's that.  

All that to say, anybody got any insight on the proposed addiontal flights that we're supposed to get as a Delta focus city?  

Edited July 16, 2019 by Lobo

[Longhornmaniac8 255]

On 7/13/2019 at 10:31 PM, Lobo said:

Hub and Spoke is alive and well for people in cities that don't have a choice.  That ship sailed from Austin.  There are now plenty of non-stop options for nearly every city of business significance.  American fails at everything from on-time averages, customer service, equipment, to prices, to itineraries.  I'm talking about from Austin.  I know they dominate many other routes.  But if you're doing business in primary (and some secondary markets) and live in Austin...American is the worst option of the Legacy Carriers.  In some cases, like JFK...I'll gladly opt for Jet Blue instead of American.  Never indicated anywhere that I thought hub-n-spoke isn't alive and well.  It's no longer necessary from Austin, and certainly not necessary on a shitheap like American.  

I disagree that hub-and-spoke is no longer necessary from Austin. While AUS is extraordinarily well connected to the largest business cities, lots of business can and does take place outside of that, and even among those cities, there still is sub-optimal connectivity in terms of schedule. Take Ontario, CA as an example. It's in the 13th largest MSA. And if you happen to be flying on the 4 days a week Frontier offers service, and happen to be traveling on a schedule that fits its single flight on those days, then perhaps it could be a viable option. Beyond that, you're going to have to connect. And in order to do that, you're going to be using some iteration of a hub-and-spoke system.

You're absolutely begging the question by saying AA fails at "everything." Without quantification, it's just a claim with no substantiation (and a pretty lousy one that's riddled with emotion at that). Good luck getting to a city like Chicago on JetBlue. Maybe if you leave by sunrise you'd get there before dinnertime. 

There is almost nowhere in the continental United States you can't get to in 7 hours or less travel time on AA, UA, or DL from AUS, including secondary and tertiary cities. Of the three, DL would far and away have the worst schedules because its hubs are the farthest. No other airline can offer that kind of connectivity, and it's thanks to, yep, you guessed it, the hub-and-spoke model.

Pick a major destination from Austin. AA will get you there just as easily, if not more easily, than every other airline out there. They fly nonstop to 6 of the 10 largest MSAs, compared to United's 5 and Delta's 4. Of the three legacy carriers, AA and DL are tied for the most nonstop destinations overall out of AUS with 8, and AA has the most passengers carried. So your claims that their itineraries are the worst just really doesn't stand up to any scrutiny because they go the most places and carry the most people which means they have the most flights (all carriers are almost completely mainline with comparable capacity, so one isn't being boosted by more frequency using smaller jets). 

They also have the newest fleet of the three legacies, and while I fundamentally disagree with their floundering strategy as it pertains to cabin service and in-flight entertainment (DL wins easily in these categories), you're far more likely to be flying on a newer plane.

Last year, AA's on-time average was indeed the worst of the three at about 78%, worse than United's (79%) and Delta's (nearly 86%). There's certainly not a lot between AA and UA and the average customer doesn't fly enough for that difference to be significant.

Customer service I'll concede is a black mark on AA right now, though I've had pleasant experiences by and large on all three and wouldn't generally put one over the other.

The whole point is that people travel for lots of different reasons, and even for people that travel regularly, AA provides as much utility, if not more, than any other airline that flies to AUS. People value things like robust schedules with lots of flight options (which knocks out any airline except AA, UA, DL, and WN), lounges to escape the busy-ness of the concourse (which knocks out WN), frequent flyer programs that provide status, upgrades, and mileage accrual (could further knock out WN depending on what you're looking for). 

Of the three, I can get more flights to more destinations out of DFW with AA than I can at IAH with UA. DL is a nonstarter due to too many areas where I have to backtrack. There's an enormous arc in the center of the country from SLC-MSP-ATL where I have to backtrack if I want to get there. This goes to your point about the DL focus city which I think we all hope is coming. Combine that with the fact I hate IAH as a connecting airport (and I say that as someone who will be based there starting in 2 weeks) and AA almost wins by default.

[Guest Lobo]

Okay, I don’t like that airline very much.  Valid points made by some to the contrary, I get it.  Makes sense even to a guy who doesn’t like to fly.   Everybody has a least favorite carrier of the big 4, i happened to find a thread dedicated to others that like AAL the least of the four but this isn’t the time or place to speak negatively about American   Got it   

Anyway, I’m all AirCal   

 

  

[Scraps 13561]

#TeamSouthwest

Pre TSA(I know not airline specific) + SWA Early Bird Check in = winning

 

Worst experience I ever had was Delta about 15 yrs ago so I try to avoid them like the plague (even though they are typically ranked high on lists I believe)