The Big Three US Airlines

[Mr. Smith]

They control 80+% of the market in this country, so the odds are that you probably had to pick one of these three "spoke-and-hub" airlines to get anywhere.

So where to do you stand? With Does Everything Lead To Atlanta Air Lines? With American Airlines? Or with United?  Are they all good when they are the cheapest? Or are they all awful because of the cramped confines?

Which is it?

[LLR]

All pretty HA, especially Delta and United.

[Crumpets]

United is probably my least favorite airline. The others are okay. Delta's pretty good for overseas flights.

[Santander]

DL is probably the best by a small margin when you consider its hubs (specifically MSP, SLC, DTW), Sky Clubs and international business class product. I used to be a UA 1K before the merger and Smisek destroyed the airline, and then I ran away to AA. CO's CLE hub was absolutely fantastic though, and had the best crew in the business other than perhaps the NRT Interport crews. AA's MD-80s are ancient, but they're great planes, and I'm satisfied enough with AA.

Right now, DL > AA > UA, even if I've logged more miles on UA than DL+AA combined.

[Illiniwek]

United works well enough for me being based in Chicago. Airlines in general just kind of suck.

[Mr. Smith]

I've never flown Delta, but United p*&sed me off to the point of vowing never to fly by them again (pity they have that grip on San Francisco).

That leaves American by default, and that's without mentioning its hub operation in Charlotte.

That said, I usually seek alternates to any of these three where I can.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The last time I flew was in the early days of deregulation when airlines were still actually good.

[rpryor03]

I've enjoyed both my recent trips on Delta (JFK-SLC, CAK-ATL), with nice food. American isn't bad, it's just OK. United is only ok on less popular routes, where there are less people on the flight. Unfortunately, they have a hold on Cleveland Airport. I personally prefer Delta over any other US based airline.

[Ban my account ffs!]

DL is probably the best by a small margin when you consider its hubs (specifically MSP, SLC, DTW), Sky Clubs and international business class product. I used to be a UA 1K before the merger and Smisek destroyed the airline, and then I ran away to AA. CO's CLE hub was absolutely fantastic though, and had the best crew in the business other than perhaps the NRT Interport crews. AA's MD-80s are ancient, but they're great planes, and I'm satisfied enough with AA.

Right now, DL > AA > UA, even if I've logged more miles on UA than DL+AA combined.

Please don't refer to services as a "product" as if it can be consumed like a milkshake.

Just a pet peeve of mine. 

[Frodo]

I pay extra just to avoid them when flying international.  

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Jet Blue is the best airline.

[LLR]

Jet Blue is the best airline.

[Mr. Smith]

Jet Blue is the best airline.

That'll probably be true next year when Virgin America merges with Alaska, but for now, they quite obviously win.

I pay extra just to avoid them when flying international.  

Smart, just like the use of Southwest, Virgin, or JetBlue domestically is smart.

"United works well enough for me being based in Chicago. Airlines in general just kind of suck."

American also has a large Chicago operation, depending on whether I'm flying in/out of Roanoke or Charlottesville, I use one or the other and the American side of things is much more tolerable. But that's not saying much

[Green Line]

They would be better off if we got rid of the Open Skies agreement with the Middle East.  The government subsidized Middle Eastern carriers are hurting competition and engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

[dax00]

I'm currently boycotting American, Delta, and Jetblue, and have told my family and friends to do the same. United is reasonable. My go-to airline is Southwest.

[This account no longer in use.]

I'm currently boycotting American, Delta, and Jetblue, and have told my family and friends to do the same.

May I ask why?

[Indy Texas]

They would be better off if we got rid of the Open Skies agreement with the Middle East.  The government subsidized Middle Eastern carriers are hurting competition and engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

Can you explain?

Foreign airlines are not allowed to operate within the United States (they can only fly to US cities from foreign ones and vice versa).

[Indy Texas]

Terrible across the board. The most recent round of mergers in the early 2010s (United buying Continental; American buying US Airways) should never have gotten DOJ clearance.

I have the least complaints for Delta, so they are the least HA of the bunch.

United has awful customer service. American's flights are never on time because they're too cheap to replace their 40 year old planes and they're always having to do last-minute maintenance as a result.

[dax00]

I'm currently boycotting American, Delta, and Jetblue, and have told my family and friends to do the same.

May I ask why?

American - because they screwed one of my friends over
Delta - I got accosted by their staff in an extremely rude and condescending manner a couple times
Jetblue - they mistreated one of my other friends and deemed him a security threat lol

It's principle. I do not tolerate mistreatment of any kind, on essentially any level. I get rude customer service - I report them. Bad waiter/waitress - no tip. Etc..