ContinentalFan

The following move from Continental to American is larger the result of my finding Flyertalk!

I reached Platinum in June--actually, I have gone way over 75k EQM's: I am now just over 110k. I have always resented the fact that I missed out on the elite-for-life with Continental. Thanks to FT, I found out that AA offers such a program, so I am switching to AA for the rest of the year. I enrolled in the Platinum challenge with AA, which requires me to earn 10,000 points in 90 days. A point is similar to an EQM. Some AA discount coach fares generate only one half of a point per mile; full coach and business or FC fares generate 1.5 points for each mile flown.

This week, I had to take two trips: one from LAX to EWR connecting through Chicago; the other from LAX to SEA on Alaska. Each ticket was refundable; the transcontinental ticket was in FC. Thanks for the challenge, as of about 6 p.m. yesterday, I became Platinum on AA. I hope to reach EXP by year's end.

I'll now go through the entire process of flying on AA and compare it to my experience on Continental.

Booking a Ticket Online
I think Continental has the edge here. I like the AA website. It's easy to read about how I am doing points-wise, etc. I think the big flaw is not being able to search by fare class. Continental makes this search easy. I want to be able to look for Y and B fares on AA; I can't. I have to make a reservation; hold it; then call AA. Dumb. Apart from that problem, actually purchasing the ticket is easy.

One more issue with the AA website is the OLCI. The button to retrieve a reservation is right beside the button to cancel it. I suspect that if I hit cancel in error, I will have the chance to back off my mistake, but I didn't try just in case I was wrong!

In terms of what I want Continental's website is better. Continental wins.

Check In
I checked in online, so I didn't actually go through the process at the airport. I didn't wander over to see how AA organizes such things: it seems to be the same as Continental. If I ever have to physically check-in at an airport, I don't expect to see much difference.

Boarding
Flying on another carrier is like being in another country: they do the same things a little differently, which often seems strange at first blush. For standby's and upgrades, AA lists people on the monitor behind the gate podium. The carrier seems to board special assistance people first, then FC then frequent flyers. There is no special line for FC/elites, which means, I suspect, that if you arrive at the gate late, you have to line up with coach passengers. I arrived early, so didn't have a problem, but IMO, Continental treats its high-value customers better.

Given this difference in treatment, Continental wins.

The Flight
I think that American has the edge here. I flew on aircraft that have the equivalent of domestic FC. The B757 had in-flight entertainment. The Super 80's did not. I seldom bother with the in-flight entertainment unless I have a personal console. American serves a much better breakfast. Continental serves better lunch. American serves food from carts; Continental serves from galleys--classier, in my opinion. In terms of attention to detail, American did a better job. Granted, I have only flown four segments on AA and hundreds on Continental, but I found that the FA's on AA did a better job. They interacted more with passengers and didn't disappear in the middle of the flight.

American wins.

Overall, I think that Continental has a slight edge over American. Initially, I was surprised that American did a better job with in-flight service, but on reflection, it makes sense. I have seen Continental slowly slide over time. American reminded me of the Continental Airlines of the 90's. American offers elite-for-life, which is important to me and the reason I switched.

Other issues
Safety. I haven't thought about airlines and safety for years, but my gut tells me that American may one day have a problem. I flew on MD 80's--old aircraft that were, frankly, a little tatty. One of them used to belong to TWA--at least the service cart had TWA emblazoned on it. I flew on three Super 80's, two of them had small mechanical issues. One required a new engine on a wiper--they decided not to replace it; the other had a problem with a door sealing; the skipper correctly assumed that it would reseat when we hit altitude. I am a little concerned about AA's aircraft maintenance. I don't believe that there will be a major, fatal incident; however, I do know that when such an event occurs, it's often due to an unanticipated outcome from the interaction of a number of failed systems. Walking around the terminals at LAX and ORD, it is clear to me that AA would benefit from a major upgrade in its equipment.

Is American really international? When I eventually got to see the AA route map (the in-flight magazine), I was surprised at how few foreign destinations AA actually serves. Sure, the maps are splattered with cities served by OW and codeshare partners, but AA itself serves relatively few foreign cities for a carrier of its size.

Overseas travel tends to be relatively more profitable. I think that AMR has a lot of upside here, particularly if the carrier wants to follow CO's lead in using narrow-bodied jets to serve those long, thin routes. I wonder if American has ever even considered this option. IMHO it needs to. AMR is a stock to watch.

J.Edward

Good write up, CO (AA?) Fan! ^

Thanks for posting it.

kingalien

Thanks for the comparison report COFan.

If you have used the Admiral's Club, please post a report too.

Bookexp

If you fly AA more often, you will find the service varies from flight to flight, just as on CO. It really depends on the crews .

For First class, CO has classy service than AA. For example, the salt and pepper shakers v.s. the packages on AA. I also like the service from galley rather than the cart. CO's wine is weak on the F.
If you get stuck on economy, CO wins AA hand down. At least you get meal services, and in flight magazine. Sometimes you just don't have time to stop at stores to get a meal when you juggle between connections.

channa

I would give AA a slight edge on check-in. Reason being, AA puts multiple segments on one print for OLCI, and CO makes you click to each segment's BP and print it. Only a minor annoyance, but AA makes it easier.

channa

CO: Free booze; free WiFi

AA: pay for booze; T-mobile WiFi

CO wins, hands down.

J.Edward

FYI - a standpoint not often thought about (for good reason... there's not a lot of them!) on FT is that of the young traveler. For the under 21'ers AA wins hands down compared to the PClub. For once upon a time J.Edward - and another come to think of it - had our precious oasis of serenity ripped away due to age "requirements". I defeated to AA (until they closed down the IAH lounge) and was very grateful for their network (especially the DFW C one ) for a pay-for-internet + free (non-alcoholic) drinks = better than waiting on the concourse.

Granted now that I'm old, my views have changed - but at the time, this was an important factor.

mbmiles88

So, there is no age requirement when getting an Admirals Club Membership?

MIA-SAT

I fly both, frequently. I have to give CO a big advantage on on-line check in. CO allows on line check in for most int flights. AA will block on-line check in if any segment in your itinerary is international. This reaches absurd lengths at some times, such as this last week. I was flying AA to MIA on Mon, Taca to SAL on Tues and CO to SAT on Fri. Even though the international segment was on another carrier on another day, on-line checkin was blocked on AA due to the fact that I had an international segment in the same record as my flight on AA. On Friday, as usual with CO, went on line at my hotel in SAL and got my boarding pass before going to the airport.

So this one I rank as for CO

I give AA an edge on the way the handle airport upgrades at most hubs, the upgrade lists are posted on screens and that increases transparancy. (Not saying that some game playing does not go on on both carriers.)

This one is for AA.

One difference not mentioned is upgrades on high fare tickets. At CO if you are full Y, the full Y will trump a Plat for an upgrade given at departure, assuming that both are still waiting for the upgrade. AA does not care what your fare is, if it is not F and you have not upgraded by the time you arrive at the gate, the EXP will trump the AAdvantage dirt, even if the dirt is on a Y fare and the EXP is on a cheapo fare.

How you rank this one depends on whose ox is getting gored that day.


Another factor to consider is that when you check in on line with CO, you can automatically put yourself on the upgrade list and you are done with the process. AA has at least two lists, one of which you must place yourself on at the airport.

This one favors CO.

Free upgrades (except SWU"s see below). As long as the CO or COPA cabin are not in business first configuration, you can go as far as Santiago, Chile with a free upgrade to first (but you do switch to COPA at PTY) From IAH you can obtain free upgrades on CO as far south as LIM, QUI and GYE. Brazil is not included if your itinerary is solely on CO, rather than being CO and COPA. AA's free upgrades end at PTY and POS. Anything further south is miles, perhaps co-pay or SWU's or pay the full freight. I believe there is some difference between the Hawaii upgrades for both carriers, but I can't tell you what it is. In addition, CO upgrades are free for all elite levels, on AA only EXP's get free upgrades, PLT's and GLDS must earn segments by flying and must buy additional 500 mile segment upgrades if they want to be able to upgrade on all flights.

Rank this one in favor of CO.

The final factor is SWU's better known to AA flyers as VIPOW's. If I had to pick one area in which AA beats CO hands down is that AA EXP"s can upgrade 4 international trips per year system wide. Despite numerous pleas by people on this board, CO steadfastly has refused to add this benefit.

Conclusion, it still is a mixed bag. Due to my flying patterns, it works for me to have benefits on both.

nuggetsyl

You said cal fas do not interact as much I think this is because cal keeps adding seats without adding fas. Also cal a few years back cut back how many fas are on the plane.

example
757-300 had 4 fas in coach for 210 ratio 52.5 per fa
now its 3 fas for 192 ratio 64 per fa
737-800 has 3 fas for 141 ratio 47 per fa
soon it will be 2 for 141 ratio 70.5 per fa
the fas in first usally go help the coach ones out but that means the first class pax lose a fa while the fa is helping out.

ContinentalFan

I discovered a lot of other interesting things on my travels.

Delta has a Crown Room near the L gates at ORD. I used that Club. Interesting, the lady at the desk wanted to know what flight I was on--I wonder if they're planning to close that club!

I couldn't check in online for the Alaska flight, so I had to do it at LAX. I arrived at terminal 4 (I think) and had to go to terminal 3. I discovered that there are all kinds of buses and/or tunnels linking terminals. In terminal 6 (Continental's), as was pointed out in another thread, the tunnel from T6 to T5 is closed. Anyway, there appears to be a tunnel from T4 to T5 and buses from T4 to a satellite terminal for American Eagle and to Terminal 3. I think there's another bus from T3 to T2--all airside. Anyway, even though I didn't have the boarding pass, they let me on the bus to T3. I checked in there and asked about going to the NW (T2) or DL (T5) lounge. When the agent discovered that I was Continental (and now NW or DL), she sent me up to the Alaska lounge. I showed them the PC card, my ID and boarding pass: I told them I was on an AA codeshare: they let me in. Should they have done that? I don't want to defraud CO, since I am a fan Should Alaska have let me in the club?

At SEA on Friday, I arrived at the airport early for a conference call; checked in and went to the PC. Naturally, it was crowded--no seats. So, I headed to the Boardroom--it was empty. Same deal: PC card, ID and AA codeshare PB: they let me in. They even changed by seat to a bulkhead--I actually asked for a window seat that ensured I was in the first boarding group. The Boardroom was excellent--not crowded at all.

I called CO from the Boardroom in SEA to find and was told that if I am a PC member, there are only two Boardrooms where I could get access. One was in Portland--I forget where the other was. The PC agent told me that I could only access Boarddooms at airports where there are no Presidents Clubs. I wonder if this information is correct? It sounds closer to the truth than letting someone like me into any Boardroom regardless of the flight. Does anyone have any insight into this topic?

rkkwan

American has older average fleet age than NW. 13.3yr is higher than any major US airline except Aloha.

www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/fleetage.htm

AA's European strategy seems to be just the opposite of CO. They fly lots of flights to LHR and little else. I guess it may be a "victim" of its LHR success. In Asia, they tried pretty hard to build up a significant NRT presence, so I admire them for that. And it got ORD-PVG recently and is competing with CO for the next China route. I think CO's EWR-PVG bid is much stronger than AA's DFW-PEK, but at least they seem to be trying. They also started ORD-DEL non-stop about the same time as CO's EWR-DEL.

However, I still cannot understand why they do not start ORD-HKG. CX is their stronger partner in Asia, but both CX and AA has decided to ignore the ORD-HKG connection, which UA has upped it to 10/week. ORD-HKG is virtually identical to CO's EWR-HKG in flight time, and should be within range of their 772.

entropy

My experiences on AA are somewhat limited but there are a few aspects of AA First that I liked:
1) salads were tossed on the cart, they were better and tastier than CO
2) a warm cookie on the overnight flight (CO only serves the soup/sandwich/jawbreaker)
3) a snack prior to arrival on the lunch flight

and back when I was flying it, AA did BOS-LAX in a 763 with J-seats, which was nice, but they're "corrected" that to a 738...
CO's reach, between europe, asia and latin america is very impressive.

ContinentalFan

From what I've learned from you and rkkwan, AA seems to favor frequency on successful routes over CO's strategy on those long, thin routes.

I just wonder if XJT could approach AA: I wonder how expensive it is to operate a DC9 compared to the RJ's. Of course, the DC9's (or however MD marketed them!) are probably fully depreciated--assuming AA owns them.

I do think, however, that AMR has upside if they decide to complement their strategy in Europe with flights to smaller markets served by the equivalent of a B757.

Spiff

Must be 18.