United vs American Airlines and Delta: Which is Best?
Do you want to know which is the best airline between United vs American Airlines and Delta? If so, you are at the right place to learn the facts. If instead you are more interested in learning how we actually select our flights, please read our post: Airline Choices.
Comparative Methodology: United vs American Airlines
We will examine the question of “United vs American Airlines” from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective and we will look at most major airlines. However, attempting to fairly evaluate who is the best of the major United States Airlines can be a challenging task and makes it difficult to select a clear winner. So, please stay with us as we take you through our analysis.
Air travel is a complex business. Today, anyone who flies regularly has encountered service delays and cancellations. Is it a weather problem, or a customer service problem related to the airline? From the customer’s perspective, it really doesn’t matter. If they are missing a connection, arriving late for a meeting, or getting home late, it is bad service.
Comparing United vs American Airlines and Delta
When comparing United Airlines versus American Airlines, there are many factors that must be considered. First, you must also compare both of them against Delta Air Lines which is the largest airline in the world based on revenue, market capitalization, and asset value. Specifically, if you compare market capitalization you will find that Delta’s stock price has a market capitalization of more than $27 Billion compared to United Airlines stock which has a market capitalization of $16 Billion. Both are significantly more than American Airlines market capitalization which is less than $10 Billion.
Other Quantitative Measures – United vs American Airlines and Delta
However, if you look at other quantitative airline industry measures, American Airlines Group will rank first on passengers carried, revenue passenger mile, fleet size, number of employees, and destinations serviced. Turkish Airlines actually leads in the number of countries served and Ryan Air has the most routes. United Airlines doesn’t take the lead in any of the general quantitative measures, but really who cares as long as the airlines can produce good service and are big enough to matter?
Actually, all three matter as their revenues were fairly close in 2022 with Delta at $54 Billion, American at $52B, and United at $49B. Significantly, other major U.S. Airlines and International Carriers are smaller with Lufthansa next at $36B, Air France-KLM at $29B, Southwest Airlines at $25B, British Airways and its partners at $24B, and Turkish Airlines at $20B. Major US carriers Jet Blue and Alaska Airlines don’t even make the top 10 worldwide carriers on the revenue ranking.
Domestic vs International Flights
Another very important difference in comparing airlines is whether you are talking about domestic flights or international flights. International Travel often involves a long-haul flight and can be more challenging because as a passenger you will be more demanding in terms of service. United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines all have large international service routes, so you can compare them fairly. But how do you compare against Southwest Airlines which flies primarily domestically?
Comparing the US Airlines versus their international counterparts becomes important. There are many airlines that fly to Europe. Some of the best airlines to fly to Europe include international airlines: British Airways, Emirates, and Etihad Airways. British Airways is the largest airline carrier in the United Kingdom and flies to over 200 destinations around the world including many major cities in the United States like Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco. Emirates has direct flights to most European cities but is a bit more expensive than most carriers. Etihad Airways flies to 91 destinations and has more fare options than most air carriers.
Ticket Price
Of course ticket price is a very important factor for many people in deciding which carrier to select. Traditionally, a low-cost carrier offered a better ticket price for comparable service. But, that has become more difficult to determine as they now charge additional fees for baggage fees including the first bag. Southwest, originally a low-cost carrier markets itself by saying no baggage fees. However, their base fees are now more competitive with the other major carriers. In comparing American Airlines flights versus United Airlines flights it is hard to say which airline offers better ticket prices. Often it is very close and varies a little by specific routes.
To better compete against the low-cost air carriers, the major US airlines are now offering a basic economy fare. This normally is a little less expensive than the traditional coach fare. Basic economy travelers don’t get to make a seat selection in advance and often will be the last to board the plane. All the major US carriers are now offering this type of lower cost fare alternative.
Qualitative Comparison
Much more important than the quantitative comparisons are the qualitative comparisons, particularly those impacting customer service, ticket prices, seat comfort, frequent flyer programs–elite status and benefits, check-in processes, etc. Here the comparisons get a little more subjective. Nevertheless, we will give it a shot. We will make our comparison specifically on the US Major Carriers which will include United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Jet Blue Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. We will mention the major international airlines when they might stand out among the biggest airlines.
Customer Satisfaction is Key
This past year, many of the carriers had serious customer service issues that they wanted to blame on the weather or the FAA. Southwest Airlines, in particular, realized too late that their employee scheduling system and their number of employees weren’t keeping up with the growing demand for additional flights that they were scheduling. Early in 2023, coupled with weather challenges, they were forced to cancel many of their flights, totally stranding many of their loyal customers. Not exactly what you would expect from an airline that is usually ranked high in customer satisfaction.
Qualitative Customer Service Measures
While I would love to publish my personal rankings based on my own experience, I recognize that this will be highly biased and likely not too useful. Therefore, let’s take a look at JD Power’s rankings which were recently released in their 2023 North American Airline Satisfaction Survey. They measured the carriers in eight categories:
- Aircraft
- Baggage
- Boarding
- Check-in
- Cost and Fees
- Flight Crew
- In-flight Services
- Reservations
The survey is based on comments from 7,774 customers who had flown on a major North American airline between March of last year and March 2023. Customer reaction varies significantly based on what part of the plane they are flying. The lie-flat seats appear to make a real difference. For example, United Airlines ranked as the third best carrier for first/business class, but eighth place in the main cabin. Jet Blue ranked highest in customer satisfaction for first/business class with Delta ranking second. Jet Blue’s Mint Service appears to be the real winner. United Polaris Business Class is also doing quite well, as both airlines are offering very comfortable first class seats.
Despite its problems during this period, Southwest Airlines ranked first in Economy, while Delta ranked first in premium economy with Jet Blue close behind in second place. American Airlines ranked 4th in premium economy, but 10th, behind United in economy. Fair to say that both American Airlines and United Airlines are failing to keep up with Delta Airlines when it comes to customer satisfaction.
The factors that determine customer satisfaction can vary greatly by where you sit in the plane as well as the amount of legroom and other factors. This is very important in economy class. Lately, the availability of items such as USB ports can also be a very important factor.
Frequent Flyer Programs
Frequent Flyers love their loyalty program. At least I can say Robin and I love our programs. There is great satisfaction when you don’t have to wait in a long line because you have priority check-in. And when you board early or when you don’t get stuck in a middle seat. Nothing is more frustrating than when you have no place to store your carry-on as the last person getting on the flight.
Brian Kelly has become well known as the founder and editor of the popular website, The Points Guy. He says it is very difficult to determine which program is the best because it is primarily a function of which programs you use the most. Essentially, this is because the aspirational award aspects of the mileage levels in the programs are very critical to customer satisfaction.
Loyalty Points Value
Nevertheless, there are some factors that differentiate the programs. One aspect is seat availability and one study found that Southwest Airlines had the best availability. However, another analysis done by The Points Guy, made it clear that using your points to buy or upgrade to first class or business is a much better value than using them for coach or comfort+.
The Points Guy does a lot of analysis to determine the dollar value of points issued by not only the airlines but also by hotels and credit cards. Clearly, depending on how one chooses to redeem their points makes a big difference in determining their value. Points earned through credit cards that are tied to airline miles can make a big difference in how one views the customer service of the airline. Having the right credit card can get you priority check-in, boarding, and even a better seat. It can help make sure you have a place to store your carry-on bag in overhead bins. The number of miles you get credited with can be significant when signing up for a new credit card and can quickly earn you a free flight.
Unless, you just need a few more points to get a free trip, neither do we, nor The Points Guy, recommend buying points to build up your number of points. If you do the math, using the The Points Guy’s $ equivalent charts, you will see that this is normally a bad deal, even when you are offered bonus points. Furthermore, you can check our post, Valuing Travel Rewards Points to learn more. Nevertheless, here are the links to three programs where you can buy points:
Airline Partnerships
The major US airlines have all created partnerships with their international rivals. The following are the major US airlines and their respective alliances:
- American Airlines: Oneworld
- Delta Air Lines: SkyTeam
- United Airlines: Star Alliance
Here are the number of member airlines in each of the three major airline alliances:
- Star Alliance: 28 member airlines
- SkyTeam: 19 member airlines
- Oneworld: 13 member airlines
United’s program was the original program and is the largest. It has 28 member airlines, including Lufthansa and Air Canada. However, just like the frequent flyer programs, it may not be the best. It all depends on what you are looking for. Star Alliance is one of the largest airline alliances and has many benefits for passengers and airlines alike. However, SkyTeam and Oneworld also offer many benefits. Selecting the best partnership program, just like the frequent flyer programs, depends on your travel needs and preferences.
Airline alliances offer many benefits to passengers and airlines alike. For passengers, they open up more destinations with their home airlines, ease booking and flight connections, and offer more ways to use air miles and elite benefits. For airlines, they allow the marketing of more destinations, and to more customers, without the need to operate flights themselves. By combining networks member airlines can offer flights to more destinations than they could on their own.
Benefits of joining an airline alliance include:
- Easier ticket booking
- Simplified in-flight operations such as check-in and baggage handling
- The ability to earn and redeem miles on other alliance members
- Each airline’s frequent flyer program will recognize elite status from other alliance members.
Conclusion: United vs American Airlines and Delta: Which is Best?
Bottom Line: Whether you are committed to the American Airlines Advantage Program and prefer AAdvantage Miles, the Delta Sky Miles Program, or the United MileagePlus Program, it is hard to say which airline has the best frequent flyer programs, their respective alliance partnerships and most importantly which airline should you fly.
These programs shouldn’t be the basis for making decisions about who is the best airline. However, based on which program you have the best status or the most points, may help you decide which airline you want to fly. It really comes down to how you use the programs to get your maximum benefit. The people with elite status in each frequent flyer program will gain the most rewards.
