How I pick an airline
There are basically five things I consider when I'm deciding which airline I'm going to fly for a particular trip (personal travel only here - my business travel has slightly different restrictions and rules).
For the record, I have Platinum status on Delta and Continental (top-tier status) and I have Premiere-Executive (mid-tier status) on United. I state this only because I want the point made that I'm not a weekend traveller - I feel like I "get" the airline business - at least from the perspective of someone who consumes the serviecs on a regular basis.
Anyway, the things I consider when considering which airline to fly are below, in order of important:
1) There must be NO RISK of getting stuck in a middle seat.
2) Do I get DirecTV in my seat?
3) Can I confirm an upgrade when I book the flight?
4) Are the flight times convenient?
5) Price
A few funny things about this list....
1 and 2 are usually mutually exclusive because the discount carriers that have DirecTV (JetBlue and Frontier) have a REALLY CRAPPY track record of assigning me a window/aisle and then switching it to a middle seat at the last minute... I view this as dishonest and highly unethical - but somehow it's perfectly legal.
The fact that 1 and 2 are mutually exclusive makes number 3 the most important thing. This means my ability to get an upgrade becomes the single most important factor when booking a flight. Delta is generally great about confirming my upgrades when I book. Continental much-less so, but I can still get them. United is total crap when it comes to their domestic upgrade policy (you have to "earn" upgrade points, and they aren't easy to come by - effectively making my average number of upgrades on United only about 1 in every 10 flights).
Bottom line, and the reason I'm going to the trouble of posting this: Frontier, you used to be my favorite airline - that DirecTV system is worth a lot to me (Even more than a first-class seat!!!!) But you've got a history of "bait and switch", causing me to fly in a middle seat more than 70% of the time - and NOTHING is worse than a middle seat - I might as well be flying Southwest. If you, Frontier, would fix their bait-and-switch tactics, you would stand a reasonable chance at stealing some of the top elites from the bigger carriers - even WITHOUT a first-class cabin!! Until then, Delta will keep my business.