Agreed
I agree with the general sentiment, which is "It depends". What's important depends on you individually. Me, I am in the "more room is more important than food or entertainment (providing theprice is the same)" brigade, which pushes me towards AA, unless it is more expensive.
Back to the orginal poser of the question: What are your selection criteria, in what sequence?
- Food.
- Entertainment
- Price
- On-time record
- "Must be the same flag as on my passport"
- "I'm loyal to BA (or whatever) and am really only asking the question to have people make me feel good about that"
- Safety record
- Room
- FF credits (Where BA will probably score lowest)
- "Ability to use my exisitng miles to upgrade for the overnight leg"
- Attractive flight attendants
- etc.