I would far rather sit beside an American than many other nationalities. They are normally willing to engage in talking rubbish on the flight deck and are quite sociable when down route. More importantly, the ones I have encountered are generally sound practical operators who manage to do a pretty good job in balancing the big picture, versus the ever growing EK minutiae.
If the excrement hit the fan whilst en route with a serious problem, overflying US airspace (also Canada) would probably rank in my top five locations of where I would want to be if I had a big issue.
Sorry for the thread creep but I sometimes feel our American colleagues get a unfair bashing. As with anything in life, it only takes a rogue few to tarnish the image for many.