I flew nonstop domestic economy on both American Airlines and JetBlue to see which was better, and JetBlue had a slight edge

• JetBlue and American Airlines have similar rankings in Money’s report of the best and worst US airlines, though American Airlines has a slight edge.
• I recently flew round-trip from New York to Austin with one flight operated by JetBlue and one flight operated by American Airlines, and although they were similar, I found that the JetBlue flight had a slight edge in my own experience.
• I flew nonstop economy from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) with JetBlue.
• I flew nonstop economy from ABIA to JFK with American Airlines.
• JetBlue’s edge over American Airlines was clear from the start, thanks to JetBlue’s location at the state-of-the-art Terminal 5 at JFK.
• My in-flight experience further secured my opinion, thanks to JetBlue’s reputation for having the most legroom in US domestic economy class seating.

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From the very beginning, Terminal 5 at JFK was more interesting than your average moving walkway.

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JetBlue’s check-in process at JFK provides an inviting experience for all travelers. I felt valued as a customer as soon as I began my journey.

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This had a lot to do with JetBlue’s presentation at JFK. Aside from sharing with a few smaller airlines, JetBlue pretty much has its own terminal …

Source: Travel and Leisure

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… which is clean and organized with pops of color.

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Different colored lights help direct travelers through the entire check-in process, from getting luggage tags and printing boarding passes …

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… to dropping off checked baggage.

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American Airlines’ check-in process at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport wasn’t anything special.

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But Austin’s airport is much smaller than JFK, so I expected a smaller, underwhelming check-in area.

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At Austin’s airport, American Airlines shares a terminal with 14 other airlines, including JetBlue.

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But regardless of the significant difference in check-in experiences, waiting to board my American Airlines’ flight was similar to my experience waiting to board my JetBlue flight.

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While my gate was less crowded for my JetBlue flight …

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… there were still plenty of empty seats at my gate for my American Airlines gate as well.

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If anything, I had a much easier time finding my gate for my American Airlines flight …

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… whereas my gate at JFK was in a much larger terminal.

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In both cases though, I got to where I needed to be on time. I was at gate 27 for my JetBlue flight …

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… and I was at gate 32 for my American Airlines flight.

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For both flights, I was in the last boarding group. I just listened to music while I was waiting for my turn to board.

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For both flights, the boarding process ran smoothly.

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But when I was waiting in line to board my JetBlue flight, I noticed this neat playroom designed to entertain children. It made me wish I was a kid again, or at least wish I had a kid with me so I could play inside without judgment.

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With JetBlue, I was aboard an Airbus A320.

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With American Airlines, I was aboard a Boeing 737-800, and they were very similar planes.

Source: Business Insider

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JetBlue’s Airbus A320 has 162 seats.

Source: Jet Blue

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There are two versions of the AA Boeing 737-800. I was on version two — which has 12 more seats than version one — for a total of 172 seats.

Source: American Airlines

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JetBlue's overhead bins fit suitcases as big as 22 inches long and nine inches wide ...

Source: Jet Blue

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... and American Airlines' overhead bins have the exact same restrictions.

Source: American Airlines

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JetBlue's seats were 17.8 inches wide ...

Source: Jet Blue

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... with a whopping 34-inch seat pitch. That's more legroom than any other US domestic airline offers in economy seating.

Source: Jet Blue, Seat Guru

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American Airlines' seats were between 16.6-17.8 inches wide, depending on your seat. While the headrests were more comfortable than JetBlue's, the seats on my American Airlines flight were noticeably smaller once I had someone sitting next to me.

Source: American Airlines

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Also, American Airlines only had a 30-inch seat pitch, making the overall flight experience a little less comfortable.

Source: American Airlines

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But at least American Airlines had a USB port for every seat, which is something my JetBlue flight didn't have. But while American Airlines had power ...

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... JetBlue had screens.

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Screens are becoming less common on flights in order to shrink economy seats. Many passengers bring their own devices nowadays, and seatback entertainment systems can quickly become obsolete.

Source: New York Times

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JetBlue's entertainment options was a perfect example of that. Their in-flight entertainment included a choice of three movies, Direct TV, and Sirius XM.

Source: Jet Blue

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They also included access to Amazon Prime Video via your own device, but mine wasn't charged. And none of the movies interested me, so I watched Direct TV.

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American Airlines also had many in-flight entertainment options ...

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... but only to stream on your own device.

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My experience on the American Airlines flight was a bit sickening. There was high turbulence and it was cold ...

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... even after I turned off my air-conditioning.

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Comparatively, my experience with JetBlue was smooth.

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Both flights left on time and arrived a few minutes early.

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Overall, I'd say that for these two flights, JetBlue had the slightest edge over American Airlines because of the pleasant check-in process in Terminal 5 and more comfortable flight experience overall.

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But I would fly domestic economy on either airline again.