The airlines...

[~*Alexis*~]

What airlines do you fly and Why?

With everything that is going on in the news...anyone had a horrible experience??? A great experience?

just curious....

 

[chrono]

International or only in the USA?

 

[musey]

I fly whatever is cheapest on Orbitz

I''m a budget traveler. The vast majority of the time it''s United or American (or their subsidiaries).

I used to fly southwest almost exclusively, but the pup makes that impossible nowadays!

 

[bee*]

If I can I always fly Aer Lingus (our national carrier in Ireland). I''ve always had a great experience on it and feel safe. I have flown Continental before and found them fine. Al Italia, Spanair and Ryanair, I didn''t like.Ryanair couldn''t get the wheels down once and we had to circle for ages. As a nervous flyer it wasn''t fun!

 

[snlee]

I''m a budget traveler too. I usually fly on United, Southwest, or Jet Blue but it really depends on what''s the cheapest flight I could find.

 

[MrsRogers]

Domestically I fly Alaska Airlines. Contrary to popular belief they are actually a great airline. International travel (which is mostly to Australia) I fly QANTAS all the way. I have had mixed experiences but generally they are quite accommodating and have warm, friendly staff. Air New Zealand are also very good, and my husband just flew with South African Airways and had no complaints.

 

[surfgirl]

Well, it sort of depends what frequent flier scheme one gets into first! I've been a United Mileage Plus member for eons so I'm sort of stuck with them. I hate their "service", which really, if you've flown UA domestically or internationally, is sort of an oxy moron. I've been spoken to most rudely in UA International First Class so go figure! Recently though, I started flying Delta domestically and to the Caribbean and wow, great service! Like flying used to be. But I have Delta miles put on my Northwest account because then I can use them to get to Seattle or Asia more easily (dont think Delta flies there, unfortunately).

Internationally, I prefer to fly Singapore Airlines (UA partner) or Thai Airways (US partner) because the service is great and I can get to Bangkok easily. I will also fly UA or NW to Asia simply because I'm a mileage whore.

 

[Skippy123]

Right now I am mad at EasyJet. I am trying to book a flight but I don't know what a issue number is (only 2 numbers) and it doesn't work! Ugh! I fly what is the least expensive and what has the least stops. I will pick something a little more expensive if I don't have so many layovers.

I will never fly w/ATA; I had huge problems w/them. I was stranded in the airport by them and they gave me a voucher that was worthless and their customer service is the worst ever!!!

 

[chiefneil]

I tend to fly whatever airline uses my closest airport as a hub, so I get the most choices. For the last few years that''s been Southwest, which has been pretty convenient and I have no complaints.

I have to say that if you''ve ever flown a non-US airline internationally, the difference in service is eye-opening. The non-US carriers actually care about customer service. I''m going to make a huge generalization here, but the US flight attendants have gotten it into their culture that they are mainly there to ensure passenger safety. Actual service is just something they have to do, not the mainstay of their jobs. And it shows. Whenever I fly internationally I try my best to fly a non-US carrier.

 

[Fly Girl]

I live in a Northwest Airlines hub city, so it is just about always NWA for us. So far the flying has been uneventful. (And, in flying, uneventful is a very, very good thing!)

 

[MustangGal]

I recently flew Virgin Atlantic to London, and they were great! Air France on the way back was good as well, but the Air France "hopper" I was on from Zurich to Paris was pretty bad.

I had a good ATA experience going to Hawaii and back, and have flown Southwest many times, they''re budget, but you get where you need to go.

 

[Libster]

Delta for me the majority of the time for domestic and international. We are lucky to be in a large hub and can fly most places non-stop.

I know there are loads of search engines for cheap travel fares, but wanted to share this one with you guys:
http://www.sidestep.com/

 

[Steel]

Date: 10/3/2007 4:02:00 PM
Author: Skippy123
Right now I am mad at EasyJet. I am trying to book a flight but I don''t know what a issue number is (only 2 numbers) and it doesn''t work!

The issue no usually refers to how many credit cards have been issued by your provider.

Most Credit Cards don''t have issue numbers, if they do it is printed on the front of your card. As a default, if the form will not proceed without a figure use 00.

Not trying to be a Smarty Pants, just hoping to help!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I fly the cheapest too. Most of the time Delta, Air Tran (they have XM radio which is cool), or US airways (since Charlotte is their hub so they are usually the only option for direct flights). Now Midwest Express is flying to Charlotte which I am excited about b/c I have always had good experiences with them. From now on when I fly home to see my parents it will always be midwest express or US air b/c now it will be worth it to pay more for direct (with a baby). Both Delta and Air Tran have cheap upgrades to business class too. Sometimes we splurge.

ETA: Dh flew on SkyBus and said it was decent. You can get REALLY cheap flights if you are one of the first to book. Unfortunately they don't fly out of Charlotte so we have to drive 90 miles away. Otherwise it is a cool concept. Basically everything is al la cart pricing (drinks, food, checking bags, reserved seating...) so you aren't paying for what you aren't using.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Well, I expect value above all for most of my domestic travel (so I can then go on more vacations

), so I''m open to most airlines. Pre 9/11, my fave hands-down was Southwest. I could show up to the airport whenever, have my ticket credited to an earlier flight, and fly so efficiently that it was often 10 minutes between arriving at the curb and finding myself sitting in the plane with my seatbelt fastened. Aah, the good old days. Most of my flying recently has been domestic, and my fave is JetBlue. I like both the TVs and their corporate policies.

Among the majors, I''ve been pleased with American, and repeatedly abused by United. (I *hate* United! I would say that 7 or 8 out of 10 times there''s some egregious incident-- lost luggage, surly workers, waiting over an hour for our suitcases to be deplaned, etc.)

For international flights, I try to avoid US carriers if at all possible. I like Virgin Atlantic to London, Air France to France, and any of the asian carriers any time that''s an option.

 

[snlee]

I also had a good experience with ATA going to Hawaii and back. For international flights, I had a good experience with Cathay Pacific. I was happy with the service on both airlines.

 

[KimberlyH]

We fly whatever is cheapest and offers direct flights (Hawaiian, United, American, Southwest, etc.). Southwest is the airline I fly most frequently. I hate the whole A, B, C group lining up thing. People are just ridiculous about playing line monitor, who was there first, if you''re sitting you''re not in line, etc. I''m interested to see how their policy change affects my feelings in November (you are whatever place is on your boarding pass and they are reducing to two groups).

I just flew JetBlu for the first time last month and totally loved it. More leg room, the right amount of flight attendants (I hate when there are 8 of them and they all gather in the front of the plane and spend the flight complaining, loudly, about their jobs, I think it''s unprofessional), and personal TVs to drown out crying babies...I''m in heaven!

 

[Pandora II]

Usually whichever's cheapest... I love Thai Air and Singapore Airlines though and would pay a bit extra to fly with them.

However, I was booked on Air India out to NY and back from Chicago.

When we arrived at Heathrow there was an 8 hour delay, so we were moved to Virgin Atlantic which was great.

We flew back from Chicago on Sunday - flight was to Mumbai with a stopover in London. Due to leave at 10pm, it was delayed till 11.30pm.

Then, they tried to board the plane by rows - 70-80, 60-70 etc. I think FI and I were the only english speaking people on the flight, so you had all these people with seats in row 21 etc trying to get on. When they were stopped by the ground staff, they didn't move to the side, just plonked themselves down in the gangway. The staff were going nuts...

Finally got on the plane - then the real fun started. All the other passengers had brought suitcases on the plane which really should have been checked in. They were way too big to fit in the overhead lockers - but boy were they going to try. FI and I had tears pouring down our cheeks watching the process, and all the rows breaking out!

Finally, having confiscated the bigger cases and got everyone sat down, they decided to hand out orange-juice - as we were taxiing onto the runway!

They seemed to realise this was not a great idea and started retrieving all the orange juice asap - whilst getting wandering passengers back in their seats...

As we took off, there were air-hostesses literally sprinting down the aisle to get to their seats before we left the ground. I have never seen anything like it. We were waiting for the snakes to appear from the lockers...

Having got into the air, it was announced that due to a technical hitch the entertainment system didn't work but they had an engineer working on it. They finally got it to work a bit and showed Shrek 3 (no choice as that bit didn't work!). They also had Spiderman 3, but only because FI was walking past when they were trying to change the cassette and managed to get his choice in whilst helping them!

The curry and rice-pudding weren't bad, the stewards were super-nice, and we did get safely home. Not sure I'd fly with them again though.

I only recommend it if you enjoy 'Carry On' films, because that's what it was like!

 

[Amandine]

I love love love Midwest Airlines. Never had a bad experience with them, and they are the airline I always fly home to visit family. Seats are huge (the whole plane is business class), armrests made for normal people, actual legroom! My last flight, the person in front of my fully reclined their seat, and I still had inches of leg room! And I am a tall woman! Did I mention that they serve fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies on board? When Airtran was attempting to take them over, it was the first time I was ever inspired to write in and say I hoped it didn''t happen!

 

[princesss]

Date: 10/3/2007 3:54:34 PM
Author: surfgirl
Well, it sort of depends what frequent flier scheme one gets into first! I''ve been a United Mileage Plus member for eons so I''m sort of stuck with them. I hate their ''service'', which really, if you''ve flown UA domestically or internationally, is sort of an oxy moron. I''ve been spoken to most rudely in UA International First Class so go figure! Recently though, I started flying Delta domestically and to the Caribbean and wow, great service! Like flying used to be. But I have Delta miles put on my Northwest account because then I can use them to get to Seattle or Asia more easily (dont think Delta flies there, unfortunately).


Internationally, I prefer to fly Singapore Airlines (UA partner) or Thai Airways (US partner) because the service is great and I can get to Bangkok easily. I will also fly UA or NW to Asia simply because I''m a mileage whore.

A big, fat DITTO to that.

I''m in love with Continental right now. Good food, good service...I just don''t like the smaller planes. But I''ll trade UA''s planes for Continental''s service any day.

In Europe I flew a lot on Vueling. Great prices, great service, comfy seats, AND (unlike Ryan Air) they go into the normal airports.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 10/3/2007 5:23:59 PM
Author: Steel

The issue no usually refers to how many credit cards have been issued by your provider.

Most Credit Cards don't have issue numbers, if they do it is printed on the front of your card. As a default, if the form will not proceed without a figure use 00.

Not trying to be a Smarty Pants, just hoping to help!

I tried that but it didn't work and now I might have a double booking after trying a different cc. I called the airlines in Europe and got a residence (I almost felt like it wasn't meant to be). Thanks for your help and I appreciate you responding to me, Steel. ETA: I booked it; thanks!

I really like SWA; I like that it is pretty easy to earn a free roundtrip fairly quick!!!

 

[poppie]

Oh Pandora, I laughed so much at your post!

I have flown with Air India a handful of times for business purposes and relate to everything you have said. (And agree with you about the curry..)

I am very critical of ''other'' airlines when I fly as I am a flight attendant for a UK company. People generally think ''you get what you pay for'' in the travel industry but we all deserve to have a safe, comfortable flight with polite crew - and I have experienced the bad side of some whilst in uniform!

When off duty I''m ashamed to say i''m a mile whore like surf girl, I have a British Airways and Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer card and although don''t work for either tend to book my longer holiday flights through them. (good upgrade scheme). I have had the pleasure of flying in business class with both of these airlines and although excellent, recently whilst away for work I was upgraded on a GulfAir flight and was so impressed I did not want to get off!

If i''m going to Europe I usually book with the most competitive priced airline, taking into consideration the perks they offer - ie pre bookable seating, increased baggage allowance etc. Some of them may offer an unbeatable price for the fare but sting you at check in for your samsonite.

All in all when reading back on posts, it tends to be experiences with check in/on board service and prices that defines people''s choices so far which is a good thing. Relating to what chiefneil said, I agree - flight attendants are employed and trained for safety resons but are on board to help passengers forget about them.

Happy flying eveyone!
Poppie

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 10/3/2007 9:41:55 PM
Author: Amandine
I love love love Midwest Airlines. Never had a bad experience with them, and they are the airline I always fly home to visit family. Seats are huge (the whole plane is business class), armrests made for normal people, actual legroom! My last flight, the person in front of my fully reclined their seat, and I still had inches of leg room! And I am a tall woman! Did I mention that they serve fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies on board? When Airtran was attempting to take them over, it was the first time I was ever inspired to write in and say I hoped it didn''t happen!

My mom is so mad about that too! (My parents live in Milwaukee and that is their hub). I didn''t realize they still made cookies. Good to know!!! Their prices seem lower than US Airways too (which is always a bonus).

 

[dendon]

I love Jet Blue, roomy & you get to watch TV! They still give out snacks and you can have as many as you''d like.

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I normally fly NWA, since I live an hour from MSP it makes sense and I get worldperks miles from my check card. So thats always a plus. I only had one really bad experience with NWA and that was from Las Vegas, a mechanical problem...but they routed us on a US Air flight..first class....

 

[~*Alexis*~]

totally just noticed thats Im an ideal rock now....YAY!

there should be a blue diamond status....some people like Mara, Keileigh would total get that instantly....

ADMIN:
Can we have a new status?? Something new to attain...besides our addictions....LOL

 

[simplysplendid]

If the timing and destination suits, I always prefer to fly our national carrier Singapore Airlines. I like the feeling of feeling like you are already home the moment you step into the plane on the return flight. Plus the service is great too!

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 10/3/2007 10:04:09 PM
Author: poppie
Oh Pandora, I laughed so much at your post!


I have flown with Air India a handful of times for business purposes and relate to everything you have said. (And agree with you about the curry..)


I am very critical of ''other'' airlines when I fly as I am a flight attendant for a UK company. People generally think ''you get what you pay for'' in the travel industry but we all deserve to have a safe, comfortable flight with polite crew - and I have experienced the bad side of some whilst in uniform!


When off duty I''m ashamed to say i''m a mile whore like surf girl, I have a British Airways and Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer card and although don''t work for either tend to book my longer holiday flights through them. (good upgrade scheme). I have had the pleasure of flying in business class with both of these airlines and although excellent, recently whilst away for work I was upgraded on a GulfAir flight and was so impressed I did not want to get off!


If i''m going to Europe I usually book with the most competitive priced airline, taking into consideration the perks they offer - ie pre bookable seating, increased baggage allowance etc. Some of them may offer an unbeatable price for the fare but sting you at check in for your samsonite.


All in all when reading back on posts, it tends to be experiences with check in/on board service and prices that defines people''s choices so far which is a good thing. Relating to what chiefneil said, I agree - flight attendants are employed and trained for safety resons but are on board to help passengers forget about them.


Happy flying eveyone!

Poppie

Ha! Poppie, I call Air India "Scare India". I''d never ever fly with them. I''d take Thai over AI any day! Scary. Within India, I''ll only fly Jet (I think that''s what it''s called) because it''s more of a business mentality airline, but I''d never fly India Air (domestic national airline) or Air India (intl airline). No.Way.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 10/6/2007 6:46:15 PM
Author: surfgirl

Ha! Poppie, I call Air India ''Scare India''. I''d never ever fly with them. I''d take Thai over AI any day! Scary. Within India, I''ll only fly Jet (I think that''s what it''s called) because it''s more of a business mentality airline, but I''d never fly India Air (domestic national airline) or Air India (intl airline). No.Way.

I so wish I''d known this before I booked - rather than thinking it might be fun!