Who do you fly with?

PharCyDe · Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 64 Location: Tennessee, USA

There are many different people to fly with. Alot of people, including myself, tend to like Delta Airlines. It has just been a favorite of mine...only because its the main one I have flown with. Do any of you have favorites or do you just fly the cheapest?

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

I think my favorite is Continental, but I usually fly United because I collect Star Alliance frequent flyer miles and because United has the most flights at the most times to the places I usually go. I live in San Francisco which is a major United destination. I think where you live has a lot to do with what your favorite domestic airline is. When I lived in Texas I flew Continental all the time, and when I used to live in New Jersey, American Airlines was my airline of choice. My mom's favorite is Delta, and she lives in New Hampshire.

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

I'm a big fan of American Airlines. For a domestic (U.S.) airline the extra leg room is just too good to beat! I also use Southwest when I can as their airfares do tend to be lower... always a nice thing! :D

The two airlines I absolutely destest and avoid like the plague are America West and United. Almost every major problem I've ever had has been while flying on one of them... :evil:

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

The truth is that none of the domestic airlines are really any good when you compare them to the domestic airlines of some other countries. Take Bangkok Airways: super clean jets, when you get on the plane they pass out a warm hand towel so you can wipe off your hands and face, a delicious full meal on every flight (although sometimes it just a box lunch, but it's still a full lunch), some of the places they fly to are airports that they built for themselves and so are amazingly beautiful, flight attendants are extremeley pleasant. I think beer was free on the flight too, but each time I flew I didn't feel like having anything so I don't recall for sure. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the transfer lounge: if you're making a connection at Bangkok they have a transfers lounge with free juices and simple snacks, comfy sofas, a really nice floor-to-ceiling window view of the runways, and free internet! All we had to do was show our inbound and outbound tickets to a desk agent, who gave us a transfer pass, and we were all set. In the US, you can't even get into one of the private lounges unless you are either a member (costs like $400 or more per year) or unless you are travelling on a international business class or first class ticket. Domestic first class doesn't even cut it.

David · Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 162

I always like to fly Delta. Nearly all of my experiences with airlines have been good though. I just try to stick to one so I can accumulate miles. I have a Delta Skymiles American Express card, and I already have enough for a trip to anywhere in the US, but I'm trying to get just a little more so I can go to Europe.

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

When you're saving miles for a free trip, you might want to seriously consider setting your sights on the *unrestricted* ticket for the class you are saving towards rather than for the "mileage saver" or whatever it's called ticket. The reason for this is because the airlines very tightly control the number of seats they give to frequent flyers on these less "expensive" tickets. For example, Northwest brags that they have the lowest requirement for a free domestic coach ticket...but I swear I can never get one. If I jump up to the "Rule Buster" award, which is nearly twice the miles, I can always get what I need. It's kind of annoying, but isn't exactly a bait-and-switch tactic.

If you're getting close, many airlines have "mileage purchase" opportunities where you can just buy the last few thousand miles you need. I did this once on United -- I needed 80,000 for a ticket to England, and was about 7k short, so I bought the miles for about $400. The 80k miles got me a discounted (I was lucky for once) business-class ticket from San Francisco to London, which is usually 120,000 miles or about $6000-$7000. So I basically bought a $6000 ticket for under $500. Of course, I could have flown coach and earned some more miles for not much more than $500 at the time, but I was having back problems and there was no way I could sit in coach for 10 hours. Besides, I've been spoiled now and have become a biz class princess and do my best to avoid coach for flights longer than 8 hours, which basically means all overseas flights from San Francisco. I can't always do it, but I always try to search for the best deals.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

I fly whatever airline has schedules to accommodate MY schedules. I have never flown Delta. I will NEVER fly Aeroflot.

Have flown US domestic- United, Southwest(hell!), AA, etc.
Int'l.- United, Alitalia, KLM, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, SIngapore Air, Malaysia Air, Thai Airlines, Lufthansa, Czech Air, Air India, India Air, Olympic Air, Aeromexico and lots of small airlines.

Best service, all around- Singapore Air, Malaysian Air, Lufthansa.

Most overrated- KLM. Sorry folks, but the for the price you pay for the flights, you should get more than surly flight attendants(I've flown KLM numerous times, and service on all flights was marginal)

Airline with heaviest flight attendants- United wins, hands down. Hot damn, these women get stuck trying to push the cart down the aisle!

Best booze- Lufthansa, Alitalia, Czech Air(wine), United's Business & First Class (flight attendants have no problems here- aisles are wide), SIngapore Air(free-flowing best describes it!).

Best food- COME ON, FOLKS, it's airline food!!!! No, actually, business class on most carriers offers PALATABLE food. I always bring a bag of celery sticks to prevent constipation, anyhow... :wink:

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

I know what you mean about KLM...I've flown them twice from San Francisco to Amsterdam (coach both times) and after the second time I decided the time savings of having a non-stop flight aren't worth sitting in an old DC-10-style plane with old seats that won't hold their position and have the foam all crushed out of them for 11 hours.

Now that Air France owns most of KLM, perhaps they will find the money to spend to upgrade the planes to what is now considered average for a long-haul plane, with seat-back video and those adjustable winged headrests. A simple footrest like on Singapore would be nice, too. If you're too short to have your feet rest flat on the floor a long flight can be murder because of the pressure on the backs of your thighs.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Laura wrote: I know what you mean about KLM...I've flown them twice from San Francisco to Amsterdam (coach both times) and after the second time I decided the time savings of having a non-stop flight aren't worth sitting in an old DC-10-style plane with old seats that won't hold their position and have the foam all crushed out of them for 11 hours.

Now that Air France owns most of KLM, perhaps they will find the money to spend to upgrade the planes to what is now considered average for a long-haul plane, with seat-back video and those adjustable winged headrests. A simple footrest like on Singapore would be nice, too. If you're too short to have your feet rest flat on the floor a long flight can be murder because of the pressure on the backs of your thighs.

How about when flying on flights originating in Asia? People fall asleep almost upon boarding, and sleep the duration of the flight. I prefer to read, watch the movie, sip a drink, etc, but who can do this when the person in front of you reclines their seat ALL THE WAY DOWN. The little movie screen on each seat back is totally unviewable for me, and the reclining guy's head is usually in very close proximity to my chin. After several minutes of numbness, I gather up my courage and try to reason to the unreasonable person in front of me. Wanna sleep? Shell out some bucks for First Class. (Forgot to mention, I'm 5'8" and a perfect candidate for deep-vein thrombosis, aka "Economy Class Syndrome".)

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

I was once flying somewhere in the US where a passenger and the person behind him got in an argument about him reclining the seat. The person in front wanted to put it back, the person behind didn't, and they got into a shouting match that was so bad that the flight attendant nearly called the co-pilot to come mediate or at least strike fear into people's hearts. I know it can be a pain when the person in front wants to lay back, but I think they have every right to.

The real problem here is one of seat pitch (the spacing between the seats). A couple of inches might make a huge difference in passenger comfort...but a couple of inches built up over 30 rows means that the airlines can't cram as many rows in and therefore can carry fewer passengers. Some airlines (United, American) have sections with extra legroom in portions of coach, which helps a lot with this.

But you can't blame the airlines entirely, either...people, especially Americans, want the CHEAPEST flight they can get. This has brought about a sort of race to the bottom where people are crammed in and get less and less onboard service and so get grumpier and then we have situations like "air rage."

wizard · Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 15

I usually use PIA Arlines.

There are few reasons for that:

First of all its the official airline in my company.
Its reliable.
The prices are reasonable.

And so on there are only few airlines in my country so thats why everyone likes PIA.

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

I'm a little confused...in your post on Africa you said you were born in Africa and then moved to Michigan in the US when you were 4. Now you say you are from Pakistan? (I'm assuing that PIA is Pakistan International Airways). It seems you've lived in a lot of interesting places! I've always wanted to live someplace outside the US for a while, just to see what it's like, but I've never had the chance. Well, I did once...my family had a chance to live in Italy for a couple of years when I was in High School, but my mom put her foot down and said no.

Zack · Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 15

I always fly Spirit. The fares are extremly cheap, and we have always been on time. They also usually always have a good priced flight to the place we are going to. While the inflight meals are terrible, everything else is great.

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

Heck, considering that most US airlines don't offer meals on their domestic routes, that makes Spirit one step ahead of the pack in a way.

Zack · Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 15

I'm soryr, I called it a meal. They give you pretzels most of the time, buty one time they gave us a ham and cheese sandwhich. I ate it and almost threw up after.