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Favorite Airline(s)

orbital sander

By orbital sander
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EZEtoGRU Grand Master

EZEtoGRU

Posted
Posted
Wrong. America West was who USair merged with, not American Airlines. AA's last takeover was TWA some years ago.

 

Actually I am not wrong. You are referencing the AA purchase of TWA more than 10 years ago. I am speaking of the current rumour that USair will purchased AA out of its current bankruptcy.

 

Great other comments from everyone regarding other carriers. Virgin America has been voted the best North American carrier for a number of years now. Problem is that if one does not live in California, it really is not a viable option to be a preferred carrier for those of us that travel alot. I live in Houston and Virgin American doesn't even fly here. Anyway, for those who have VX as an option, they seem to be very good. Interesting comments about Frontier. I flew them once about 6 years ago and I was favourably impressed with their live streaming TV. That technology was quite new then so it really seemed state of the art to me. Of course many other carriers have it now as well.

 

As far as international carriers are concerned, many of them do leave the likes of UA/AA/DL in the dust. In some cases, it is like comparing apples and oranges. Singapore,

Cathay, Qantas frequently are awarded very high honours. Also Emirates and Etihad. Interestingly, Emirates First class and Business Class are meant to be sensational. Economy.....not so much.

 

My favourite Latin American carrier is LAN and my favourite European carrier is Swiss. I have flown BA a few times and didn't find them much different than the US carriers. Others rave about BA.....but I just wasn't feeling it. Iberia is also decent if you are in Business Class.

 

I love this thread!!

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Charlie Grand Master

+ Charlie

Posted
Posted

I didn't mention foreign carriers because I haven't flown them often in recent years. I used to use BA and Lufthansa a lot for trans-Atlantic flights, and generally found them more pleasant than the American alternatives. Ditto for Qantas and Singapore on trans-Pacific flights, though one of the best single flights I ever had was in first class on United from Chicago to Osaka (the other one was business class from Tokyo to Moscow on Swissair). I used to think the worst foreign airlines were Aeroflot and Indian Airlines, but a recent trip on Alitalia made me re-think that opinion. (My partner assured me that his experiences with IranAir and Egyptair were far worse.)

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shadowcatzxxx Experienced

shadowcatzxxx

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Oh ... INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS!

 

I flew Virgin (not as a virgin myself, of course) first class a few years back, and was completely astonished at the amount of pampering, comfort, and individualized service they offered. They call it "upper class" and it certainly felt that way. Lie-flat seats/beds were excellent (they even "made" the beds with linens). And the pajamas and slippers. And the "sleep kit." On eastbound transatlantic flights, most of which leave east coast cities in the early evening, they offer a (complementary) meal in the lounge before the flight ... so that if you want to try to sleep uninterrupted on the way across the pond, you can ask for a special, quiet section in the upper class seating area and leave a "do not disturb" tag on your seat, and they won't wake you 'till breakfast. Then, when you get to London, there is a very nice lounge with excellent showers if you need to freshen up before a work day. And on the way home, a separate security line for upper class only, and a superb departure lounge. Ah ... wish I could fly that way all the time.

 

Heading in the other direction, Singapore and Malaysian airlines are both excellent; their business class is way better than first on any American carrier, and their coach is almost like american carriers' business class. JAL is in a class by itself ... if one can afford it. (Flakes of gold leaf in the Miso soup ...)

 

But within the US I really recommend JetBlue if they serve your local hub. (They have an excellent selection of non-stops to many places I go from Boston.) I find the early boarding (and, at some airports, expedited security) that accompanies their reasonably-priced extra legroom seats to be very nice perks. And, surprisingly enough, many of the extra legroom rows are at least partially empty, even on otherwise full flights, and they don't let other passengers switch seats unless they pay the premium, so you can often stretch out sideways as well. And the seats are MUCH more comfortable than on almost all other American carriers. (And no, I don't work for, or own stock in, JetBlue.) I did feel the same way on Southwest when I bought late-notice ticket at a premium price; that puts you in the first boarding group so you get to select the best exit-row seats and fit your luggage above.

 

Given comments in the thread, I will keep an eye out for Virgin America ... but I don't think they fly most routes I need to travel.

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Diverdan Community Regular

Diverdan

Posted
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I fly primarily on United for many reasons, not the least is their Star Alliance partners. I have logged nearly 2 million miles in their FF program, so have been able to enjoy a lot of upgrades both on UA and their partners such as Lufthansa, Singapore, Thai and others. Recently I have had several UA flights on Continental planes which has been good. None of the airlines are as good, reasonable or comfortable as they once were, so I usually upgrade when ever possible, or on long flights fly business or FC. Singapore's business class is almost as good as FC in most airlines, but things are getting better in business and FC with the new lay flat seats for long hauls.

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seeker630 Community Regular

seeker630

Posted
Posted
I haven't flown since 2006. It sounds like things have just gotten worse.

 

I liked regional carrier Piedmont Airlines back in the day. I'm dating myself now for sure. Anyone who did much flying in the '80s and early '90s is surely forever spoiled now.

 

Wow, I remember Piedmont Airlines, although I never flew them.

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KMEM Community Regular

KMEM

Posted
Posted

It certainly could have been Northeast (acquired by Delta) or Eastern. Mohawk mainly flew between the smaller towns of PA and NY. I once tried to ride on them from Harrisburg, PA to Massena, NY but they had "labor issues" and I was never sure they were going to operate that flight, so, I rented a car and drove through a blizzard to look at an airplane. My customer did not buy the airplane, so, I drove back to HAR.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

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Steven_Draker Mentor

Steven_Draker

Posted
Posted
I am wondering which airline(s) folks like around here?

 

Since I have most of my miles with Star Alliance I use one of their partners in the US: United/Continental (Continental has a better fleet) or US Airways. On my last trip I flew mostly SWA - no fussiness and as someone said above they don't screw up and get the job done. As far their first-come first-served seating goes, one has to learn the trick and check in online exactly 24 hours ahead of time.

 

In Europe I like Lufthansa a lot. I'm 'forced' to fly Brussels Airlines not by choice but because they offer direct flights from Brussels to many european destinations. Internationally I've flown KLM (one has to love their blue delft miniature houses :) ), Swiss, Singapore Airlines. I hear Emirates is good. I've flown Lauda Air once and they had the most amazing white-glove service to the point of almost giving you a blow job.

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bigvalboy Grand Master

bigvalboy

Posted
Posted
In Europe I like Lufthansa a lot.

 

Lufthansa? God Steven I hate Lufthansa...LOL Twice, lost luggage in Zurich, late flights, delayed flights, which of course causes you to miss the connector in DC. which then puts you on stand-by and then routes you through O'Hare, and then puts you on a Red Eye to L.A. I still have nightmares!! LOL

 

I got to Naples once and when my luggage didn't come down I asked where it was, after waiting an hour for her to find it, she finally looked at me like I had lost a magazine and calmly said "oh it looks like we left it on the runway in Zurich" REALLY??? No shit...well here's an idea...

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Guest Merlin

Guest Merlin

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Posted

I have less preference now that I have credit cards which give me priority boarding on United, Continental, US Airway, and Delta. Standing in lines is one of my least favorite things. I avoid Southwest with a passion.

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Samai139 Collaborator

Samai139

Posted
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Bigvalguy wanted to know how I avoid flying. Fortunately I am retired, so I don't have to travel for business. Fortunately I own a car so I can drive to many of the places I must go---relatives, entertainment. Even though I do not live in the NYC area, I am close enough to drive to places where I can park my car, and take a train or bus into "the city." Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit are withing driving distance. When I can't stand the northern cold, I can car pool and drive to Florida.

When I absolutely must fly--for a funeral in California or an emergency in Florida---then I am forced to use the local carrier(s) to get me where I have to go. I realise that ancient history isn't very popular here, but I am ancient enough to remember going to Europe and Africa on PanAm; flying on BOAC and KLM when passengers were treated like valued customers. OK, there was also the memory of a cabin filled with smoke during most of a 6 hour trans-Atlantic flight, but at least we got good food, roomy seats and clean pillows and blankets, and above all perhaps, my luggage always arrived at the same terminal as I. Today I feel more like an inconvenience to those who are running the airlines than an important customer---maybe its partly my age, partly a flawed memory of the "good old days" or a combination of those things and others---need to crowd as many people into each plane as possible, too many competing airlines?? and the baggage of 9/11, etc. etc. I feel sorry for those who must travel by air very frequently and can only hope that things get better. My original post was meant more as a tongue in cheek snide remark than anything else, and I realise that many cannot avoid flying---good luck to you and safe journeys.

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Charlie Grand Master

+ Charlie

Posted
Posted

Those who still refer to United and Continental as separate airlines, as Steven does above, may want to note that United has just received permission to run both as a single airline under United's name. I flew Continental last year right after the merger was announced, and was surprised to receive a free lunch in coach. I joked to my seatmate that I bet that would stop as soon as United heard about it. Sure enough, on the return flight the following week, it was announced that they were no longer serving free food in coach.

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