Are There Any Good Airlines Left?

[lugnut33]

Or are they all crap and just treat us like cattle?

I suppose it's our fault that airlines treat their customers like crap and don't give a hoot about anything. We are the the ones afterall who demanded rock bottom pricing ahead of everything else.

Lately I've flown a few different airlines and it's getting to the point I'd rather not fly anymore because the whole experience of flying is terrible. Indifferent employees, poor service, stupid fees for everything, security lines, late flights, and damaged luggage.

I was so mad at all the carriers that fly out of O'Hare, that I booked Southwest out of Midway (an extra hour drive) for our August family trip. I hope they don't disappoint me also.

Now today, I'm supposed to go pickup my inlaws at around noon so I check their Continental flight and it says "Estimated to Arrive 6 Hours 46 Minutes Late". Nice!! Now there'll be a big fiasco as they get rebooked on their flight segment from Houston to Chicago.

 

[annagirl]

Southwest. Great service, friendly staff, and no baggage fees.

If southwest goes where you are, look into it.

 

[seashoreCM]

deleted

 

[beccasmom]

Southwest is generally excellent. Even they can't do much during bad weather, but we have found their customer service to be much better than most of the others.

JetBlue is great too, but unfortunately does not fly from my home airport. I've been very impressed with them.

The rest --- well, if you can't say something nice.....they are all having financial problems at this time (I think I read even SW is offering severance packages to some associates), so it probably will not get better anytime soon. I am still pretty steamed about having to pay for my luggage (we're using USAirways for this trip). Thank heavens our flight is only 2 hours.

 

[connorsmom911]

Another vote here for SWA. I even drive an extra hour and a half, across the border into the US, not only for the savings (Toronto is now the most expensive airport in the WORLD to fly out of with taxes and fees!!) but for the service. I've had awesome luck with flights being on time or early, great service, good laughs and no baggage problems. Love them!!

 

[uva185]

I have had excellent service with Delta. I am now a Platinum Medallion but even before I had any status I still received excellent service.

Once I was late arriving to the airport (about 20 mins before departure at DCA). I needed to check a bag and needed to make my scheduled flight so I could meet a friend in ATL. I told my situation to the agent, she manually wrote a bag tag and sent me on my way. Technically the cut off was 30 mins so she bent the rule and it made my day.

I also really appreciate that when they automatically re-book me due to an IRROP they either put me in the full F fare class (if available) or full Y if F is full. This nets me 50% bonus miles on the flight.

Also, Delta is bringing back the "red coats" which are customer service reps to wonder around the terminal and assist customers on the spot. They are empowered to do things with that regular agents cannot do.

 

[DebbieB]

I fly regularly for business and have flown most of the major airlines. I've had a few problems but overall have been satisfied. SW is definitely tops for vacation travel.

Why is the Continental flight that late? Is it weather? We've had heavy storms in the east.

 

[thepwa]

For every customer service employee who doesn't give good customer service, I suspect there are two customers who are expecting something that is not reasonable, or are trying to bend rules or are trying to beat a system.

Is a plane broken? Fix it. I'd rather be late then at 35,000 feet and lose a hydraulic pump.

Is it bad weather? No airline can control that. I'd rather be grounded than have a pilot try to fight through a thunderstorm.

Do they charge for bags? Yes. So what? It's just part of the overall price of the ticket, and if I don't have a bag, I am getting a discount.

Give me my ticket at a reasonable price, give me my seat, get me to my destination. I don't care if I get 1/2 a can of Coke and some stale pretzels or not.

Hats off to all of you in the customer service field, especially those who work for airlines and have to deal with unreasonable, unruly and rude customers every day.

 

[lugnut33]

I fly regularly for business and have flown most of the major airlines. I've had a few problems but overall have been satisfied. SW is definitely tops for vacation travel.

Why is the Continental flight that late? Is it weather? We've had heavy storms in the east.

It's an international flight from Lima, Peru. Positive it's not weather related since the weather in Lima is always good.

 

[DisneyObsessive]

I've always had great service with Jetblue. Some of the friendliest crew i've experienced.

 

[mousesweetie]

I love Delta. USAIRWAYS on the other hand, is a different story.

 

[lugnut33]

For every customer service employee who doesn't give good customer service, I suspect there are two customers who are expecting something that is not reasonable, or are trying to bend rules or are trying to beat a system.

Is a plane broken? Fix it. I'd rather be late then at 35,000 feet and lose a hydraulic pump.

Is it bad weather? No airline can control that. I'd rather be grounded than have a pilot try to fight through a thunderstorm.

Do they charge for bags? Yes. So what? It's just part of the overall price of the ticket, and if I don't have a bag, I am getting a discount.

Give me my ticket at a reasonable price, give me my seat, get me to my destination. I don't care if I get 1/2 a can of Coke and some stale pretzels or not.

Hats off to all of you in the customer service field, especially those who work for airlines and have to deal with unreasonable, unruly and rude customers every day.

Could it be the airlines have implemented unreasonable policies in the name of profits (or lack thereof)? Are they taking ou their money frustrations on the customer?

What about in the instance when my wife is flying AA with a group of kids and they arrive late in Miami due to weather to catch their connecting flight (last flight for the night of course) and the gate attendant says, "You didn't make any alternate reservations in San Jose so we can't get you on any fights tomorrow or even the next day because they are all full". So, after a night of sleeping on the airport floor (hey, it's OK, it's weather related) they wander up to the gate and ask if they can get on the flight. Attendant says yes, it's only "half full". So, why was the guy being a jerk the night before?

When there are 500 people waiting in line to check in, why are there only 2 people working the check-in counter?

Security gets mad because of people bringing small houses with them as carry-ons. Yet, the airline wants to force you to only bring a carry-on due to their stupid baggage fees.

As for fixing the planes, well maybe they shouldn't have made such deep cuts in maintenance?

You're not getting a discount if you only travel with carry-ons. I'm flying cheaper on SW in August than any other airline I checked, and I get to check two bags if I want. There are 4 of us and we'll probably check 3. We'll only have 1 carry-on. If we were flying AA I'd have to bring 4 carryons and lots of other hand held bags. Then I'd have to fight with the people around me to get space to put the carry-ons. Great, sounds like a good practice to me.

Hats off to those in the customer service field that do a good job. Maybe if some of you CSR's weren't indifferent and rude, people wouldn't get angry with you!!

Two sides to every story.

 

[uva185]

It's an international flight from Lima, Peru. Positive it's not weather related since the weather in Lima is always good.

Its posts like this that make me cringe!

#1 If Lima "always has good weather" how do you think they would handle any "bad weather" that may come up?? Think how well Southern states handle frozen percipitation

#2 Just because the weather is nice at the origin and destination that doesn't mean there can't be weather delays. Weather affects flights in many ways and can impact how many planes can fly on a particular air traffic control route and how close they can follow eachother. Even something like strong winds enroute can change the flight path and delay a flight. The inbound flight may have been delayed due to weather which in turn would delay the next return fligt.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Uh... Southwest cut their maintenance more than any other airline. But hey, you don't have to pay baggage fees! Congrats!

Could it be the airlines have implemented unreasonable policies in the name of profits (or lack thereof)? Are they taking ou their money frustrations on the customer?

What about in the instance when my wife is flying AA with a group of kids and they arrive late in Miami due to weather to catch their connecting flight (last flight for the night of course) and the gate attendant says, "You didn't make any alternate reservations in San Jose so we can't get you on any fights tomorrow or even the next day because they are all full". So, after a night of sleeping on the airport floor (hey, it's OK, it's weather related) they wander up to the gate and ask if they can get on the flight. Attendant says yes, it's only "half full". So, why was the guy being a jerk the night before?

When there are 500 people waiting in line to check in, why are there only 2 people working the check-in counter?

Security gets mad because of people bringing small houses with them as carry-ons. Yet, the airline wants to force you to only bring a carry-on due to their stupid baggage fees.

As for fixing the planes, well maybe they shouldn't have made such deep cuts in maintenance?

You're not getting a discount if you only travel with carry-ons. I'm flying cheaper on SW in August than any other airline I checked, and I get to check two bags if I want. There are 4 of us and we'll probably check 3. We'll only have 1 carry-on. If we were flying AA I'd have to bring 4 carryons and lots of other hand held bags. Then I'd have to fight with the people around me to get space to put the carry-ons. Great, sounds like a good practice to me.

Hats off to those in the customer service field that do a good job. Maybe if some of you CSR's weren't indifferent and rude, people wouldn't get angry with you!!

Two sides to every story.

 

[maxiesmom]

Could it be the airlines have implemented unreasonable policies in the name of profits (or lack thereof)? Are they taking ou their money frustrations on the customer?

What about in the instance when my wife is flying AA with a group of kids and they arrive late in Miami due to weather to catch their connecting flight (last flight for the night of course) and the gate attendant says, "You didn't make any alternate reservations in San Jose so we can't get you on any fights tomorrow or even the next day because they are all full". So, after a night of sleeping on the airport floor (hey, it's OK, it's weather related) they wander up to the gate and ask if they can get on the flight. Attendant says yes, it's only "half full". So, why was the guy being a jerk the night before?

When there are 500 people waiting in line to check in, why are there only 2 people working the check-in counter?

Security gets mad because of people bringing small houses with them as carry-ons. Yet, the airline wants to force you to only bring a carry-on due to their stupid baggage fees.

As for fixing the planes, well maybe they shouldn't have made such deep cuts in maintenance?

You're not getting a discount if you only travel with carry-ons. I'm flying cheaper on SW in August than any other airline I checked, and I get to check two bags if I want. There are 4 of us and we'll probably check 3. We'll only have 1 carry-on. If we were flying AA I'd have to bring 4 carryons and lots of other hand held bags. Then I'd have to fight with the people around me to get space to put the carry-ons. Great, sounds like a good practice to me.

Hats off to those in the customer service field that do a good job. Maybe if some of you CSR's weren't indifferent and rude, people wouldn't get angry with you!!

Two sides to every story.

The problem is, people want it both ways. They want to pay rock bottom prices, yet get every perk imaginable. You consistently see people on this board complaing about paying $200 for cross country flights. The airlines cannot survive when people are not even paying enough per flight to cover the costs of the fuel and flight crew.

You may think baggage fees suck, and I tend to agree with you. But at least I can make a decision to pay the fee or not by how I pack, instead of everyone having to pay a higer cost for a ticket.

Maybe if people would follow the rules and not try to take 4 carry-ons on the plane with them, the CS people wouldn't be so rude! During one flight a few weeks ago I saw a guy try to cram an oversize carryon into the overhead bin. The door wouldn't even come close to closing, so he just proceeded to slam it down a few times, and then leave the compartment open we he couldn't get it shut. Not to mention the people who were not even in their assigned seats, which caused the flight to be delayed while the FAs sorted everyone out.

If service seems to be lacking, well, you get what you pay for.

 

[MAH4546]

Airlines are too nice sometimes.

I'm sick and tired of families trying to cram everything into carry-on bags! It so annoying - it delays boarding and departure. Airlines need to reduce the allowable size of carry-on bags and enforce a 12 lb. weight limit like is done in Europe.

I fly often enough on my airline of choice that I get perks like pre-boarding and no baggage fees, so my airline treats me well.

 

[TheWog]

You're not getting a discount if you only travel with carry-ons. I'm flying cheaper on SW in August than any other airline I checked, and I get to check two bags if I want. There are 4 of us and we'll probably check 3. We'll only have 1 carry-on. If we were flying AA I'd have to bring 4 carryons and lots of other hand held bags. Then I'd have to fight with the people around me to get space to put the carry-ons. Great, sounds like a good practice to me.
.

Isn't that your choice so you don't have to pay the luggage fee? I don't think you have to bring additional carryons aboard, you are choosing to do so.


We love JetBlue. They have decent fares from our area and non-stops to the destinations we like to go to. Those things are key. The tvs are a plus, extra legroom and friendly FAs and CS agents. We have to drive farther (45-50 mins on a good day vs. 10-15 mins) to fly JetBlue over other airlines including Southwest.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I am a Southwest cheerleader

Even before my flight that morning on 911 I was a fan of the airline. The staff is pleasant, reward program flexible, lots of flights from my BWI airport.

Every airline is struggling now to keep jets in the air....it is not a great time to own an airline, that's for sure.

Personaly, I agree wth the person who said they are TOO nice at times.

Good things about Southwest....


* Few extra fees (none for checked luggage - you can get a coke onboard for free - no charge for buying your ticket with a reservation agent...etc.)

* BEST - NO CANCELLATION FEES - if you have a non-refundable ticket, the will hold your $$$ for a year for another flight. However, you can book your flight...if the cost goes down, just go Modify Flight on the website...modify you reservation and BINGO, your flight costs less!!

* ...and a personal note....they were fabulous on 911.

 

[ma2jr]

I like Virgin

 

[lugnut33]

Its posts like this that make me cringe!

#1 If Lima "always has good weather" how do you think they would handle any "bad weather" that may come up?? Think how well Southern states handle frozen percipitation

#2 Just because the weather is nice at the origin and destination that doesn't mean there can't be weather delays. Weather affects flights in many ways and can impact how many planes can fly on a particular air traffic control route and how close they can follow eachother. Even something like strong winds enroute can change the flight path and delay a flight. The inbound flight may have been delayed due to weather which in turn would delay the next return fligt.

I'm not really complaining about the 7 hour delay. I'm complaining about the overall experience of flying and how that 7 hour delay doesn't help it. Or the probable soon to be fiasco when they get to Houston and try to get another flight. We all know weather delays happen and I'd never complain about that.