Getting confused - which airline would you choose?

[kristieuk]

DD starts high school in September which means this years trip is going to be over Christmas - and that means the BA flight we usually take to Tampa is £££££££, so indirect it is.

It has been ages since we have flown indirectly which in principal doesn't bother us at all, but what is confusing is the choice of airlines.

The prices are coming out between £537 and £559 for our dates with a choice of United / Continental, US Airways, Delta, and American Airlines. Since there is not much in the cost, I am looking for some advice as to who you would choose?

Ideally, we like to book seats in advance, check in online, and get decent onboard entertainment - the BA on-demand service is very poular with our kids!

Any advice or comments would be very welcomed.

Thanks for your help

 

[disneyholic family]

DD starts high school in September which means this years trip is going to be over Christmas - and that means the BA flight we usually take to Tampa is £££££££, so indirect it is.

It has been ages since we have flown indirectly which in principal doesn't bother us at all, but what is confusing is the choice of airlines.

The prices are coming out between £537 and £559 for our dates with a choice of United / Continental, US Airways, Delta, and American Airlines. Since there is not much in the cost, I am looking for some advice as to who you would choose?

Ideally, we like to book seats in advance, check in online, and get decent onboard entertainment - the BA on-demand service is very poular with our kids!

Any advice or comments would be very welcomed.

Thanks for your help

of the airlines you mention, the only one i really don't like is US Airways, but other people may have had better experience...
the others are fine in terms of service, food, etc., though my personal preference is for Continental....but really, other than US Airways, i'm willing to fly all of them (Continental, Delta, AA, United)...

however, regarding seat back TVs.....my advice is to check at www.seatguru.com to see what the description of each type of equipment is there...
several of those airlines have multiple aircraft - so you need to check exactly which airplane you would be flying on and then compare it to the seatguru.com list to see if it has seatback entertainment or not..

this information might also be available on the airline websites, i don't know..

for me, having those seatback TVs is important....i think the Delta planes have seatback TVs....and also Continental...the others may as well...the problem is, each of these companies has bought another company, so when they merge the fleets, it can happen that you end up with a plane from a different company....anyway, check seatguru...

 

[GibboFLA]

We flew KLM on a codeshare with Delta last year. Seat back TV's and an "on-demand" system of films, shows and games, kept my two happy for hours.

Got nothing on the trip from Atlanta to Orlando, but it was only 1 hour 10 mins flight. It may be an idea to pick a flight with the shortest trip to MCO?

I think all the main airlines have the same entertainment now, there may be people who prefer one over another but I think you can get all sorts of reviews if you start searching the net.

I think it's getting a price you are happy with and book it; after all it's only relatively small part of the holiday.

 

[torsie24]

We flew delta (booked on KLM website) in 2009 and it was the best long haul flight I've done. Good leg room (df is 6'4") great food and the seat back entertainment was the best I've seen.

Change over at Detroit was a pleasure.

We wouldn't hesitate at all to do it again!

 

[Kath2003]

I've used American Airlines for my last 3 trips; never any problem. They are one and the same pretty much. We're not picky though...

You can pick your seats. There's seat-back TVs which are interactive on the transatlantic flight and not much on the domestic leg. They serve drinks in full-sized cans which is nice.

 

[kristieuk]

Fantastic!. Thanks for all of the advice. We have flown Delta and AA previously but it was over 5 years ago. It's useful to know the entertainment systems have been upgraded. I know we won't get anything on the shorter leg, but that's fine. I really appreciate all of your help. Off to book now, I am paranoid the prices will only get higher