Recommendations for airlines please

[garada3]

We have been loyal United flyers, domestic and international, for years. Accumulated and used many frequent flyer points without too many hassles.

However, the last few flights/interactions with UA have not been pleasant.

I need recommendations for other airlines - customer service, frequent flyer plan etc.

What airlines do you fly? Are you loyal to one to accumulate miles or do you just shop for the best fare?

Thanks in advance!

 

[FireDancer]

I usually fly Continental and have never had a bad experience. Being in Cleveland they are often the only direct flight anywhere that isn't another airline's hub so not having to make a connection makes it easier.

I have flown almost all of the other major airlines and some of the budgets and the only ones that I attempt to avoid are U.S. and Delta. The former I used to fly often for work and they are the only airline that has lost my bags and the later because I have yet to have a flight not change times on me at least once.

 

[vicki_c]

With the caveat that EVERY airline has its issue ...

We fly whoever we can find the lowest price with, and I don't find any one airline much better than the others.

But of all that I have flown over the years, we like Southwest best. But I still go by price.

My mother is totally in love with JetBlue but unfortunately they do not fly out of our closest airport.

 

[bavaria]

I am absolutely loyal to Star Alliance and tend to fly LH and UA depending on routing, with flights on LX, AC, TH, CA if required. Of those, LH, UA, AC and LX tend to be superior.

Even if I was not top tier elite I would choose UA based on the fact that they are the only US mainline carrier with extra legroom, their alliance partnership, their mileage program, their pay per service choices, and their recent alliance with CO. UA also has one of the best ontime performance records and was top in Nov 2009. They also have the best fares on the routes I fly.

The majority of posters here are very infrequent flyers and don't fly enough to earn status on any carrier, and thus they don't consider alliance a factor.

 

[disfan07]

I hate United...absolutely and completely despise them.

We fly southwest, jetblue, and virgin america on a regular basis.

Ive flown 7 RT flights this year...soon to be 8 next week all on virgina emrica, jetblue adn southwest

I have a rapid rewards number with southwest and an elevate number with virgin america. With 4 RT cross country flights this year, I accumulated enough miles on virgin for a one way ticket from california to virginia next week.



Southwest: inexpensive, no baggage fees, always had amazing customer service, the flight attendants are always wonderful

Jetblue: pricing depends on route (can be the cheapest, can be the most expensive), tvs in teh back of the seat, always get extra drinks on teh flights, the ability to pay for extra leg room

Virgin America: $49 fares!! Meals for sale (really good food), tvs in the seat w/ radio, games, movies, very comfortable seating, bottled water always available for grabs anytime during the flight, awesome flight attendants adn customer service


We used to fly airtran but they change their schedules too much
United has been horendous the past few times...with them it was 3 bad flights in a row and we dumped them
Delta...they are just usually too expensive

 

[CleveRocks]

We have been loyal United flyers, domestic and international, for years. Accumulated and used many frequent flyer points without too many hassles.

However, the last few flights/interactions with UA have not been pleasant.

I need recommendations for other airlines - customer service, frequent flyer plan etc.

What airlines do you fly? Are you loyal to one to accumulate miles or do you just shop for the best fare?

Thanks in advance!

It would help if you told us what airport or airports you use ... as you know, not every airline serves every airport, and sometimes an airline works better out of some airports than others.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I will fly whoever has the cheapest fare with the best non-stop schedule.

That being said, if all things were equal, I would always fly JetBlue! You can't beat the free TV and the extra space in the seating area.

 

[DVC Grammy]

I will fly whoever has the cheapest fare with the best non-stop schedule....................

ITA!
From my airport, it would be either SWA or JetBlue. I've heard Airtran is also lower-priced, but it doesn't fly out of Austin (I've also heard they're a little "wiggly" with their schedules ).
I've given up on the "legacy" airlines............too many experiences with changed schedules, lost luggage, extra fees, and unfriendly (and off-shore) customer (non)service!

 

[Funwith4kids]

Agree with PP. US "Legacy" airlines have become complacent knowing they are "too big to fail" and the govmt will bail them out. I have traveled worlwide for 15 years and the customer service and baggage handling has declined and it sure seems more and more like the "tenured" flight attendants are just doing their time. I also agree that some of the Euro and Asia partner airlines help elevate the "alliance" as there are some darn good foreign airlines doing a remarkable job.

Most large corporations with large business travel expenses use the "legacy" airlines as preferred airlines and are required to use when booking business travel. These type of travelers are the biggest revenue generators- not the leisure traveler who the budget airlines target.

I think you need to look at what's important to you: schedules, non-stop or not, and costs.

 

[Anal Annie]

We book by 1) price 2) schedule (time & non-stops). We are lucky & can use 3 major airports (BWI, Dulles or National - but we never use National). So we've bounced around the past 2 or 3 years between these airports and Air Tran, Jet Blue & SW. Mostly we use Air Tran. Yes, their schedules change frequently - esp. if you book early. "Back in the day" we used to always use Delta. But we stopped using them when they stopped flying direct to MCO. (I just refuse to go from DC to Cincinnati to get to FL!!!) Uniteds TED services MCO from Dulles but I hear they're not so good with being on-time so I "don't go there".

Anyway, we really liked Jet Blue when we used them but they tend to usually be much higher fares & I can't justify paying THAT much more. (I don't know how we ended up using them the one time we did.) Air Tran (usually) has the best prices for us and I know to expect flight changes so I watch our flights closely after I book. We use SW whenever their price beats Air Tran (infrequently). I don't like that we can't get seat assignments but DO LIKE that they don't charge to check bags. We have had excellent experiences with Air Tran being on time. Only once did we have enough of a delay to mention - it was leaving MCO during a summer afternoon - but it was weather related - a large storm front moved across the entire Eastern seaboard & screwed up EVERYBODY. There were ground stops at ALL the major airports. So not their fault. I would say you would be fine with any of these carriers - but the whole lack of seat assignments on SW takes some getting used to. Air Tran & Jet Blue both participate in the RAC program & SW does not.

OH, and Air Tran has a great freq. flyer program. It only takes 4 flights (2 round trips) to get 4 Reward points - which is enough to upgrade your next flight to Business Class. Only 8 points for a free flight...but we can't accumulate them fast enough for that one.

 

[bavaria]

TED has not been in existence for quite some time now.

As to on time performance? They are a top contender for having the best record of US mainline carriers for the year.

United Airlines Employees Deliver Best November On-Time Performance

CHICAGO, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA) closed out a record-breaking November with the best on-time performance since reporting to the Department of Transportation began in October 1987. United also tied its best day for arrival performance on November 28, when more than 96% of flights were on-time.

More than 91 percent of United's flights were on-time in November, earning the company a first-place finish for the month. United's year-to-date performance solidly positions the company to contend for first in 2009 among network carriers.

http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1360505&highlight=

 

[dudspizza]

TED has not been in existence for quite some time now.

As to on time performance? They are a top contender for having the best record of US mainline carriers for the year.

United Airlines Employees Deliver Best November On-Time Performance




http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1360505&highlight=

I will say that many people here will have a very different opinion from yours. Many folks fly who they have to for business. Now, someone like me that flies 1-2 times a year, I will fly where I can find the best fares. I have flown nearly every airline that services MSP and have found them all to be about the same.

I do carry and credit card that gets me miles on AA, so I look at them first, but I earn way more miles in a year than I do on 1 flight a year, so I won't book them just because I want the miles. Heck, I currently have about 100,000 miles to use with AA and have only flown 2 paid round trips with them in 4 years!

I actually giggle at those that say I won't fly XYZ airline anymore. All airlines can have a bad day and they all can have good ones. In the end, the almighty dollar is what drives the majority of bookings for people here on the DIS, me included. I want to save some $$$.

Now, if all were the same, I would fly Sun Country out of MSP as I like to support the little guy. I also like AA and Airtran out of MSP. I have flown Continental, NW, and United as well.... all were just fine.

Some times, flying is what you make it. Relax and all will be fine... you have to understand something bad could happen..... roll with the punches and move on...... DIS board drama does not happen in the real world most of the time..... most of the time the parallel universe continues on void of the drama of these boards....

Have a nice day!

duds

 

[Brian Noble]

As a DTW flyer, I'm a Delta (Northwest) captive. On balance, the acquisition has improved things on NW---DL's planes seem nicer, and their standard for cabin service seems a little better. Perhaps it's just grass-is-greener, hard to say. On the downside, DL's miles expire if you don't refresh them periodically.

I also have an AMEX Plat, so I am naturally biased towards flights on carriers whose lounges I can access through that card---American, Continental, and DL/NW.

On balance, domestic airlines are more similar than they are different. If you have a carrier that uses your airport as a hub, I would stick with that carrier---the benefit of non-stop flights to many destinations outweighs service issues in my mind, as the differences in service levels are minor. If you have two carriers that use your airport as a hub (or none) then the choice is a little more interesting, but even then, I'd lean to the carrier that has the largest number of flights/destinations.

 

[Thumper_Man]

We fly SW. Jet Blue does not service our area. I have a Chase Rapid Rewards Visa, so I can usually get an almost free flight (have to pay the the security fee) per year. Flights have always been on time, or close to on time. Flight attendants are great. And I can usually get a direct flight to most places I fly to. I think I've only had to change flights once with them. Plus for us, they are usually the best priced.

 

[bavaria]

I actually giggle at those that say I won't fly XYZ airline anymore. All airlines can have a bad day and they all can have good ones.

Some times, flying is what you make it. Relax and all will be fine... you have to understand something bad could happen..... roll with the punches and move on...... DIS board drama does not happen in the real world most of the time..... most of the time the parallel universe continues on void of the drama of these boards....

Have a nice day!

duds

In all our collective years of reading, how many truly 'bad' experiences have we read about? I personally have experienced a few, but all the drama here and very very few times do I even think that the complaint was worth the energy to write about it. I can recall maybe a handful of experiences that I would say were bad ones; most were things that can happen. Those of you who commute by bus, or metro, or car, have bad travel days too.

Sure, I have some off flights. But I move on very quickly. Usually by the time the day is over, the issue is forgotten because it wasn't big enough to merit more energy.

 

[Anal Annie]

TED has not been in existence for quite some time now.As to on time performance? They are a top contender for having the best record of US mainline carriers for the year.

United Airlines Employees Deliver Best November On-Time Performance




http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1360505&highlight=

I knew there must be another reason I'd never used them!