Which Airline from MCO to LAX

[aussietravellers]

I am looking at flights from MCO to LAX to connect with our flight home to Australia. I can't decide who to book with after seeing varying reviews of all three airlines. I have flown with AA before and was happy with them but their direct flight is too early in the afternoon and would mean an almost 8 hour layover at LAX.

So our options are, for mid October
AA - MCO to Dallas Forth Worth, DFW to LAX (I have heard of a lot of weather cancellations and delays out of DFW, not the airlines fault, but a consideration when flying to catch another flight.
Delta - Direct MCO to LAX
United - Direct MCO to LAX

Which would you choose for reliability (not changing flights or flights being cancelled or delayed) and service. I would love to hear from those who fly out of MCO to LAX or reverse or out of DFW

Thanks in advance for you help

 

[MAH4546]

The differences are not really significant. The biggest difference goes with Delta, in which you might have personal television sets and in which, depending on the time of your flight, you might also have meal service in coach.

Connecting via Dallas is extremely easy. It is not a weather delay prone hub, outside of the rare freak winter storm or summer thunderstorms.

Also, if you are a Qantas frequent flyer, you will earn Qantas miles flying American Airlines.

I personally would choose American, but I'm a frequent flyer with them and biased towards them. If you are with children, they might appreciate the break in flight, and DFW is freakin' huge and has so much to keep you entertained during the layover - the entire airport is within the same secured area, so you can go everywhere.

 

[cigar95]

If you need to transfer between terminals, American is right next to the international terminal at LAX, while Delta is one terminal over from American, and United is one or two more terminals over beyond Delta, depending on where your flight comes in. With lots of carry-ons, that is worth considering.

Delta has a reputation for making lots of *small* schedule changes that are annoying, and may disrupt seating assignments, but they aren't major changes that would cause you to miss a connection.

I have not seen either Delta or UA cancel their evening non-stop to LAX for any extended time, but UA does have a habit of pulling their late-night flight in the other direction for a few weeks or months at a time, so they *are* willing to shake up their schedule.

The experts here will surely come up with even more complete answers than mine - the Transportation Board is brutally efficient.

 

[safetymom]

Delta. We haven't had any problems with them.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

Please understand that Direct and Nonstop are not the same thing.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

American, United, and Delta all offer nonstop service between MCO and LAX. I realize that American's schedule doesn't work for you. (US Airways also sells nonstop service between LAX and MCO, but the flights are actually the same United flights that United sells.)

Normally I would recommend a nonstop flight over a connection. You save time and you eliminate the possibility of getting stuck at the connecting airport if your first leg is delayed.

However, American has around 10 daily daily flights from DFW to LAX, so if you miss the connection, they should be able to put you on another flight an hour or two later. Just make sure you have enough of a time cushion at LAX.

It's true that Orlando and Dallas are both known for afternoon thunderstorms in the summer, so delays are a legitimate concern.

I have Platinum status with American's frequent flyer program, so I'm biased toward American. You might also be biased toward American because of their frequent flyer relationship with Qantas.

That said, as far as cabin comfort (or lack thereof), cabin service, fare rules, meal service (no free meals in economy), luggage, boarding process, and just about everything else, American, United, and Delta are similar.

On United, you can get a few extra inches of legroom/kneeroom if you pay for Economy Plus.

Have a good trip!

 

[YenSid1222]

DFW is easy to make a connection and there are plenty of back up flights in the event of any sort of irregular operations. Also...assuming you are flying Qantas, you run into the affore mentioned possibility of earning frequent flier miles for the whole journey AND the LAX/SYD flights are often operated by AA Agents at LAX. My last time at LAX, I was flying back to DFW and the SYD flight was right at the gate next to ours. (Which was interesting to see...a Super 80 parked next to a 747...we felt TINY)