Which airline is your favorite to take and why?

[monica9]

I love Jetblue but am petrified of flying. Trying to book our flights for November to Disney and the airport that's the cheapest for us only has small jetblue planes flying out. They are so small! They are 2 on one side and 2 on the other so about 100 passengers. I am scared to take such a small plane. If we go out of another airport, their jet blue plane is 3 and 3 so its much bigger.
Then I started researching about planes and the safety of sizes and such and then found out that Southwest has never had a plane crash while Us airways has had many. Now Im debating on whether or not to try southwest even though I love jet blue.

I know this sounds crazy but I really get flying anxiety and need to take tranquilizers. I need help making this decision. I don't want to spend $400 on a larger Jet blue plan if the size isn't that big of a difference.

Has anyone been on a 2 and 2 (100) passenger plane and its been fine? Arethey not as safe as the larger planes?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't know where you are getting your information, but Southwest has had many accidents and safety problems, just none with fatalities of anyone on the plane. They did have an accident at Midway airport where one of their planes hit a car and killed a little boy inside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_Flight_1248

For reliable accident statistics, I suggest that you go to the FAA website:

http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/

The worst airline accident in history occurred between two large planes (583 killed):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster

Generally, larger planes are safer than smaller planes, but I wouldn't have a problem with JetBlue. You might want to seek medical advice for your anxiety. There are many ways to deal with fear of flying.

 

[WizardLarz]

When I Fly I've flown both Southwest and Delta. I prefer Southwest simply because they have direct non-stops to Orlando out of St. Louis. With all the other airline including Delta there is a stop over most often a change of planes which adds about 1-2 hours to the Flight time.

 

[DebbieB]

I love Jetblue but am petrified of flying. Trying to book our flights for November to Disney and the airport that's the cheapest for us only has small jetblue planes flying out. They are so small! They are 2 on one side and 2 on the other so about 100 passengers. I am scared to take such a small plane. If we go out of another airport, their jet blue plane is 3 and 3 so its much bigger.
Then I started researching about planes and the safety of sizes and such and then found out that Southwest has never had a plane crash while Us airways has had many. Now Im debating on whether or not to try southwest even though I love jet blue.

I know this sounds crazy but I really get flying anxiety and need to take tranquilizers. I need help making this decision. I don't want to spend $400 on a larger Jet blue plan if the size isn't that big of a difference.

Has anyone been on a 2 and 2 (100) passenger plane and its been fine? Arethey not as safe as the larger planes?

Commercial plane crashes are very very rare in the United States, no matter what size of plane. I've been on planes with 33 seats (propeller), all the way up to over 200 seats. There's no real difference other than comfort. The really small planes (under 75 seats) are pretty cramped. I've probably been on hundreds of flights (I travel for work) and have never been in a situation where I was concerned about safety.

I heard an interesting fact a couple of years ago. The odds of being in a plane accident is like 1 in 5 million. But if you are in an accident, your survival odds are 93%. Think "Miracle on the Hudson", everyone was safe.

Just pick the flights that best meet your schedule & price, don't worry about the model.

 

[Donna M]

I go with the best price and times. I like JetBlue because of the tv's, but the lowest fare will get my business.

 

[HoosierDisneyDad]

If it makes you feel any better, the smaller plane (the E-190) has had less accidents than the larger plane (the A320). I think the Embraer 170/190 line has had only one fatal accident ever. Of course there are many more A320s flying and it's been around for longer, so I don't know statistically which is safer.

 

[soxfan11901]

If there is any safety difference statistically between small and large planes then it is probably skewed somewhat. Smaller planes are used in harder more dangerous airports to get into (like mountainous regions or island locations) and may have had more accidents because of location which may make them look less safe even though they are really not.

 

[dudspizza]

I would not hesitate to fly ANY airline in the US. I have flown many in the past 10 years and would not worry one bit. I don't have anxiety, so don't know what you are feeling, but I know that things will be just fine no matter what airline I fly.

duds

 

[jsilvers]

In fact, Southwest may have had more recent serious incidents then US Airways ... just not fatal to passengers.

• April 1, 2011 - Southwest flight 812 makes an emergency landing in Yuma, AZ after a hole develops in its fuselage.
  
• July 13, 2009 - Southwest flight 2294 makes an emergency landing at Charleston, WV after a hole develops in its fuselage.
  
• December 8, 2005 - Southwest flight 1248 overruns the runway while landing at Chicago Midway and exits the airport property, killing a child in a car.
  
• March 5, 2000 - Southwest flight 1455 overruns the runway while landing at Burbank and exits the airport property, nearly hitting a gas station.

But generally speaking, there is no reason to choose among airlines based on safety. The last accident involving a commercial flight of any type in the U.S. with fatalities occurred more than three years ago. The last accident involving a commercial flight of any type operated by a mainline carrier in the U.S. with passenger fatalities occurred more than ten years ago. Your time would be much better spent learning what to do in the (extremely unlikely) event of an emergency.

 

[DebbieB]

USAirways had problems in the 90's but have had a pretty good record recently.

http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/usair.htm

 

[MartyM]

I fly southwest. I try not to think about the issue with the fuselage peeling back, especially since they are adding TONS of new jets this and next year.

 

[dogsmom]

They have their prices up before AirTran/Southwest. The price I paid in March for our December trip is a great price. We are able to get nonstop flights out of Phila. Plus we get to choose our seats at time of booking, no extra charge. They do charge extra for checked bags, but you can always do carryon if needed. We have always been pleased with their service.

 

[DVC-Don]

Southwest. First due to being the only airline to have non-stop flights to Orlando from Albany, NY. I dislike having to make a connection and even dislike the direct flights and having sit in the aircraft while another group get on. Second due to having the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card tied into my Rapid Rewards account. I charge a lot of stuff and fly back and forth to Orlando a lot and just this year got 10 free flights on Southwest to date. In fact, I'm flying down to Orlando in 5 hours free.

 

[Kaler131]

I ALWAYS fly Southwest (when I can). We have always been happy with their service and prices!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I don't know where you are getting your information, but Southwest has had many accidents and safety problems, just none with fatalities of anyone on the plane. They did have an accident at Midway airport where one of their planes hit a car and killed a little boy inside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_Flight_1248

For reliable accident statistics, I suggest that you go to the FAA website:

http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/

The worst airline accident in history occurred between two large planes (583 killed):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster

Generally, larger planes are safer than smaller planes, but I wouldn't have a problem with JetBlue. You might want to seek medical advice for your anxiety. There are many ways to deal with fear of flying.

No. Southwest has not had "many accidents." Southwest has had two serious runway overruns (Chicago and Burbank). The Chicago occurrence sadly killed a child on the ground. The Burbank occurrence resulted in a hull loss (the aircraft was not worth repairing). Southwest has had no accidents with passenger fatalities.

Southwest has had several "incidents," has defined by the FAA. ("An incident is an occurrence other than an accident that affects or could affect the safety of operations.")

Considering that Southwest has been flying since 1966 and currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day, Southwest Airlines has an absolutely remarkable safety record.

The whole U.S. airline industry is very safe.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

No. Southwest has not had "many accidents." Southwest has had two serious runway overruns (Chicago and Burbank). The Chicago occurrence sadly killed a child on the ground. The Burbank occurrence resulted in a hull loss (the aircraft was not worth repairing). Southwest has had no accidents with passenger fatalities.

Yes, I already noted this.

Southwest has had several "incidents," has defined by the FAA. ("An incident is an occurrence other than an accident that affects or could affect the safety of operations.")

Southwest Flight 1248
Southwest Flight 1455
Southwest Flight 2294
southwest Flight 812
Southwest Flight 1544
Southwest Flight 519
Southwest Flight 1763


The whole U.S. airline industry is very safe.

I agree.

OP - I try to fly United or other Star Alliance carriers, due to frequent flyer benefits (Free upgrades, free checked bags, lounge access, ease of using frequent flyer miles, routes, priority boarding, free E+ seating, etc.)

 

[stitch34]

We fly USAir, AirTran and SWest out of Philly.

I like USAir on the way down - get off plane, take elevator down and there is the ME! When we take SWest we got a long walk to get to ME! Hey, the sooner we get to ME, the better!
USAir just usually works out best for us, price-wise and schedule-wise.

SWest I prefer on way back - with free bags, then I just end up checking some of our carry ons on the way back, too, and nice not to lug them around airport.