Air Travel

[Sideshow Mike]

I thought this could be a good discussion since some members have to travel by air to get to Orlando or other theme parks around the world. What airlines do you prefer? What experiences have you had? Have tips for those traveling by air? I know some here hate flying.:sneaky: Suggestions for those who fear air travel?

I've flown Jetblue several times and I really enjoyed the flights. I've flown with Delta as well. Not a good experience with them. Nasty turbulence, lost luggage, hassel checking in amongst other things. I've heard good things about Virgin America. I'm thinking of traveling with them when I take a trip to DLR in the near future.

 

[SamuelRSmith]

Good Airlines (value for money, so the more expensive airlines are held to a higher standard):

Jet Airways
Singapore Airlines
Air New Zealand
Dragon Air
Cathay Pacific
Jet Airwars

Average Airlines:
British Airways
Jetstar
American Airlines *

Bad Airlines:
Virgin Atlantic (old/shabby planes with temperamental entertainment systems, bare minimum on staff-passenger ratios)
Monarch (rude staff, made you feel unwelcome).

*AA was actually a good flight. However, this was a two-part connecting flight, stopping over in Miami, where the flights were so close together that we ended up missing the flight before we even got through security clearance. Even if we had made it out in time, Miami is so large that there was no realistic way we could have made it from one flight to the other without sprinting, AND knowing our way around the airport (which we didn't). However, they were helpful and got us on to the next flight. Deemed as "Average" / "Okay" because they should have not offered connecting flights so close in an airport as large as Miami (I'll give them a pass on security clearance because it was a one-off day computer issue with the TSA itself)

 

[hildyp0824]

I prefer Jet Blue and SW myself.

We used SW to fly from FL to CA last year and had great flights - friendly crew, on time....

 

[RDJ]

"Good" airlines is pretty subjective. Everybody's experience is likely to vary on a flight by flight basis.

With that said, I personally dislike Southwest the most despite them being one of the most popular, but I think its a big cattle herd with the boarding process. When it comes to flying for business, I prefer Delta as they are typically the most professional and offer the most upgrades. United, American, and US Airways are all about the same to me. Just get me to my destination as fast and safely as possible.

 

[Hatetofly]

I much Prefer Southwest above anyone else and it's all that I fly. Already have 4 flights booked with them in the coming 90 days. I've also had good experiences with Alaska Airlines, Frontier, and Continental in the past. I used to fly Delta all the time and still will if its necessary but it seems like everytime I do my flights get heavily delayed. Delta stands for (Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport) and I hate having go through Atlanta Hartsfield for EVERYTHING! American Airlines is another one I used to fly when I had to go to Dallas a lot and there not that bad. My personal most disliked airlines are United, Spirit, and TED. I can't stand United! They have screwed up my flights one to many times in the past!

Airlines I haven't flown but would like to in the states are US Air and Jet Blue. Airlines that I really want to fly in the coming international trips include Singapore Airlines, ANA, and Qatar. I also want to mention I bet most people didn't realize I have flown as much as I have domestically Now we need the same type of thread for Airports!

 

[Smitty]

At my airport their isn't an insane amount of choices(Norfolk International), my only choices are SW, United, Delta, and US Air. For Orlando SW is my only choice if I want to go direct(I do). So I pretty much fly SW most of the time, even if it's not to Florida. I just like how there is very little hassle.

 

[Eric]

I typically fly Southwest/Airtran, but Allegiant Air has some dirt cheap rates (they fly into Sanford, not Orlando). I've flown to Orlando for $100 round trip before with them.

You can even fly to Honolulu from Phoenix for only about $119. The flights are far from glamorous, but they get you from point A to point B.

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

I would LOVE to fly Virgin but since I live in New York, the only place they fly is to the west coast, which annoys me. I tend to fly JetBlue after many horrible experiences with American.

 

[jtsalien]

I always fly SW to Orlando from Philly. They have such great deals. My parents got two round trips to Vegas for under $200. I wanted to use them for my Disneyland trip, but there's no non-stop and I refuse to stop let alone change planes

 

[BJCool]

I typically fly Delta because my father is a business traveler and he lets me use his Skymiles all of the time. I've personally never had a bad experience on Delta. The domestic flights have been smooth and service has always been okay for me. I have also flown Delta partner airlines Air France and Qantas(Australia).

The only other airline I've flown on was American Airlines, which was about as bad as it could be. I had to check my carry on size bag at the gate because there was no overhead space left. And it was a 5 hour flight with no beverage service. As we boarded the crew had yet to turn on the AC, so everyone was sweating all over each other. Not to mention the roughest landing I've ever experienced.

 

[UNIrd]

JetBlue and Southwest are definitely my favorites. Haven't tried Virgin America but want to. They were voted #1 airline in the country recently.

 

[STL]

We typically fly Southwest because of the deals we can get. We just booked our flights for our September trip and we got them for $99 each way. I had checked SW the week before and it was $203 each way. So we went from over $800 to $404 total by holding out.

The last time we flew Delta and all was OK until our way home. We like to catch the last flight out to STL on our trips because we have Universal AP's and spend as much of our day there as we can. So we get home at 11:30 pm and they had lost our luggage. It was a hassle having to wait around and fill out all the paperwork and whatnot. We ended up getting home at 1 am.

 

[Dani1234]

i'm flying with virgin from the uk to orlando on Saturday. does anyone has any info or tips on what to expect? i'ts going to be my first longhaul flight and my dads first flight alltogether.

 

[nyramblingman]

Jet Blue and Southwest are definitely top choices if you can snag them.

Delta is a tier down but I would give them a runners up vote.

I just recently flew Delta to Orlando back in March and had a smooth experience all around (partly luck I'm sure).

 

[Obi Ubamba]

In my experiences with flying domestic, Airtran and Jetblue have been my favorites. Clean planes, genuine service, and no delays.

Delta and United have been by far the worst. Unfriendly staff, multiple delays and crumbling planes.

 

[Cruiseshipfan]

I avoid at all costs, meaning if I have to go with them, I just wont go. US Airways, and now because of the merger (plus I am not fond of them) American Airlines. US Airways are the biggest babies of companies of all time. Years ago my dad complained to US Airways as they had changed their flight from landing at 3PM to one landing around midnight. Normally the change would be no issue but as he was with my Grandma who had, had cancer the last arrival was not possible, so when he talked to them about it they refused to change their flight even though there were plenty of flights available. It ended up going to a manager then the next level above that and then they said that they can get them there earlier, but it meant they would have a journey around the US. It was something like Las Vegas, NY, LA. That meant travel times of 17 hours due to the stop over on the exact opposite side of the country. After a few more talks with them, they finally budged and put them on an earlier flight. When they showed up to the airport and collected their ticket they found SSSS written on their tickets. SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection. It turned out that as they complained US airways put them on a personal Black list for people to go through higher end security, this is normally saved for people who have had their names supplied to them by the government or are selected completely at random, but those chosen are the decision of the airline. A few years past and then we flew US airways again. as soon as we got the tickets we had the SSSS again, This time it even went for me and yet I had nothing to do with the complaint before. This also happened on the second flight on that same trip. Since then we will never fly with them again, as they are treating us as if we are criminals and need to have a special security screening.

With American Airlines we were faced with rude staff. We flew Air Canada from Toronto to LA, everything was nice until you looked out the window and it looked as though the wing was being held together by masking tape. I know it would of been purpose made tape and wouldn't of been for holding the plane together (I hope anyway) but it was a little unnerving.

For those of you who want to fly to Australia, I wouldn't recommend QANTAS. Within the last decade their standards have collapsed, both in safety and comfort. Ever since the company started they had done their maintenance in Australia, but around 10 years ago they started sending the planes to Asia to get the work done for cheap. It may sound like a generalisation, but ever since that has happened they have had a poor safety record, lucky no one has been killed or anything major has happened, but all these failures in their planes has been linked to poor servicing. However they are still safe just not as safe as their reputation makes them sound. If you want to fly out to Australia and you want direct flights, fly with Virgin Australia (formally called V Australia, until they merged with Virgins domestic airline Virgin Blue). Don't be put off by the poor standards I have been hearing about Virgin America, as Virgin Australia is basically a different company altogether, only owned by the one company. They rival QANTAS levels of quality from the past and are much cheaper. And the best part was they have food that actually tastes really nice. They also have the added benefit that all their planes are new.

- - - Updated - - -

I avoid at all costs, meaning if I have to go with them, I just wont go. US Airways, and now because of the merger (plus I am not fond of them) American Airlines. US Airways are the biggest babies of companies of all time. Years ago my dad complained to US Airways as they had changed their flight from landing at 3PM to one landing around midnight. Normally the change would be no issue but as he was with my Grandma who had, had cancer the last arrival was not possible, so when he talked to them about it they refused to change their flight even though there were plenty of flights available. It ended up going to a manager then the next level above that and then they said that they can get them there earlier, but it meant they would have a journey around the US. It was something like Las Vegas, NY, LA. That meant travel times of 17 hours due to the stop over on the exact opposite side of the country. After a few more talks with them, they finally budged and put them on an earlier flight. When they showed up to the airport and collected their ticket they found SSSS written on their tickets. SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection. It turned out that as they complained US airways put them on a personal Black list for people to go through higher end security, this is normally saved for people who have had their names supplied to them by the government or are selected completely at random, but those chosen are the decision of the airline. A few years past and then we flew US airways again. as soon as we got the tickets we had the SSSS again, This time it even went for me and yet I had nothing to do with the complaint before. This also happened on the second flight on that same trip. Since then we will never fly with them again, as they are treating us as if we are criminals and need to have a special security screening.

With American Airlines we were faced with rude staff. We flew Air Canada from Toronto to LA, everything was nice until you looked out the window and it looked as though the wing was being held together by masking tape. I know it would of been purpose made tape and wouldn't of been for holding the plane together (I hope anyway) but it was a little unnerving.

For those of you who want to fly to Australia, I wouldn't recommend QANTAS. Within the last decade their standards have collapsed, both in safety and comfort. Ever since the company started they had done their maintenance in Australia, but around 10 years ago they started sending the planes to Asia to get the work done for cheap. It may sound like a generalisation, but ever since that has happened they have had a poor safety record, lucky no one has been killed or anything major has happened, but all these failures in their planes has been linked to poor servicing. However they are still safe just not as safe as their reputation makes them sound. If you want to fly out to Australia and you want direct flights, fly with Virgin Australia (formally called V Australia, until they merged with Virgins domestic airline Virgin Blue). Don't be put off by the poor standards I have been hearing about Virgin America, as Virgin Australia is basically a different company altogether, only owned by the one company. They rival QANTAS levels of quality from the past and are much cheaper. And the best part was they have food that actually tastes really nice. They also have the added benefit that all their planes are new.

 

[IzzyB]

Southwest is our favorite airline. We really try to stick with them if we can. Everywhere we have gone (Pittsburgh, Philly, Baltimore, Vegas, etc) since we moved to Orlando have all had Southwest. Only flew US Air once before Pittsburgh got SW. We hated it and complained the whole time. We are so used to picking our seats, having great service, and even entertained by the funny workers. So any other airline to us is a step down.

Don't fly AirTran right now. Our family had to use them for our son's memorial service and they waited forever (over an hour and that was for the whole plane, not just because their stuff got lost or something like that) for their luggage and then on the way back it got damaged and soaked because it was sitting outside in the rain. From what we can tell they know some of them may be losing their jobs as the merger occurs, so they plain just do not care.

 

[gator]

Any opinions on Lufthansa? I'm flying with them this fall to Germany.

 

[Capacity]

Someone said Southwest was like a cattle call... I don't know if you've flown them lately but their boarding procedures have changed in the last couple of years. You board the plane based on the order you checked in. And if you purchase the business rate you can be the first to board. Its still open seating once you get on which is just smarter for the business because it is quicker. Southwest turns their planes around much quicker than most other airlines. And in my experience they have the friendliest service of any air carrier. I only fly with them.

 

[Hatetofly]

Just returned from Seattle and flew Southwest. Again they didn't disappoint. I love the boarding process, it's so much faster. While waiting for my flight at SeaTac I watched a Southwest 737-800 (175 passengers) heading to Chicago and a Delta 757-200 (max capacity 199) heading for LAX. They were both sold out and the SW flight began boarding within just minutes of Delta starting its boarding process. The SW flight was gone before Delta even finished getting people on board. I also love there customer service, it's far beyond any other domestic airline IMO.