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What airline do you fly with and how do you like them?

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I mainly fly within the UK so EasyJet and when I took a trip to Northern Ireland Flybe.

Overall happy enough with both, they are low cost airlines and service is fairly basic, but EasyJet do have a tendency to often request cabin luggage be transferred into the hold due to shortage of cabin space, this is a royal pain in the ass when it does happen as you have to remove devices with batteries plus anything you might want for the duration of your flight like books/magazines etc, my last flight was spent juggling my DSLR (don't trust the baggage handlers to not break it by throwing the bags around) my 3DS and a cup of coffee which was likely something out of a slapstick comedy skit at times.

That said they are reliable and I've never once been in the position where a flight has been cancelled so far, but I have been delayed a few hours at times when for technical reasons they ground a plane and there is a wait while they arrange a replacement.

You don't really get options to upgrade your seating at all, so you are always in the same tight fitting seats which can be awkward if you end in the middle of a row sandwiched between two strangers.

Off to Spain next week and the flight for that is arranged by the travel agent (Thomas Cook in this case) no idea what their flights are like so be interested to see how this plays out, probably won't get in flight movies I guess because the flight is quite short (around 2 hours or so), I'll most likely tank up on coffee and play something on my 3DS to pass the time (I don't like sleeping on planes) - no in flight food apparently which will be fun since this is an early morning flight and I do get cranky when I am very hungry.
 
Mostly Southwest and American. I have accounts with both but I don't fly enough to really rack up a lot of points or get upgrade status. Although on Southwest I have been able to get a few free flights over the years. So that's nice.

Flight service is what you'd expect from a domestic carrier in economy... meaning not remarkable. I've had better experiences with Southwest simply because they don't seem as stuck up and I've got my fair share of free liquor drinks from them.
 

Meadows

Banned
Whatever is cheapest on SkyScanner.

EasyJet are quite good normally. Value is on point and it isn't as masochistic as RyanAir.

For trips to Asia I like Cathay Pacific but when I went with China Airlines it was alright too.
 
I mainly fly within the UK so EasyJet and when I took a trip to Northern Ireland Flybe.

Overall happy enough with both, they are low cost airlines and service is fairly basic, but EasyJet do have a tendency to often request cabin luggage be transferred into the hold due to shortage of cabin space, this is a royal pain in the ass when it does happen as you have to remove devices with batteries plus anything you might want for the duration of your flight like books/magazines etc, my last flight was spent juggling my DSLR (don't trust the baggage handlers to not break it by throwing the bags around) my 3DS and a cup of coffee which was likely something out of a slapstick comedy skit at times.

That said they are reliable and I've never once been in the position where a flight has been cancelled so far, but I have been delayed a few hours at times when for technical reasons they ground a plane and there is a wait while they arrange a replacement.

You don't really get options to upgrade your seating at all, so you are always in the same tight fitting seats which can be awkward if you end in the middle of a row sandwiched between two strangers.

Off to Spain next week and the flight for that is arranged by the travel agent (Thomas Cook in this case) no idea what their flights are like so be interested to see how this plays out, probably won't get in flight movies I guess because the flight is quite short (around 2 hours or so), I'll most likely tank up on coffee and play something on my 3DS to pass the time (I don't like sleeping on planes) - no in flight food apparently which will be fun since this is an early morning flight and I do get cranky when I am very hungry.
I just flew from Belfast with Flybe and something dawned on me. Their planes are incredibly light and you can feel that compared to the bulk of a larger craft. Definitely a less smooth journey all things concerned. Now to get a damn train from Southampton airport :(
 
I just flew from Belfast with Flybe and something dawned on me. Their planes are incredibly light and you can feel that compared to the bulk of a larger craft. Definitely a less smooth journey all things concerned. Now to get a damn train from Southampton airport :(

When I flew to Belfast from Inverness it was hilarious the plane was all but empty, no joke, besides me there were about 10 people in the plane.

Also the plane itself was tiny compared the airbus planes used by most airlines.
 

vern

Member
Tabris, your year in Japan and Thailand and Australia is over?! That was quick! Seems like it just started a few months ago. What's the story?


I tend to fly untied and star alliance partners because of my united credit card with decent rewards and no fees on international purchases. My return flights to USA once or twice each year are usually free from China/Hong Kong.

I try to avoid actually flying United whenever possible cuz they are a shit tier airline with rude flight attendants and garbage food on board, but usually when I'm domestic I'll fly them to rack up the miles. Their in flight entertainment is decent sometimes, though other times even with our own personal in headset on demand system you can't choose your own start and stop time on the movies, you need to wait for it to restart every 2" minutes or whatever. Not sure what that's about. I need to just cash out all my miles and start with another carrier but... Someday.

I used to be with qantas when I was flying around Australia a lot but those days are past and i believe from reading their email newsletter that their frequent flier program isn't quite as good as it once was. I got upgraded with them a few times including long haul to USA, so that was nice. Never been bumped up with United, in fact on an empty flight from Shanghai to LA they wouldn't move me up to even business without paying some stupid amount or taking i beleive 25,000 more of my miles. There were literally like 20 people on board that flight it was really weird. Had 5 seats in the middle to myself though, everyone did.

My actual preferred airlines in Asia since I'm mainly here are Singapore Airlines and Hainan Airlines. Besides every American domestic carrier, Jet Airways India and Spring Airlines are pretty shit and should be avoided whenever possible.
 

ant_

not characteristic of ants at all
Serious question -

Is there a benefit to flying one airline? I generally just try to find the cheapest flight using some app/website that looks @ all available options.
 
Serious question -

Is there a benefit to flying one airline? I generally just try to find the cheapest flight using some app/website that looks @ all available options.

Main benefit would be point accumulation. But at the same time, if you fly rarely, I doubt the amount of points you earn sticking with one airline would beat the money savings you might see by using Skyscanner or flights.google.com or something.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Delta

They blow ass, but their hub is in ATL which means they are the major carrier here that flies fucking everywhere. So you have the most options, direct flights/destinations, and chances to get a seat.

Fuck their planes are old doe.
 
Serious question -

Is there a benefit to flying one airline? I generally just try to find the cheapest flight using some app/website that looks @ all available options.

depends on the airline and what their mileage program is. Southwest's program as far as comfort is meh, A-list gets you free wifi and your choice of which seat someone will be sitting next to you in, but that's it.

Oneworld alliance is probably the best program, as you can transfer points from certain cards (sometimes at 1:1 ratio) to any airline within that alliance which covers a bunch of them.
 

Ultryx

Member
I only have had experience with Southwest and Delta.

Southwest - the longest flight I've had with them was like 2 hours. It was fine. I enjoy the free in-flight entertainment. No complaints about them.

Delta - flew them when I went to Japan. Had an excellent experience. It was my first time out of the country too. Would highly recommend!
 

Archer

Member
Air Canada, because they hire old ugly flight attendants who have a bad attitude.

Singapore, Cathay and Emirates because they hire young attractive flight attendants who have a very happy, can-do attitude.
 

Cizard

Member
Oh, and if you don't have a "preferred airline", you should pick one as you're wasting sky miles by not picking a single airline.

Unless you fly A LOT I think you save a lot more by shopping around. Miles aren't THAT valuable.

Anyway, I always go KLM if the alternatives aren't a lot cheaper so I'll answer for them.

1) How do you like the loyalty program?

It's alright I guess? No real complaints.

2) How are the flight service experiences?

Same as other airlines in its pricerange. Pretty good.

3) How often do you get upgraded if you've attained status?

Only have bronze so dunno! :p
 
Canadian here and we almost always fly WestJet across Canada. We went to Thailand on EVA and it was really good and we chose premium economy which gives you a bit more room. We flew around Thailand on both Nok Air and Air Asia. Nok Air was far superior, like the West Jet of Thailand.

Over to Europe we often fly Air Transat which also has a club class which is a tiny bit more for cost but well worth it.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Air Canada, because they hire old ugly flight attendants who have a bad attitude.

.

INCORRECT! They hire pretty, friendly attendants, who have a union and get older and grumpier and are properly protected so as they become angry barrel shaped miseries, they (rightfully I guess) get to stick around. Gay dudes on the other hand seem to get friendlier and happier as they age up. I'd rather have a gay dude than a human PT Cruiser any day of the week. YMMV
 
American. Dunno why I fly them. You have to basically hound them to get your miles on your account, miles aren't very high either.

I think I use them because they're usually available for last minute flights.

Otherwise they're awful with no redeeming qualities.
 

Tabris

Member
Tabris, your year in Japan and Thailand and Australia is over?! That was quick! Seems like it just started a few months ago. What's the story?

7 months. 7 countries - Thailand, Singapore, China (Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen), UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi), Japan, South Korea, and North Korea.

Moving to SF in 2 weeks for a year.

Going to Ibiza soon for our next trip.
 

dluu13

Member
INCORRECT! They hire pretty, friendly attendants, who have a union and get older and grumpier and are properly protected so as they become angry barrel shaped miseries, they (rightfully I guess) get to stick around. Gay dudes on the other hand seem to get friendlier and happier as they age up. I'd rather have a gay dude than a human PT Cruiser any day of the week. YMMV

I had all dudes on one of my Qantas flights. They were all good.
 

Koren

Member
This is a fair way of thinking, but I personally can't stand it as it's caused the race to the bottom in the US with all carriers leading to really bad service.
That's a good question, but I'm not sure that service level is the main reason for higher/lower prices for big companies over international flights. Filling the plane is probably a big factor.

Also, I love how you find 30% differences in prices between two compagnies... for the same flight in the same plane.


Also, I'm not sure what is "bad service"... As long as it's safe, I usually don't care much about what's available as long as it's decent.

I really like Cathay Pacific. British Airlines would be nice if you hadn't to go through Heathrow, which is awful. Air France, Air Canada, Japan Airlines, Quantas are fine for me. I found Lufthansa/ANA planes in quite a bad shape (relatively speaking... mostly broken appliances inside, but also my only emergency landing just after taking off, spraying kerosen over south of Deuthchland, even if that can happen to any company, I guess... I still fell safe)
 

brerwolfe

Member
Delta

They blow ass, but their hub is in ATL which means they are the major carrier here that flies fucking everywhere. So you have the most options, direct flights/destinations, and chances to get a seat.

Fuck their planes are old doe.
When was the last time you've flown, because I'm pretty sure they have the largest amount of new planes out of all the domestic airlines. I haven't been on a plane that didn't have a monitor in the headrest or an ac outlet in the seat in months.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Delta mostly as I live in their main hub. They're alright, and I have fewer negatives with them than when I have to fly someone else. I don't fly often/far enough to have much say on loyalty programs though.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
British Airways. Best airline in the world, in my opinion. Amazing service, even in Economy. Lots of destinations and a huge partner network around the world.

I fly Club World and am a Gold member. Also their First lounges are phenomenal.
 

Rukes

The front page still gets no respect
American Airlines

1) Love the loyalty program, although the 2017 changes are a bit sucky.

2) Experience is usually good. Worst I usually get are seats that weren't cleaned. Never really had many delays, or bad flight attendants.

3) As Executive Platinum, about 90% on domestic with 500 mile upgrades and 99% international if I use my Systemwide Upgrade

Also gold in Star Alliance with Aegean (switching to Asiana since its easier) and first tier with SkyTeam with Vietnam Airlines.

I prefer OneWorld by far. To Asia I get JAL, Cathay Pacific and American. To Australia, Qantas or American. To Europe, British Airways (which I get maybe 70% upgrade rate too) and American.
 
Alaska and JetBlue are my favorite domestic. Great service and perks. My brother is the highest tier on Alaska and he has been upgraded to first class a few times though for only short haul flights.

For international, I love Etihad and Qatar. Eager to fly Singapore later this year, always heard great things about them.
 

SpecX

Member
Been traveling again for work and using United. The job has an agreement with them to bump all employees up to their silver status which grants priority boarding and enables seat upgrades. Only had 1 flight delayed, bit overall they're decent. Southwest is good too, though I only use them for cheap short flights.
 

cvxfreak

Member
My main airline is Delta Airlines (and by default, Skyteam partners like Air France and Korean Air). I'm a Diamond Medallion Delta.

I also dabbled with American Airlines this year, status-challenging to Platinum, but it's so inferior to Delta operationally that it's hard to commit to them any further, especially since the AAdvantage mileage program, the one feature they excelled at, was devalued recently.

1) How do you like the loyalty program?

Not too great in terms of redemption rates or availability. You also can't redeem for International First Class via Skymiles. However, Pay With Miles is pretty nice as the tickets help you earn elite status for the next year.

2) How are the flight service experiences?

Quite good for a US-based airline. The newer lounges are quite nice and spacious, and they have a reliable operation for getting out on time. DL has yet to force an overnight on me in the five years I've flown them, whereas it's happened twice in 2016 alone on AA for non-weather-related reasons.

3) How often do you get upgraded if you've attained status?

Above 80% as a Diamond Medallion on eligible domestic routes. I even get international op-ups from time to time.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
I flew Emirates first class on the big A380 a couple times luckily :O

Nice. My dad sent me some images of the in-flight facilities while in business class on Emirates' newest plane.

Fuck me. He had his own personal relaxation pod with fully horizontal reclining bed/seat, personal minifridge, tablet and home theater. Also got to take a refreshing shower at 30.000 feet. Sounds pretty good.
 
I flew with American Airlines when I started traveling for work. They usually send me out 2-3 times a year, so not too much.

They have stranded me at an airport twice due to problems on their end. One in Charlotte, another in Dallas, and the conditions there had me yearning for death by the end of it.

Maybe I'll try Delta next time, but I haven't really heard amazing things from any domestic airline. I'm kind of convinced your experience is based on luck.
 
Alaska and Korean Air.

Great planes, service, and amenities.


Worst experience for me has been American Airlines.. I mean... How do you have a plug in on every seat flying from Huntsville to Chicago... But a barely functioning monitor and fuck all else on flights to and from Seoul? No leg room to speak of... Not to mention the lack of food options...
 
I've pretty much only ever flown with Southwest since they have great flexible flight deals, and they are pretty much the only domestic airline that I've never had an issue with. Their rewards program pretty much paid for my flight to San Diego last year.
 

RBH

Member
I flew with American Airlines when I started traveling for work. They usually send me out 2-3 times a year, so not too much.

They have stranded me at an airport twice due to problems on their end. One in Charlotte, another in Dallas, and the conditions there had me yearning for death by the end of it.

Maybe I'll try Delta next time, but I haven't really heard amazing things from any domestic airline. I'm kind of convinced your experience is based on luck.

American Airlines has given me issues more often than not when it comes to delays and such. The one bright spot of AA is that they have a ton of flights available, which is good for someone like me who books a lot of flights last minute.

But as far as domestic airlines go, Delta and Southwest are still king to me. Rarely have had issues with either one.
 
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