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If your flying in the United States on an United States airline safety should not be questioned.
I prefer airlines that have good in flight entertainment and allow you to pick your seat for free.
However, living in an American Airlines hub city I have stayed fairly loyal to them. It is worth it in the end with frequent flyer miles, upgrades etc..
What does it matter, to you, how good the service or safety or amenities of an airline is?
For me, I get dropped off at the terminal in one place and get picked up at a terminal some hours later at another, and what do I care what the service is like for those few hours?
I would be unwilling to spend more money just for a slightly better bag of nuts or a bathroom with a better scented deodirizer. And I certainly wouldn't pay more to reduce my odds of dying in a crash from a billion to one, down to 1.1-billion to one.
I assumed he was talking about is it worth additional cost, as opposed to sorting the list by airfare and being done with it. That is generally how I do it, with a nod to timing.
For some reason going to Asia from here EVA Air thru Taiwan is usually best price, but its kinda weird since they are a big freight carrier sometimes you end up on one of those 747s where the passenger section is smaller, like it only goes partway back then there is a wall instead of it running the entire length of the plane. Not sure where I'm going with this.
I care about a minimum level of comfort. Being disabled makes travelling a lot more unpleasant these days and leg room and comfort of seat is quite important. For example I shall never fly Lufthansa ever again. I would rather chew my own foot off first. From London to Boston via Frankfurt once and I could virtually not walk for three days afterwards so bad the legroom was. I was virtually in tears for the whole trip it was so painful. My knees were almost up to my chin... I have long legs and now that I am not longer healthy really need a bare minimum to stretch to minimise pain and swelling.
As far as food and cabin crew service I am not too fussed but once again Lufthansa was like a Soviet Era nightmare of rudeness and the food might as well have been dogfood which did not improve my experience.... I remember Aeroflot many times in the 70s and 80s as a kid and then teenager and their flgihts were total nightmares. Rude, ineficient staff, uncomfortable aircrafts, unreliable, sometimes you even ended up in the wrong country being redirected for no reasons whatsoever then had to spend interminable hours in a closed airport until they condescended to take you to your destination. Just bloody awful.
I have flown in cargo planes before and quite frankly found it more comfortable than many airlines simply because you had plenty of space to stretch your legs. I sometimes think I would rather be with the Dogs in the hold than some of the seats some airlines have the goal to sell.
I have never been able to sleep on a plane , even in first class so as nice as a reclining bed would be it is not an essential. I must admit I am quite partial to personal tv screens which has made long haul much more pleasant. The time passes a lot quicker when you can watch even rubbish if like me you cannot sleep or read on a flight...
I think Virgin is my favourite in terms of Economy seats. And the service is always pleasant and the food edible. Easyjet is also pretty good for a budget airlines and I find their staff always helpful, charming and efficient.
I would rather walk on my knees than pay RyanAir any money though. I refuse to give my money to a man who thinks disabled people are scum and who would sell his grand-mother for peanuts. I have heard so many horror stories about RyanAir that nothing could convince me to use them. On a trip to Lake Konztanz a couple of years back the easiest and quickest would have been for us to use RyanAir but rather than do that I chose to fly to Basel and take a train to our destination...
So I suppose yes service and does matter. Not bothered about luxury but I need a certain level of comfort. life is too short.
What I bolded is weird to me as my friends in Europe had the same complaint against Lufthansa, but everytime I have flown from the USA to Munich, I had fantastic service. The leg room is always bad, I think, no matter what airline if you are flying economy, but I was treated really well!
BUT to answer the OP's question, I want comfort if I am flying across country or internationally. AND to be honest, I am embarrassed in regards to how American airlines are "nickel and diming" us to death for everything. I mean even from Austria to Belgrade, I was offered lunch and a pillow if I needed it!
I do care, but I am willing to pay for it. It seems like every flight I am on now since 9/11 is 95% to 100% full. I remember when many flights had more room simply because they weren't fully booked.
If I really want the service I'll spring for first class mainly because I don't fly very often anyway, so when I do I can afford it. If I could stretch out more in the economy class like I used to in the old days with out someone in the middle seat, I probably would.
I just look for the best rate. I could care less about how good they are. However, I try to avoid Southwest because their flights are awkward.. last time I flew with them to Vegas, they are passing a roll of toilet paper down the whole plane.. and the lady was on the PA trying to be a comedian.. I just want to sit there and relax, it's a flight, not a circus!
You mean those who WANT a certain level of service. The level of service that you NEED is for the plane to land at the correct airport without injuring anybody. Which is, I believe, what you are getting on the plane for in the first place.
No, to people who air travel is getting from Point A to Point B it may be a want. But for those of us where the travel is a integrated part of our lives and work, its a need to have a certain level of service. When the companye xpects for me to finsih work, get on a scheduled commerical airline and travel 12 hours to another location and hit the ground running, it is an absolute need that the level of service I receive on that flight is appropriate for what i need from that flight.
To me that flight is not just getting from Point A to Point B, it also serves as my hotel room and resturant. being squished in some coach class seat for 12 hours isnl;t exactly restful. having to eat some packaged ham sandwich isn;t going to cut it. So to us, the quality and level of service plays a big part of the booking. I need to have a seat that converts to a bed. I need to have well balanced and taseful food. i need to have a lav that is as big as most people's home bathrooms. I need to have access to whatever internet or entertainment is available. AND I need to have FA's that treat me like a valued traveler and not just seat 45C.
You asked if we care, and for me the answer is YES I care. If you don;t care, so be it, but don;t ask if you don;t want to hear the answers!
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