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I never understood why the US doesn't have a couple of airlines in the top ten best airlines ranking. I mean the US is a superpower, pioneer in aviation and yet we have AA, Delta, United etc etc all crap airlines by developed countries standards. KLM, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, SAS etc etc are all better airlines than what we have in the US. Why is that?
Last edited by PJSaturn; 03-09-2017 at 12:26 PM..
Reason: Edited thread title for clarification.
I am a US citizen, but I avoid flying on US carriers whenever possible. The US is very profit oriented rather than customer or service oriented across the spectrum (health care, education, etc). US carriers cut corners and service whenever possible to provide low cost fares to the public. Lower cost airlines that provide service (such as Independence Air of blessed memory) are driven out of business by the major airlines. Keep in mind that it was not always this way; at one time Delta was superb, as were some of the others. It (the decline in service for cost's sake) all started with People's Express, and the other US carriers followed suit.
As long as the flying public puts up with it, the carriers will continue the figurative flogging of passengers. When the public votes with their feet, then US carriers will adapt accordingly.
Of course, we are not talking about first/business class travel. I am sure that they are treated well enough.
I am not sure what they base airline rankings on. I usually fly with foreign carriers, but have flown often enough with US ones. I do not find a significant difference between the two.
The lack of the entertainment system irritates me, but I have not ran across a trans-Atlantic flight without one for a long time.
But I never fly state to state, just back and forth to Europe from the US, and pick up a connection there.
Harsh price competition that can only be won by a race to the bottom in terms of service and quality.
Pretty much this.
Most foreign carriers have a percentage of their routes with little or no competition. All those ME carriers get cheap fuel along with huge (largely free) capital funding for airports and new planes.
If it wasn't for all the US airlines you would pay more for all airline travel wherever you go.
I still think Delta is the best among the big 3 though. At least with some status and when flying intercontinental.
However U.S. airlines are like 10-20 years ahead in terms of service, compared to European airlines. A couple of years ago there were still many full service airlines in Europe, and nowadays more and more are replaced by no-service airlines such as Eurowings (lufthansa), vueling (iberia), Transavia (Airfrance), etc. with service standards going down and down. In 10 years European airlines will be same as American.
I am a US citizen, but I avoid flying on US carriers whenever possible. The US is very profit oriented rather than customer or service oriented across the spectrum (health care, education, etc). US carriers cut corners and service whenever possible to provide low cost fares to the public. Lower cost airlines that provide service (such as Independence Air of blessed memory) are driven out of business by the major airlines. Keep in mind that it was not always this way; at one time Delta was superb, as were some of the others. It (the decline in service for cost's sake) all started with People's Express, and the other US carriers followed suit.
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Simple. People are willing to pay for ****ty. Why is Motel 6 in business when people can stay at the Ritz-Carlton? Why is McDonald's in business when people can eat at Ruth's Steak House?
I normally fly business and still you can tell the difference. About 20 years ago the stewardess were police and helpful now it seems like we own them something. Most aircrafts are falling apart, they are very dirty inside, full of crackling noise, electronics don't work well( i had several problems with audio output). Seems like the crew are always stressed out and about to quit their job. Of course i am exaggerating a bit, but boy has the service changed over the years. I love AA, my first foreign trip was with them, and until today try to fly as much AA as i can but damn it's getting hard.
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