Poll - Favorite major U.S. airline (cost, vacation, airports)
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I've flown all 7 except for Continental and Southwest, which is ironic for the latter since my usual airport (BWI) is a major hub for them. I would cast my vote for Southwest though, since I've heard too many good things about them, and too many bad things about the others. American I've flown on a lot and they haven't been too bad. US Airways, Northwest and United are also okay. I would not recommend Delta though, since the one time I flew with them they gave me all sorts of problems, but maybe it was just bad luck that day.
Trust me, I have flown both Delta and Southwest, and I much prefer Delta. I had one of my best flights ever last June on a flight between San Juan and Atlanta, where every seat had on-demand movies. There is no way you will get that level of service on any Southwest flight. Also, Southwest's open seating policy is a joke; it is virtually impossible to get a good seat.
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Southwest's open seating policy as it has been revised makes it quite easy to get a good seat. Check in early and you get your choice.
I prefer the open seating policy as it gets the plane up in the air much quicker. This makes it much more likely that you arrive at a destination on time.
If I want to see a movie, I go to a theatre. The last thing that I want to do is to watch a movie on a plane.
Personally, as a Cincinnati native, I avoid Delta like a plague. Why pay twice as much flying into CVG when I can get into CMH on time at half the price?
I actually hate Southwest's new seating, and old seating system. Why can't they just let people pick there seats before the flight like most major airlines do now a day. the new system is awful especially when you have a bunch of clueless tourists who start cutting you in line and the worst part is the flight attendants let them on and could care less about protocol.
I don't think Southwest is awful, but I don't get what people see as being so great about them. The thing I hate most is the open seating. Like half the time I've flown them they overbooked. Once at BWI (before the numbered system) they switched gates from and it was a mad race to get to the other gate. And I've never gotten an A ticket (I know you have to pay like 200 extra bucks to get A1-15, but the since the number system the closest I ever got was like b40 or something)
I'd rather just choose an aisle seat online when I book. So much easier. And their customer service isn't any better. Same free soda and bag of peanuts as everyone else, but you can't buy anything more even if you want to. And sure the flight attendants are friendly, but its not like the other airlines have Nazi flight attendants. They are not any more friendly than anyone else. So at the end of the day I would prefer to fly Delta or US Airways, for example.
So at the end of the day I would prefer to fly
Delta or US Airways, for example.
If you must fly mainstream instead of the low-fare carriers (Southwest, jetBlue, AirTran etc.). Do not fly Delta. Their hub (Atlanta) sucks, and so does virtually everything else about the airline (customer service, punctuality etc.). I flew US Airways through Charlotte and it was pretty nice, despite the fact that I missed my connecting flight due to weather delays. I'm also a regular AA flyer through Miami and they're pretty good too.
Southwest rocks!!! I typically fly about once a month and whenever possible I fly on Southwest.
The only thing that surprised me regarding the poll was that United wasn't ranked higher. I have never had a problem flying with them.
U S Airways makes driving ANYWHERE seem like a FANTASTIC alternative. It seems that unless one enjoys wasting time waiting on delayed flights and and then scrambling to last minute gate changes it might not be the best flying experience. I have never had a good experience with them.
Jet Blue is by far the best. Too bad they don't go overseas.
Jet Blue is very good, but I would never consider them "the best" just based on the fact that they don't fly to everywhere. And where they do fly to, often it is a secondary or tertiary airport and not the main airport, and that is sometimes a pain.
If they flew everywhere they'd probably be the best, because of the DirecTV on every seat. I wish they had a first class section and served food, though.
For the NYC/North Jersey area, Continental is the best. They have several flights daily to each destination in the US, most of them being direct flights. And they always give you something to eat, and they're not stingy with the drinks. And they fly out of Newark's terminal C which is a great terminal, very new with a lot of options to keep you busy while you wait.
Continental is easily the best airline, they have great customer service and they do their jobs well. In over 10 years of business and personal flying, 80% with Continental, they only "lost" my luggage three times, and each time got it to me within a day. The worst one, to me, is Delta. Delta was aways a big name airline but they have always had an arrogance. They don't know how to treat a customer well. At their best they were decent, at their worst they were rude.
The others I've flown were all OK, to me. Northwest(NWA), US Air, United, were all good of the big airlines I flew. I really, really liked Northwest, because as a partner airline for Continental (until years ago, before Delta replaced them ) they'd usually upgrade me for being elite on Continental. Even when they didn't, their flights were rarely full anyway and their seats were very comfortable. Their attendants and workers were all friendly and cared about the customer. But I always heard their regular flyers complain about them, and call them "Northworst". Also, I had many flights with them canceled, always for "mechanical problems" (which I am pretty sure means there weren't enough passengers to make the flight worth flying so they canceled the flight and put us on other flights, to save money). One time I was supposed to connect in Memphis to fly to Birmingham for a very important business meeting, and they canceled my flight in Memphis and had no flights till the next morning, so I had to rent a car and drive the whole way.
Someone mentioned some of the budget airlines that are gone which he considered the "best" airlines. They were good, most of them. I miss ATA which always connected at their Midway (chicago) hub. I also loved National, which was a Las Vegas hubbed airline, and they were really great to fly with. I took my parents on a round trip to Vegas with National, and we all loved it, but they soon after went out of business. There is still Air Tran, but I don't think they're anything special. I flew them a few times and I hate dealing with that Hartsfield Atlanta airport.
Oh, I love Alaska Airlines, of the "budget" airlines. Great staff and great service and great rates. I've used them often (sometimes in conjunction w/ Continental) for my many flights to Seattle or connecting in Seattle to go to Western Canada (Kelowna, Edmonton, etc.).
Somehow, I never flew on American, but I hear they're OK. Oh, and I flew Air Canada, and they were not very good at all.
I love Jet Blue It was my first plane that I have been on I was going to San Juan Puerto Rico.
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