Does anyone actually care what airline they fly?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I fly American when I can because they have extra legroom on their planes. When you’re 6’2", this is really important. If I must fly another airline, I’ll try to get an exit row seat for the same reason. I’d say being comfortable is worth paying an extra $20 or $30 bucks for.

Alaska Airlines also has lots of legroom, and you can get dirt-cheap non-stop flights from Reagan National Airport (DCA) to LAX if you buy early enough. Plus, they actually served me a legitimate MEAL on my flight. It was hot and had utensils and didn’t taste like crap! It also included a prayer card; I’m not a praying man, but I sure do appreciate the thought. :slight_smile:

In fact, just about any airline that offers a lot of flights out of DCA is preferable to me, because it’s on a subway line, while Dulles and BWI are a pain in the ass to get to.

I will not, ever again, under any circumstance, fly Independence Air. They lost my luggage both on the way to and from Boston, and on the flight to Boston, they had to ask a passenger to help pick up trash from other passengers, because they were low on crew members. During this, they kept reminding us that they were professionals and knew what they were doing. An incompetent airline is one thing, but an insecure one is 10 times worse.

22

I loathe Southwest and their “cattle-call” seating; I will only fly with them if their fare is monstrously cheaper than anyone else. I will pay the extra $100 and anticipate a 2-hour delay before booking with them. Since they dominate one of the Bay Area’s major airports (Oakland), that pretty much forces me to fly out of SFO, which is dominated by United; their fares are absurd and their on-time record is dismal, but at least I can reserve an aisle seat. I also have a lot of miles on United. I will fly business class on longer flights, but there’s no such thing on most hops down the coast.

23

This is the main reason why if I have a choice in the matter, I stick with American. I logged some serious miles on a round trip from Detroit to Buenos Aires, and it seems worth it to be loyal for the frequent flier miles.

That, and the extra leg room.

I usually get stuck flying Northwest, and it’s not that I hate them… I just don’t like them.

24

Amen. I had one Northwest flight, SFO to Reagan, of four legs.(RT) The first was late. The second was hours late because their deicers in Minneapolis were defective! (their freain’ hub.) The third leg was the best. It got cancelled, and I got to return home on American. Never again.

I avoid Delta. Delta Makes You Swear, that’s my motto.

United used to be good. Southwest is great for short hops, not the least because they’ve got one of the few rational fare structures in the industry. American is good because they give more seat room.

Many people are forced to use a certain airline because of company deals. We get a platinum frequent flier card the first couple of years, so I’m happy when we change. We changed from United to American, which was good also. So I do have preferences.

Voyager - who just five minutes ago booked a Southwest flight to Portland.

25

Well, I’m Australian, so I no speaka da words “short flight” (except maybe SYD - MEL), and I’m 6’4". Then again, I’m usually stony broke, so I have no choice but to put up with the discomfort of an economy class with crappy legroom.

In fact, I think the legroom thing is a bit overrated. If I sit upright (which I tend to prefer anyway), and the person in front is doing likewise, my knees will touch the seat in front, but only lightly. On the other hand, despite a slight beer belly, I am not overweight elsewhere, so my hips are average for my size, and I only just fit into an aeroplane seat - very snugly. I don’t know how people with wide bums go. The upshot of all this is that I probably don’t suffer any more on a long international flight than does a short person ('cept I have wide shoulders that say to flight attendants “please, please bash the living Christ out of me with your cart”). Most of it is just the stiffness and “numb bum” that results from sitting still for so long, and that a small person would also suffer equally. I just survive by learning the little tricks and personal preferences that most travellers do (ie. I go against popular advice, and choose a window seat for long flights because I can wedge my head in the window to sleep). So, room isn’t a factor, and I go for the cheapest airline.

All that said, and I do have my preferences. Qantas and British Airways, for example, are virtually the same company these days from the point of view of the traveller. BA service seems marginally better, but their planes and legroom (here I go contradicting myself) seem marginally worse. Both quite serviceable airlines though. I like Thai, but have only ever flown them short-haul. Cathay Pacific is very slick and professional, but their attendants can be surly.

Most airlines I like tend to go broke though. My favourite was the Australian domestic airline Ansett which, in the last few years of its life branched out into certain overseas routes. I flew them to HK, and it was the best economy class I’d been on. Bankrupt now. Oh well.

I have rambled on. I go on price. I’m an airline slut.

26

My primary concern is price: I scour the various price-finding sites (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc), then book on the airline’s own site*. If there’s a bunch of flights for very close prices, I’ll look at:

  1. Timing. A flight leaving Albuquerque at eleven AM is better than one leaving at five AM.
    2)Itinerary. If they’re sending me from ABQ to Phillly via LAX and Boston, forget it, even if it’s a couple hundred bucks cheaper (I once saw that actual itinerary. Made me laugh).
  2. Airline. I do like some more than others - I flew Frontier for the first time over Thanksgiving, and was hugely impressed with their service, the conditions of the aircraft, and they even gave real food, more than just a teeny pack of butter-flavored pretzels!

That said: I won’t fly Delta. Ever. I’ve flown them three times: once when I was little, with my family. They issued my dad two tickets and none in my name, then tried to charge us for both of his tickets plus an extra one for me. Second time I flew them to Orlando to visit my sister over the summer. I was supposed to get to Orlando at 6 PM. We left the ground in Philly at 8 PM. They didn’t even apologize, to say nothing of give any sort of explanation.

The final time just took the cake. Mom and I flew from BWI to Dayton, OH to visit family. 7 PM flight out of BWI. Delayed, delayed, delayed, left BWI at midnight. They were the only airline not taking off (they said it was due to weather), and they lied to us: they said that the plane we were waiting on was circling overhead, when it was, according to trip.com and a later story by the gate agent, still on the ground at JFK. We missed our connection in Cincinatti by about two hours. They refused to pay for a hotel, and said if we wanted our checked bags, we’d have to hang around the cincinatti airport for about an hour. Our flight home, then, was delayed by four hours, again, no explanation or apology given. :mad:

27

I’m by no means wealthy, but price isn’t at the top of my list when it comes to deciding what flight to take. I definitely have a preference for AA because of the mileage program, extra legroom, and my general good experiences flying with them for over 20 years. I’ve flown other airlines occasionally when circumstances dictated, but usually it was for reasons other than price.

Jammer

28

What’s the airline that includes those damn bible cards with every mean? Yeah, I won’t fly them again.

I think it’s Alaska Airlines, though it may be American.

29

As I’ve mentioned before, I fly almost every week for business. I’m elite level on two different airlines. I have so many miles and free flights from promotions that all my non-business travel is free, plus I usually get bumped to first.

Since I’m f’ing huge, the seating arrangement and amenities are critical to me. As long as their price is close, I can select who I want to fly – and I have clear preferences.

I will not fly Southwest. I know that lots of people like them, hell my wife loves them! Can’t do it – I don’t fit in their airplanes. Southwest has the worst ‘pitch’ in the airline business – they simply put the seats too close together.

I no longer fly Delta. They just suck at doing their job, and their hubs are in horrible places. I truly hope they go out of business soon – it’ll be good for the industry.

My favorite airline is Alaska. I also fly Northwest a lot. I’m elite status with those two, so I generally get bumped to first. Even if I’m not upgraded, I get to check-in on-line and select a good seat.

I like American – good, simple service, adequate seating for all. United is OK – but you have to fly them a lot before they are really worth it. I only put in about 25,000 miles last year with them – not enough to get a decent seat. I also don’t like their mercenary attitude toward good seats: They sell ‘upgrades’ to exit rows. Just seems wrong to me.

Continental is always exceptional. If I lived near a Continental hub, I’d be a regular customer.

So to answer the OP – yes, I really care what airline I fly. I do have a choice, and I exercise it nearly every week. The airlines mileage plan is a huge consideration for me.

BTW, if you’re looking to pick the best seats for a flight, www.seatguru.com lists most airlines and planes. Excellent resource.

30

I am not that picky so I will fly just about any airline given the right price and schedule. There is one exception though. That is Alitalia. Knowing that it is the Italian state-run airline should tell you all the information you need to know. However, people have booked me on Alitalia three different times and I didn’t know it. Each trip was worse than the previous one. The last time was three months ago. I still have a huge rash on my back that I got after I had to drink out of their lavatory sink because they wouldn’t give me any water and I had literally been unable to get to any sort of water for the 14 hours prior because of massive incompetence on their part on the ground and in the air. Their typical clientele, ground agents, air crews, and 70’s style interior plane trim come together like a perfect storm to crush your soul and make you hate your life.

31

Conversely, I prefer BA and have had much better experiences with them than with AA, Virgin (who have less legroom) or the various no-frills I’ve travelled with. And given that most of my flights are transatlantic, you can damn well be sure that legroom is an issue.

So previous experience and price are the main determining factors for me.

32

You know that you can now check in online for Southwest? In that case you almost always get an “A” boarding pass at home without waiting in any lines at all, and you can just about always get an aisle seat, if that’s what you want, even if you’re the last person in the “A” group to board.

Ed

33

I’d certainly not even bother looking at BA fares for shorthaul, because they simply are never competitive. Long-haul, however, I’d very much opt for BA as one of my few preferences.

34

Most of my flights these ays are Houston to the US northeast on my own dime or Houston-Europe on the company.

For personal flying cost is consideration #1, convenience or directness #2. If a more direct flight or better-timed flight is more expensive but within $50 of the lowest cost, I’ll take that one. Although there is no airline I absolutely refuse to take, I avoid Air Tran whenever possible due to the fact that in twelve flights over the course of a year, I ended up stranded overnight in Houston or Atlanta no less than three times, and because their ground staff, in my experience, can be unbelievably rude. Also, although I flew US Scareways as recently as Christmas, I don’t plan to again as the airline appears to be near collapse.

On business, those of us in my company who are offshore-qualified fly mostly on marine fares, so cost is not that much of an issue. The most direct flight does the job.

35

Bible cards? Really??

36

Yep. Gripes here, here, and even here.

I usually just tear it up into little pieces and sprinkle it on the floor. Sometimes to the horror of my seatmates – and yes, I know that probably makes me an a**hole.

Their mileage plan and good service keep me coming back.

37

Were I to ever take my dream vacation to Australia, I wouldn’t consider any other airline but Quantas.

And, having read the other posts, I suppose if I ever make it to Alaska I’ll be flying Alaska Airlines.

38

You know, as my previous post implied, I never minded the prayer card much. But now that I see their defense of it involves the same dubious arguments used by Fundies to defend public display of the Ten Commandments, I’m not so sure. Of course, no matter their defense, it is their right.

39

I don’t have too many positive criteria, but I’ll tell you one thing: as soon as I have enough money to make it workable I am going to stop flying Southwest. More often than not, the whole friendliness/funniness thing drives me straight up a wall rather than making me feel more comfortable.

40

Getting to BWI is pretty painless these days. Take the Green Line to the end, and hop on the B30 bus - it’s an express to BWI. You’re right about Dulles, though. I live near Dulles, so I love it (I can always find a neighbor to give me a lift), but the lack of decent public transportation out there is an embarrassment. Metrorail should get there by, oh, 2020 or so.