What is your favorite or least favorite Airline?

[dreamer20]

Virgin Atlantic is my favorite.

In comparison American Airlines cramped seating and its frequent delays, e.g. 7 hrs. plus on my last flight to NYC, gets my worst vote.

 

[Yonkers]

For domestic flights in Australia:

Best: Virgin Blue
Worst: Jetstar

For International Flights:

Best: Singapore Airlines
Worst: Qantas & Air NewZealand

For Domestic flights in the US:

Best: Frontier
Worst: American Airlines - Ended up with a touch of food poisoning many years ago with them.

Yonkers.

 

[jpza]

South African is good - best business lounge going
BA nice first class with personal food choices - but don't go near Heathrow if you can help it (need another thread on best/worst airports: yes to denver... some in Chile have no buildings just a belt under the palm trees in the Atacama)
The Scottish one whatsisname - cuties in kilts serving you
THY - great staff but cramped, lots of Turkish Delight
KLM most comfortable
Singapore - sexiest hostesses
Virgin too cramped
Kulula most fun - great jokes
China (ROC) - no English but lots of fun eating with chopsticks on a shaky flights
UTA great daytime flying
Sabena tricksters charging you for drinks as you get off
LAN Chile funniest hostesses all bad copies of Liz Taylor
Ethiopian -don't eat the food
Ryan - cheap sure, but those weight n size limits! (and I'm talking luggage not dicks)
Others - also-rans

 

[Dorian_Gray]

British Airways and Lufthansa.

 

[DaveyR]

Best = Air Pacific (Fiji) great all round and only £300 extra for first class on a 12 hour flight.

BA come a close second. Excellent when we did a round the world trip with them.

Worst = Air2000 Never felt so cramped and uncomfortable.

All the others I've used are pretty similar to each other.

 

[DC_DEEP]

Least favorite is Southwest. They gave a paper bag with a stale sandwich and a dead apple for food. The connections in Phoenix were a mess and we ended up sleeping in terminal.

Wow, how long ago was that? I first flew on Southwest back in 1994 or so, and they didn't serve sandwiches back then. At least that far back, they advised "we do not serve meals on flights, but you are welcome to bring food aboard..." and I think even that changed after 9/11/2001.

 

[dong20]

Virgin Atlantic is my favorite.

In comparison American Airlines cramped seating and its frequent delays, e.g. 7 hrs. plus on my last flight to NYC, gets my worst vote.

You may want to reconsider.....

Virgin pilot arrested in drink probe - Yahoo! News UK

 

[HotBulge]

I find the quality of airlines symptomatic of economic growth and development within a reason. The US domestic airlines are declining from age, wear, and tear, and a tendency not to invest in America anymore. In other words, domestic US airlines are just focused on profit optimization and not enough on how they can upgrade their aging fleet. In contrast, international airlines have dramatically invested in new airfleets realizing the value of their assets

 

[deleted105034]

Southwest is fine for me, they are cheap and on time usually.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I find the quality of airlines symptomatic of economic growth and development within a reason. The US domestic airlines are declining from age, wear, and tear, and a tendency not to invest in America anymore. In other words, domestic US airlines are just focused on profit optimization and not enough on how they can upgrade their aging fleet. In contrast, international airlines have dramatically invested in new airfleets realizing the value of their assets

Ah, the financial aspects go far beyond what most of the public realizes. The US government doesn't intervene when it should, and intervenes when it shouldn't. There are investments that each airline is supposed to make, few do it, and the government mostly just says, "You are naughty. Now you had better start following your legal requirements." To which the airlines pretty much reply, "Uh, yah, we'll get right on that... <hahahah>" Then they whine, "we don't have any money!" and the government bails them out.

Southwest Airlines, which is so often ridiculed, has been operating in the black, every year, since it started operations. Other airlines, with a greater revenue base and approximately equal operating costs, generally do not. What's the difference there?

Delta has been one of the (consistently) worst airlines I've dealt with, including flights, ontime departures & arrivals, customer service, and baggage. They even tell you an outright lie, if you ask direct questions about cancelled flights and they don't want to tell you why.

 

[vince]

Wow, how long ago was that? I first flew on Southwest back in 1994 or so, and they didn't serve sandwiches back then. At least that far back, they advised "we do not serve meals on flights, but you are welcome to bring food aboard..." and I think even that changed after 9/11/2001.

As near as I remember it was '93 or '94. I guess I shouldn't condemn Southwest, because they could have changed. But it was the worst I remember.

All the bad feedback about Delta has me worried because I have a booking for Istanbul-Miami in December on Air France/Delta! The fare is 400 euros cheaper than anyone else, so I guess I'll take my chances.

Turkish Airlines is very good as well. Very clean, friendly, and a the fleet is quite new. They advertise that they are the fastest growing airline in Europe.

 

[DC_DEEP]

As near as I remember it was '93 or '94. I guess I shouldn't condemn Southwest, because they could have changed. But it was the worst I remember.

All the bad feedback about Delta has me worried because I have a booking for Istanbul-Miami in December on Air France/Delta! The fare is 400 euros cheaper than anyone else, so I guess I'll take my chances.

Turkish Airlines is very good as well. Very clean, friendly, and a the fleet is quite new. They advertise that they are the fastest growing airline in Europe.

Delta is ok when everything is ok, but if there's a problem, they are horrible to deal with.

My biggest complaint about SWA is that their fares are now pretty much in line with all the other carriers. The biggest complaint I've heard about them from other people is "the cattle call boarding", but the only difference I noticed was that they didn't have assigned seats. All the other airlines have cattle call for boarding, too. I do like the less formal approach that SWA has.

My partner has had lots of problems when he flies with United. Many years ago, I used to like American Airlines about the best, but their service has fallen to near the bottom of the list. One of the most miserable flights (and the shabbiest airplane) I ever took was on Continental.

 

[nudeyorker]

Continental for Domestic and most international are great
United is the worst!

 

[ClaireTalon]

Well, for starters I would recommend Air Force VIP transport division, but I guess they are out of reach.

I have made my best experience with NWA and UAL on the international routes. Air France suffers from the common French disease of calling a two-week strike whenever one of the employees has a false payroll, Alitalia had served food that was so bad I had to throw up within 2 hours after I had eaten it. Iceland Air is okay from a technical point of view, the service was okay too, but the food served was tasteless and filled my stomach like concrete.

Surprises were Aeroflot, which offered a rather good connection to Moscow. I had the worst thoughts before the flight, but was actually surprised how smooth things were operated. But maybe that was the VIP face of the airline, reserved exclusively for western businesspeople. Dito for Vietnam Airways (-lines?).

Anyone remembers People Express (aka People-in-distress)? I only have second-hand experience with them, but I know someone who had once booked a travel with them and during the flight had found a stack of dollar bills lying around in the galley. Tower Air must have sucked pretty badly too, they ran their planes until they literally fell apart, like they had never heard about C- and D-checks. TA used to do a lot of chartering for the Army, and the planes must have looked like that ever after.

 

[Drifterwood]

I make about fifty European and International flights every year and have done so for the past 8 years. I must have flown with most, except the American carriers.

Air France are better than some are saying here, though I don't like CDG.

KLM are good.

Thai are great until it isn't, a bit like everything in Thailand.

Lufthansa have let me down too often.

BA are too expensive for what they offer.

Eva are good.

I also enjoy flying with Korean.

Cathay are better.

I wouldn't recommend Bulgarian Airlines (if they are even still going)

Egypt Air are pretty poor.

El Al are great.

Qatar and Emirates are good, but I like Qatar a bit more.

Swiss are excellent.

Singapore are the best, IMO.

I also much prefer the Airbus to the Boeing.

PS - Olympic are shite.

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

I never cared much for Laker Airways It was affordable but not that good in other ways.

 

[ClaireTalon]

I also much prefer the Airbus to the Boeing.

For those words, I could have you incarcerated for years on Alitalia economy class food, and MREs on sundays. *barfing smilie here*

Or I could call an air strike on your house.

 

[Tlss]

My favorites are:


Emirates Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Eva Air
Quatar Airlines
British Airways
Korean Air
JAL Airlines
Northwest Airlines
New Zealand Air - It was rather good actually.

 

[rusty__]

Favourites:
VirginBlue
Singapore Airlines
Lufthansa
Austria Air (Formerly Lauda Air)
Silk Air
Ansett (before they folded)
REX

Worst:
Qantas ( I know, how unpatriotic of me)
Jetstar (another shocking Australian airline)
Olympic Airways (Nearly Died)
Swiss Air

 

[ClaireTalon]

I have once been booked on a tourist charter from Tenerife to Sevilla, and it was horrible, I avoid tourist charter flights ever since. The plane was overbooked, it was economy class only, the flight attendant spoke a very poor English and the toilets looked like you better would not sit on them. In fact, they looked like everyone had not sit on them, but squatted over them. And to top it off, of the 3 hours the flight lasted, a baby crying spoilt one of them. Horrible experience. Since then, I always book line flights, and exclusively business class.