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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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Best plane I ever flew was Lufthansa. I think Germans have a psychological need to do things right. Most fun plane, Alitalia. Nothing is like a plane full of drunk Italians partying. It was a good kind of chaos. Including a few delays which meant more party time.
Virgin Airways and British Airways are fantastic too.
Worst flight I ever was on was a Delta flight. UA is a close second. Olympic Airlines was the most stressed out. Everything was a competition.
Hugs,
AFS
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Best: Thai Air. Real glassware for din din.
Worst: Pakistani International, though I've never flown Aeroflot.
American airline companies wallow in mediocrity- they get you there, more or less, but never excel and seldom crash.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Peoples' Air and its Newark terminal had that Aeroflot feeling a few decades ago.
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Degaine
climber
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Most US airline companies have gone downhill in customer service in the last 10 or so years. I've had no-problem experiences as well as poor experiences on all.
Last October I flew through Denver on UA(for business). I went to the UA counter to modify a subsequent flight. The attendants were very pleasant, and since the airport wasn't that busy we chatted a while. The UA employees were in the process of being trained on the Continental system. They absolutely hated the system, said it was not only less user friendly for UA personnel, but much less flexible for customers. They did point out, however, that the system was much cheaper to run than the UA system.
I agree with the comments about Lufthansa. Same goes for Swiss. Great service, smooth running operation, clean planes, even good food in economy. Although I have my miles with United, I always fly Lufthansa when traveling back and forth from Europe.
Sorry for your experience, Ed, I feel your pain.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 1, 2012 - 05:28am PT
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Brother Dingus
My new status is no status
Naw mean
(the jetway isn't working now, I"m waiting to deplane)
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 1, 2012 - 05:37am PT
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We're getting a tow to an adjacent terminal
Hopefully I'll get home by 4am catch a nap and go in for a day of project reviews... They're the poor bastards in this case... I'm not very happy after a trip like this,
Cranky!
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Les
Trad climber
Bahston
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Gotta second what someone else mentioned above -- best airline I ever flew was Thai Air. Cute, hottie flight attendants, roomy seats even in the peasant cabin, killer food, wine served with all three meals (yes, all three, it was a direct, non-stop 17.5 hr flight from JFK to Bangkok), personal entertainment centers at every seat, and chocolate and ramen noodles available at any time during the flight if you got hungry. 17 1/2 hours flew by like nothing (and it was cool as hell to fly over the Arctic Circle/Siberia/Mongolia).
All U.S. carriers blow.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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I agree on Thai Airlines. Plus they give all the ladies a small orchid corsage. I hear Singapore is good too.
My worst experience (yes there are worse airlines than United) was a flight from New Delhi to London on Syrian Arab Airways. I was almost hoping the Israelis would bomb us on the airfield in Damascus and just put us out of our misery!
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wbw
Trad climber
'cross the great divide
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I remember returning to Boulder from a trip to Boston at T'giving several years ago, and being shocked at what United was going to charge me for checking a couple of bags to Denver. (As I recall, United was on the leading edge of charging for checking luggage.) I told the evil winch that was shaking me down, "Good luck with that new airline y'all are starting up (Ted), because you're gonna need it. Your airline sucks." And she told me, "sir, that is so mean." I replied, "not as mean as the amount you're charging me to get my family and my luggage home."
United sucks blue whale schlong. Am currently in Boston on a family visit, and have to say that I'm impressed with Delta this time.
If you really want to experience service on an airline, fly Lan Airline's international flights to South America. And the stewardesses have that hot Latina thing going as a bonus.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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I'm now flying only on my own private charter flights...he he he. I hate being full body scanned by TSA and treated as a criminal, and the "service" is non-existent. A partial glass of pop and maybe a 1/2 oz of stale peanuts or other starch laden 'snack' that make one want to vomit? Endless hours of waiting to board in sterile terminals with waaaay overpriced "food" and drink?
Ed, you poor bastard! The worst part of "Flying United" from a regional terminal is Mesa Airlines, operator of United Express in the Rocky Mountain States. Mesa operates 2 flights daily from Casper to DIA, and I can get to Denver faster (in less overall time wasted) than they can. No one hour prior to flight time check in, no being groped by smirking TSA agents, and no waiting for my baggage to miraculously appear on a carousel. I fly to Rocky Mountain Metro in Broomfield in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. No ride on an Embraer Brasilia "vomit comet."
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adatesman
climber
philadelphia, pa
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Flew JFK to Johannesburg, SA nonstop on South African Airlines a number of years back, and it was fantastic. Free movies/entertainment system, decent amount of space, decent food, and ..... they forgot to actually charge me for the tickets (even after we called to inform them of it and make sure the tickets we had in hand were valid).
No idea how they managed to screw that part up, but they did, and we were more than happy to pass all of that money to locals selling roadside folk art.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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This thread reminds me of the threads complaining about cheap made-in-China junk that breaks the second time you use it.
Why is flying on the US airlines so awful? Because that's what everyone has demanded. You wanted cheap tickets. You demanded cheap tickets. And now that you have them, you complain that you're not getting great service.
You want a wrench that isn't made shoddily? Then pay for a good one.
You want a flying experience that isn't like cattle being herded in a feedlot? Then pay for it. Buy a Business Class seat.
And if you think the experience is bad in the US, try flying on some of the bargain-basement European airlines (Ryanair and its brethren). Or, as some have pointed out, Aeroflot-style carriers in any number of countries.
I don't fly as much as brother Dingus, but I do fly a fair bit. Often on the longest route in the US (Seattle-Miami) and yes, it mostly sucks. When I have to go to Asia, Rule Number One is "Do not fly on a US airline." Most of the big Asian carriers offer a much better Economy Class experience.
And for those who really want comfort, the three big Gulf Region carriers are flying to more and more destinations every day. It'll cost you an arm and a leg, but you'll be comfortable.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Cheaper is not better. It is only cheaper. So I guess I blame us prisoners too.
Yup. If people put comfort above price on their list of demands, then the flying experience would be comfortable. But most of us have said to the airlines that price matters more to us than comfort, and the airlines have respected our wish.
But as I said, you can still buy a Business Class ticket on most US domestic routes.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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I am glad I do not have to fly routinely for my job - unless you are flying business class, it's not usually the most pleasant experience physically. My neck and back are a wreck after a long flight.
But for someone like me who flys maybe 3-4 times a year, I really can't complain. When adjusted for inflation over the years, the cost of a coast to coast ticket is a pretty excellent deal. In the past nine months I've been on American once and United twice out of SFO. No delays, pleasant people, smooth air.
My mindset when I fly is that the whole experience is an opportunity for me to watch my emotional reactions. (of course, the whole experience of life is the same opportunity). Flying is a great chance to practice acceptance, and not struggling against things that are beyond your control. And then I have 5-6 hours to listen to a book on cd, read, do a crossword, not talk to anyone, meditate and take a nap. Like a mini vacation!
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wbw
Trad climber
'cross the great divide
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Ghost, you're exactly right. I want great service and I want it cheaply. Anything wrong with that?
:-)
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bobinc
Trad climber
Portland, Or
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Yup - deregulation ALWAYS is the answer....
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Like a mini vacation!
For a masochist. ;-)
"How's the food in the back?"
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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united sucks. i avoid ua whenever possible.
but as ghost points out, we haven't come close to hitting bottom yet. the ryanair experience is coming for us, too.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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but as ghost points out, we haven't come close to hitting bottom yet. the ryanair experience is coming for us, too.
Oh, it's already here. Allegiant Airlines has brought it to the US.
But that is not a knock on Allegiant. They don't pretend to offer anything other than a low price and a clean safety record, and they're good at what they do. If putting up with a few uncomfortable hours is the flip side of a $78 return ticket to Las Vegas, I'm not going to complain. Especially given that the product on offer from the major carriers is really not much better.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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For a masochist. ;-)
LOL! I knew I wouldn't get away with that, Reilly!
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