United & the rest
 

I think everyone should cut the airlines a little slack. Even United.

For all the complaints about this or that, I've never experienced any of the problems I've seen posted here and elsewhere. The seating was good, availability of something to drink wasn't a probem, the facilities (lavatory) worked and they didn't hold me or my family hostage in the plane with an interminable wait to take off.

I recently flew on United, in the economy section. I'm not especially small at 6'2" with appropriate weight for my height and had absolutely no trouble sitting in my assigned seat. The FAs were all polite and performed their tasks professionally. My bag made it through from one end to the other even though I had to connect.

And this isn't the first time. Nor will it be my last.

Other airlines I've been on in the not too distant past, Delta and Air Tran were equally competent and professional.

It's tough dealing with an extremely rapid rise in a commodity vital to the operation of your company. Is it all that surprising they have to find innovative or sneaky ways to pay for that when customers demonstrate an unwillingness to pay what it really costs to use the service?

Speaking for myself, I'll pay what I have to in order to go where I want or need to go. I don't let a few extra dollars stand in the way.

I've written this as some sort of counterpoint to all those folks posting less than nice remarks about United or other airlines. I understand people that have something to complain about are more likely to speak up, I know I certainly do, but this time, I have to speak up for receiving good service and a pleasant trip to and from my destination via United. Kudos to them for a job well done.

I think it is time that you fly BA, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas or Air New Zealand. Even on Air Pacific, I had wine with dinner and sparkling wine with a hot breakfast and Frequent Flyer miles with American.

Thanks for the tip, Wally. I'll be sure to try Qantas the next time I go from LAX to IAD.

lol

Tell us, jpiwaron: why do you feel that everyone should cut the airlines a little slack? Just because, as you said, you yourself have never experienced any of the problems you've seen posted here and elsewhere?

Did it not occur to you that travelers post these experiences because they have actually occured? Do you really think that YOUR experiences are the only ones that count?

Do you think that we should all discount our own experiences simply because yours have been different? or because you said so?

I think it is a good thing for someone to write about their positive travel experiences. If all you hear are the horror stories, you aren't getting a balanced view.

Though I have been on the dirty end of the stick in terms of air travel a few times, I have to say that it is usually other passengers who are to blame for most screwups. Really, how hard is it to understand "Put your small bag under the seat in front of you" or "Step into your row and out of the aisle" during boarding, or "stay seated with your seat belt fastened until after takeoff"? Another pet peeve is TSA lines, with posters every couple feet and an agent constantly repeating "shoes off,laptops out of their case, boarding pass in your hand" so many dolts hold up the line by doing none of those things, and often get huffy when made to go back. I cut a little slack for someone who does not speak the language, but they are not usually the problem.
In an airline club yesterday a fellow traveler told me about being on a flight earlier in the day where a guy refused to turn off his cell phone and the FA had security remove him. Bravo! With ATC things as tight as they are these days, the extra minute or two it takes to get such jerks to comply can mean missing a wheels up time, which can mean significant delays to get off the ground.

To Mr. JOHNWM,

Not at all. All experiences are completely and totally valid. But people with negative experience with something are far more likely to post negative reviews and rants than people that have good experiences.

In my opinion, if each and every member of the air travelling public had the kind of seriously negative experience I read about here and elsewhere, all the airlines would be long gone and we'd travel around the world on trains, buses and sailing ships.

My point is more about the current difficult environment the airlines find themselves in with regard to the cost of fuel. I doubt they *want* to have to do some of the things they've done, perhaps some decisions are simple incompetence. Who knows?

The members of the flight crews I came in contact with recently were totally professional and friendly. The planes were in good working order, and they got us to our destination(s) in a timely manner. So what if the sandwich was an extra couple of bucks. If the passenger being offered doesn't like it, thinks it's too expensive, then take a pass. No harm, no foul.

I and my travelling companions brought our own things like granola bars, water and nuts. It was no big deal. The food on airlines has never been particularly good anyway, why worry that you don't get the bad food for free anymore?

No, I didn't experience sitting next to a person of size. No one assaulted my nose with over strong perfume. Ect. Those particular things could happen anywhere (like a movie theater) and are beyond any airlines control.

Some airlines have better managagement and probably have better service. That's fine and if the day comes I have to travel their way, I/we will give 'em a try.

So here's a message string that offers a positive experience. On United at that. The current whipping boy. Maybe they will go out of business. Maybe they won't. If they do, it won't be because they did anything wrong on the recent trip I was part of.

BTW Wally, I *do* plan on flying with Qantas. I look forward to the experience. I hope they get their oxygen bottles or whatever that was replaced or maintained a little better by that time.

The only thing I get tired of is people saying, "You should try the Asian airlines to get an idea of what airline quality should really be like."

I never have any reason to go to Asia, so why should I try the Asian airlines? I travel within North American and to Europe, so I use North American and European airlines.

Ed

I had a good trip on USAir recently.

On August 6th I cashed in 45,000 United miles for a first class ticket LAX-PIT on the Aug 14th redeye and returning on the 18th, also nonstop.

Both flights were delayed due to a late departure from LGA, where the westbound flights originated. But both flights were able to make up some time.

The food and service were excellent. The staff onboard and in the great USAirways Club at PIT were very professional.

Only complaint was that the PIT TSA allowed a group of schoolkids with Southwest BPs to use the first class screening line.

There are Asian airlines that fly US-Europe that you can try. SQ flies IAH-DME and JFK-FRA. Emirates, Air India, Jet, etc also have US-Europe flights. Cathay Pacific has JFK-YVR in N. America.

:)

Or LAS-YVR on Phillipines. Could take the Air NZ advice for LAX-LHR.

The PIT airport is a nice one. There is a life sized, realistic looking, statue of Franco Harris making the immaculate reception. It is a thing of beauty.

jpiwaron,
Just thought I'd go along with your rationale and mention that I too have had good experiences on United. I admit that I am not the frequent traveler that many on Fodors appear to be, so I've hesitated to share my experience or opinion. I might just be naive or maybe inexperienced in being able to compare airlines, so for what it's worth, I've flown United R/T to Hawaii, Thailand and Japan (from LAX) and was completely satisfied each time. Because of all the miles I've gained from these trips (plus from my United Visa card), I will probably fly United again and I'm okay with that.

The few Asian airlines with routes between the U.S. and Europe don't happen to match my schedule needs. Otherwise, I'd definitely like to try them, just to see what all the fuss is about.

Ed

I agree with the OP - I fly WAY too much on business, and all of it is international. I've missed flights, I've been late, I've even lost luggage - but considering how much I travel (sometimes multiple countries each month), overall the experience is pretty good. I try to fly United and Delta the most, but I can't say there are any American carriers I wouldn't fly. There are a couple South American carriers that make me real nervous, but overall - world flying is ok. Well, there are a couple Eastern European lines that are also a bit scary - but I've still flown them. The FAs have a job to do, one which I actually can't fathom being able to do and staying cheerful all day, and I think that for the most part they do it pretty well. It is more fun to tell the horror stories, but I do agree - we should also tell the good ones... So - I like United, love Delta, am learning to tolerate American (I've just been unlucky in the past with making connections with them - I now know to never have less than 2.5 hours as connection time - no stress now..., and have done fine on Southwest, Airtran, US Air and Jet Blue. BUT - since I do fly internationally - and don't want stress - I really never go for fastest way to get there. I go for best way to get there taking into account that weather happens and what flights deal with that best... Obviously, direct is king... :) NOW - one thing I can really whine about is airports.... There are those that are just plain UGLY to deal with.......