Deanna

I'm wondering if anyone has actually flown TWA to Paris before? The last time I flew them in the states I had a horrible time, the flights were late, missed connections resulting in an overnight stay in St. Louis, etc. I have a chance to save about $600 on a ticket to Paris this summer, but am worried about their international flights based on their domestic runs. Any help would be appreciated.

Tricia

The top airlines for trans-continental flights are: KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), British Air, and Icelandair. The airlines not to fly are mostly the American airlines and especially TWA. I help answer airline/airfare questions in EUROTRIP -www.eurotrip.com- cheap flight forum. Come in and visit us. We answer questions, post specials as we find them! Bet we can save you that same $600 and get you on a better airline!!! LOL, Tricia
(Had a personal experience on a transatlantic flight on TWA- it was an allnighter- and not a stewardess in sight for over 7 hours!) They were up in First Class, but not back with us! It was miserable!)

Joyce

Judging from Tricia's many former answers to the world, I understand she has made all of one flight to Europe and unfortunately, that was on TWA. She states it was an overnighter. It's pretty hard to get from the West Coast to Europe without it's being an overnighter, even when you leave here at 8 a.m. Anyway, I totally disagree with her pronouncement. I have flown British Air to London twice and both times came off feeling like I would be in the pretzel position for the rest of my life. Absolutely the most uncomfortable airline I have ever flown, and that's 30 some. TWA is hands down my choice any time. Has by far the best leg room of any save Alaska, which naturally does not do the European run. In all fairness to the European lines, I have flown KLM within Europe and it was fine. I have not flown Icelandair, though I understand it is very good also. Many times people with limited flying experience blame the airline for flight delays and many other problems totally outside their control. Anyone with half a brain should be able to accept the fact that a plane cannot take off until they get clearance from the control tower, certainly not just when they get a full plane and decide to leave. I have flown TWA enough times to have rec'd two free trips to Europe for both my husband and myself, and have never had a problem with them, either domestically or internationally. I just hate to see them get a bum rap from someone who made her only trip to Europe on them once and had no other experience to compare them with.

roger

Joyce, I agree with your comments regarding Tricia. I have seen her advice before and it appears she took one trip to Europe, had a bad time, spent too much money and in spite of these limitations continues to give flight advice to the world. Personnal I perfer the 777 flight via UA From San Francisco with BA a close second. This is based on my last 8 trips in the past 9 years. Mostly I just try to sleep and get the flight over with.

Tricia

Joyce- You are unbelievably rude! I have been working with a travel agent and have learned so much it is unbelievable. My recommendations come from his experiences not mine. I research websites, find what other travelers have said and based on what people answered in this website on the other airline question I gave the above answer. I think you can give a good recommendtion for TWA without Tricia bashing. I was only trying to help!

nicci

I hope I don't step on any toes here as I hope that none of you bark at me the way you did to Tricia. I have been to Europe several times and can say that if you are planning to fly TWA- have fun. I have flown with them three times and all three times got food posioning from the in-flight meal, had my luggage lost twice, got stuck in St. Louis once, and stranded in London twice. Thank god for British Air (which by the way is the same company as its domestic U.S. Air) who have helped me out in a bind more than once. My pesonnal opinion is that I will always fly Virgin Atlantic. I had enough leg room, good service, and I did not have to strain my neck to see the movie (each seat back has its own television and there are several movies playing. each seat has a remote and the flip side of the remote is a nintendo controler. There is nothing like Tetris to pass the time!!). I agree that different people have different expeirences but at the same time they say the third time is a charm. I think that I will contact Tricia about those cheaper fares on other airlines, I do not think that I could justify flying TWA again if there was some other way to save $600. Either way, have fun, good luck, and remember no matter what you are going to Europe!!!!!!!1

Christina

I have flown TWA to Paris once, and was a little
leery because I thought TWA service had gone downhill in the past 5-10 yrs. Anyway, the flight
over was perfectly fine -- just as good as any airline (I usu fly Air France to France). I think
they do have more leg room, this was a big deal that
they were advertising (call it "Comfort Class" or
something) to get people to use them to Europe. BUT, I think it was true. It was a very good flight--good airplane, flight attendants were fine.
The return flight was horrible: it was delayed
4-5 hrs at CDG (never did find out why)--now maybe
this wasn't their fault, BUT when we got back to JFK, almost everybody had missed their connecting
flights. So, TWA put us up in a very, very crummy
motel on Long Island, hired a bus driver to take us
to it who literally got lost on Long Island and
couldn't find the motel (we spent about 1-2 hrs just
driving around LI), then actually drove the wrong
way on the Long Is. Expressway for a bit. TWA used
a really cheap motel (you know you're in a bad place
when there are bars on the reception desk) w/o any
restaurant/snack bar so we were starving and had
nothing to eat; they then announced bus pickup the
next day to go to JFK and picked a time that seemed
to make it very possible or close that I could miss
my morning flight (espec. given bad bus driver night
before). So, I got up and paid a taxi driver myself
in the morning to make sure I got there. So, the
flight itself was fine, but the delayed return flight had horrible service regarding the overnight
stay. It wouldn't bother me to book TWA if I didn't need a connecting flight at JFK. Of course, there's
the big safety issue--how much do you believe their
flight 800 (which, by the way, was the same flight
I took, only luckily 2 days earlier that same year)
blowing up was due to their maintenance/equipment
problems? I don't really have a strong position on
this issue as it's hard to tell from the press
reports whether it was their fault or just an
extremely flukey accident.
BTW, I've seen Eurotrip's boards a couple times,
although they're geared more to students and hostel types. Tricia does not run that board and has no
official affiliation with it (although she may like to think so). It is a public BB just like this one. Any BB is obviously for people to render their own experience/opinions, but I dislike people giving
very strong opinions (often presented as factual, or without any qualifying statements as to the posters' complete lack of experience in the area)or advice
on subjects they know little or nothing about.
Of course, anyone asking for advice on a public BB
runs the risk of not knowing how to assess the
validity of the responses. Anyway, in short, TWA is probably no different than most other US airlines. I would definitely fly them if I were going to save $600, but I would not fly them if I had a choice
of a European airline such as BA, AF, KLM, etc. at
the same price. To be honest, although I prefer Air
France to France because they do have great food,
I like reading the French newspapers, etc., and they
often have very good deals for connecting flights
within Europe, BUT their planes and the general flight experience seems to have gone downhill a little in the last few years. They do have the best food, but their planes are getting a little run
down, and I've had delayed flights by them, also.
I don't think the delayed flights are always the
airlines fault, but sometimes they are--the delayed
flight I had on TWA WAS their fault; they were
missing some important piece of equipement and had
to wait 5 hrs for it to be flown in from somewhere
in the US. I thought this was absurd--okay, maybe
you can be missing equipment, but if you're operating many European flights, you should have a
quicker way to get it than they did. If it hadn't
taken 5 hrs, we all wouldn't have missed the last
flights out of JFK.

kimberley

I flew Icelandair to Norway several months ago and,although the food was great, I have NEVER in my life experienced more uncomfortable seating. The seats were so narrow, there was absolutely no way to assume a reasonable sleeping position. I'm a 5'6" female (130 lbs) and I felt totally squished; I can only imagine how my 6'8", 250 pound boyfriend felt by the time we arrived!! Here's my philosophy: I can understand safety concerns, and those who are worried about TWA flight 800 might want to think about that. Other than that, if money is a concern (as it is for most of us), why would anyone consider paying $600 for excellent food or better movies?? What dinner is worth $600?! I always pack some sandwiches and cookies in my carry-on, bring some entertainment, and rely on the airline only to get me where I'm going! Kimberley.

janet

I have returned from a ten day trip to France the day before yesterday, flying TWA with two other people. I fly rarely, so I can't compare TWA with any other trips I have been on. None of us had any problems. We felt that the trip was smooth, we had no delays, landings were cushy. Anyone worried about the 747's should realize that changes are being made to deal with a potential problem. The planes we flew on were 767's. The food going over was pretty dull, but the food coming back was pretty good. There were plenty of attendants, although we did not have any special needs.

One complaint that others on the flight seemed to have was that the attendants did not help to put the travelers' carryons into the overhead bins. I don't know if this is due to laziness on the attendants' part or regulations. Anyway, I think if you can't lift your carryon over your head you have packed way too much stuff!

In brief, we would definitely fly on TWA again. The most important factor to us was cost, and TWA's price happened to be the lowest at the time we wanted to fly.

Deanna

Thanks everyone for your help, I'm still a bit confused, but some of the comments made since, like it is just a way to get there, rain or shine at least I'll be there, and $600 would be a lot to pay for better meals, maybe even for on-time service. I am still concerned about the one that had to stay overnight on long island, just because that is my type of luck that something like that would happen to me. But it has been interesting to learn that so many people have flown it, and had such different experiences. I appreciate EVERYONE's help!

Tricia

Deanna, You say you are saving $600 but tell us this- When are you going? Are you choosing a mid week flight or a weekend flight ( with higher prices) What is your airport of departure? And what are you paying for a RT ticket. Give me all of this and I will TRY MY BEST to find you a flight at the same price or lower on a different airlines. Channel 2 news just aired the results of how the airlines are rated for 1)safety records 2) on time records 3) service and food and TWA came out 10th. The top 5 airlines were Southwest, United, American and Continental (The 2nd place was Alaska Airlines- whose website I located today- but I didn't ascertain if they make international flights or not- need to go back and browse it) Sure some people will have good flights- they couldn't stay in business if it was otherwise but do you really want to put yourself at risk to save a supposed $600. Where did you get this figure. If you would check out Eurotrip Cheap Flight Forum you would see that Air France has summer specials the last two weeks in June leaving from Boston and Atlanta midweek starting at $299 RT. Or try 1 888.FLY-E-Savers for US Airways. They have specials from Charlotte or Denver to Frankfurt for $297 this month. Or try MartinAir, LAX to Amsterdam is $488 through June l7; from Newark to Amsterdam $348. Call and see if they fly into Paris- 1 800 MARTINAIR or e mail them at [email protected]. AND THEN Martinair announced Auction for Great Fares to Amsterdam for the last week in May and all of June. This is for internet users only. Minimum bids start at $299 from LAX and $199 from Newark/New York. You can view the selection of dates, Auction Rules, and the bidding process around May 4. The auction will begin from now until May 25. Early bidders have the advantage. Get there before it goes public. Address questions to [email protected]. Website is www.martinairusa.com (click on Fly Buys and selction Auction). If this date works for you - you can always take the train to Paris. This is a good airline and a great price.

sally

It seems Joyce and Roger need a lesson in kindness and good manners. Oh my- did that slip out?? Pardon me.
There are a number of good airlines and TWA might be one of them, but not from my experiences. I've flown TWA in intercontenental and US- contiguous flights 5 times. EACH and EVERY time I swore I wouldn't fly TWA again, it was so problematic. Ticket price always lured me back (Perhaps "I can't learn." should be tattooed across my forhead!) Thankfully, I can now afford to be more selective when choosing airlines, because TWA was a nightmare. I won't get into all the details (too many to list) but if every flight on one particular air carrier is a HUGE headache, why bother flying it?

Ronanne Vinson

My husband & I flew TWA from Washington, DC through JFK to Paris last March. The flight over was okay and actually arrived a little early. The food wasn't bad and our leg room was great since we were in the front row (except I couldn't see the movie screen). However, the return trip home was a nightmare. Our flight was delayed 9 hours. We had to spend the day at Charles de Gaulle airport since different passengers were told different times and we didn't know which was true. We ended up leaving around 9:30pm and arrived in JFK too late to get on our connecting flight. They did put us up in a decent hotel nearby - Hilton - and paid for our breakfast the next morning. They also had a big catered lunch for all the passengers waiting in Paris at the airport the previous day. Our connecting flight the next day was delayed an hour. They were extremely helpful though and we ended up with extra frequent flier miles (after I wrote a letter) and a total of $500 in future travel certificates. I would certainly fly them again as our past experiences with them have been fine.

Laura

I have flown several airlines to Europe: Air France, my flight was delayed 5 hours at JFK because something was wrong with the plane; American, flight was delayed 4 hours in Chicago and plane was finally taken out of service; Delta, no problems; Olympic, no problems; TWA to Italy, no problems on the flight, service was good and flights were on time. However, I have a friend who is a travel agent and she told me to not fly TWA again because their equipment is too old. She said she will not schedule her clients (from Nashville) on TWA due to their aging fleet and she said this a few months before the crash of Flight 800. My choice among all of the airlines is Delta because of repeated good results. Good Luck and have a great time!

anders

It never ceases to amaze me how the topic of air carriers stirs up the editorial contributer in so many people. Allow me to comment from my perspective as a consultant to some of the very airlines which you good folks written about. Tommorrow (and every day) there will be well over 100 crossings of the Atlantic by a myriad of air carriers ranging from American Airlines to Singapore Airlines. Most will transport between 200 and 400 passengers safely, and in a degree of comfort relative to the fare paid, which by the way will range from about $400 RT to $4000 for the lucky few who sit up front. The folks in back will have to tolerate seat pitches ranging from 30-34 inches, while the lucky few up front will sip Dom Perignon, while reclining up to 180 degrees. All carriers will experience a mechanical or other delay/cancelation this summer season, whether or not you happen to be one of the lucky passengers on that particular fligt. If any of you knew what went into the operation of a modern airline, you'd be amazed that they were able to operate ANY of their respective flights on time, on budget and with a level of safety that we have come to expect from the industry. Bottom line, a discounted coach ticket today in the Atlantic market buy you a 95%25 dependable, 99.9%25 safe, 10%25 comfortable, 7-10 voyage that cost you about half it did 10 years ago (assuming constant dollars). Whether its on American, British Airways, Air France or Royal Air Maroc, relax - the products they provide are almost identical, and priced virtually the same (whether you believe it or not)

Nicole

I totally agree. Having previously worked for a major airline, I would have to say that you get what you pay for, and ususally it's all about the same.
I also noticed this headline this morning: " TWA Ranks As #1 Longhaul Carrier In J.D. Power Survey"
on bestfares.com

If you're thinking of flying TWA, maybe you should check it out.