HeatherH

Which of the following airlines would you choose, based on a combination of comfort and customer service, for an overseas flight?
American
Continental
Delta
Northwest
United

Thanks! Found very similar fares for each, and haven't flown with most of them before, so I appreciate any help you can give me!

kismetchimera

Depends where you live..Anyway American is my first choice, more legs room,
Continental is very modern, every seat a small TV and games..
When I go to Paris, I take Continental because is more convenient for me to take Houston-Paris..
When I go to Rome, I take American all the way.

I Try to stay away from kennedy airport, is congested and old..,
also DELTA is horrible, you really feel like a cattle...

kismetchimera

oops every seat has....

PegS

I have no idea about international, but based on my domestic experience I would choose American for economy seating. I've had too many bad experiences with Continental and United to count. I don't remember anything bad about Delta or NW (which I've flown once or twice) but nothing great stands out either.

AAFrequentFlyer

If you are flying on discount economy - American - More Room Throughout Coach.
They fly 2 different models to Europe. Boeings 777 and 767. The 777s go to London and Frankfurt. The 777s do have individual screens. The 767s fly to Paris, Madrid, Rome, and few other places. They do not have individual screen. AA will fly B757 from Boston to Manchester starting in June, but unless you have status, I would skip that routing. Elites/full fare paxs get to sit in first class for the price of economy ticket on that route, which is great for them, but, everybody else gets to sit in the new re-configured economy (basically, it's the same as Continental or United in regular economy and no individual screens.) Personally I just don't like the 757s.
United offers Economy Plus - little better than American's MRTC, but also extra money above the regular economy fare.
Continental - ok, somehwhat tight in coach.
Delta and Northwest - no comment.

Service/food will be pretty much the same on all the above. I believe that with the exception of United, all the others charge for alcoholic drinks. I do know for a fact that AA and CO does.

Hope this helps.

For great seat descriptions checkout
<b>www.seatguru.com</b>

rkkwan

UA - AAFF has covered AA, though I have some questions about UA's Economy Plus. I don't think they actually sell a &quot;Economy Plus&quot; ticket, unlike a somewhat similar (but not identical) product from EVA of Taiwan. I believe the E+ is simply reserved for their premier Mileage Plus members and high-fare coach passengers, though I'm not sure what fares guarantee a E+ seat.

Continental - They have the only 767s with personal video screens, but they're also using 757s on a lot of newer and thinner routes, like EWR-Edinburgh, EWR-Oslo, etc. Avoid the 757s.

Northwest - They have two distinct products now. On most, if not all, of the AMS routes, they now have brand-new A330, with individual screens in every seat. On other routes, you have 25+ year old DC-10-30s that has nothing. Those should be all phased out soon, but check your routings.

Christina

This is a real tough one, because I mainly choose based on price and flight times, with preference to nonstops (I will pay quite a bit more for a nonstop, at least $100, if not more). After that, it would depend on connecting times and location. So, I've never really had a choice of more than about two airlines that are fairly similar in those.

I've never flown NW or Delta overseas, and I don't think United (but long distance in US). My experience with AA vs CO is limited to only three flights, but I would say Continental was superior in service and staff. I think AA has terrible customer service and I had a horrible experience with them from Paris with several malfunctioning planes in a row that prevented the plane from taking off even the same day. So, they wasted over a day of my time due to their mechanical problems -- and the AA staff in Paris and then JFK were quite rude and incompetent.

They do have more leg room, and that's why I booked them, but that's about all I can say for them.

HeatherH

Thanks to all! I was just checking fares and noticed that the difference in different airline prices was only about $20 one way or the other. Of course, by this fall when I actually make my reservations, this may change, but wanted to be prepared.

dcespedes

For long flights we prefer American--have flown other carriers long distance but have learned there's a lot to be said for the extra room American offers.

clevelandbrown

Assuming tourist class, Continental has a reputation for good service. AA makes a big thing about more room, but you have to check that the flight you are taking has that, because not all do. I haven't flown the others recently enough to comment.

I see a lot of posters placing a premium on the personal screens on the back of each seat. My experience is that the programs put on those screens are the dregs of the entertainment world, so unless you are into simplistic video games or watching a display of your flight creeping across the ocean, all viewed at the end of your nose, I would not place any value on those screens. I don't even turn mine on anymore.

Bring your own entertainment, such as a book or knitting or an mp3 player with noise-cancelling headset. If your choice of entertainment is battery powered, use seatGURU to find which planes have power available (those that do, often have it only in some seats), and get an adapter so you can plug in.

I write this as someone who cannot sleep on planes. Sleep is actually the best way to go if you can do it.

martytravels

I've only flown Northwest and KLM transatlantic, and if you can get a flight on an A330, go for it. NW flies its nonstops from Detroit to Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Rome on A330s. London should be an A330 soon. It's a great plan with a great entertainment system.
Also, if you have to make an in-Europe connection, the NWA/KLM hub is Amsterdam - a far superior connecting airport to Heathrow or DeGaulle.

Marilee

Hi. We just returned from Europe. Took NWA from LAX to AMS, 8 hour layover and flew on to Rome. We had a big movie screen in the front on the way over, but the individual screens on the way back which were great. We used the layover in AMS to good use - just enough time for a canal tour, lunch and Anne Frank's house. Flights were great, will fly NWA again. Much better than Delta!

richardab

I would take United for the miles in my Mileage Plus account and the extra legroom in Economy Plus. If not United i wouyld do Lufthansa because of their professional service and ontime departure record. I just used Lufthansa on my trip to Spain and they delivered all flights ontime with decent service. OK, the flight attendants can be a little cold but you can get that anywhere. The only downfall is that Lufthansa does not have personal TV's at every seat, just the old central movie screen. I do like the A340 jets they fly over United 777's

amp322

Got a great deal on NWA last year, but they managed to screw up my luggage each way! Major hassle, and I am still mad at them, but I actually enjoyed the flights. Nice attendants, decent food, pretty comfortable. The luggage thing would make me hesitate flying them again, though.

francophile03

I've flown UAL from San Francisco to Paris and it was just ok for the comfort. Of course, I flew coach, and space was tight as usual. However, British Air felt even tighter last time I flew to London on them. The seat we had on UAL had a metal box on the floor taking up some of the precious carryon space. So that was not great.

I just flew from DFW to SFO on American. Couldn't believe my luck as the plane was a 767. So I would not mind flying on this particular aircraft to Paris if possible. Yes, the legroom was pretty good for coach. And up in first class absolutely spacious seemed like at least a few feet of space to stretch out.

ggnga

Delta is the WORST. Most uncomfortable cabins, worst service/attitudes, Atlanta airport a nightmare. I have flown Continental, United and American also. I do like American's extra leg room. I was very pleased with my recent Continental flight. No complaints about United.

I had forgotten how bad Delta was until a flight into London and out of Rome in March. How quickly my memory was jogged. UGH!!

ilovelabs2003

The movies offered on our BA flight to Paris were great. For this nervous flyer, they are a blessing. I could never fly that distance w/o some sort of distraction. I do read, but watching a movie or two makes the time go by so much faster. I think many airlines are beginning to outfit their long-haulers with the screens.

suze

I base my decision on logistics: flight times, non-stops, check ease of connections &amp; airport timing (not too short or too long for transfers, and in/out of the same airport i.e, not into Heathrow out of Gatwick). In short... really study the fine print, especially if you are booking yourself online.

I prefer British Air to any of those you mentioned.

c2

I fly United almost exclusively and I the few times I have had problems, they have remedied the problem to my satisfaction. I would go with United over Continental, Delta, and Northworst (all of which I've had repeated horrible experiences with). I haven't flown American internationally recently.

LauraD

Marilee,
We have a layover of 7 hours in AMS next month. We were wondering if it was possible to go into the city for a little while?
We arrive at noon from the US. We have a connecting flight to FLorence on another airline (Meridiana)at 7pm.
What did you do with your luggage? How long did it take to get into the city and back? (Each way).
We would love to take advantage of the layover, but nervous about arriving late to the airport.
THANKS!!