Some people are nice and go out of their way to help you. Some people aren't and offer no help. In my experience, every airline hires both types. It's a crapshoot if you'll get good customer service. =)

For example, we were trying to get to NY the day after the northeast had a huge rainstorm and there were enormous delays. PHL- where we were supposed to connect- was still closed. Our USAir rep went the extra mile and more to reroute us to our destination. It was a quick trip and coming home we ran into the lingering delays; when we asked the USAir rep in PHL for help- nada. Same airline, different people, different outcome.

I've had awful experiences with United, AA, Delta, Northwest. I've loved Southwest and guess what? The nearest airport they fly out of is 4 hours from me.

dfr Yes, flting SW into Midway, then the affiliate to LGA. Only negative about that is that you can get your SW boarding pass 24 hours in advance, but when you switch to their connecting service, you have to get boarding pass separate. Since it's usually just a short hop, it doesn't really matter where we sit.

As I said earlier, there are two sides to every story.

I've had as much "bad luck" with USAirways as with other airlines but just because someone ELSE has had problems that doesn't mean I agree that an airline is "disfunctional" (sic) or that i am going to give my business to someone else at the expense of lower cost flights, better schedules, etc.

you're right dukey - and even thou we complain we keep going back because of the cheap fares, etc.

My most memorable USAir flight was several years ago flying into PHL.

We land, taxi interminably, get to the gate and then come to a sudden stop. Then the pilot comes on the PA and announces that we'll actually pull up to the gate "when that idiot jackass driver decides he's had a long enough break and moves his truck which is blocking our gate." Then we waited 20 minutes until the idiot jackass driver did just that.

OK gang-one example of the disfunctional is making us sit in PHX for three hours-no explaination why- with an ever changing target of departure, finally letting us board (and sitting there while it's about 100 degrees on the tarmac) and then again delaying the flight another hour because some tech person thought they needed to "download data"-yes sir, I'd love to hear the other side of all that !

And, MikeT, this is no complicated connection- PHX-TUS, TUS-PHX, been doing it my entire life and nothing tricky about it-USAir has trumped all my travel experience on this (and every other flight segment)segment with
just plain crummy service-their fare should offer a "drive to TUS" option,
LOL!

Yes karens, the only reason we stuck with them is because we are stuck with previous mileage from America West-which was so much better an airline for us-it's tragic that America West bailed out these bankrupt losers !

Southwest will serve our continental US
needs, but not MX, Caribbean, & Europe
so perhaps we'll have to split it up.

I got yet another USAir-merger-yeah-we're making-alot-of mistakes-e-mail this AM, and I don't care what school of business Doug Parker went to
he's making a mess of this airline-I do wonder how he'll do with the pilots
problems waiting in the wings.

So, anyone else want to offer up their
good experiences with any of the majors that travel or partner to the places we fly ? India is on the "list"
for 2010, BTW.

Thanks to those that have been helpful!

R5

I like jetblue, Midwest, and Southwest. They scored 1,2, and 3 in this latest survey, not a surprise. Once we had four huge suitcases and a bunch of carryons (moving a college kid back from the East Coast to the West Coast) and jetblue was sooo cheerful about the whole thing - amazing! :) The Southwest flight attendants can have such an outrageous sense of humor! :)

I dislike United first and foremost. Am so-so on the other big carriers like Delta, AA, or USAir and try not to fly any of them if at all possible.

Last Christmas I flew to Hawaii on ATA for the first time ever on this airline and they weren't bad at all. So ATA goes on my positive list.

One of the above posters is correct, it's not just the airlines, it's also the airport. I also try to avoid Philly, Chicago O'hare, Dallas (yes, Texas is big, but does one have to walk MILES just to get from one gate to another?).

For overseas travel, I will generally pick a foreign airline. They are usually better than the US airlines.

R5: hope your next trip will be a much more pleasant experience! :)

I am a loyal AA customer. Over 1 million miles and not one problem!!!

razzle - if Mexico, Carribbean, Europe and India are on your list, try CO. They fly to all of those places. We fly them a lot. Haven't had any major problems (at least none that weren't resolved satisfactory)

They're all bad these days.

I used to live in Philadelphia, so flying US was the obvious choice. I didn't find it that bad, but that was a few years ago.

Now I live in Dallas, so I'm stuck with AA. I haven't had much problems with it either, but if you read the AA forum over at Flyertalk, you'll see just the same kind of complaints.

The problem with airlines now is they've cut services and flights, so now each plane is fully loaded. If a plane gets cancelled (either mechanical or weather-related), it's much harder to be put on the *next* flight because the *next* flight is full. And it's even worse if you're flying to/from a non-hub city.

I've had very good luck with Alaska.

ET, thanks-your good humor has brightened my day.

dfr4848-CO is a definite possibility !

TX-My SIL votes for AA as well.

frankie-thanks, we'll have to explore
Alaska's routes.

yk-I guess that's the new reality of flying instead of the bad dream I wished it was.

I did send a very detailed complaint to USAir and will be shocked if I hear anything
back, LOL !

Thanks again for all of your help everyone !

R5

Just for a note for those who think Lufthansa is so great - don't go on a ski trip w/ them thinking you're going to bring your skis. You wouldn't believe the hoops my ski group had to jump thru this past January just to bring skis to a ski destination with Lufthansa. They are getting more and more difficult to deal with. For my money, I love Virgin Air. Great service, great food,great prices and believe it or not, they still give out those complimentary plastic duffle bags with socks, toothbrush, eye mask, etc. Hard to believe!! Too bad they don't fly into PHL. I'd forget USAir and Lufthansa and use them exclusively if only I could (SIGH)!

I fly USAir frequently, have for years, and I've never had a problem with the airline.

In fact, I like USAir and would certainly choose it over Southworst or Northworst or AA or United or ....

I live in Pittsburgh and for the last decade at least I have always flown US Airways simply for the reasons of availibility and avoiding connections. The flight attendants often seem to hate their jobs, and food and comfort is the bare minimum in my opinion. I flew Delta and NW and both are much better airlines, with the exception the NW planes are quite dated. i would not fly USAir if I didn't have to. Thankfully, airlines like Southwest, Midwest and JetBlue are coming into PIT, as USAir is taking PIT from hub to 'focus city'.

I wouldn't say I hate USAir. I actually am very appreciative of the FF program. My family has flown for free to St. Thomas, San Diego, San Francisco, and Denver twice. It's hard to hate a company that's given us those perks. (Although it is getting harder and harder to use those miles...)

PHL does seem to be its biggest problem. Living here, I am so thankful I do not have connect through here. My husband has been on so many flights where they land and then have to wait for a gate to open. As they wait, more and more people onboard start to miss their connections. It must be so frustrating to miss your flight knowing you are AT the airport.

Speaking of "stinking", the last few times that we've flown Southwest the bathrooms have REEKED. My husband came out once and the foul odor had actually attached itself to HIM, we couldn't even go eat at our destination. He smelled like a bum. What's up with this? Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Is there any airline today that doesn't stink?

We joined AA's frequent flyer program in 1989 because they flew to the most places we might want to go. They are not perfect, but, where other airlines have had turmoil, bankruptcies, gone out of business, American just keeps chugging along. They dominate the routes to the Caribbean, MX, and they or their partners fly most other places. When an airline has an extensive network to an area such as the Caribbean, a missed or cancelled flight can be made up more quickly when there are more flights coming or more aircraft available. American is the most consistent airline around.

I use US Air for Seattle to Puerto Vallarta (transfers Phoenix) because they have the best routing, times, and prices. They have done OK for me two trips recently. No snags at all. I'm not sure I would trust them for a more complicated or longer trip because of their reputation.

I fly British Air for Europe, and Hawaiian Air for Hawaii in answer to the original question.