Which airline?
 

When you have an option which airline do you choose and why?

Joe,

It would help if you tell us what your choices are.

Generally speaking, I look for:

Non-stops

Leg room

Price

in that order - everything else is fluff

Just posted so I can make better choices next trip....I thought I could learn from more frequent flyers.

My order has been:

Price
Time

The last trip taught me to check on other flight times to final destination....make sure not to take the last one if possible.

I need to add leg room....being short myself it has never been a concern...but my kids are quite a bit more leggy.

Another question I had was about booking flights. I have always booked directly from the carrier due to fear of any trouble...thinking it was safer. Last month a woman in line before us had booked thru Expedia and was told they were unable to help her with her problem....Later, I asked the clerk about it and the reply was that it happens all the time...She said it was much better to book directly with the carrier...Agree?

I have had excelent experiences with Delta.....price, service, convenience, etc. I do believe however that where you are going from and where you are going to makes a big difference as to which airline is best. I most often am heading Orlando to Boston these days.

joebear - Yes, it's much better to book directly with the airlines. If any problems were to arise, it's much easier to deal with the airlines which you bought your tix from. If you buy your tix thru 3rd party sites, some have horrible customer service and can be very frustrating. For example, my SIL bought tix thru Cheaptickets because, yes, it was cheaper. The airlines changed the flight schedule several times and she was on the phone w/Cheaptickets every time there was a change, but the CS were less than helpful.

Anyway, I always prefer Nonstop flights if possible. Since I have status with American Airlines for the last few years, I have been flying them exclusively, as I get to earn 100% bonus miles.

I am partial to Lufthansa, but since I reside in CLT, I ride on USAir 90+% of the time. Lufthansa just provides great ontime service & I can sometimes get good deals on directs to MUC. They also cater to families w/small children as well.

My preference is Midwest for the all first class seating on their Signature Service flights. My husband likes the chocolate chip cookies they bake on the planse.

Non-stop is a primary consideration, and I like to balance total travel time and price.

BTW, on the flip side, I will not be flying US Airways!

Granted I'm not a frequent flier - having only flown 3 times in the last 12 years but I have been flying United and have never had a problem with them - good customer service and no delays on any of my flights. There are not a lot of options where I live, and United has always been the cheapest too.

I travel all the time, and try to fly Delta or United. I've had good luck with them. Internationally, I've really enjoyed United, Virgin, KLM, SAA. I've had really bad luck with Air France and Luftansa.

Any of the airlines are capable of fouling up your trip joebear.

As you mentioned, the last flight out is something I too try to avoid. Non-stops probably have less chance of losing your luggage. Flights with a short stop-over and plane change have a chance of losing your luggage even though you make the connection and are seated on time.

Jet Blue seems to be my preferred airline. US Air is probably my least favorite although I fly them often for convenience of schedule.

Jet Blue seems to give you a little more breathing room with seating.

I am no longer a frequent flyer but US Airways is still my first pick.

However, I think they all suck.

GoT - have you heard about the latest announcement from US Airways? Even though you're not a FF, the announcement still s*ucks big time.

Agree that any of them can screw up your trip big-time.

I look for an airline that will actually get me from point A to point B with the least possible aggravation. That used to be Delta, now it's Jet Blue and Southwest.

I choose mostly based on who flies direct, then on price and time. To some extent I'll also look at equipment, especially if it's a small aircraft (I find ERJs much roomier than CRJs, so I'm more likely to try for American or Continental than Delta or US Air). I usually end up on American or Delta, both of which are generally OK. My best customer service experiences have actually been on US Air (trying to make things right after screwing up), the problem is they seem to screw up a lot, so they're not at the top of my list. United holds my record for worst customer service (first the official United customer service rep basically gives everyone the finger when announcing the flight's canceled, then when a gate agent further down the concourse actually tries to help some passengers out, a supervisor comes over and yells at him for working 15 minutes past the end of his shift - unbelievable). I really liked Midwest Express for their seating (and Milwaukee's a much easier connection than O'hare), but they never seem to be going where I'm going. I like Continental because they fly almost everywhere direct from NY (Newark), seem to have newer equipment, and are a little more generous than others with extras (food, drinks, movies). Airtran is OK, especially when you can get a first class seat for what coach on another airline would cost. I didn't really enjoy the Southwest experience. I hated standing on lines and not knowing where I was going to sit.

But really, I think they're all pretty much the same at the end of the day. Sometimes you luck out and everything is fine, sometimes not. It doesn't really matter whose name is on the tail.

JetBlue and Southwest for different reasons.

JetBlue is the most comfortable for the best price. They would be leading the pack if they hadn't just raised their change fee from $30 to $100.

Southwest is my other choice only because their change fee is zero. I love it and I will always book them first and end up staying with it over 90% of the time.

1.cost 2.convenience 3.minimum of stops/plane changes. I try to stay with SW, even if I have to switch to another airline enroute to my destination, because as ncounty said, no fees for changes, and if their fees decrease from what you paid, they will issue you a credit with no hassles. The ABC boarding thing is not my favorite, but I've always been treated well on SW flights.

I live in an area where I have choices of 6 airports within 100 miles, including JFK, LGA and EWR. I can choose between American, United, Southwest, Delta, US Air, and JetBlue for getting where I want to go.

I typically choose Jetblue, for several reasons:

1) They have a convenient non-stop to my destination.

2) They have legroom and munchies and all the water I want.

3) Their frequent flyer program means that I get 1 free round trip for every 4 trips I take (plus a couple of points for my Amex credit card.)

4) Their prices are pretty good.

5) Their staff actually seems to like their work, and it shows!

My only gripe is that they don't go everywhere, but they're working on it!

:)

I forgot to add the Rapid Rewards program to one of the reasons I fly SW.....GB, I have the same gripe about SW that you have about JB~wish they served more cities!!!

I fly Southwest for the price and their website is user friendly. You can fly one way for a good fare. It is also easy to change your flight and if you cancel they will credit your SW account (which you can use on another reservation). They are also usually on time. What I dislike about SW is you feel like cattle being shuffled onto the flight. And its hit or miss with the flight crew.

Recently flew Continental on an international flight and had a good experience. I'll probably switch over to them if the price is right.

I don't think there is a hill of beans difference and it is now even less. You can/have to pay for extra leg room. DO by all means check the total flying time if you have changes.
Price is already going out of sight, and pack light or it will be even more, as of August.

Midwest - unfortunately abram, the Signature Service flights are going away. They are putting those Signature Service seats only in the front 3 rows and you have to pay a little extra for them now. But wasn't it a lovely way to fly? Even without the Signature Service, I still prefer Midwest, but then they are my "hometown airline."

I live in New York City, so I am fortunate to have many options from 3 major airports.

Non-stop is a priority. I don't connect. Ever. (Well, on occasion, when the destination is St. Bart's or Anguilla and I don't have a choice.)

JetBlue is my favorite carrier, but I prefer LGA over JFK, so I'll fly out of LGA all things being equal.

I choose based on:

price
dates (willing to switch if travel dates not set in stone)
non-stops

I've chosen JetBlue over the legacy airlines many times. Just personal preference. Of course, then I lose the ff miles, and that makes me kinda sad, as I want it all.

Virgin America from NYC to LA and SFO because of the service, comfortable seats and leg room. They just started flying last fall. It blows any of the other domestic airlines.
Continental for flying down south from NYC. It's an easy option as their main hub is Newark airport.
Internationally, Continental to Rome, Athens and Paris as they have great transatlantic service and comfortable seats with great leg room.
In the future, I will fly Quantas,Air NZ or Singapore to OZ,NZ, Thailand and Japan.

Lufthansa.

I've flown with them twice in the last year. I've found them to be very friendly and efficient [cliche but true].

Lufthansa, due to anything you can think of....

Most of the time, I shop by price. Yes, it is a balance between price and schedule... but it is not an even split. I'd say 70% of it is price and 30% is schedule.

The only airline I really try to avoid is US Airways. This stems from a dispute I had with them over unused funds. Basically, on the phone, I was told that if I needed to cancel my flight I could apply the funds to another trip within one year. I booked the flight and then, due to unforseen circumstances, had to cancel. It was $139 roundtrip. Later, when I went to apply those funds, US Airways insisted on charging a $150 fee to apply them. This was not only overlooked in my phone conversation but it also made no sense. They credit me $139 and then charge $150... so I end up paying $11 more! They continually insisted that they had no choice but to charge the $150 fee so I lost my $139 but they lost my business and my company's business.

So, my advice? Do not fly on US Airways. I have never had a significant problem with anyone else, however.

Jet Blue is my # choice but their times and airports are limited. I like their customer service, TV's on the back of every seat.

For time and price, my #1 choice is Southwest.

Midwest Airlines - whenever it will take me where I want to go. Just bought my tickets yesterday for San Francisco. Midwest is having a terrific sale right now.

When I picked out my seating there were more than 3 rows for the upgrade to Signature seating but $50 for an upgrade is not worth it to me. The number of rows for Signature Seating could depend upon the plane.

Will find out if I want Signature Seating after I sit for 3 or 4 hours in the "cheap seats". Not sure if they made Signature seating more roomy or made the regular seating smaller.