WHICH AIRLINE TO THE US?
 

My family and I are going to the US (Minneapolis) from Europe by the end of May. We are offered several different airlines to go with. It seems that Delta, KLM and American are the cheapest. Which one should I choose? Which one should I avoid?

Check out the discussion on the European fodors bulletin board -- there are several postings about American vs. some European airlines. I personally think American is not a great carrier in terms of comfort (pretty cramped compared to my experiences on other airlines like BA, Varig, Air France, Iberia) but its track record in terms of safety and on-time seems comparable to others. One consideration would be whether you are planning on doing other air travel within the US because the airlines may differ on the kinds of deals you can get.

Otto, a recent t.v. survey showed the top 10 American Airlines for safety and service as follows:
1.Southwest
2. Alaska Airlines
3.Continental
4. American
5. United
6. Delta
7. U.S. Airways
8. couldn't catch it
9. couldn't catch it
10. TWA

Southwest has won 3 years in a row. As far as Trans continental flights go my husband has flown from Saudi Arabia to Amsterdam to USA 6 times now as has thried Lusthansa, KLM and a couple of American airlines and he votes for KLM.

Otto, a recent t.v. survey showed the top 10 American Airlines for safety and service as follows:
1.Southwest
2. Alaska Airlines
3.Continental
4. American
5. United
6. Delta
7. U.S. Airways
8. couldn't catch it
9. couldn't catch it
10. TWA

Southwest has won 3 years in a row. As far as Trans continental flights go my husband has flown from Saudi Arabia to Amsterdam to USA 6 times now as has thried Lusthansa, KLM and a couple of American airlines and he votes for KLM.

I would vote for KLM--but only if you are only going to Minnesota. If you want to do more traveling in the U.S., I would look at American or Delta because this is a big country and you will want to fly to most destinations. I've flown all of them and I think your comfort depends more on the type of aircraft for that particular flight and the flight crew rather than the airline itself. All the ones you are considering are certainly safe! Have a great trip.