Which Airline do you like the most?

[benthewraith]

Which airline do you like the most?

Due to many airline conversations, issues, etc, I'm curious as to which airline fellow MR users like to fly on.

Due to the hounding from others concerning the broadness of the "Other" selection and the inclusion of several major airlines, can you please post (politely of course), the airline you'd like to count your vote under)

Although not completely accurate due to the elimination of the Other column, I have counted all votes included in the statements, and included multiple selections (if one said Jetblue, Air New Zealand, and Qantas, such as iGary :).). These votes are post votes, as in People who casted votes in the posts. This helps a lot in getting a more fair poll. I wish I could go and add those, but you all have already voted.

I'll update this at 12:00 PM EDT

Airlines Post Votes

Southwest Airlines 0

Qantas 6

United 3

Continental 1

Delta 3

Northwest/KLM 0

American 2

Song 0

AirTran 0

Air Canada 1

Virgin Atlantic 2

Air France 0

LTU 0

China Airlines 0

Japan Airlines 2

British Airways 2

U.S. Airways 2

Air New Zealand 4

Singapore Airlines 5

Easyjet 1

American Eagle

American West

TWA 1

Sun Air 1

Emirates 1

Midwest 1

Korean 1

Asiana 1

Cathay Pacific 3

Hawaiin 1

Buzz 1

Go 1

[spicyapple]

Is this a trick question? :p

[imacintel]

Air Canada, westjet.

[Xander562]

JET BLUE BABY! they fly out of the little airport thats literally walking distance from my house,

Leather Seats

30 Channels of Direct TV in every seat

ooooohhh yeahhhhh

[Peterkro]

This seems a very parochial poll,there's a lot more major airlines than included here.

[spicyapple]

It's hard to say which airline I like best since I've never flown on all of them to be able to do a fair comparison, unless I was some rich business traveler. I'll just go with the one I fly the most, and it's not necessarily the one I like the best, but I wouldn't know that, would I? :cool:

[iGary]

Transatlantic: Virgin, hands down.

U.S.: United or Jet Blue

Pacific: United/Air New Zealand/Qantas

[nbs2]

Do I have to pay for my ticket? Then Delta, only because they are better than SW (not by much) and are cheaper than everybody else.

Otherwise, I really have fallen in love with JB and Continental.

[spicyapple]

Transatlantic: Virgin, hands down.
U.S.: United or Jet Blue
Pacific: United/Air New Zealand/Qantas
You HATE Southwest Airlines. :cool:

[mariahlullaby]

I tend to fly Delta because that's what all my SkyMiles are on. Haven't flown much else.

[Lyle]

U.S. Airways

[Blue Velvet]

Pacific: United/Air New Zealand/Qantas

Good lad. :D

They do get good reviews though, and my younger sister used to be 1st class cabin crew for ANZ too so mebbe I'm biased.

I haven't flown much in recent years but have always been impressed with Singapore Airlines.

[iGary]

Good lad. :D

They do get good reviews though, and my younger sister used to be 1st class cabin crew for ANZ too so mebbe I'm biased.

I haven't flown much in recent years but have always been impressed with Singapore Airlines.

They do a nice job, which is important when you are stuck in an aluminum can for 14 hours. :D Admitted I have never used any other airline to Auckland, but they seem good stuff. ;)

All Nippon Airlines to Japan fo sho.

[e²Studios]

I fly United or some UAL partner whever i go. I should have enough miles fora vacation to Australia by October, YAY!

Ed

[Bern]

I'm not American so I am exposed to more airlines than what is offered in this poll :rolleyes:

I prefer QANTAS, they have a proven safety record. I never fly Singapore Airlines anymore as the flight attendants are really ill mannered, and according to one ex-Singapore airline attendant I know they'll spit in your meal if you tick them off.

[UKnjb]

Long-haul has to be either Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines. . Everyone else is so bi-plane. Within Europe, Maersk. Transatlantic has to be Virgin (with the worst, IMO, being Air Canada - from where do they hire those ice-maidens? BA rejects? and Continental).

[dansgil]

Air Canada is by far the worst airline on that list. The flight attendants are ALWAYS rude, and they charge to put you on standby!

[gauchogolfer]

My miles are with United, but where's EasyJet?

I'm flying from Nice to Tokyo next month on KLM, which will be my first time with them. Any good stories / horror stories ?

[Tanglewood]

Heres a list of all the airlines I've used that I can remember: American, TWA, Hawaiian, Aloha, Delta, KLM, American Eagle, America West, and Alitalia

Out of all of these probably about 90% of my travel has been with American though the airline that gave me the best service was probably Hawaiian. (American gets docked points because of their Bistro Bag idea from the late 90s).

I was getting ready to board an early American Airlines flight out of Miami, and they announced that it was going to be “bistro service.” “Please pick up your ‘bistro’ meal from the cart as you board the plane,” they told us.

I honestly wasn't sure what “bistro” meant, but it sounded French,
which I thought was a good sign. French food is pretty tasty, except
for the snails, which I do not believe the French actually eat. I believe
the French sit around their restaurants pretending to eat out of empty
snail shells and making French sounds of enjoyment such as “Yumme!” (literally, “Yum!”). But when foreign tourists order this “delicacy,” the waiters bring them shells that still contain actual unretouched snails, which the tourists eat, causing the French people to duck under their tables and laugh until red wine spurts from their nostrils.

But other than that, French food is pretty good. So I had high hopes when, on my way to the plane, I stopped at the cart and picked up a paper sack containing my “bistro” meal. I was hungry, because I had not eaten breakfast, because I had arrived at the airport one hour early so that, in accordance with airline procedures, I could stand around.

When the plane took off, I opened my “bistro” sack. Here are the items it contained: (1) a container of yogurt, (2) a “breakfast bar” made from compressed dried wood chips, and (3) the greenest, coldest, hardest banana I have ever touched in my life. If I'd had a mallet, I could have pounded it straight into a vampire's heart.

So I didn't eat the banana. Needless to say I also didn't eat the yogurt. My guess is, nobody ever eats the yogurt; at the end of the flight, the airline people just collect all the unused yogurts and put them back into “bistro” sacks for the next flight. There are containers of airline yogurt still in circulation that originally crossed the Atlantic with Charles Lindbergh.

I did eat the “breakfast bar,” because if you're hungry enough, you will eat wood chips. (That's why beavers do it. There is no way they would gnaw on trees if they ever found out about pizza delivery.)

Anyway, the flight was scheduled to go directly to Houston, so finally, after navigating around the sky for a several hours, we landed in: New Orleans. The pilot said there was fog in Houston. No doubt it was manufactured by the Fog Generator, which every modern airport maintains right next to the Banana Freezer.

They didn't let the passengers off the plane in New Orleans, possibly for fear that we would run away. So we just sat there for an hour or so, rustling our “bistro meal” sacks and listening to our stomachs grumble. Here's how bad it got: A woman across the aisle from me finally broke down and ate her yogurt. I bet this really messed up the accounting
when the airline food personnel got ready to re-sack the yogurt for the next flight (“Hey! There's one missing!”).

Anyway, we finally took off again and landed in Houston, where we dropped to our knees and gratefully licked crumbs off the terminal floor. So the story ended happily, except for the nagging question that remained stuck in my mind: Why did the airline call it “bistro service?” When I got home, I looked up “bistro.” According to my dictionary,
it's a French word meaning “a small wine shop or restaurant where wine is served.” The image it conjures up is of a cozy little place on a picturesque little street in Paris, with candle-lit tables for two occupied by lovers kissing, drinking wine, enjoying French food and laughing at snail-eating tourists. Somehow, the airline decided to use this word, of all the words in the world, to describe what was served on my flight.

Why? The answer is: marketing. At some point, American Airlines went to its Marketing Department and said, “We're going to stop serving real food to people, and we need a good name for it.” Marketing people love this kind of challenge. Their motto is: “When life hands you lemons, lie.” And so they held a brainstorming session, probably at a nice French restaurant, and finally, after a lot of wine, they came up with “bistro service,” which sounds a LOT better, from a marketing standpoint, than “a sack of inedible objects.”

Giving things ridiculous names is a key marketing tactic. That's why the gambling industry, when it became concerned that people might think it had something to do with gambling, changed its name to the “gaming” industry, as if people go to Las Vegas to play Capture the Flag.

But I think “bistro service” is even better. It may be the best marketing concept I have seen since back in the 1970s, when McDonald's, which does not wait on your table, does not cook your food to order, and does not clear your table, came up with the with the slogan “We Do It All For You.” With this kind of marketing ingenuity, there is no telling how far we can go. Perhaps some day, when we board our airplane, we will each pick up a box of dirt; this will be called “haute cuisine service.” We will take the box without complaining because we are consumers, and our motto is “moo.”

[BlizzardBomb]

For UK to USA, nothing beats Virgin Atlantic.

[Queso]

I like QANTAS, but the best airline ever was Sun Air down in South Africa. Every passenger got allocated two adjoining leather seats, all drinks were free and even served whilst the plane taxied, and the checking queues were always tiny. You had to pay, but God was is worth it.

Sadly, no longer with us. When the Rand fell through the floor, their costs went right up and they went bankrupt :(

[kiwi-in-uk]

For long flights (24 hours or so) ...

Emirates (although the Dubai hub has been a bit of a pain while the new terminal is being built)

Cathay



NEVER AGAIN ...

QANTAS International - they are nearly always arrogant and unnecessarily inflexible (Australian domestic is OK)

British Airways - same reason as QANTAS but done with funny accents

Virgin Blue (Australian domestic) - low service level but no cheaper than full service competitor (QANTAS domestic), leather seats

[killuminati]

Lufthansa (sp?)

and

KLM

[Lau]

I've only mainly flown on budget airlines – Easyjet and Ryanair, and the now obsolete Go and Buzz. For short flights, I'll take what's cheapest and what flies to the airport I need.

I've flown BA a couple of times in the UK, most recently the other weekend cause I had to. It was nice, definitely nicer than budget stuff. When I flew to New York it was on BA and that was nice too, although we were all a bit disappointed because it was originally going to be Virgin, and that sounded dead cool.

As none of these airlines feature in the poll, I voted other. :p But I suspect that a lot of the ones I've never flown are the coolest. I always feel a bit posh flying BA, so I rather fancy some of the really posh ones. :)

[satty]

Transatlantic: Virgin, hands down.

U.S.: United or Jet Blue

Pacific: United/Air New Zealand/Qantas

In earlier times I flew Air New Zealand; mainly to get to New Zealand. But since the "war on terror" harassment at LA airport, I was forced to change the route and so my new choice is Singapore Airlines. Very good service, hardly any transfer/stop over times in Singapore and a million times nicer transit area than LA.

So nowadays my main travel focus is more on Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, China last January and hopefully Singapore, China, North Korea and Tibet in October).

[satty]

I'm not American so I am exposed to more airlines than what is offered in this poll :rolleyes:

I prefer QANTAS, they have a proven safety record. I never fly Singapore Airlines anymore as the flight attendants are really ill mannered, and according to one ex-Singapore airline attendant I know they'll spit in your meal if you tick them off.

How should this "spitting into the meal" work?

They don't know in advance, what meal a passenger is going to choose, unless in case of a special order, i.e. vegetarian. And I can't see them spitting in front of the passenger.

There's only one option then: The attendant spits into all meals.

Btw. Is this the reason the person is an "Ex-Attendant"? :)

[MongoTheGeek]

I use US Airways the most because they are the main airline in the area.

I remember them being Allegheny before they went big time. They were nicknamed Agony.

Delta was Delay. They used to take 15 minutes longer than any other airline to travel the same distance between 2 points. They used to time to pad online arrival times.

/Fondly remembers PanAM
//Remembers Braniff
///Knows that you can't even get to hell without going through Atlanta...

[Cybix]

how insulting, you missed some of the worlds largest and greatest airlines..

Qantas!

Cathay Pacific

Singapore Airlines...

sheesh

[2nyRiggz]

AA or nothing at all....unless its much cheaper;)





Bless

[jelloshotsrule]

personally i think that people hate whatever they fly most, at least when it comes to the cheaper airlines. my parents used to always fly continental (and thus i did) and i came to hate it. now i think united is the devil (but i have a mileage account). jetblue and airtran have impressed me more or less, in the couple times each i've flown them

air new zealand rules! i just love the accents. ;) and aer lingus was awesome too. very nice flight attendants.

[asxtb]

AA or nothing at all....unless its much cheaper;)





Bless
Agreed. American has rather spacious seats. The first time I used American flying from Japan I walked right past my seat because I thought I was still in Business class.

[portent]

All the US airlines, both "major" and "discount" are kinda pathetic these days, compared to foreign airlines. The US market is saturated, service is that in name only, and competition consists entirely of who can get the lowest fare between the cities you want.

There are many nice international airlines...which one is best usually depends on which country you're going to. And the US majors are much nicer to their international customers.

That said...Fly Delta Jets.

[MongoTheGeek]

Anyone Fly Hooters Air?

I mean an Owl themed airline has to be good right?

[muffinman]

Im wondering why Asiana Airlines and Korean Air is not on the poll....

[atszyman]

Anyone here ever fly Midwest Airlines?

My favorite domestic airline. Great provided you're flying out of Milwaukee, or don't mind a layover there. Works well for me since the one place I travel regularly needs a layover anyway and it's either Chicago, Milwaukee, or the Twin Cities.

Leather seats, only 4 seats where most airlines fit 5, warm chocolate chip cookies....

If it works for your origin/destination I highly recommend them.

[OutThere]

I have a general dislike for most airlines that I've flown, as most of them have given me crap at some point.

I have the biggest problem with United, however. They have last-minute-cancelled at least 4 flights that I was supposed to be on. One of them I got pissed off (iGary style :D), took my refund and road-tripped it.

Another time, last winter, I was flying out to visit my girlfriend and luckily they were able to put me on a replacement flight. Of course, the replacement flight was on Northwest, which, on the way back, decided to cancel my flight just as she left the airport. Cell phones are a godsend.

I've flown a lot of airlines. The only one I never remember having a real problem with has been Swiss (formerly SwissAir). I would like to fly Virgin though, as it sounds like they have great service. :)

[iAlan]

I am a Qantas Frequent Flyer member and tend to use One World Alliance Partners to clock the miles up.

I am living in Japan so use Qantas to fly home, BA to the UK and Europe, and American to the States - all for the miles - and they mount up as I usually have at least one business trip to Europe and one to the US, one trip home and a vacation someplace else inbetween every year (home and vacation are economy, business trips are business class - and there are extra miles added for business class)

And I have the Platinum status on Qantas (it goes Regular, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum I think) so I get additional miles due to status as well - and access to the 1st class lounge regarless of which class I fly!

So, price is not a factor as i would preffer the added miles on a vacaation than a slightly cheaper ticket and access to the lounge to relax before a flight

[SodaPopMonster]

Continental, 'cause they are based in my hometown, and I have never had any trouble with them. All my miles are there, too.

[bousozoku]

Japan Airlines has been the friendliest.

I've been on United Airlines, American Airlines, AirTran, and Puddle Jumpers, Inc. but I left more like luggage than a passenger.

Consider that I've driven from Floriduh to California twice, as well as Philly.

[benthewraith]

I had made this poll to determine what airlines most people liked that had plenty of stops. Can't say I haven't been pleased with the results, and I enjoy the fact that others have mentioned airlines that I haven't heard of (except Qantas, I've seen them before). I also have this vague feeling that I forgot another major airline (British Airways?)...anyways, keep the results coming, I think I may be able to use this for a sociology paper! :D

EDIT: I forgot British Airways :o

[Abstract]

how insulting, you missed some of the worlds largest and greatest airlines..

Qantas!

Cathay Pacific

Singapore Airlines...

sheesh

Yeah, and underline "largest." Cathay Pacific is large and popular amongst those who use them, even through other polls conducted. They're always quite good, and the food is fantastic, IMO. Most flights are almost the same regardless of airline, but the food to me makes the difference. Bad food can make a flight dreadful, but a surprisingly good meal perks you up a bit.

Oh, and the flight attendants are the hottest. :p

Virgin Atlantic isn't bad, either. Singapore airlines is nice.

WestJet in Canada is a budget airline. I used it to fly from Vancouver to Toronto (home), and while they don't give you anything, they crew is young and actually entertaining once in a while. :)

[Chundles]

I really don't think it's wise to list:

Qantas
BA
KLM
Cathay Pacific
Air New "Zulund"
Singapore Airlines
Emirates
Gulf Air
Aer Lingus
Asiana
Korean Air
ANA
JAL

And a stack of other really big airlines under "other."

My vote is for Qantas because I get cheap seats with them and they treat me very well.

[benthewraith]

I really don't think it's wise to list:

Qantas
BA
KLM
Cathay Pacific
Air New "Zulund"
Singapore Airlines
Emirates
Gulf Air
Aer Lingus
Asiana
Korean Air
ANA
JAL

And a stack of other really big airlines under "other."

My vote is for Qantas because I get cheap seats with them and they treat me very well.

I'm sorry, I don't know every airline. I tried to get all the ones that I can remember, and I already admitted I do remember Qantas.

However, I have a spreadsheet with the data of all those that have stated which airlines they like (if they have multiple I counted the multiple).

Also, NWA/KLM should have been together, instead of KLM counted under Other. :o

I apologize for all the people that feel offended that I didn't get all the major airlines, I tried. :o

[DaveP]

Anyone here ever fly Midwest Airlines?

My favorite domestic airline. Great provided you're flying out of Milwaukee, or don't mind a layover there. Works well for me since the one place I travel regularly needs a layover anyway and it's either Chicago, Milwaukee, or the Twin Cities.

Leather seats, only 4 seats where most airlines fit 5, warm chocolate chip cookies....

If it works for your origin/destination I highly recommend them.

I've been wanting to try them out. However, I usually like to fly out the Twin Cities in the evening after work, and they tend not to have evening flights. But I'll try them eventually.

With that said, I generally used Continental in Cleveland (it's a hub) and Northwest here in Minneapolis (again, a hub). I've flown on Air Tran more than a couple times when I can get a good deal.

[pink-pony115]

Likes: British Airways

Hates: Southwest Airlines

[mgargan1]

Jetblue is amazing, what with the low fares, leather seats, and tv's. The only problem that i have had is not their fault. I always seem to get stuck sitting next to the clown that doesn't wear deodorant, or even the guy who doesn't cover his mouth when he sneezes.

I mean come on, who doesn't wear deodorant, and who doesn't cover his or her mouth when they sneeze?

[macOSX-tastic]

i usually fly virgin atlantic, as their prices are usually very good and their inflight entertainment is (IMO) second to none, out of all the airlines i have experienced so far. plus, they are very flexible with regards to how you can use your miles.

i flew Malaysia airlines on monday to singapore, and they were also fantastic. plus, i get the miles on my virgin account when i fly with them:D

BA are good, but i have heard many bad reports as of late.

S [Posting from Singapore] 再见.

[Grey Beard]

My vote has gone in the 'others' but can be attributed to Air New Zealand. Of course Kiwis can fly.

[Chundles]

My vote has gone in the 'others' but can be attributed to Air New Zealand. Of course Kiwis can fly.

Just not over mountains all that well...

Oh no he didn't...:D

[Glenn Wolsey]

Qantas for international, Air New Zealand for domestic.

[Bern]

How should this "spitting into the meal" work?

They don't know in advance, what meal a passenger is going to choose, unless in case of a special order, i.e. vegetarian. And I can't see them spitting in front of the passenger.

There's only one option then: The attendant spits into all meals.

Btw. Is this the reason the person is an "Ex-Attendant"? :)

Oh sorry I'm talking Business Class... which is all I ever fly these days.

[adk]

Granted I work for Midwest Airlines, but they're still my favorite (even though they treat us employees pretty badly!!). What could be better than 2x2 leather seating (where 2x3 is standard) and baked on board chocolate chip cookies?

[MongoTheGeek]

I am surprised noone said Oceanic Air (http://www.oceanic-air.com/)

[benthewraith]

I am surprised noone said Oceanic Air (http://www.oceanic-air.com/)

After the numerous terrorist hijackings and plane crashings, who would fly Oceanic Airlines?

[gauchogolfer]

After the numerous terrorist hijackings and plane crashings, who would fly Oceanic Airlines?

I think he was joking.....

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1097/picture2dm8.png

[TEG]

1) Song is no longer in business. It was absorbed back into Delta, from which it was born.

2) After watching Airline on A&E I love Southwest, but I have never flown on them. This is because I'm a 3-4 week booker, and by that point it costs too much to fly with them.

3) Alaska Airlines is awesome, 90%+ of flights are direct (non-stop), the drawback is... Price.

4) I also like United. United usually has some good deals, just not out of the airport I'm currently near.

5) When in Canada, it is AirCanada (or Jazz). In fact after my first term in college (just after 9/11), I found it was cheaper to fly from Toronto to Vancouver than it was from Detroit to Seattle, and thankfully my parents were in Toronto at the time, so they came to pick me up, and later took me to the airport.

6) I currently fly America West/US Air. I get my United frequent flyer miles while getting a great deal, and having a layover in Las Vegas!

TEG

[dansgil]

When flying in Canada, avoid Air Canada at all costs. Fly WestJet instead. They're often cheaper, all seats are leather have TV, and the flight attendants are much more courteous.

[benthewraith]

I think he was joking.....

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1097/picture2dm8.png

Ahhh...*shakes head*

See, I was joking, actually, I think we both were. I'm sorry you didn't get the reference. :) Or if you did, you should have gotten my reply.

[cwedl]

To be honest I don't fly that much at all, but recently I have been flying with easyjet, they are cheap, efficient friendly and when my bag was over weight, I was not charged!

I'm sure they are not the most comfortable etc but for the money they seem a lot better than all the other ones I've been on!

[emmawu]

I love Midwest Airlines. All are two seat across and they serve free warm chocolate chip cookies ;)

[iJon]

My personal favorite, which also wasn't listed would be Cathay Pacific/Hong Kong Airlines. Even in coach they treat you like royality. Blankets, socks, unlimited alcohol, great food, great movies and more which keep me situated during a 15 hour flight.

jon

[crazycat]

Emirates by far.

[wingsky]

emirates or cathay for me.