A Sea Of Red

Chicago Tribune wrote:AIRLINE QUALITY RATINGS

Overall rankings:

1. Virgin America
2. JetBlue
3. Airtran
4. Delta
5. Hawaiian
6. Alaska
7. Frontier
8. Southwest
9. US Airways
10. American
11. American Eagle
12. Skywest
13. ExpressJet
14. United

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Remind me again why consolidation is good for the industry? Perhaps Delta has survived this better since they were the first of the mega-mergers. I wish they serviced Houston better.

Sadly, the vast majority of my travel is on the bottom seven carriers. I will say that Alaska was clearly corners cut kind of carrier (rented movies on knock-off tablets), the crew seemed happier than most of their domestic carrier peers. If Alaska & Frontier would just join a better mileage network, I'd fly them more.

AirTran is 3'rd? I don't really buy that.

Two of the best airlines I've flown are TACA and AeroMexico. But honestly I can't say I've really had any nightmare experiences with any airline. I've been to South America, Hawaii, California and everywhere in between and so far I've been pretty lucky I suppose.

Only time I flew United was from Dallas to Chicago back to Roanoke. First leg was on an Explus plane, which was pretty awesome. I have no idea if its even around anymore.

Allgiant is one model I like. You get what you pay for, literally. So if you want soda, pay for it. Either way you still save compared to the legacy carriers out of smaller cities.

Domestic carriers all tend to be poorer than their government funded international rivals. I am seriously jazzed about flying on Lufthansa's new A380 in a couple of weeks. But domestic carriers are primarily battling to avoid oblivion with the depressed economy and high fuel prices.

Sly Fox wrote:Domestic carriers all tend to be poorer than their government funded international rivals. I am seriously jazzed about flying on Lufthansa's new A380 in a couple of weeks. But domestic carriers are primarily battling to avoid oblivion with the depressed economy and high fuel prices.

Fair point. I should have thought about that.

Flying United was one of the most miserable experiences of my life.

We flew Jet Blue for our honeymoon and loved it.

we dont' generally have alot of issues with delta.

Same here, RM. But I have a very limited sample. The only negative is that flying through Hartsfield is always a challenge with delays.

Love southwest. our lacrosse team travels strictly with them for the baggage check thing. they have been nothing but great. probably going to fly with them to vegas this summer for a conference if I can't find something cheaper.

Southwest is rarely the cheapest these days since they include baggage fees for everyone in their ticket price whether you carry-on or check. Their customer service also has been slipping considerably in recent years as they have grown into what is today the largest domestic carrier. But if you don't mind putting up with the cattle calls and getting stuck squeezed into middle seats then it can be a decent option.

Ever since i first flew on Jet Blue its all ive flown on. Similarly priced, if not cheaper, than southwest and far better service, far better amenities for domestic flights.

Do you guys really see that much difference between carriers? If my flight is on time I'm happy if not I'm mad. What are you guys seeing that makes such a difference?

I'm not a road warrior by any means but fly at least a dozen times a year domestically.

for me thats it. Jet blue gives superior service at a fraction of the price. Why would I pay more to fly on a different carrier when im just as happy on a cheaper flight

I've flown the top 5 and United. United was horrendous except for a Dallas to Chicago connector where there were 18 of us on a 737 so they moved everyone to first class and gave us access to all the first class amenities.

rueful wrote:Ever since i first flew on Jet Blue its all ive flown on. Similarly priced, if not cheaper, than southwest and far better service, far better amenities for domestic flights.

I flew JetBlue exclusively for a couple of years, then had a flight where I had to take Virgin America. I really like JetBlue, but VA was even better.

The top four primarily operate along the Atlantic coast. With a smaller operation, it is easier to run smoother.

NAJ - It is an extreme rarity to find an underbooked United flight these days. They have dropped a slew of flights and it is difficult to ever have an empty seat beside you. You hit the lottery on that leg.

Sly Fox wrote: NAJ - It is an extreme rarity to find an underbooked United flight these days. They have dropped a slew of flights and it is difficult to ever have an empty seat beside you. You hit the lottery on that leg.

That incident was a 4 stop trip home from Hawaii back in 02.

Oh how the times have changed in the past decade at United.

Have I mentioned how much I miss Continental lately?

And to the US Airways folks on here, what is with this new forced checked bag policy? Even with the cheaper fares, this policy alone is driving me and many of my colleagues away from this carrier.

Only flew Continental one time from Charlotte to LAX via IAH. Never had any issues, and fortunately we flew out of LAX at 1:30 in the morning so we never had any issue at the airport. Although I've heard horror stories about it.

I've flown into IAH numerous times on stopovers and international flights. Never once had a problem. It's a beautiful airport.