What is your favorite airline?

[gocubsgo3822]

Basically pretty simple. Do you have a favorite airline? Or do you fly based on the prices. I will happily pay more not to have to deal with the bullshit that is Southwest. I hate them . I flew Virgin America today and it was the best experience I have ever had.

[ExistenceNow]

How do you not put JetBlue on there? We were just talking about it.

[AlexK79]

Southwest because of their low fares, free checked bags, and relatively inexpensive ($8) wi-fi on the plane.

I'd probably have a different answer if I could afford to fly fancier. Heard great things about Virgin but haven't flown with them.

[Lcsulla]

Depends on so many factors it is absurd. Price, destination, hub location, extra charges, safety, etc, etc. Truthfully I loved El Al for their safety, problem is they are damn expensive, only offer certain flights and the screening makes TSA look like a bunch of moronic bumpkins.

[daveshookme]

assuming SW services my destination and they're not insanely more expensive than another airline, I will fly SW every time. hands down, no questions asked. supreme customer service, friendly staff, no bag fees, no change fees, on time service every single time...

I also have SW visa card, and their rewards system is awesome. flying albany to slc to gorge to albany for $50.

[drop2d]

Isn't this like asking who your favorite proctologist is? They all suck... but international carriers like British, Virgin, Cathay, Swiss are usually more bearable than most.

[Keyz]

Originally Posted by AlexK79

Southwest because of their low fares, free checked bags, and relatively inexpensive ($8) wi-fi on the plane.

I'd probably have a different answer if I could afford to fly fancier. Heard great things about Virgin but haven't flown with them.

This in its entirety.

[The-Last-Stop]

Aer Lingus

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by drop2d

Isn't this like asking who your favorite proctologist is? They all suck... but international carriers like British, Virgin, Cathay, Swiss are usually more bearable than most.

southwest is far from sucking.

[daveshookme]

and air tran is southwest you floob.

[Arby]

I dont fly nearly enough to have a strong opinion, but I just did Southwest the other week and it was fine.

[ExistenceNow]

Originally Posted by daveshookme

assuming SW services my destination and they're not insanely more expensive than another airline, I will fly SW every time. hands down, no questions asked. supreme customer service, friendly staff, no bag fees, no change fees, on time service every single time...

I also have SW visa card, and their rewards system is awesome. flying albany to slc to gorge to albany for $50.

LOVE my SW Visa.

Denver flights coming up were courtesy of that card. Just had to pay the $5 9/11 fee or whatever the fuck it is.

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by ExistenceNow

LOVE my SW Visa.

Denver flights coming up were courtesy of that card. Just had to pay the $5 9/11 fee or whatever the fuck it is.

I could have done all mine for $13 round trip but I decided since I'd saved $600 I could splurge and spend the $13 for early bird check in and boarding

[GSUdawg521]

Delta, partly because I live in Atlanta, so yeah.

Never really had a bad experience with them. My brother works for them -- not that I reap any benefits really these days, but still good to support. But I still usually use Kayak-type sites whenever I look for a flight, and Delta is still usually the best priced, or close enough that I might as well go with the airline that I'm used to and know that I like.

[gocubsgo3822]

Forgetting Jet Blue was to aggravate RJ when he sees this... I do love them ..

Airtran is not SW. One makes you check in 24 hours in advance or sit in super steerage

[dre2142]

I dont mind Southwest as I fly business class 90% of the time......and if Im flying the cheaper fares, Im sure to check in online right at 24 hours prior to boarding so Im in the A group. Their reward program is awesome.

Virgin America is my favorite of all of the domestic carriers though.....LOVE them.

Southwest and Airtran are same company but act independently

[gocubsgo3822]

I will say I do like united. I bought a fully non refundable fair and explained my situation to them. They fully refunded it... I was shocked. That shit bought them some favors with me. Not to mention I have a milage plus card that i have like 30K miles on

[Lcsulla]

There is something really wrong when a round trip ticket to FL plus one checked bag costs me more than an 8 day cruise out of NYC.

[AlexK79]

Always do the early bird check in on Southwest, well worth it.

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by dre2142

Southwest and Airtran are same company but act independently

this I did not know. Last I knew SW bought AT and that was it. have not flown AT ever, but see them linked on website/check-in and assumed they were the same.

[DIDriveOut2SPAC]

My Mileage program is with United, but I have flown on price alone before.

International carriers are better then our domestics by far though. Favorites right now are TACA, Copa and British Airways

[jackisback24]

Jet Blue from TF Green is awesome. No lines, little TVs on your chair to watch, exits on either end of the plane. Just awesome. And cheap. SoutWest is okay too.

[thebridge15]

Best experiences I've ever had were with Virgin and Air Canada (did not fly to Canada, they just picked it up). Iceland's was really solid too.

Delta is the worst.

How the fuck is jetBlue not on the list?

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by thebridge15

Best experiences I've ever had were with Virgin and Air Canada (did not fly to Canada, they just picked it up). Iceland's was really solid too.

Delta is the worst.

How the fuck is jetBlue not on the list?

it's a gocubs poll. it's best to not ask questions.

[ExistenceNow]

The only airlines I actively dislike are Delta and Frontier.

Frontier is really bad. The only reason I ever use them is because I can get direct flights from Austin to Denver for like $150 round trip. Other than that, I would never fly them.

[aicdmb]

Easy. Southwest....no bags fees and direct flights from Tampa to Albany

[AlexK79]

Originally Posted by ExistenceNow

The only airlines I actively dislike are Delta and Frontier.

Frontier is really bad. The only reason I ever use them is because I can get direct flights from Austin to Denver for like $150 round trip. Other than that, I would never fly them.

What was your bad experience with Frontier?

I only ask because I have only flown with them once, but I had quite a good experience overall. Using them again for a trip home from CO next month for my brother's wedding. (Flying Southwest CHI-DEN, but Frontier on the return trip.)

[gocubsgo3822]

Still not sure why anyone checks bags. I did hawaii last year for 10 days with one carry on and a laptop bag. With never doing laundry.

[recentlyJTR41]

Delta FTW

[defcon]

I fly an average of once a year if that, so...

I was satisfied and then some by Virgin. Quietest cabin I've seen, plenty of things to keep you occupied, modern, sleek, the purple-blue mood lighting and Recaro seats are a nice touch, entertainment system is top notch, best drink selection I've seen, and really ahead of the curve. For a few bucks (it was like 35) more, the upgraded coach seats (Coach Select or something like that) are the bomb...the seat reclines way back, you get more attention by the crew, it's positioned just the right distance from the lavatory and engines so no awful odors or sounds, you get off right after first class, and breeze through security, and you actually get an entire armrest with about 6 more inches of room...and the in-flight movie and one alcoholic beverage were included free at that time. Well worth the money.

It seems like airlines are now making money off their fees, and I see some economy/coach seats getting shittier and smaller, and some nice seats.

I was surprised to see Sun Country as a choice. They're like the mom and pop store you go to and pay a little more because it's quaint and not super corporate. I didn't like my connecting flight being cancelled and having to spend the night in MSP which was under heavy renovation, making it difficult to sleep or concentrate on anything. From like 8pm to 10am I was stuck. Luckily the cops and rent-a-cops weren't dicks after I explained the situation and showed them my boarding pass. I finally found a few other passengers from the cancelled flight and we commiserated, so that helped. At one point it almost ended up being a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" scenario since half of the people including myself were heading toward the NY/Northeast. Serious discussions were entered into to rent a car, but after a few minutes of deliberations and sending a scout, we realized that every rental car place was either closed or inaccessible. Sun Country was otherwise nice, and I enjoyed the crew's Great Lakes accent...the pilot literally called out every city in MN we passed over. I learned that night that Man-Kate-Oh is pronounced just that way, not "Man-Cat-O." I honestly just assumed it was pronounced a certain way.

Delta is fucking terrible. United-CONtinental is fucking terrible. JetBlue was decent, although a little pricey. Southwest can be surprisingly pricey at times, too. USAirways-American, well, I feel like American is the grandfather of the airline industry...I always expect to see like a fuckin' DC-3 in their long-time livery/paintjob pull up. I've never seen a male stewardess on any American flight ever (not that I've taken many, maybe 15 in my whole life), whereas Virgin is easily 1 in 3 flagrantly gay male flight attendants. Gonna go ahead and say 1 in 4 for the average industrywide...but that's for males in general. USAirways was better when they were USAir, always the cheapest fares, then they had to get fancy with a new logo and paint job and waste money on cosmetic shit.

Edit: Allegiant is pretty good. Right now it's like $72 one way to FL...a bus costs more!