I travel a lot, but don%26#39;t leave again until mid-June. was wondering if some of those reading these forums will rate the different airline experiences they have had.
my most recent was with Northwest Air, I wouldn%26#39;t give it a good grade. late taking off, as well as the return flight. made us sit on the ground inside the plane in Maui without allowing us to get off the plane for 1.5 hours while the cleaning crew bumped around us pretending to clean the aircraft which I swear was dirtier when they left. terrible flight times with a
stop for each way, most airlines from Seattle are non-stop. they were bad about the frequent flier miles, we had to take the worst flight times of all and still pay over 350 rt with the miles! there was terrible ';food for purchase'; which you couldn%26#39;t pay me to buy next time. the luggage took forever to show up, we had plenty of time to get the rental car. the crew was rude, nobody helped anybody else, might be they were all tired, night flights both ways, and the turbulence was the worst, but that isn%26#39;t the fault of the crew. it was just bad flights the whole way around.
we were told by Northwest under no circumstances to lock our luggage in any way, it would be broken to get into the bags. this means it must have been okay to steal things out of my bags which happened both ways. little things, chocolates and calendars, but an annoyance that you can%26#39;t trust things to stay in your bags. luckily cameras and other more valuable things were in my carryons. I hear the same things from my coworkers who also travel a lot for our work, they have all had things stolen out of their checked baggage.
the good thing to say was as late as we left to come home, there were no lines and the counter clerk was very very nice. we were also told to still come to the airport 2 hours ahead on the Big Island, and there was very little seating, all out mostly in the rain. they didn%26#39;t open the gates until 8pm, (flight leaving at 9) so for an hour with the gift shop closed and the restaurant not allowing you to sit inside unless you bought a meal, you basically sat outside in the misty rain with your bags getting wet until they opened the gate as there were too many people for the 8 chairs and the little seating along the cement walls.
any word on United upcoming strike? - that is who I fly with June,
and the recent layoffs with the baggage staff for one airline (is it American?) seem to cause problems as well.
what are some of your experiences with various airlines and how to beat the hassle of flying?
Airline reviews needed
I flew on NW this week and I don%26#39;t remember them being as bad as they were!
We flew first class and still had a not good experience.
Do you guys know of a website where consumers can post reviews of airlines iike they do on here with hotels?!
Airline reviews needed
We fly NWA almost exclusively (not by choice, but because they 80-90% of the flights out of Minneapolis). We have not had as bad of experiences as you had, but they are certainly not known for their stunning service. For the Hawaii flights from MSP things have greatly improved this year since they retired the DC-10%26#39;s and are flying brand new Airbus A-330 jets. These have TV screens on the back of every seat (even in coach), with multiple progamming options. The first class seats are outstanding, with nearly 180 recline, lumbar support and massage. Food in coach is very ordinary snack boxes, so I would buy a snadwich in the airport and bring it on. First class food is pretty good, and they give you a mai tai as soon as you sit down. These planes are only used for the nonstop flight from MSP to HNL.
The problem with the Hawaii flights from the west coast is that they fly old, poorly equiped 757%26#39;s with small seats and minimal service. We just flew first class on one of those 757%26#39;s to Las Vegas, and those were the most uncomforable seats I can remember sitting in.
We have never had trouble with things being stolen out of our checked bags, but I carry on anything of value. All airlines require you to leave checked bags unlocked. This is a TSA rule so they can search your bag.
The Hawaii flights from MSP generally leave pretty much on time, especially since they retired the DC-10%26#39;s which were so old they had frequent mechanical problems.
I travel lots of long haul ... this year took Korean air to Honolulu (from Korea) and Delta home from Maui (via Salt Lake to Atlanta). Last year I flew Continental. Just got back from Europe with Northwest; have done 2 int%26#39;l trips with United this year and one with US Airways last year. Most of my US travel is with Delta, with United being second and Continental third in terms of frequency. Have flown Aloha and Hawaiian within the islands only.
First I will say this: If I were flying from Seattle, which I consider to be a reasonably short flight, and if I were planning on flying coach, I would take the cheapest ticket I could get ... I%26#39;d rather spend my money in Hawaii.
But, if I were flying first class, I would pay a bit more attention as some first class seats just aren%26#39;t worth the $$. Check out seatguru.com to see what sort of seats your airline/plane has.
I have had good and bad experiences on all of these airlines ... most of the stuff you mention above is circumstantial and can happen with any airline. As for locks, you have to use TSA approved locks (so the TSA folks can unlock them). Any other locks might be broken off. That is a TSA rule, not NWA. I haven%26#39;t had anything stolen out of my checked luggage, but then again, it%26#39;s generally just my clothes.
As far as tips for hassle-free flying, get to the airport early enough not to be in a rush, but not so early that you sit around forever (1 hr 15 min usually does it for domestic -- in Hawaii, I%26#39;d give it 1.5 hrs for coming back to the mainland). Don%26#39;t overpack -- carry on if possible. For checked bags, use TSA locks or none at all. Don%26#39;t wear big belts, metal jewelry, etc that make going through the metal detectors an exercise in undressing. Take food on board with you (a meal and snacks). Before you leave, go online and familiarize yourself with the layout of the airport so you have some idea of where you are going.
Anyway ... reviews:
Delta: They give you a ';snack pack'; on any flight less than 6 hours or something ... the packs vary but generally have a couple of cookies, some cheese spread and crackers, and a bag of ';snack mix'; that looks like it%26#39;s the leftovers from the granola factory. Their service seemed to get better when they were facing the hostile takeover but now it seems many of their staff just don%26#39;t care. Their coach class has been redone -- leather seats -- but the 767s that they fly to Hawaii have sub-par entertainment systems and the first class seats are old and not worth paying for, IMO. Checkin with Delta in Maui is a pain b/c they don%26#39;t have luggage-screening equipment and have to hand-search all bags (moral: arrive early)
Continental: New, nice planes. They still give you food, even on short flights at meal time. From Newark to Atlanta recently I had a small sandwich and bag of chips, but it was good and unexpected. I find their staff to be friendly and I think they just won a top award for customer satisfaction.
US Airways: They have some nice Airbus planes with video on demand (you can pick your movie, start %26amp; stop it, etc) but I am not sure they fly these to Hawaii. Mixed reviews on this forum since the America West merger.
NWA: The food for sale looked okay to me but I didn%26#39;t eat it. Their Airbuses are very nice but again not sure what they fly to Hawaii. No problem with their staff.
United: They have an ';economy plus'; section that gives you a little more leg room (5';) and that makes a pretty big difference. Not sure how you buy a seat here as they give automatic upgrades to their elite-level fliers ... you can buy an ';economy plus'; card that for $300 that will let you and a companion upgrade to economy plus on any United flight for a year. Not sure what they do with food. I have had really bad experiences with them in Chicago and Dulles with flight delays and cancellations (had to buy tickets on other airlines twice) but not sure how they would be on the West coast. Generally pretty good service in the air -- can%26#39;t say as much for their ground staff.
I have heard good things about Hawaiian -- I would definitely check them out.
Good luck!
From Seattle I would fly on Hawaiian Air or Alaska.
Yes, who designed the seats in the 757%26#39;s -- terrible regardless of coach or first class. We%26#39;ve been happy with the first class 767%26#39;s on AA to Hawaii from Chicago. Bean counters have been at work though: No more hot fudge sundaes; no olives; no vermouth. I think every flight attendant has to be old enough to be on SS on the Hawaii runs, too. LOL (I should talk -- have my own Medicare card.)
(I also get ';wanded'; every flight even after stating that I have a hip prosthesis. Tiresome and surely useless.)
I fly United to Hawaii-and almost everywhere else. The flights usually are not very good,but they definitely are better than NW/Delta/or Continental. The snack that they sellon board are pretty bad-carry your own.
I hate to throw water on a great discussion but...the original post date was in 2005?
This is a common problem in other forums. No one has figured out how the old posts are bunmped, either.
Check the post date before replying....!
HAWAIIAN! Yahoo! Go for it. Check out their website.
No comments:
Post a Comment