Airlines

[Zalgirinis]

I believe flying to your destination is also a part of holiday or travel. So what can you say about one or other Airlines?

I'll start with my recent one, which happened with the trip back home from Athens to Vilnius through Prague. We got to the Czech Airlines plane in Athens and everything seemed to be ok, but then they said you have to wait 10 minutes because of something, after 10 mintues lasted 20 minutes, they said wait another 20 minutes, that meant that we already wont be in time for flight from Prague to Vilnius. Anyway after waiting 30 minutes they said that plane will need to be fixed and it will take 4 hours. Ok it happens I guess, but we still werent allowed to leave the plane (had no condition), because they didnt manage to get buses to the plane. After spending smth like 2 hours in the plane at last we got ouf it and later on the flight was cancelled.

After spending few hours in hotel we were brought back to airport and at last landed in Prague. From that time it seemed that canceled flight and finding new tickets for other flights was our problem. In Prague's Transfer Desk they were really not willing to help though it was their responsibility to take care of everythign they messed up. We got tickets to Vilnius only on other day, so in the end our trip back home lasted 54 hours.

Czech Airlines suck, what about others?

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

CSA: I have had a few rough experiences with Czech airlines too (lost luggage, delays) but I can't really hold it against them because they are cheaper than their competitors. I also like them cuz I get the chance of a daytrip to lovely Prague when my connecting flight is not until 6-7 hours after my arrival at Ruzyne Airport (which usually is).
WizzAir: Really annoying absece of a seat allocation policy. They don’t even give priority numbers so entering the plane reminded me of the old days at the school bus when we were kicking each other for who was going to get the seats at the back…. Otherwise a fine service for a £40 (tax incl.) London-Sofia return trip.
Ryanair: Surprisingly I only used them once and it was for a short trip (Edinburgh-Dublin) so I cannot comment too much about them. No major complains other than the annoying Donegal accent of the pilot.
Easy Jet: Their prices have gone up lately I feel. Never had any problems with them.
British Airways: You get what you pay they say, and BA is no exception. New aircraft, fairly (but not always) punctual, and reasonable service. The fact that their food is mingin’ comes as no surprise, being british.
Lufthansa (and Augsburg): It has been a long time and I can’t remember much. Pretty standard and decent service.
Swissair (and Crossair): Top-notch airline. No complains.
Olympic: A delay is a must but it’s the only airline where the food actually made me feel satiated.
Aegean: Great food once more. Fairly punctual.
KLM (and Transavia): Only flew once with them and they lost my luggage. Can’t blame them though as it was two days after 9/11 and there was a chaos at Schipol, plus my two connecting flights were too close to each other and there wasn’t enough time for the luggage to be transferred. They delivered the stuff 4 days later…
Air France: Really annoying refund policy (but what airline doesn’t have one?). Love the cheese selection on board . I once bought a ticket (Sofia-Edinburgh) that included an overnight stay at a Paris hotel for the return leg, which I thought was cool.
Fly BE: Small planes, silly luggage policies, great prices.
NovAir: Lllllllovely swedish stewardesses, nice aircrafts, and functional video displays with flight info even for short flights.

[Trifilli]

so in the end our trip back home lasted 54 hours.

Ouch, that's bad

Here some personal experiences I had with Airlines (only lines I used more than once, no charter, no cheap airlines like Ryanair):

KLM: Although the Airline itself is really nice and the service is good I had some bad luck with the KLM. Once I had to wait 9 hours for my plane in Amsterdam, not getting a lot of information and only once in those 9 hours I received something to drink (had to buy the other stuff myself at the Airport), one could also not go to the city as nobody said how long it would take. Another time my flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi was overbooked, something that forced me to stay a night in Amsterdam and Nairobi (as I also missed my transfer there). Got a nice compensation though, they payed for a top hotel in both cities (including the drinks ) and offered either 600 DM (~300€) cash or 1200 DM worth travel tickets from KLM

Al Italia: Same bad luck as with KLM only without the compensation. Overbooking flights seem to be a habit there, I already spent more than a night in Milano (with my luggage already on the way to another city). Only got a hotel far from the airport there, with dinner included (no more than 1 plate and 1 bottle of water though). One day they wouldn't even tell me which is the correct bus to the airport (there was a bus picking us up from the hotel without signs) and I almost ended up on the way to the wrong airport, terrible.

Air Canada: Best Airline I flew with so far, nice people, very good service, everything as it should be. I had no bad experiences with them at all.

Olympic Airways: Decent Airline for flights to Greece, always delayed (that's a habit as well ) but overall ok, not too expensive compared to other Airlines flying from Germany to Greece (direct flights). For inner-greek flights (especially on the islands) you might face a surprise when entering the plane from time to time

Lufthansa: Pretty similar to Olympic Airways, without being always delayed though, more expensive on the other hand. Nothing spectacular but the Airline is ok, especially for short flights. Service and food once used to be much better than Olympic Airways but these things changed, it's the other way around now.

Aegean Airlines: Imo better than Olympic Airways for inner-greek flights, they have the bad habit of changing direct flights to non-direct flights on their International routes from time to time though, without giving you a warning (you usually end up in Saloniki then on your way to another european city, especially Frankfurt )

Delta Airlines: Ok Airline, nothing spectacular but not bad either, they have a decent service as well. What I hated though was being asked for like 2 hours if there's the possibility that I'm a terrorist and if I would be so kind telling them if I carry a bomb in my luggage (all passengers have to answer such questions before entering the plane...).

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

Delta Airlines: Ok Airline, nothing spectacular but not bad either, they have a decent service as well. What I hated though was being asked for like 2 hours if there's the possibility that I'm a terrorist and if I would be so kind telling them if I carry a bomb in my luggage (all passengers have to answer such questions before entering the plane...).

Ouch, I am flying with them in October, I suppose I should prepare myself for the interrogation...

I also forgot AirScotland which uses probably the oldest aircraft around... I had the misfortune of having an obese guy sitting in front of me.. or should I say .. on top of me, given that his seat was reclining more than it should (broken?). 5 of the most torturous hours of my life...

[Trifilli]

Ouch, I am flying with them in October, I suppose I should prepare myself for the interrogation...

Lol, yeah, you should indeed expect to be arrested, you evil terrorist

I also forgot AirScotland which uses probably the oldest aircraft around... I had the misfortune of having an obese guy sitting in front of me.. or should I say .. on top of me, given that his seat was reclining more than it should (broken?). 5 of the most torturous hours of my life...

AirScotland? Didn't even know that they exist When I went to Scotland I flew with KLM (that time without problems), the only downside was that I had to do the trip Frankfurt-London-Edinburgh, but it was much cheaper than BA back then

[adebisi]

Air TAP Portugal:
The worst service in a whole world I was flying with them about 6 times and all of them was a big big disappoitment. BTW the food is awful too

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

Air TAP Portugal:
The worst service in a whole world I was flying with them about 6 times and all of them was a big big disappoitment. BTW the food is awful too

So how come you've been to Portugal so many times? Are you a Rytas fan?

(OK, I know, bad joke )


I heard that they went bankrupt some time ago. Maybe that's why they have lowered their standard of service.

[adebisi]

So how come you've been to Portugal so many times? Are you a Rytas fan? .

I am a FC Porto fan

[adebisi]

I'm that guy in green jacket

[Levenspiel]

I only used Turkish Airlines (I'm a nationalist fanatic, you know - I had no alternative), 5 times in total. So no comparisions. Maybe I can compare to busses because one of my domestic flights took about the same duration as the ordinary busses would.

Food was good and enough in my journeys to Germany and back, and service was alright. The planes were modern, too. But I know not all of them are so. And, prices.. I guess it's expensive when compared to other small Turkish airlines, and it was expensive than Lufthansa (Anyway, I didn't pay for the tickets).

[Phantim3dx]

triffilli DELTA AIRLINES asked you such questions?!?!?1 when did this happen it never happened for me!

anyways, im a bit surprised of what you guys have stated about british airways, so i might have to experience it myself someday.

All the airlines I have flown have all been coach class since I can’t afford anything else :-D

as an aviation major i have a general udnerstandingt hat when flying in turbulent air, you should kick down the thrust down a bit otherwise you gmiht do some structural damage to the plane eventually. so i am rating also the pilots and their fighter pilot glee in flying the bumpy skies @ times on whether they kept going faster or faster or actually lowered the thrust on the plane and took it easy for the comfort of passengers.

American Airlines: Nothing special, actually I can’t really say anything good or bad about them.

Delta Airlines: A few delays and way too many overbooked tickets, but hey it worked out for me I have accrued well over 700 dollars in voucher tickets, hehehe. Pilots are good and flew that Boeing 777 like it was a Cadillac of the skies, nothing rash or too Top Gun style. oh they let me eat as much as I wanted on that international flight, even almost bumped me to business class while we were in the air, so attendants were definitely the best in terms of what the western world airlines had to offer in comparison to the easter world airlines like singapore air, etc

Korean Airlines: Food was good! Attendants were quite nice, except the one in charge of my area was kind of a bitch..When I was coming back to America from my trip to Japan and we had to fill those documents of entering the u.s. she gave me the damn visa worker documents or whatever its called until I corrected her and told her I was a u.s. citizen....okay story to this was being in a plane I like to dress comfy so I had like your typical surf shorts on with just a regular t shirt and a backpack @ the bottom of my seat. Now although she didn’t say it I know she was judging me on how I dressed because others were given the mistaken documents for U.S. citizens. Not to mention when I was filled out the CORRECT documents she said "I want my pen back" well Korean Airlines won't get my service anytime soon, but I was respectful and I even searched the damn plane for that stupid attendant so I could give her the pen. Oh the pilots on Korean Air seemed to like the thrust the Boeing 777 produces cuz they kept that baby flying high and fast even thru turbulence.

Cathay Pacific: Hands down the best airline I have ever flown internationally. Talk about service, and the flight attendants were very courteous (sp?) and non judgmental and also fine to look @. Usually I flew in an Airbus 340 with this company sometimes a 747, although ive also been in an Airbus 330. All great planes. Free toothpaste and toothbrush (and we aren’t talking like those collapsible and those small tubes of toothpaste either), free lanyard, free mini pouch to hold your junk you want to put into, free socks, free pen (they were nice ones, not regular ballpoint bic pens that are like 12 pens for 3 dollars), oh unlimited Carlsberg and Heineken beer! Just the best airline I have flown nothing else compares to it.

Philippine Airlines: What can I say...my very first plane ride @ 8 years old and one of the damn engines decide to go quits when we are about to hit cruise altitude.... traumatizing experience and I really don’t want to fly this airline ever again...ive been told they’ve done major renovations and bulked up their security and maintenance over the years...um I’m still not flyin it

American Airways: In all the flights (with Korean Air coming close to 2nd on the fighter pilot mentality), this has got to be the most daring of them all with pilots not caring about turbulence or anything and riding the bumpy skies with glee... I am under assumption these pilots probably were former fighter pilots for the naval aviator program and just miss the feel of bumps in the air. Seats were a bit cramped also

KLM/Northwest Airlines: Nothing special just had a bad recollection of delays or cramped seats, but it got me to my destination with no problem...

I know ive flown in a few more but cant think of their names. Ill add on later?

Has anyone flown with airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Fly Emirates, Japan Airlines, Air Nippon Airways, Air France, Lufthansa if so what did you guys think of it? ive always wanted to fly in one of these airlines?

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

AirScotland? Didn't even know that they exist

They are not very well known. In fact they are a low-cost airline with a very limited network of destinations. As far as I know they only got 2 planes I think there is a thought of changing their name soon to TopJetAir. Its owner is an Iraqi guy who wanted his comapny to be the first to connect the UK directly with Baghdad. I don't know what happened of his plans...

[stuart]

I think Trif was asked the "Has your luggage been with you the entire time" and the "Has anyone asked you to carry luggage for them" I remember a couple years ago, every airline I checked luggage into asked those same questions, but lately I haven't checked any luggage so don't know if thats still a requirement.

Anyways...

Predominantly, I use Southwest Airlines (15-20) domestically because I love them. I haven't had any really bad experiences with them (well nothing within their control, I just hate flights that are 3 hours+). The only knock on them is that they don't serve food on long-ish flights, but thats to be expected from a low-cost carrier. Their rewards program is #1 in my book and their staff is only second to Cathay Pacific.

Cathay Pacific (3-4) - I've flew with them several times and I dare say their one of the best. I recall.

Northwest Airlines (3-5) - Can't complain, and above average servive. Lots of leg room and friendly staff

United Airlines (5-7) - Unlike Southwest, Cathay and Northwest, I don't get a feel for what United Airlines is trying to portray. It's just very sterile when you fly with them. I guess its tough to pin down a overall personality when you get that large. Even so, an above average carrier - I've gotten some good deals on flights with United and their staff has been friendly.

American Airlines (5-7) - I get a bad taste in my mouth from American Airlines... I've had bad service there twice, but its more about how old the planes feel and the seats aren't that comfortable if I recall correctly.

Delta (2-4) - Average airline, no bad experiences, no great ones. I do recall being on a couple flights where I got all three seats to myself... thats if I am remembering correctly.

Continental Airlines (4-5) - Similiar to American, I just remember the planes being archaic... they just felt old. I remember the seating being small and uncomfortable. Otherwise, pretty average fare,

Iberia (1) - I only flew with them once, so I can't say this with much experience but I found their service to be terrible. I am not by any means high maintenance, but even for my basic needs, I felt they couldn't meet those standards.

RyanAir (1) - For the money, it was well-worth the stampede at the check-in, the weight-limit for luggage, and the out-of-the-way airports.

I am sure I am missing several airlines but I don't remember enough to comment - Quantas, Air France, Air Canada and others...

Stuart

[Phantim3dx]

heck ya stuart supports me on the cathay pacific airlines. whered you go with cathay pacific stuart?

[Trifilli]

I think Trif was asked the "Has your luggage been with you the entire time" and the "Has anyone asked you to carry luggage for them" I remember a couple years ago, every airline I checked luggage into asked those same questions, but lately I haven't checked any luggage so don't know if thats still a requirement.

Nah, I was really serious (I know that it's hard to believe ). The questions you mentioned were pretty common for some time at every airline before international flights. Flying with Delta I was asked this stuff as well - but also the questions I mentioned. I flew two times with Delta (to Greece and to the States) and both times there were desks in front of the check-in were I was asked the questions and then later again desks before the entry of the bus that would bring the passengers to the plane. And they really asked me (and the other passengers of course) stuff like if I carry a bomb in my luggage among other questions and so on. I was really confused and first thought that they were joking but they were dead serious