I prefer the kind that fly

Preferably on schedule

Are there any good airlines left?

Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Not in the US.

/been flying Southwest exclusively lately and its growing on me

Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Yes, but you won't be flying them from Pittsburgh to Denver. Coach on Singapore, Cathay, Malaysia and Emirates is on par with or better than first-class on US carriers. The standard behavior for most employees I encounter domestically seems to be "this job would be great if it weren't for all the customers."

Consumers wanted the cheapest flight possible.  They got it.  Now, they're pissed that the flying busses that they wanted have become flying busses.

People used to biatch that airline food was terrible.  Now, they biatch that they don't get any airline food.  People like to biatch about the discomfort of travel.  It's what humans do.

The good airlines are not based in the USA.

Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Alaska Air.

How about double-plus ungood airlines?

gingerjet: /been flying Southwest exclusively lately and its growing on me

I'm admittedly spoiled in that I usually fly business internationally... that being said, I'm pretty high on Southwest these days too. It's not as cutthroat as Ryan Air but you get exactly what you pay for. The employees are happy, the planes are generally clean, and if there's any chance the plane can make it where it's going then they're going to fly it. (weather related, not mechanical)

My real complaint with flying is usually with the flying public which is why I enjoy business class so much - no moron using your seat to lever his fat ass out of his, no one tripping all over you, no one fighting you for foot space or arm rest space. I wonder how much more frequent the typical Southwest passenger travels and if that contributes - because I see less of the typical moronic passenger behavior there than on the legacy domestics.

WordsnCollision: How about double-plus ungood airlines?

[banmilleronbusiness.com image 567x455]

I do want to visit North Korea one day - but with the current saber rattling I'm not sure it will be any time soon. I did decide, however, that if I go it won't be on Air Koryo. I've flown Air China before and it's decent - and safe.

Harvey Manfrenjensenjen: Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Yes, but you won't be flying them from Pittsburgh to Denver. Coach on Singapore, Cathay, Malaysia and Emirates is on par with or better than first-class on US carriers. The standard behavior for most employees I encounter domestically seems to be "this job would be great if it weren't for all the customers."

In their defense, it probably would be.

If people shop and make decisions on who to fly to save $15 then they deserve what they get.

Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Virgin America is fantastic - but AFAIK their only hubs are at SFO and LAX.   They're a great choice for transcontinental flights between the West Coast and NYC, DC, Boston, etc.

Lunchlady: Harvey Manfrenjensenjen: Pants full of macaroni!!: Are there any good airlines left?

Yes, but you won't be flying them from Pittsburgh to Denver. Coach on Singapore, Cathay, Malaysia and Emirates is on par with or better than first-class on US carriers. The standard behavior for most employees I encounter domestically seems to be "this job would be great if it weren't for all the customers."

In their defense, it probably would be.

If people shop and make decisions on who to fly to save $15 then they deserve what they get.

Everyone has to deal with jerks, and I can see them getting tired of people who biatch to them about things they have no control over. But it's not like you don't know when you're getting into when you take the job.

Where I see the difference, at least with flight attendants, it when they're talking in the back of the plane or laying over in a hotel. Attendants on US carriers are the most petty, constantly-biatching, catty group of people I've seen since high school. Flight attendants for other airlines seem to actually enjoy their jobs and are nice and engaging even when off the clock, while Americans appear as has-beens who spend their on- and off-time on the cusp of a "God, I'm like, so over this, don't you realize how hard my job is?" tantrum.

people really complain a lot about air travel.

a flight is only a matter of hours and it means you get to go somewhere that could have taken days or weeks to get to without an airplane.  take a little displeasure for this farking marvel of modern man.

Southwest FTW.  Cheap, clean, efficient, and because I'm disabled, I always get to board first.

If there WAS such thing as a good airline, Ric Romero would have reported on this.

FTFA: United Airlines, whose consumer complaint rate nearly doubled last year, had the worst performance.

[obvious]

New finding: good airlines preferred over ungood airlines

Surely you can't be serious.

Lee Jackson Beauregard: FTFA: United Airlines, whose consumer complaint rate nearly doubled last year, had the worst performance.

[obvious]

Didn't a lot of that have to do with the giant Charlie-Foxtrot that was the merger with Continental?  I remember them having a  ton of issues with merging their reservation systems.

Tigger: andychrist420: Southwest FTW.  Cheap, clean, efficient, and because I'm disabled, I always get to board first.

This shouldn't be taken as disagreement; however, are there any airlines that don't let disabled people board first?

No, but with no assigned seating, I can get the front row every time, which makes it much easier boarding and getting off the plane.