Travel

Question: Have you had any great experiences with airline travel recently?

(Posted by: Leyton on 2010-04-10 14:16:43)

Media attention on airline travel has been increasingly negative recently. There maybe good reason for this and it seems that airlines might be paying attention. But enough of the negative! What travel experiences have you had recently that helped you remain loyal to your airline? Please keep your answer positive about a specific incident and entertain us! At minimum, list the airline and the airline employee that played a vital role (i.e. gate agent, pilot, flight attendant, etc. and their name if you remember)!

Posted by: hello4647 on 2010-04-10, 16:06:34

All the time, I have developed a love for air canada, simply because of the seating comfort, service (in air and in the terminal), food and lounge!

Posted by: Keagan on 2010-04-10, 16:50:04

I recently had a good experience with Southwest Airlines. I went to the airport, and found that my flight to Baltimore from Providence had been canceled. They called my house (which is in Baltimore) notifying my answering machine. So, I still didn't know my flight was canceled. The Southwest agent (don't know their name) said they were sorry for not being able to reach me, and booked me onto a 35 minute later flight with good seats. I will always fly with Southwest.

Posted by: vindictive on 2010-04-10, 16:52:27

Tulsa was still pretty much out of power, the airport had been open for about a day and plenty of people were trying to get out of dodge. In addition, I was trying to pack and move houses and fly for the first time with my cat. Several layers of stress to say the least. Cat and I made it through check in and security fine. We were on a small regional jet. I was concerned she may make it miserable for other passengers onboard for the 2hr flight. Though she was only occasionally peeping, the lady in front moved to another seat. Discreetly the flight attendant came over to me and asked what kind of a cat, said she would do just fine, let me know there was also a puppy a few rows back travelling for the first time and if I needed anything not to hesitate to ask. It's been a very long time since an airline employee took such interest and genuine care. She really left an impression on me!

Posted by: On a Journey to Forever on 2010-04-10, 17:40:01

Defiantly Southwest! they are nice, early or on time, and this sounds kind of stupid but I love the colors on the exterior of the plane. There ticket prices are great! especially if you book early. Just an over nice atmosphere to be in. I don't fly on any other airline other than southwest!

Posted by: sound on 2010-04-10, 20:51:37

Hi flyguy, we're retired and have done our share of flying both domestically and internationally. Our choice for best domestic is "Midwest Airlines ". We live in S.E. Wisconsin, so we have a choice of flying out of Mitchell or Chicago's O'Hare. Whenever possible, we choose Midwest out of Milwaukee. Courteus flight attendants, wide leather seats, leg room and those wonderful warm chocolate chip cookies, mmmmmm good. Worst domestic was T.W.A., they went bankrupt ( go figure ). Our choice for best international is "British Airways " because of thier excellent service and friendly/ helpful staff. Worst international is: "Aer Lingus " as thier flight attendants are consistently rude and very rarely smile (and I'm Irish ). A close second worst is "Iberia Airlines ". ( We have'nt flown on Aeroflot or Air India.)

Posted by: Kelsey on 2010-04-10, 22:13:53

I've had several, including being met at the top of the stairs on an Ansett aircraft by a cabin staff member who noticed that I'd had a tearful farewell and slipped a tissue in my hand ... and tactfully left it a while before coming to check. But best ever was a few years ago at - would you believe - Los Angeles airport. I was flying from New Zealand to London with British Airways and had left New Zealand having broken up with the Best Beloved, so wasn't feeling 100% - far from it. (Now some of this story depends on the well-known fact that about 50% of lovers call each other Bear as pet name). Anyway, I spent more than $100 in the duty-free shop, and didn't even notice that this entitled me to a free teddy bear. So I look down at my bag and there's this ruddy bear staring up at me. Message from my guardian angel, I wonder? Anyway, I got on the flight, which wasn't too full; the BA cabin staff promptly fell in love with the bear and gave him his own champagne and peanuts, strapped him into his seat for take-off, etc. Then (this was a flight where you had personal at-seat video players) I asked to watch a saucy movie; the staff brought it, but took the bear's scarf off and blindfolded him with it because he was too young to watch along with me. It was absolutely brilliant and turned a potentially sad flight into a hoot!

Posted by: Summer on 2010-04-10, 22:54:51

Recipe for a nightmare, right? Well, the entire trip went off flawlessly. We live in a tiny town and up until recently, only one airline came to our little regional airport: USAir. I don't have any big complaints about them, but Delta started coming here for two flights a day just recently. Since their flight times were more convenient and their price much cheaper, we took Delta from New Bern, North Carolina to Buffalo, New York, by way of Atlanta. Four flights total. Every flight was on time. All the airline personnel were delightful (except for one whose story I'll save for another question). Delta's seats are much roomier than USAir's. Atlanta's airport was just as easy to navigate as Charlotte (USAir's hub). The security folks were patient with us and all our carry-ons, laptop, and liquids. It wasn't even particularly crowded, and we didn't catch "airline flu. " But my favorite was the flight attendant on one of the legs. I believe her name was Jan. While doing the safety briefing -- you know, the one we all snooze through? -- she turned into a stand-up comedienne. She cracked one-liners about how to fasten your seatbelt and what to do with your cushion "in the unlikely event of a water landing. " I wish I could remember some to quote. But she sure did get our attention! So particularly in light of the reputed ordeal of air travel compounded by the holiday, our exceptionally low expectations were surpassed by miles. I intend to fly Delta as long as they continue to come to our little airport.

Posted by: extramarital on 2010-04-11, 01:52:43

In the past I always tried to fly on carriers with the US Flag on the tail (US Carriers), but this past summer I took a cruise out of Italy which included Air Travel and the carrier was British Airways. We flew out of Orlando, FL to England and from England to Venice, Italy. I was extremely surprised by the great service we received, the pleasant flight attendants, the cleanliness of the plane and the good food nd most importantly, the amount of leg room that I had. What was better yet, our luggage arrived the same time that we did.