Are there airlines you avoid for long international travel?

[goofysmom99]

2 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

Cathay Pacific's stock price fall is mainly due to their stupid investment decision. They bet on the hike in fuel price and lose badly a few years ago. For that very significant loss, they have been cutting corners in service, however, it is still above any US based airlines.

I meant Norwegian's stock slide.  Should have put my parentheses next to the word Norwegian.  My bad.

[txflood33]

Lots of great feedback in a pretty quick timeframe. I genuinely thank you all.

 

I do understand I was asking for subjective reviews so I do try to take both the good and the bad and try to find the middle ground. I have researched online and read reviews but was just looking for I guess more a first hand experience. 

 

Looks like we will go with the Premium Economy on Cathay with the good reviews here.

[iancal]

We are not partial to Alitalia.  United and ANA hold  no attraction for us either on a long flight   Both from an economy cabin  perspective.

 

We had the opportunity to fly Korean AIr on our winter trip this year.  Their economy cabin, service, meal, everything, made United's  transpacific service appear very feeble.  I guess we were just used to it and did not know any better.

Edited May 5, 2019 by iancal

[FlyerTalker]

7 hours ago, yorky said:

After our experience with American Airlines last year we would never fly with them again. We were a party of five and booking seats together in advance was very expense so we waited until 24 hours in advance only to see nothing was available.

 

So...you didn't want to pay for seat assignments.  Then you were upset that they didn't have seats together at the time of check-in.

 

And it's the airline's fault.

 

Right.

 

[HelenREMfan]

Regarding my scrubbed flight from JFK to Manchester it was early 2000s. I was on holiday in the USA visiting my fiancé there. I was coming back to Uk a week early because my year group were to receive their external, final year exam results and I wished to be there to congratulate them. Instead of landing in Man UK at 6 am  I was put on a flight to London with a connection that wouldn't get me in to Man til 11 am..... it was also delayed. I missed it all. Despite numerous attempts to get an answer from BA as to exactly why had they cancelled my flight - they were too cagey as to admit cutting costs by cutting one flight and fitting all passengers onto the one other flight. So not having travelled with them again I would not know that they didn't fly into JFK any more. Instead I have used United, Delta & Continental and never had any problems with them. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by HelenREMfan

[citronella]

28 minutes ago, fbgd said:

s EVA don't have a first class cabin this is unlikel

 

We flew EVA about 20 years ago - it was a 747 and there was a First Class section upstairs. 

[yorky]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

So...you didn't want to pay for seat assignments.  Then you were upset that they didn't have seats together at the time of check-in.

 

And it's the airline's fault.

 

Right.

 

There were a ton of seats available on the site when it opened for booking 24 hours before but the site would not let me book them, it kept stating no availability even thought it showed the seats available. When phoning they stated a website issue, they then stated it would be sorted at the gate, it was not.

so yep, pretty much their fault.

[TruckerDave]

20 minutes ago, HelenREMfan said:

So why would BA not reply to me when I asked exactly why my flight was cancelled? All they said was they were sorry for my "disappointment" > I found that insulting and though they sent me  £100 voucher I never used it as I did not wish to trust my travel arrangements with them again! 

How nice of you to say I look "foolish" I didn't think stating insulting things was allowed on this forum. As to putting the people they let down - they just put them on other (not full) flights so no additional cost to them at all ! They filled the London flight and then the internal BA flight to Manchester - not rocket science but one that had implications for me. 

Maybe not fulfilling obligations as trucker doesn't  matter where you are but I like to keep my promises and I missed  an occasion I could never get back - the opportunity to celebrate 5 years of my year group's efforts. 

Your flight was canceled. It happens every day with every airline in the world . The airlines are under no obligation to explain to you why it was canceled. The gave you compensation and got you to where you needed to go. Get over it. You say no additional costs....what about the people IN Manchester wating for a plane that didn't arrive????  What happened to them.  I'm going to guess it cost BA some $$$$ to get them where they needed to go, then the location where that plane was supposed to go, what about those people?  See, it becomes a domino effect. It is not just as simple as canceling a flight.  I'm pretty sure the JKF to MAN flight was not on a tiny regional jet and most likely a larger plane that was scheduled for other flights that had to be changed as well because the aircraft was not in the correct position. They might have had to send another aircraft to replace it...thus MORE costs.  

 

As far as my job goes.....I've have been sitting here in Atlanta for 2 days waiting for a trailer to be brought to me so I can go deliver it. I could have bailed on this load Friday night and gone home, but didn't, as there would not have been anyone to deliver the load and it would have been late.  So yeah, I do what I said I was going to do. But I didn't throw a fit and say I'll never take this load again because of a problem at the shipper which resulted in the load not getting to me. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by TruckerDave

[fbgd]

So my assumptions were correct...quoting stories from 15-20yrs is completely irrelevant for people planning future travel. I might as well espouse the benefits of using British Airways because the OP could fly Concorde across the Atlantic!

 

The MAN-JFK flight was operated by one 767 that used to just shuttle back and forth on the same route. As others have said airlines don’t cancel flights to save money. You’ve crew, cargo and passengers all out of position if you do that. At the time the route ran BA were the only carrier to fly widebody aircraft on the route daily so made decent money on cargo alone, factor in what was a class leading business class cabin at the time and it was a real money maker for BA. However the 767 had a habit of experiencing technical issues. BA had no other longhaul aircraft based out of MAN and the flights to LHR from Heathrow have historically been 777 and 747s, so no other aircraft could be substituted (Airlines don’t have spare aircraft hanging around, especially at outstations!).

Edited May 5, 2019 by fbgd

[FlyerTalker]

1 minute ago, yorky said:

Could they have just  said a technical issue ?

 

They could say anything and two things in return:

 

1) It wouldn't change the fact that the aircraft and flight weren't leaving.

2) HelenREMfan would still be angry at BA.

 

[mort&fran]

We fly coach exclusively. Have not flown to Asia, however went to Australia and New Zealand on Qantas, and were very happy with the seats, the food and the service. To Europe it’s been mainly KLM, SAS and Lufthansa; much prefer KLM, but Lufthansa and SAS were acceptable.

 

Flew American and Air Europa both once, and will never again. In coach, AA domestic is no better or worse than most domestic carriers. On the American international flights (and Air Europa) the seats were truly uncomfortable and the food was barely mediocre. Service on both was adequate.

[slidergirl]

I've flown Delta and American and Kenya long distance in Economy.  Delta was JFK-CAI and AMM-JFK back before they stopped their flights around 2009.  Fine flights and I didn't feel claustrophobic.  Kenya was LHR-NBO and NBO-LHR.  Surprisingly nice in the back.  And some good food - it was some African curry that I had.  American was by FAR the worst - DFW-LHR and LHR-LAX.  The entertainment boxes under the seat in front was so big I couldn't fit my feet under, let along a small daypack!  Food was bad.  FAs were surly.  My seat toi LAX was the bulkhead, but where the aisle narrowed and angled, so I had no partition for most of the seat.  The FAs hit my feet EVERYTIME they came by - no reason to, but too lazy to steer the cart.  

I try to Business when I have enough miles.  Best of those so far (Delta, Air France, Czech Air, Alitalia) was Alitalia.  I truly enjoyed both of those JFK-FCO/JFK flights.  One on the 777, one on the 330.  I had the solo window pod each way - it was so comfy and cozy and NOT claustrophobic.  The food was fantastic and the FAs kept my wine glass filled.   

[iancal]

In general, and for the economy cabin, we very much prefer some of the major international carriers over the US carriers on transatlantic and transpacific routes.

[sumiandkage]

I will admit I'd like to make it onto one of EVA's 'Hello Kitty' flights one day:

 

http://www.evakitty.com/en/

 

I've sampled the US domestic wares that have a presence at my local airports and tend to stick with Delta for reasonably pleasant customer service, general reliability and IRROPS handing- I've seen them move mountains to get a decent rebooking for no-status passengers on V or award tickets when summer thunderstorms is causing chaos at ATL. The US carriers are also not prone ot labor disruptions like many European carriers seem to be.

[Zach1213]

Late to the party, ironically enough because I was on a Cathay flight this weekend going ORD-HKG-SIN. I fly Cathay (granted, usually biz class) several times yearly and almost always have a fantastic experience with them. Even in economy and premium economy, they're one of my favorites.

 

As far as longhaul airlines that I wouldn't fly, I personally avoid Air India after two bad longhaul experiences on them. Otherwise, TAAG is another airline that has improved over the last couple of years but I still largely avoid, but I assume you're not going to Angola anytime soon so that recommendation isn't very useful 🙂 OH, I got rerouted on to a longhaul Aeroflot flight SVO-DEL about ten years ago and really didn't enjoy it. But yeah, I'm fairly simple to please so I wouldn't even avoid some of my less-than-stellar airline experiences like Turkmenistan Airlines or Kuwait Airlines if they were a valid option.

[Barrheadlass]

I’m really pleased to see all the good comments about Cathay Pacific Premium Economy as I’m flying Boston to Hong Kong to Bangkok that way later this year.  I fly most trips on Delta in comfort plus and it is ok.  I’m fairly simple to please too.  My most recent flight was 16.5 hours long on Air Canada from Hong Kong to Toronto to Boston in business class, and it was absolutely terrific...but unfortunately it was a once in a lifetime splurge (well, I did do it both ways of course) that if I want to travel as much as I do, I won’t be able to repeat.  Sigh.

[Zach1213]

3 hours ago, Barrheadlass said:

I’m really pleased to see all the good comments about Cathay Pacific Premium Economy as I’m flying Boston to Hong Kong to Bangkok that way later this year.  I fly most trips on Delta in comfort plus and it is ok.  I’m fairly simple to please too.  My most recent flight was 16.5 hours long on Air Canada from Hong Kong to Toronto to Boston in business class, and it was absolutely terrific...but unfortunately it was a once in a lifetime splurge (well, I did do it both ways of course) that if I want to travel as much as I do, I won’t be able to repeat.  Sigh.

 

Don't assume, do your research. If you truly want to travel, look in to credit cards and stick to one alliance, that will help your chances of upgrading to or using miles on Business. I'm not sure how much you plan to travel, but do look in to it.

[Barrheadlass]

8 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Don't assume, do your research. If you truly want to travel, look in to credit cards and stick to one alliance, that will help your chances of upgrading to or using miles on Business. I'm not sure how much you plan to travel, but do look in to it.

Thanks, Zach!  Actually, I recently got a Delta Amex gold card.  I’m about to pay for a trip in Scotland and really hope the company takes AmEx.  .  If so, the cost will get me my sign up bonus miles.  I do have a SkyMiles number of course.  I do about 4 international trips a year.

[Zach1213]

4 minutes ago, Barrheadlass said:

Thanks, Zach!  Actually, I recently got a Delta Amex gold card.  I’m about to pay for a trip in Scotland and really hope the company takes AmEx.  .  If so, the cost will get me my sign up bonus miles.  I do have a SkyMiles number of course.  I do about 4 international trips a year.

 

4x yearly is pretty decent, I would seriously try to stay loyal to Delta/SkyTeam...between those trips and the card, you'll build miles pretty quickly so business class tickets and upgrades isn't unreasonable. Obviously your Cathay trip won't help with that, but it's still a great airline.

[Barrheadlass]

I do have an issue, and it is a big one.  I take a lot of trips with a company that gives a 7.5 percent discount if not paid with a credit card.  And my flights are usually booked through the company.  And I don’t think this company takes American Express if I wanted to pay that way!

[Shorex]

Trade offs. One phone call will answer the question of whether they accept AmEx for payment. If yes, then do the cost/benefit analysis pertaining to your situation. If no, then list your options and make a business decision that is best for the corporation of Barrheadlass.

[fbgd]

17 hours ago, Barrheadlass said:

I do have an issue, and it is a big one.  I take a lot of trips with a company that gives a 7.5 percent discount if not paid with a credit card.  And my flights are usually booked through the company.  And I don’t think this company takes American Express if I wanted to pay that way!

 

7.5% is a pretty hefty discount, although Amex Platinum gives 5x MR points on airfare so, depending upon where and when you transfer them to, you could get a better return on value.

 

18 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

4x yearly is pretty decent, I would seriously try to stay loyal to Delta/SkyTeam...between those trips and the card, you'll build miles pretty quickly so business class tickets and upgrades isn't unreasonable. Obviously your Cathay trip won't help with that, but it's still a great airline.

 

Although with DL's pretty awful premium cabin awards with no fixed price. Yuck. I think some D1 returns can be more than 1m Skypesos...

[Barrheadlass]

I appreciate everyone ‘s advice!  

[em-sk]

On 5/5/2019 at 5:10 AM, Alsmez said:

My last flight to Europe (NYC to Berlin) was on TAP Air, a Portuguese airline. I connected in Lisbon on both legs. It is a budget line, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that on the NYC-Lisbon leg, the service was excellent, the plane seats comfortable enough, and the food and wine reasonably good. The shorter flight from Lisbon to Berlin was on a smaller plane with smaller, less comfortable seats, but it was tolerable. I would fly with them again if the price were right.

 

TAP is not a budget airlines.  It is a full service legacy airline that has been in business since that was founded back in 1946.  

 

It is part of Star Alliance however it is not part of the price ordination that several of the other Star Alliance airlines are part of.

 

United, Lufthansa (including there subsidiaries Swiss, Austrian, etc.) and Air Canada operate as a joint venture across the Atlantic where they share profits on all the combined flights and are able to "price-fix" across their flights.   TAP is not part of that deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruises42]

How is Virgin Atlantic Jet Airbus A330-300? Thinking of flying from London to Virginia on it.