OT - Air Travel

[whaler11]

Jet Blue has slowly been turning to garbage.

 

[Guapo]

Jet Blue has slowly been turning to garbage.

Agreed.

I think a lot of it has to do with the weather and congestion of the northeast, which is why it's so dumb to have so many flights routed through JFK and Boston.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I frequently get back to Connecticut
but getting into Hartford from PHX has become a chore.
America West had a direct but that went away with the US merger and American even has less of a presence .
I don’t want to change planes in Dallas.

Southwest had flights through Nashville or Midway where you didn’t change planes that was pretty good.
Lately we have been taking JET Blue redeye direct to JFK and hiring a Limo to take us to CT.
The price is good and we don’t have to worry about running through airports
We just rent a car locally if we need one.
Recently I had to get to Ct quickly due to a death
AA wanted my 55,000 Miles one way and about $600 bucks for the return just for me.
I got two wide seat tickets for under $ 1000 on Jet Blue.

 

[fatlucy]

JetBlue tends to outclass the others. I like Southwest but a woman got sucked out of the window this weekend and sadly she died. I’ll be avoiding Southwest from now on.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

JetBlue tends to outclass the others. I like Southwest but a woman got sucked out of the window this weekend and sadly she died. I’ll be avoiding Southwest from now on.

Southwest hasn’t been competitive going East
I loved it back when it was open seating

 

[polycom]

JetBlue tends to outclass the others. I like Southwest but a woman got sucked out of the window this weekend and sadly she died. I’ll be avoiding Southwest from now on.

I hope you don't live the rest of your life like this.

 

[David 76]

I hope you don't live the rest of your life like this.

You want Lucy to get sucked out of a window?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Got an email from Delta regarding entree selection for Saturday's flight. I chose beef filet.

Earlier this year had to fly short notice to Japan. Flew coach on Delta 14 hours from ATL-Tokyo. Me on aisle seat, lady on the window and middle seat was open. It was still comfortable and Delta has free adult beverages for all classes on international flights. Stick with beer or hard liquor. Their economy class red wine was brutal.

 

[Hoophound]

Got an email from Delta regarding entree selection for Saturday's flight. I chose beef filet.

Earlier this year had to fly short notice to Japan. Flew coach on Delta 14 hours from ATL-Tokyo. Me on aisle seat, lady on the window and middle seat was open. It was still comfortable and Delta has free adult beverages for all classes on international flights. Stick with beer or hard liquor. Their economy class red wine was brutal.

My first commercial flight that I can remember was Bradley to Orlando on Delta. Filet Mignon with bernaise, a roll, salad, a stewed tomato and Biscoff cookies. I was pretty ecstatic with the filet.

I have no idea why I remember it so vividly but I think it was just because I was starving and I had no idea something good was coming. I even ate the tomato and that’s a fairly gross dish for a little kid.

 

[whaler11]

JetBlue tends to outclass the others. I like Southwest but a woman got sucked out of the window this weekend and sadly she died. I’ll be avoiding Southwest from now on.

LOL. 1 passenger fatality in 51 years. Solid conclusion.

 

[husky8273]

Living in Atlanta I pretty much fly Delta exclusively. Their fleet is known to be a bit older than some of the others, but I have never really had a poor experience with them. Must haves for flying is TSA-Pre Check and Clear (especially getting through ATL). There is nothing better than moving past the lines of those who only have TSA-Pre Check or not having to pull out your ID to show it to the TSA agent (there probably are better things in life, but as far as security goes this is the best it can get with the exception of Global Entry).

Delta is soon going to be replacing the MD-88 and MD-90 fleet with the A321 and Bombardier C-Series. I really enjoy the MD-88 so I will miss that plane for sure.

Clear - $179 yr., not available at BDL, CLEAR - The fastest, most reliable way to fly through security.

 

[Scrutineer]

Just recently took a couple trips to Key West and Atlanta.
Flew various airlines including Delta, American, and Allegiant.
Wow, haven't traveled much since I was jetting around for the job back pre-911. Could not believe how bad Allegiant was. Forget the plane, which was cramped as heck. The bag check was a nightmare, on both ends. Both times arrived at airport to find zero workers at bag check. Got to the point the first time where we started to get nervous. Worked out, but cut it close. Trip back? Line 60 people deep. 3 overwhelmed and zombified workers. Line not moving for 30 minutes. With a very long TSA line, finally decided to ditch the single checked bag we had. Stuffed as much stuff in our "personal" carry ons as possible. Vowed never to fly that airline again. Then the 60 minutes story broke. Scary stuff.

I found Delta to be great. American, a close second.

Glad I'm at a place in life where I don't have to think about the discount carriers again. Planning on doing more travel going forward.

Beyond those mentioned, opinions on other carriers? Thinking of taking a few trips to Europe.

Pretty much all the European carriers of note. We like Lufthansa, and have had good experiences with KLM, Swiss Air and British Airways too.
We fly Delta a lot domestically, but for overseas travel they don't match the others I mentioned. For example, on Lufthansa the flight attendants serve wine from small glass bottles and the meals are very good, while Delta serves wine from boxes and the meals are not very good.

 

[Chin Diesel]

GOES for international travel. $100/5 years and it includes pre-check.

 

[Scrutineer]

My first commercial flight that I can remember was Bradley to Orlando on Delta. Filet Mignon with bernaise, a roll, salad, a stewed tomato and Biscoff cookies. I was pretty ecstatic with the filet.

I have no idea why I remember it so vividly but I think it was just because I was starving and I had no idea something good was coming. I even ate the tomato and that’s a fairly gross dish for a little kid.

That had to be more than 30 years ago.

 

[cohenzone]

I’ve been flying quite a bit the last few years, in fact this morning arrived back in CT from CA. When we visit my son in LOs Angeles, we usually fly American because they have one non-stop a day to and from LA/Bradkey. Bad hours, but convenient. It is routinely on time and with good service. Leg room fair unless you upgrade to overpriced more leg room seats which we did this trip because I’m having some knee problems. I find United has the worst leg room and Jet Blue the best. Delta is fine.

We recently flew to China and Italy on Delta. They were terrific on overseas flights. But typically they use share carriers Air France or Al Italia going to Europe and the coach seats are cramped. On those European carriers the seem to us wide body with a 3-3-3 configuration so side seats at the window are not my preference so my wife and I try for opposite aisle seats on any 3 seat row arrangement.

Our experience in China where we flew back on forth on Tawainese carrier EVA between Taiwan and mainland China and once within China on relatively new Chinese carrier Juneyao were great experiences. Nice wide bodies. The 3 flights, longest an hour 45 and the shortest an hour 10, all had HOT MEALS. In coach. Not a pretzel in sight. Take that US carriers. And good food.

Several years ago we flew LAN Peru which was probably the best airline I’ve been on. On time, nice planes, good food, good service. A few years ago Finn Air baggage handlers wrecked one of our suitcases. Worst airline food I’ve had was Air Hawaii.

If you are going to fly a lot, the $85 for 5 years of TSA precheck is worth it. Usually much shorter security lines and no shoe or belt removal and liquids can stay inside carryons. I don’t have Global Entry which was not as readily available when we got our Precheck. I guess it’s worth it if you do a lot of international travel because you jump long immigration/customs lines. It now includes the TSA precheck and I think the 5 year combined fee is $110. For either you need to make an appintment for interview and fingerprinting. I think in CT both, at least precheck, can be bought at Bradley. When we got ours, the closest places were either Green near Providence or the NYC airports.

 

[Excalibur]

Just recently took a couple trips to Key West and Atlanta.
Flew various airlines including Delta, American, and Allegiant.
Wow, haven't traveled much since I was jetting around for the job back pre-911. Could not believe how bad Allegiant was. Forget the plane, which was cramped as heck. The bag check was a nightmare, on both ends. Both times arrived at airport to find zero workers at bag check. Got to the point the first time where we started to get nervous. Worked out, but cut it close. Trip back? Line 60 people deep. 3 overwhelmed and zombified workers. Line not moving for 30 minutes. With a very long TSA line, finally decided to ditch the single checked bag we had. Stuffed as much stuff in our "personal" carry ons as possible. Vowed never to fly that airline again. Then the 60 minutes story broke. Scary stuff.

I found Delta to be great. American, a close second.

Glad I'm at a place in life where I don't have to think about the discount carriers again. Planning on doing more travel going forward.

Beyond those mentioned, opinions on other carriers? Thinking of taking a few trips to Europe.

I have had consistently bad experiences with Delta. Their booking/seating policies are the most difficult to deal with. I've been bumped from flights with confirmed seats, and last week had to upgrade just so the remainder of our party could select seats on the flight (again with "confirmed" seats). Their continued insistence that they "release seats on a rolling basis" is a line of B.S. that I'm done dealing with. Basically every economy booking on Delta is a standby ticket.

This is how I feel making a "reservation" on Delta --



Despite all of the bad press, I've found that flying with United is the most seamless experience.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I’ve been flying quite a bit the last few years, in fact this morning arrived back in CT from CA. When we visit my son in LOs Angeles, we usually fly American because they have one non-stop a day to and from LA/Bradkey. Bad hours, but convenient. It is routinely on time and with good service. Leg room fair unless you upgrade to overpriced more leg room seats which we did this trip because I’m having some knee problems. I find United has the worst leg room and Jet Blue the best. Delta is fine.

We recently flew to China and Italy on Delta. They were terrific on overseas flights. But typically they use share carriers Air France or Al Italia going to Europe and the coach seats are cramped. On those European carriers the seem to us wide body with a 3-3-3 configuration so side seats at the window are not my preference so my wife and I try for opposite aisle seats on any 3 seat row arrangement.

Our experience in China where we flew back on forth on Tawainese carrier EVA between Taiwan and mainland China and once within China on relatively new Chinese carrier Juneyao were great experiences. Nice wide bodies. The 3 flights, longest an hour 45 and the shortest an hour 10, all had HOT MEALS. In coach. Not a pretzel in sight. Take that US carriers. And good food.

Several years ago we flew LAN Peru which was probably the best airline I’ve been on. On time, nice planes, good food, good service. A few years ago Finn Air baggage handlers wrecked one of our suitcases. Worst airline food I’ve had was Air Hawaii.

If you are going to fly a lot, the $85 for 5 years of TSA precheck is worth it. Usually much shorter security lines and no shoe or belt removal and liquids can stay inside carryons. I don’t have Global Entry which was not as readily available when we got our Precheck. I guess it’s worth it if you do a lot of international travel because you jump long immigration/customs lines. It now includes the TSA precheck and I think the 5 year combined fee is $110. For either you need to make an appintment for interview and fingerprinting. I think in CT both, at least precheck, can be bought at Bradley. When we got ours, the closest places were either Green near Providence or the NYC airports.

Precheck is worth it even you fly once a year. It's less than $20/year and as you said, shorter lines, laptop stays in case, no pulling out liquids or meds and shoes/belts stay on.

 

[cohenzone]

Precheck is worth it even you fly once a year. It's less than $20/year and as you said, shorter lines, laptop stays in case, no pulling out liquids or meds and shoes/belts stay on.

We arrived back at Bradley on Weds at 5:00am. The security line was huge. The pre check line was about a tenth the size.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Thanks for all of the detailed responses. Very useful.
Last kid is heading to college in a few months, and the wife and I are about to cut loose. Been working hard to get to this point and have the funds to travel several times a year for enjoyment.
Did the TSA pre-check.
I agree with a previous poster - for 20 bucks a year, even if I skip the big lines for just 1 trip, that's a deal.

 

[Yardigan]

Thanks for all of the detailed responses. Very useful.
Last kid is heading to college in a few months, and the wife and I are about to cut loose. Been working hard to get to this point and have the funds to travel several times a year for enjoyment.
Did the TSA pre-check.
I agree with a previous poster - for 20 bucks a year, even if I skip the big lines for just 1 trip, that's a deal.

Sounds awesome! ENJOY!!!!!

 

[Hoophound]

That had to be more than 30 years ago.

I guessing it was 37-38 years. I’m 44 now.

 

[Yardigan]

I guessing it was 37-38 years. I’m 44 now.

And I would guess people could still smoke on planes then, too...?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Thanks for all of the detailed responses. Very useful.
Last kid is heading to college in a few months, and the wife and I are about to cut loose. Been working hard to get to this point and have the funds to travel several times a year for enjoyment.
Did the TSA pre-check.
I agree with a previous poster - for 20 bucks a year, even if I skip the big lines for just 1 trip, that's a deal.

If you are planning international travel go with GOES on top of Pre Check. Biggest pain in the ass with GOES is getting to the in person interview with Customs and Boarder Patrol at a location. Once you get it it's good for 5 years as well and includes Pre Check. Not sure if you can plus up from Pre Check to GOES.

Trusted Traveler Programs

 

[Excalibur]

If you are planning international travel go with GOES on top of Pre Check. Biggest pain in the ass with GOES is getting to the in person interview with Customs and Boarder Patrol at a location. Once you get it it's good for 5 years as well and includes Pre Check. Not sure if you can plus up from Pre Check to GOES.

Trusted Traveler Programs

If you have pre-check and go to global entry, you get a new known traveler # for TSA pre.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

JetBlue tends to outclass the others. I like Southwest but a woman got sucked out of the window this weekend and sadly she died. I’ll be avoiding Southwest from now on.

Dead is dead, but a coroner determined blunt force trauma caused by a left-engine broken fan blade caused the deceased passenger's death; not being partially sucked out of the WN jet's window. While I rarely flew, fly now, nor have any desire to fly WN's cattle flights, the accident itself will engage the NTSB, FAA, etc and significantly ratchet up related checks by WN, the engine manufacturer, CFM International, and other companies responsible for manufacturing, maintenance, etc.

Just like unfortunate passenger incidents on UA, AA, DL and other airlines, many people jump on the most recent incident "I'm not flying airline XX from now on". A few days, weeks, months pass, and boom, people still fly airline XX. If anything, I'd be more inclined to fly WN soon if I was willing to fly steerage flights. Good or bad, the latter does not apply.