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Are Airlines In America Among The World’s Worst?

FYI: The late comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, built a career out of saying, “I get no respect.” That might become a tagline for America’s airlines. Based on Skytrax’s latest World Airline Awards, America’s airlines are still the butt of jokes.

Skytrax first launched its annual airline survey in 1999. This year, they polled results from 21.65 million customers, on 100 different airlines. They ask fliers to rate their experiences on 49 elements. They included cabin comfort, cabin service, check-in experiences, food, entertainment, boarding efficiency and friendliness. Only one U.S. airline cracked the top 40: Virgin Atlantic ranked 21st.
Regards,
Ted
https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-center/articles/are-airlines-in-america-among-the-worlds-worst

Comments

  • edited July 2019
    “They ask fliers to rate their experiences on 49 elements. They included cabin comfort, cabin service, check-in experiences, food, entertainment, boarding efficiency and friendliness.”

    OK - I get it. U.S. carriers didn’t stack up well. Funny thing, however, is that the survey seems to omit price in its survey. With air travel you get pretty much what you pay for. I wonder how many average citizens can even afford air travel in some of those countries with the most highly ranked airlines? If only the elite upper class can afford to fly, it stands to reason those carriers would offer better comfort and service. Heck, pay enough and some of these airlines will provide you with a small suite with a bed and a nice bar and lounge nearby. I suspect few here outside of Ted can afford to travel in that fashion. Another possibly relevant factor is some of these top rated airlines don’t have to deal with winter weather - at least not to the extent the U.S. majors do. And a lot of the frustration in the U.S. stems from stranded passengers due to weather. Really - would you rather they disregarded your safety and attempted to fly?

    The majors in the U.S. do a fine job IMHO in delivering on whichever price point / class of travel you select. Want the $99 special? They’ll get you there. But expect a narrow seat somewhere in the back, little legroom, probably no overhead space for your carry-on and you’ll pay to check a bag. You’ll be the very last to board and the last to get off the flight. Delta, American, United all do a great job when I travel. When there are problems, it’s generally with the small regional carriers they farm out their shorter haul flights to (names like Skywest and Wisconsin Air (Michigan) and Silver Airlines (Florida). The appeal to the majors is that these crews are paid a lot less than for the majors. Unfortunately, in many cases the crews are also less experienced and less proficient. In some cases, maintenance isn’t as good as the majors either. I’ve been on some regional flights where the copilot was actually paying (a flight school) to be there because he / she needed to accumulate flight hours to qualify for a better job. Folks see the “United” or “American” ensign on the plane and at the ticket counter and assume the flight is operated by that Airline. False.

    To insure a better flight avoid the regionals as much as possible. For one, the cabins are less roomy and seating tighter. Seem to run late more often as well. Airlines are required to note on your reservation when a flight is operated by another (usually regional) carrier. But I suspect few notice. They also normally indicate the type aircraft used on each leg of the trip. If you see a larger craft like a 737, A320, MD 80, etc. it’s pretty certain this flight is operated by the carrier and not a regional airline.

    Weather can always throw a monkey wrench into their schedules. Planes are in near constant use. So a 2 or 3 hour backup in an east coast city due to storms can affect travel that day all across the country. With connections, I go out of my way to get at least an hour to transfer. With the 25-30 minute transfer times their computers try to get you into it’s sometimes hard to make your connection even if your first flight arrives on time. If it’s 45 minutes late all hope is lost.

    The only foreign carrier I’ve used is Air Canada. Their prices are a bit better. But most of that is owing to the CAD being worth around 75 cents against the U.S. Dollar. Service quality? It’s a draw IMHO. (But their “house” scotch is JW Black. So I give Air Canada the edge in that department,)
  • edited June 2019
    I've flown a bunch of different USA airlines. These days, the top of MY list is SWA. (That's PRIOR to the 737 MAX fiasco.) Flown Air Canada. I rate it with the other US carriers, or worse. Just got a great deal for a flight in September. Off-season, though. I flew Aer Lingus before it scaled back and became second-rate and pretty much just a REGIONAL airline in Europe--- though they did in the last couple of years start flying from my home airport (BDL.) But ONLY to Dublin, not Shannon, nor to Belfast. Also flew China Airlines. I asked the stewardess for a martini. She gave me Martini and Rossi vermouth. The other girl corrected her. They were both indeed very young.

    China Air has had a reputation of crashing a few planes, like Asiana. Took Asiana last time to Philippines. After making us wait three hours past the scheduled departure in Cebu, then after boarding us WHILE STILL ATTEMPTING TO FIX the hydraulics, we sat and waited an hour further. Then the pilot canceled the flight. ... So everyone needed a hotel. And everyone needed to go back OUT through Customs and Immigration again. And the airline staff didn't even have the awareness to put parents with little screaming kids at the front of the line. I finally, but indelicately, made the suggestion! It was breakfast-time the next morning before we were transported to our hotel. It was a cluster-fuck. Then we were told by airline staff that they'd put us on a Korean Air flight, to get us back to the States.

    Malaysian Air, too--- when they were still a worldwide presence. From one end of their route system to the other. No joke. I give that airline the highest marks. Different story today, of course. And Philippine Airlines. Nothing but compliments for them, but they (STILL) don't like to play nice inside any of the worldwide alliances. So they don't. And Cebu Pacific is all over Asia and the Pacific. They don't pretend not to be cut-rate.
    ...Just lately took the 11 and a half hour nonstop flight between Boston and Honolulu on Hawaiian Air. It was fine, apart from the idiot parents who brought their two already-exhausted, screaming, shrieking kids and sat themselves down on the plane right next to us. For 11 and a half hours. (Note to young, stoopid parents: don't do this to your kids.:) )

    Finally: I've not found a better website in order to find great fares than skiplagged.
    https://skiplagged.com/
  • I've always had great service on JetBlue ... and I miss the old Midway Air, that ran on the Atlantic coast, they were awesome. Singapore Air is amazing (and my fave) and Quantas is rightfully up there, too. Flying domestic coach on the old Varig in Brazil back in 2002 was better than anything in the USA.

    The worst airline I flew on? Olympic Air from Greece. Horrid plane, blah food.....though they did leave the cockpit door open (this is AFTER 9/11, in *early* 2002) and I spent 15m standing there behind the door threshold admiring the early morning view as we flew over the Med. Kind of surreal experience for this security professional, I must say. (Unlike now in the US, where many airlines barricade the front of the plane with a drink cart (or retractable security gate) and 2 FAs whenever they open the cockpit ... which I think is obnoxious security overkill, 9/11 or not.)

    Thank gods most of my flying these days is international ... I really don't like flying domestic anymore.
  • edited July 2019
    Interesting link @Crash. Thanks. I used to use Expedia, but had some trouble dealing with the airlines. Seems to me that if the flight schedule is changed prior to the flight (and other assorted matters) that it’s a lot easier to resolve to your satisfaction if you purchased directly from airline. I’m sure there’s good arguments on both sides.

    Using the link provided, I priced a typical trip from MI to NYC round trip using a smaller airport near home and a connection through Chicago. A good schedule came up at $321 (United). But it didn’t allow any carry on bag, had less leg room and you’re not allowed to select a seat in advance. When I upgraded to add those (basic human) necessities, the price jumped to $393. Than there’s $30 each way to check one bag. That takes it up to $453 for a basic tourist class round trip at peak travel time. Not bad. But about the same as I’d pay if I went directly to the 3 carriers servicing that route (Delta, American, United) and chose the best fare among them. Savings using the link provided? Perhaps $25-$30 at most.

    And, the budget site didn’t seem to offer any upgrade to first. Based on experience, another $150 (about $600 total) gets you first class on the two longer legs of the flight. One thing all of this illustrates: You can’t say the airlines don’t tailor the travel experience to fit the traveler’s preferences and budget. That I think they do exceedingly well!
  • edited July 2019
    @hank. All of that is true. Skiplagged can't undo the stupid, shitty policies and arrangements the airlines have created. If ya want those things we used to be able to take for granted--- like free bags and free seat selection--- ya might wanna deal directly with the airlines. ...On Skiplagged, the best bargains are their "hidden city" fares. When we went to Hawaii, our destination was Oahu. But Skiplagged uncovered a super-duper promotion if we simply booked tickets to Kona on the Big Island, instead. Once we got to HNL, we just left the plane with our carry-ons and exited the airport. We never used the boarding passes between HNL-KOA.... We couldn't check bags through to Kona, of course. So, we packed LIGHT. While in the process of booking the flight (Boston-HNL-Kona) a graphic appeared, saying: "Don't do this often. The airlines don't like it. "
  • China Airlines did indeed have a reputation for crashes. One of the reasons we usually took Eva to Taiwan. I'm told that decades ago, China Air was staffed by many retired Taiwan air force pilots, not necessarily the best ones. Though that is from hearsay, so take it for what it is worth.

    Of course Olympic Air wasn't great. They didn't allow dancing in the aisles:-)

  • I'm taking a puddle-jumper between BDL Hartford and YYZ Toronto, then a standard type big jet to YYC Calgary. $339.11 USD round-trip. Pretty damn good, considering BDL is not a "major" airport. September, Air Canada. That fare does not include seat selection or checked bags. It sucks, but I like beating them at their own game.
  • Probably the worst international flight that we've ever experienced was Olympic Air from SFO to Athens. The cabin attendants not only hated their jobs and their passengers (which might just be a little understandable) but they obviously hated each other too. They claimed that what they served was food, but that was difficult to verify.

    Offsetting that experience to a degree was another Olympic Air flight from Athens to Crete. The flight was "iffy" due to local weather conditions- intermittently heavy rain gusts with sharp blustery winds- but the pilots did a great job on the landing. No slowing down the airspeed and easing onto the ground... they literally flew that thing at a very decent speed right onto the runway before screeching to a stop just in time. A great round of applause from all concerned.
  • edited July 2019
    @Old_Joe

    Thanks for sharing the story. Mostly, the flight crews don’t receive the credit they deserve. Flights from Toronto into YAM (Sault St Marie ON) can be dicey due to heavy and largely unpredictable snow squalls that come and go - creating poor visibility, icing at lower altitudes & speeds and heavy gusts. So what the crews have learned to do is to watch those squalls developing and moving on their radar from the time they depart Toronto all the way into the Sault. They continually adjust air speed, speeding up or slowing down in route trying to time their arrival in between the squalls. Lot of times they’re shooting for only a 5 or 10 minute window during which they can land. Works most of the time. When it doesn’t, they have to return back to Toronto with a load of unhappy passengers. .

    Added - This technique works with smaller and slower turbo-prop aircraft. Would imagine harder to pull off with a jet.
  • @MFO Members: I've always had a wonderful experience on TA Airlines. Here is a short sample of what you'll experience.
    Regards,
    Ted
  • LOL. No, I'm completely serious. And don't call me Shirley.
  • edited July 2019
    LOL - “Don’t call me Shirley.”

    @Ted - Thanks for the video. But I thought you owned your own private jet. What a disappointment to hear you travel commercial like the rest of us. Where abouts on the plane do you normally sit?
  • FIRST CLASS !
  • @hank- Trying to recall if that Athens/Crete plane was a small jet or a turbo. Can't remember accurately, but it might very well have been a turboprop.
  • edited July 2019
    Ted said:

    FIRST CLASS !

    Way to go Ted.:)

    Old_Joe said:

    “Trying to recall ....”
    “Can't remember accurately” ....”
    “Might very well have been ....”

    Sounds to me like they were serving free drinks on that one.:)

  • I wish! :)
  • Just say no to fish dinner. Oh, that was a long time ago. These days one get a small bag of peanut. Flying oversea still get reasonable meals.
  • Sven said:

    These days one get a small bag of peanut.

    Consider yourself lucky.

    "Southwest joins several other carriers that do not serve prepackaged peanuts, including American Airlines and United Airlines."
    https://www.npr.org/2018/07/10/627681758/southwest-airlines-says-it-will-stop-serving-peanuts

  • To protect the peanut-sensitive. Such a transparent pretext. Cripes. I'm VERY sensitive, nasally: fresh tar, perfume, some of my wife's Asian recipes. I like vinegar, but to COOK with it? GTFO!!! Any "food" that smells like GARBAGE before you even try to eat it is not gonna get me to consume it. I had to put a stop to that. And also, any of those goddam smelly "plug-ins" by Glade with the fake, awful, overdone supposedly "pleasant" aromas, like the INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH vanilla or pine or lavender or peach or plastic cranberries pre-soaked in toxins. Or the pine tree thingys hanging from rear-view mirrors in cars...... But will any of the airlines go aroma-free and ban any fake overdone chemical "natural" smells? No. At least SOME doctor's offices have done so.
  • edited July 2019
    Peanuts were a staple up until 20-30 years ago. For some, peanut allergy can be life threatening. Were there some lawsuits over this by passengers who fell ill after being served peanuts by the airlines? I’m pretty sure there were - but don’t remember. So peanuts were replaced with pretzels in coach on virtually every U.S. carriers. But in First Class one or more of the U.S. majors (American I think) currently serves a very appetizing dish of hot roasted cashews. Yum. Better than peanuts anyway.
  • Cashews get my vote, yes. I enjoy them in my yogurt, these days.
  • The good old days when airline traveling was a real treat. Food was serve with silverware even in coach class. Flying to Europe is still quite good. Hot towel was provided before each meals.
  • I recall when Alaska Airlines served us with actual silverware in coach. Seattle- Spokane, Spokane-Seattle-Anchorage.

  • When I flew domestic Varig in Brazil in 2002 I was stunned to get served a small steak & veg on china, with REAL SILVERWARE, in coach class...I was stunned, and the food was quite good. By contrast, the US flights would throw a bag of something at you and your main utensil was a plastic post-911 spork.
    Sven said:

    The good old days when airline traveling was a real treat. Food was serve with silverware even in coach class. Flying to Europe is still quite good. Hot towel was provided before each meals.

  • edited July 2019
    rforno said:


    When I flew domestic Varig in Brazil in 2002 I was stunned to get served a small steak & veg on china, with REAL SILVERWARE, in coach class...I was stunned, and the food was quite good. By contrast, the US flights would throw a bag of something at you and your main utensil was a plastic post-911 spork.

    Sven said:

    The good old days when airline traveling was a real treat. Food was serve with silverware even in coach class. Flying to Europe is still quite good. Hot towel was provided before each meals.

    Yes, I’m old enough to remember those “good old days” in the U.S. (likely before suitcases came equipped with wheels). What happened? It’s a long story.

    One of the biggest changes occurred when the government decided in 1978 to deregulate airlines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_Deregulation_Act. Rather than adhering to prescribed fare structures, the airlines were free to price competitively against one another. In some markets fares fell by 50% nearly overnight. Early ‘80s were golden years for U.S. travelers, many of whom travelled by air for the first time. But competition had its price. Airlines, to compete on price, began packing more and more passengers on existing craft. Whereas checking a bag was once included in your ticket price, it became an expensive add-on. Free dinners gave way to free lunch (typically a sandwich). Free lunches over time became free peanuts. And the free peanuts degraded to free pretzels. More and more add-on fees followed. (One airline in Europe even experimented with pay toilets on planes. That one didn’t come out well.)

    Over the next couple decades the price competition forced many airlines to close or to merge with other carriers. Remember Eastern? Braniff? U.S. Air? Continental? Pan Am? TWA? Northwest? So we went in a few decades from approximately 6-8 major carriers to the big three (Delta, American, United) plus Southwest. While there are some smaller (niche) carriers, a good guess is that the four above have cornered 80%+ of the existing market (including the regional carriers they employ).

    From those golden days of the ‘80s prices have continued to climb while service / accommodations have diminished. But there’s a few other factors besides less competition at work:

    - Increased charges (hidden in ticket price) for the security measures imposed after 9/11.

    - Tougher price competitiveness brought about by travelers buying their tickets online - sometimes using powerful search engines like the one @Crash linked.

    - A broader cross section of the population now traveling by air. Up until around 1980 air travel was largely confined to more affluent travelers who were willing to pay-up for the better service.

    I will say - First class (or business class) is still a great experience compared to being part of the herd packed into the back 80% of the plane. But you can expect to pay about double for that level of service (and the additional space). For some it’s worth it and part of the pleasure of traveling. To most others it’s money wasted.
  • edited July 2019
    Even domestic, anything more than 2.5 hours (which I'm used to flying DC or NY to FL) I will fly up front. I appreciate the extra leg/seat room and it's just not worth the headaches otherwise.

    Despite being our 'resident Aussie' (long story) I've turned down work-related travel and collaborations to Asia/Pac because the state won't pay for anything more than cattle class since it's required to use the "cheapest" flights. Forget passenger health issues, or how being folded into cattle class might impact employees once they arrive TO DO WORK, it's all about saving $$$ for the bean-counters. (By contrast, I flew nonstop USA-Singapore in business ... 19 hours, got off the plane, got to the hotel changed, and went right to give a conference keynote. No problem whatsoever. Were I in coach? I shudder to think how I'd be once I took the stage..if I'd even make it there coherently.)
    hank said:

    rforno said:


    I will say - First class (or business class) is still a great experience compared to being part of the herd packed into the back 80% of the plane. But you can expect to pay about double for that level of service (and the additional room). For some it’s worth it and part of the pleasure of traveling. To others it’s money wasted.

  • hank said:


    One of the biggest changes occurred when the government decided in 1978 to deregulate airlines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_Deregulation_Act. Rather than adhering to prescribed fare structures, the airlines were free to price competitively against one another. In some markets fares fell by 50% nearly overnight. Early ‘80s were golden years for U.S. travelers, many of whom travelled by air for the first time. But competition had its price. Airlines, to compete on price, began packing more and more passengers on existing craft.

    Ah yes, People Express 1981-1987 RIP.
    David Neeleman, JetBlue's CEO and founder, once appeared on a panel at Yale University with Donald Burr, the founder of People Express. Neeleman says he told Burr that, regarding People's famously low fares and famously cramped cabins, "It was fun to pay 19 bucks for the experience but you only do it a couple times.' And he agreed."
    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-dec-14-tm-airlines50-story.html

    Also, The Rise and Fall of People Express
    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-30-tr-70-story.html
    But make no mistake . . . for a while there, People Express almost single-handedly rewrote the tariff book, and, for that relief, brief as it was, the traveling public should be grateful.
  • @MFO Members: Years ago I frequently flew to Austin Texas on Braniff out of Chicago's Midway Airport. Great airline.
    Regards,
    Ted
  • I guess there's no purpose reminiscing about my favorite airline from the 60s/70s: Western Airlines ("The only way to fly"). That's when "stewardesses" served hot food, that was good, while we sat in roomy comfortable seats. Seems like a lot of things look tarnished when compared to the past. But I guess we should take comfort that things are "cheap." (I do like my 60 inch tv that's made in Asia.)
  • Having flown several times on Singapore airlines, I can vouch for them being the best (or at least among) the best. The first time was almost 30 years back. My wife was traveling in economy with our daughter, not even a year old. I could not accompany her due to work. They took such a good care of her making sure they keep an eye on the bassinet so that my wife can get at least some rest, getting warmed milk for the baby, getting her toys, and just making the very long flight with an infant actually relaxing. Most recently we traveled again as family last year and they continue to impress. Polite, friendly service with a smile, always! Someone mentioned prices - they were actually cheaper than American and European airlines for the same destination. We paid $825 for round-trip to India. Couple of months before our flight, they had to change starting time for one sections of the flight by about an hour increasing our layover in Singapore. For our inconvenience, they upgraded us to Economy Plus when they sensed a slight hint of displeasure on the phone without even complaining. Guess which airline I will take if I need to fly in that region again! Again, this is not unique to us. Every one (and I mean every one I know who has flown that airline) has positive things to say about them.
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