I could have written this reply, Mr. Boss. American is at the bottom of the heap for me; there have been too many strandings/problems for me to ever want to fly them again. The fact is that US Air (An airline I despised) merged with them is another reason to quit them.
Yes, it's tough to beat Allegiant right now. This summer I flew non-stop from Pgh to Bradenton, FL for $96 roundtrip. Well, I split a full-size checked bag with Mrs. Pitt Boss so, along with her ticket, it was less than $250 for 2 people to go down & back. Did a similar thing in the Spring to Fort Walton Beach. Both times, the flights took off on time, bags made it there with us, no issues whatsoever.
There are some good small airlines. I get stuck with those that partner with AirNZ or Qantas to get back from NZ. Qantas is partnered with American so according to the responses here probably no different and possibly worse than United. Alaska Airlines is sometimes a choice so if timings and prices are similar I'll go with them.
LOL....try GOL in South America. We were on a flight from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo and the flight attendants start walking up and down the aisles spraying a lysol like substance at the overhead bins. My travel coworker who was European so he got the irony of Brazil and Argentina texts me from his seat...."first comes the showers.....................next comes the gas".
www.cbsnews.com
That article is from 6 years agoMost dangerous airline. Ya that’s worth saving a few 100.00…
Allegiant Air: The budget airline flying under the radar
Steve Kroft investigates Allegiant Air, a discount carrier known more for its ultra-low fares than its high record of in-flight breakdowns
Cheaper airline flights also helped create the airline vacation traveler boom, which is a curse for us business travelers. It never ceases to amaze me how long it now takes to board and exit a plane, and how many people just refuse to check luggage. These miscreants belong on a Greyhound bus.
I know people that always use carryon because they fear lost bags.
I like a federal requirement on leg room, but honestly shoulder room bothers me the most. I am a tall guy too at 6-3, but damn my shoulders are about 6 inches wider than the 17 inches or whatever it is for shoulder width in the seats.
Do you gate check those? That alone would resolve so many problems with boarding and exiting if the airlines forced it.
Oh the friggin luggage whores. I said they should be charged for NOT paying to check luggage. I love the look of disdain and disgust by the flight attendants when a family of five boards with enough luggage to fill up a Macy's department and expect it all to fit in overheads.
You’re my people .
If I have a connection and they are offering free gate check due to limited overhead, then I usually will gate check them as they will stay checked through to my final destination. Saves me wheeling them around the connecting airport when I am trying to grab some food, fill my water bottle, etc.
Same. When I’m traveling with my family, I can take a row with my two daughters and all of us can have some marginal level of relative comfort. When that isn’t possible, I usually pay the piper and sit first class, which means my wife does too, which roughly triples the cost of most flights.
Back in the days of pre-regulation. Airlines were guaranteed not to lose money as they were given monoply rights on certain routes so they did not need to compete. Then they charged whatever they needed to guarantee a profit. This made flying too expensive for most other than business travelers whose employers footed the cost as a business expense.
Yeah but like some others said the shoulder width is the biggest problem for me. The legroom is shitty even in the comfort-plus category but the shoulder width is uniformly terrible unless you’re in 1st class.
As a Murphys law kind of thing, it's usually three guys like us sitting in a row together doing the same thing..... it never fails.
Well-they also smoked -
That's why when I flew to Australia I made sure it was Qantas and not an American flight. What a difference.
