Flying sucks!

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by hokoman

I think most airlines offer a discounted bereavement fare - you have to call customer care. In regards to travel - I think airlines have made it so easy/cheap to travel that it's not much different than taking a bus in the worst neighborhood of your area.

I don't think flight prices have moved from 20 years ago when I was shuttling back and forth from the CA to NY. I would pay $400-$500 on average back in the mid 90s, and once got caught needing a last minute flight and paying $1,600. Not much different than prices today.

Being loyal to an airlines does help - I was platinum with United the 3 years I didn't work (travelled a lot) and the airlines do take care of their loyal customers in a lot of different ways when trying to move flights, etc.

Don't think too much about the price - it's something that needs to be done. Best wishes for you and your family.

When my grandpa passed, my parents were here so they had to change their flights to go home, I don’t remember which airline it was but I think maybe delta, they not only changed their tickets for free but also put them in first class. I thought that was pretty awesome

[Frankwurst]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

And to allow her to find room for her carry-on in the overhead bin rather than checking it.

There is that.

[likebikes]

i only fly southwest these days, it's always a pleasant experience

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Frankwurst

Funny. My daughter said all preferred or gold status has done for her is to allow her to sit on the plane longer.

I have Lifetime Platinum status on AA. All that does for me is to put me 20th on the upgrade list.

So I focused on JB last year and earned Mosaic, at the very end of the year. Thought I was going to have to take a mileage flight somewhere to hit the target, but a trans-con work trip got me over.

Note the base fare on JB gives 1X points; a slightly higher fare gives 3X points. I made it last year; my son, who flies more but booked the base fares, missed by quite a margin.

And yea, flying sucks. I earned much of my FF status back in the '80s when planes were half empty... Now it's unusual to see even a single empty seat.

[alwayssnacking]

crazy how economy now has different tiers. flying from sfo to chicago during summertime is not even worth it nowadays.

[Joel]

Very sorry to hear about your aunt.

If you are flying either Delta or Southwest, it is totally worth phoning them and explaning the situation. Both tend to try to do the right thing (when they can).

This is 3.3 million butt-in-seat miles worth of experience talking here...

Best,

Joel

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by wc1934

***??? What compelled you to post that? Shame on you!!

Kinda what I thought. Pretty unnecessary

[Ken Robb]

There are very few reasons that I will fly these days. Current coach air travel makes riding a Greyhound bus in 1966 seem luxurious.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by saab2000

The airline I work for doesn't charge for your first two bags and allows you to pick your own boarding place. Once on board you can pick your own seat and you can pay a small upcharge for a place in the top 15 for boarding. I just checked and short notice (tomorrow) has at least five options with one stop from BWI to SEA.

There are also nonstop options on other carriers. The Washington and Baltimore area has three significant airports, all of which offer nonstop flights of some sort between them and Seattle.

As far as being cramped, they all suck. But there's often a premium economy option on the legacy carriers. The extremely low-cost carriers will have the legal maximum number of seats on the airplane, so you will be crammed in tight. Want more space? It's available.

The market has something for everyone. And these are all for-profit companies, not charities.

My recommendation for ALL flying is a fully charged iPad, loaded with TV shows and/or movies and a set of noise-cancelling headphones. My Bose QC35s have been a godsend and my only regret is that I didn't buy them years ago.

Oh, and bring a spare battery. It beats using that instead of looking everywhere for an outlet when you devices get low, which they will on a long day of travel.

with all due respect, one should be circumspect about how Southwest tries to dismiss and stall (pun intended) the FAA

this from the FAA Inspector General's report:

“As a result, FAA cannot provide assurance that the carrier operates at the highest degree of safety in the public’s interest, as required by law,” the inspector general said. That is so even though “FAA representatives — ranging from senior executives to local inspectors — expressed concerns about the safety culture at Southwest Airlines.”

Caveat emptor and all that

[unterhausen]

American treated me really well on my trip to France last summer. I think it was the first positive experience I have had flying in a long time.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by echappist

with all due respect, one should be circumspect about how Southwest tries to dismiss and stall (pun intended) the FAA

this from the FAA Inspector General's report:




Caveat emptor and all that

I’m not going to give any kind of counter arguments other than that I’ve not seen what is being alleged.

I am aware of these allegations but I haven’t observed anything untoward.

[CNY rider]

We always try to fly Southwest.....although I should qualify that we fly once or twice a year so "always" isn't much.
It still sucks....but I feel like they at least try to make it suck less. So they got that going for them.
We did fly United to Italy last year. I was dreading that experience but it greatly exceeded my expectations. So maybe they have upped their service, or maybe that's just international because prior experience with United domestically was appalingly bad.

[rwsaunders]

1.7M miles on USAirways, now the American Airlines _ _ _ tshow. Switched over to Delta 500K miles ago and no regrets. None of them are perfect and the only perfection that I ask for is a safe flight.

I did laugh at the Delta CEO recently commenting on seating etiquette and asking folks to ask permission before reclining. I wonder when the last time was, that Ed flew coach with the little people.

[bikinchris]

When we had status on Delta, we would get upgraded seats often for no extra charge. We always got free baggage.
Cattle class really sucks. I would always pay extra for at least Comfort+ to at least have knee room.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

1.7M miles on USAirways, now the American Airlines _ _ _ tshow. Switched over to Delta 500K miles ago and no regrets. None of them are perfect and the only perfection that I ask for is a safe flight.

I did laugh at the Delta CEO recently commenting on seating etiquette and asking folks to ask permission before reclining. I wonder when the last time was, that Ed flew coach with the little people.

Yeah, no seat should be able to recline except first class or comfort+ because they have extra room.
We often got exit row seats and I would get a real kick out of watching the sucker in the row immediately in front try to recline. Even to the point of one putting their foot on the seat in front and pushing against it. Then they called the flight attendant, who informed them that those seats don't recline. I kept from laughing out loud somehow.