Posted September 16, 200915 yr As a mirror to the mass transit list thread: For me Lufthansa (first time on a plane) Delta (second airline) Then it's a blur: American United TWA Northwest USAIR Wright Comair ASA Western Piedmont Transamerica (charter) Condor (charter) ...and thats about it.
September 16, 200915 yr Delta, United, American, America West, British Airways, and probably a couple others that don't come to mind. The thing that occurs to me on the mass transit thread is how diverse all the options are; each one listed has its own unique flavor. Commercial airlines? They all seem the same to me, except for the logo painted on the side of the plane. The only one that's ever stood out for me was British Airways, because the food didn't suck and the flight crew had British accents.
September 16, 200915 yr Aeromexico Alaska Alitalia American Air Canada Air China Air France Alitalia British Airways Cathay Pacific Continental Copa Delta Hawaiian JAL KLM Korean Air Lufthansa Northwest TAP United Virgin I didn't list any subsidiaries. I've also flown America West Eastern TWA Air Panama Braniff ( the most stylish airline) Commercial airlines? They all seem the same to me, except for the logo painted on the side of the plane. The only one that's ever stood out for me was British Airways, because the food didn't suck and the flight crew had British accents. You say that now. Once you step on a Cathay Pacific or JAL flight, you wont ever want to fly a domestic carrier again. There is no comparison! NONE!
September 16, 200915 yr Current airlines: Continental (and subsidiaries) Delta (and subsidiaries) American Southwest Northwest U.S. Airways KLM (dammmmmmmmmn those are some tall flight attendants!) I have never had the pleasure (not) of flying on United, nor do I plan to! Dead airlines: TWA Eastern Airlines Pan-Am
September 16, 200915 yr Aeromexico Air Canada Air France AirTran (or is it Tram? Whatever, the Atlanta thing is) Alaskan American America West Cathay Pacific Continental Delta Frontier Jet Blue Lufthansa Northwest Swiss Air Southwest United US Airways Virgin And the old TWA, Independence, and some others I forgot. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 17, 200915 yr Not one Alegheny, National, People Express, or Apple among you! I must be old.
September 17, 200915 yr Allegheny was the best along with North Central (which became Republic, then Northwest and now Delta). Multi-stop Convair 580's. Now that's what flying is all about! Aeroflot All Nippon American Allegheny Air France British Airways Lufthansa PeoplExpress NY Air Continental USAir Eastern TWA Ozark ComAir ASA Delta Northwest United US Air Force Air Mobility Air Jamaica Gabon (Africa) Air Afrique Virgin Nigeria Air Tanzania Did I miss any?
September 17, 200915 yr Not that many. I didn't list subsidiaries. Northwest Continental Southwest TWA Alaska Air Air Canada British Air USAir American Airlines Delta United
September 17, 200915 yr American United USAir TWA PanAm Delta Northwest Alaska Frontier JetBlue Spirit SunCountry Eastern Airlines American Trans Air (ATA) AmericaWest Continental Southwest JAL ANA Skymark (Jpn) AirDo (Jpn) Qantas Canadian Air Canada FinnAir Thai Airways Air India President Airlines (Thailand) Korean Airlines Asiana Vietnam Airlines China Eastern LAN Peru Cathay Pacific Royal Jordanian British Airways Iberia BMI (British Midlands)
September 17, 200915 yr Commercial airlines? They all seem the same to me, except for the logo painted on the side of the plane. The only one that's ever stood out for me was British Airways, because the food didn't suck and the flight crew had British accents. You say that now. Once you step on a Cathay Pacific or JAL flight, you wont ever want to fly a domestic carrier again. There is no comparison! NONE! Totally agree with you. JAL, ANA, and Cathay are all top notch airlines. One memory that sticks in my craw after flying JAL was taking a Northwest flight where the attendants went up and down the aisle with a bag yelling "garbage...garbage...garbage....garbage." Tacky.
September 17, 200915 yr Domestic list: American United Continental Delta Southwest Northwest Airtran jetBlue ATA Virgin America US Scareways (formerly known as US Scare) ASA Comair Skywest ACA Xjet American Eagle Republic Mesa (the China Eastern of North America) Shuttle America Trans States Chattaqua -- however it's spelled. Alaskan (not to Alaska though) Is Go! Jet still around? North American FedEx Frontier Those Hawaiian airlines that fly from island to island Former: Eastern TWA Pan Am Braniff People's Express except in Newark where it was People's Distress. NY Air Independence Piedmont Alledumpy Western (or were they Canadian? Can't remember) I did not have the opportunity to fly SkyBust. I think that's it.
September 17, 200915 yr I don't really recall airlines very well as most tend to blur together, so I'll just mention what stands out in my memory. Aer Lingis- They had some of hot stewerdesses back in the day. Aeroflot- (The former USSR's national airline) I spent the entire flight in prayer that the wings wouldn't fall off. If I hadn't been so occupied with that I might have noticed what my friends did. The cabin door was open so they could see that the pilot was drinking. Austrian Air Lines- The stewerdess had a moustache. Eww. (Yes, I have a moustache, but there is a double standard. Call me sexist if you want to.) Delta- They asked me if I was willing to give up my window seat so a couple could sit next to each other. I didn't want an aisle seat but didn't want to be rude so I said ok. They gave me an aisle seat in first class. I was happy. JetBlue- Flight took off a half hour late, yet landed a half hour early. This on a flight that was scheduled for 4 hours. I don't want to know how fast we were going. KLM- The food didn't suck! Southwest- After a fellow passenger was rude a stewerdess told him if he didn't stop acting like a dog and barking orders at her, she'd treat him like a dog and let him stick his head out the window. United Airlines- They decided to board the plane a half hour early and didn't make an announcment except to the immediate boarding area. Once we'd boarded they decided to just go ahead and leave early, not noticing that they had an empty seat, and thus leaving a coworker of mine stranded in DC. He was pissed.
September 18, 200915 yr I took my first flight at age 28, when I got a travel job with expenses paid and flew every week or two. I've been on four flights that I actually paid for. Delta Northwest China Air ("upright your sit back") Thai airways - top notch service
September 18, 200915 yr Air Canada Jazz Air New Zealand AirTran American Airlines -American Eagle -American Eagle (Executive Airlines) America West -America West Express (operated by Chautauqua and Mesa) Continental Airlines -Continental Express (operated by ExpressJet) Delta -Delta Express Eastern Airlines Florida Express Independence Air jetBlue LIAT Lufthansa Northwest Airlines -Northwest Airlink (operated by Mesaba) Qantas Sabena Southwest Swissair TAESA TWA USAirways -USAirways Express (operated by Republic and Chautauqua) United Airlines -United Express (operated by Shuttle America, Skywest, Mesa, GoJet, Trans States, and Chautauqua)
September 21, 200915 yr Doesn't matter. For the most part -- especially domestic -- they're all the same: bland, confining, deceptive, unpleasant.
September 21, 200915 yr Not one Alegheny, National, People Express, or Apple among you! I must be old. I always suspected you were a Fellow Traveler...
September 21, 200915 yr Doesn't matter. For the most part -- especially domestic -- they're all the same: bland, confining, deceptive, unpleasant. Yeah if you're in the coach.
September 21, 200915 yr Are there people on this board wealthy enough or important enough to have flown first class?
September 21, 200915 yr I dont see Obviously I see people posting lists of airlines. Well I know I'm not flying in Coach, with the exception of the early morning continental flight. I'm 6'4" and sitting in Coach is not comfortable or acceptable to me.
September 22, 200915 yr I have flown all the major US carriers plus the scary ones like the former Value jet and current bargain ones, AirTran, aloha air, and usa3000. As far as international: Air China, KLM, SAS, Luftansia, Alitalia. Probably KLM was the favorite. I only flew first class once. We missed a flight in Columbus -the first and only flight I missed where we were at fault-and I made a joke to the ticket agent we would gladly squeeze onto the next first class flight. For whatever reason she put us in it. We probably acted like a couple classless fools drinking everything in sight. Other wise I never fly first class. If I did I could never afford to jet set like I do. Where I draw the line- I won't sit in the middle of that big row of seats on long haul flights.
September 22, 200915 yr Got a first class seat from Chicago to Cincinnati on Delta when I got wrapped up in the big Comair strike of '01 (I think). I have flown Airtran and was quite impressed.
September 22, 200915 yr There's a lot of people 6'4" and bigger who can't fly first class. The airlines are all alike. Two-tiered based on money, never mind the comfort, or lack thereof, of the typical passenger.
September 22, 200915 yr You say that now. Once you step on a Cathay Pacific or JAL flight, you wont ever want to fly a domestic carrier again. There is no comparison! NONE! Very true indeed. Thai Airways was also one of the better ones I have ever flown. Even Vietnam Airways gave hot towels, slippers, poured wine freely and served a full meal when I flew them once in coach...and the flight was only a little over an hour from Bangkok to Hanoi. The traditional pink Viet style uniforms were probably the most elegant I have seen. The plane however, was shockingly old looking on the outside. Also was lucky enough to fly TWA into the JFK terminal by Aero Saarinen (one of my favorite buildings) in 2000 just before TWA was bought out. The terminal interior was wonderful and looked practically all original. I think that was the only now defunct big US carrier I have ever been on. The most memorable flight attendent was a huge old lady on NWA to Japan that looked exactly like Dame Edna....diamond encrusted glasses with a chain and big blue hair.
September 22, 200915 yr I dont see Obviously I see people posting lists of airlines. Well I know I'm not flying in Coach, with the exception of the early morning continental flight. I'm 6'4" and sitting in Coach is not comfortable or acceptable to me. I'm 6'5". It's called "exit row".
September 22, 200915 yr Even Vietnam Airways gave hot towels, slippers, poured wine freely and served a full meal when I flew them once in coach...and the flight was only a little over an hour from Bangkok to Hanoi. Your experience on Vietnam Airways was decidedly different from my experience in 1988.
September 23, 200915 yr I dont see Obviously I see people posting lists of airlines. Well I know I'm not flying in Coach, with the exception of the early morning continental flight. I'm 6'4" and sitting in Coach is not comfortable or acceptable to me. Comfort???? Amenities??? Isn't the romance and thrill of flying enough? I hear you though. I'm also 6'4" and even an exit row doesn't quite accomodate my legs
December 4, 20195 yr On 9/16/2009 at 9:26 PM, Jeffery said: USAIR= Unfortunatly Still Alleghnany, In Reality. That's funny. And there was also Useless Air. ?
December 4, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, skiwest said: That's funny. And there was also Useless Air. ? And Allegheny Airlines was known as Agony Air
January 12, 20205 yr This reflects my age. Quite a few of the airlines no longer exist Domestic: AirCal Alaska Allegheny American America West Braniff Continental Delta Eastern Frontier Lake Central Northwest Piedmont (the old one) PSA (likewise, the old one) Southwest TWA United USAir Virgin America World (they used to run a flight between LA and SFO in the 70s...$25 round trip!) International: Air France Austrian bmi British Midland (long gone, but my favorite by far) British Czech KLM LOT Polish Malev Hungarian Martinair (pretty awful, but cheap) New Zealand PanAm (my first international flight 50 years ago) Qantas Tyrolean (there's a reason it no longer exists...incredibly rude personnel, bad food, old planes and expensive)
January 12, 20205 yr Not too many for me: United (Continental) (USA 3000) Delta American Air Canada Southwest Turkish Frontier Spirit “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
January 12, 20205 yr Hoping to expand this list significantly in the next few years: AirTran American Comair Continental Delta Frontier Hawaiian Southwest Spirit United USAirways I know Spirit gets a deservedly bad rap but I had quite the most lovely yet delightfully unrefined experience on a flight to Vegas last fall. Knowing it's very no frills and cramped seating, we ponied up for the exit row seats. As we get to our row, the window seat has a bright red decal on the setback saying "DO NOT SIT - BROKEN". In addition, the window seat in the row ahead was broken - and didn't even have a seatback ? Sure it was pretty janky, ratchet or whatever term the kids are using, but the end result was my husband got an aisle seat to stretch out in, we had the row to ourselves, a sh!t ton of space for our carry on items and I could sit side-saddle the whole flight if I wanted to - who needs business class when all it takes are a few busted seats! ? clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
January 13, 20205 yr United, American, Piedmont, Midway, TWA, Northwest, Air Canada, Air Ontario, Delta and a charter which I believe was Air Lingus.
January 13, 20205 yr Domestic AirTran American ATA Continental Delta Frontier JetBlue Midwest Northwest Southwest United US Airways International Air Canada Air China Air France AirAsia All Nippon British Airways Cathay Pacific China Eastern Czech Emirates Icelandair Jet.com Jetstar KLM Korean Lufthansa Norwegian Pluna RyanAir SAS Singapore Transavia Turkish Virgin Atlantic
February 8, 20205 yr Aer Lingus Air Afrique Air Cal Air Iberia Air Tran Alaska Allegheny Airways American Comair Continental Delta Eastern/Eastern Shuttle Horizon Northwest Orient Pan American PSA Southwest TWA United (Terminated relationship permanently after 2nd CLE de-hub) US Airways Edited February 16, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder
February 8, 20205 yr On 1/12/2020 at 10:30 PM, seangray said: Domestic AirTran American ATA Continental Delta Frontier JetBlue Midwest Northwest Southwest United US Airways International Air Canada Air China Air France AirAsia All Nippon British Airways Cathay Pacific China Eastern Czech Emirates Icelandair Jet.com Jetstar KLM Korean Lufthansa Norwegian Pluna RyanAir SAS Singapore Transavia Turkish Virgin Atlantic Without racking my brains on 25 years of international travel, I’d say that list is pretty much my own. The only ones extra I can think of right now are LOT (Poland) Aeropostal, or Aeromortal as the locals called them (Venezuela) My hovercraft is full of eels
February 14, 20205 yr Updated list, broken down by airlines still flying and airlines that have either consolidated/merged/gone bankrupt: Operating: Aer Lingus AeroMexico Air Canada -Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz) Air China Air France Air New Zealand AirSwift Alaska Alaska/Horizon American Airlines -American Eagle (operated by Executive Airlines, Envoy, Republic) Avianca Cebgo Delta -Delta Connection (operated by Chautauqua, Shuttle America, Republic, Endeavor) -Delta Express EasyJet Iberia Icelandair jetBlue JetStar KLM Korean Air LATAM LIAT Lufthansa Malaysian Airlines Norwegian Philippine Airlines Porter Qantas Qatar Royal Air Maroc SAS Southwest Star Peru Swiss United Airlines -United Express (operated by Shuttle America, Skywest, Mesa, GoJet, Trans States, and Chautauqua) Westjet No longer operating: AirTran America West -America West Express (operated by Chautauqua and Mesa) Continental Airlines -Continental Express (operated by ExpressJet) Eastern Airlines Florida Express Independence Air LAN Chile LAN Argentina Northwest Airlines -Northwest Airlink (operated by Mesaba) Peruvian Airlines Sabena Swissair TAESA TWA USAirways -USAirways Express (operated by Republic and Chautauqua)
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