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| Airline Reviews | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 3 2010, 01:59:54 AM (2,277 Views) | |
| JenbeTas | Jun 3 2010, 01:59:54 AM Post #1 |
Hippie Wannabe sailing the deep blue sea
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There have been recent discussions about airlines lately so I just thought it would be nice to start a thread where we could all discuss our favourite airlines, as well as the airlines we don't like! It will be nice to see the varying opinions.  -Air New Zealand- So far, this is my top pick. I think their service is phenomenal. My luggage is always overweight but they never say a word about it. The flight attendants are very friendly, courteous, attentive and if they're not serving food, they were walking around with a bottle of wine in each hand....that's my kind of flight attendant.   -Qantas- I think Qantas is just *ok*. I don't think they're bad, nor do I think they're the best. We use them primarily for work, so I accumulate miles with them fairly quickly and really only fly with them on personal trips if I have enough points to cover it. I have yet to be on a Qantas flight that was on time. -Emirates- I flew with Emirates to the Maldives. I'd always heard such great things about them so I chose them over Singapore Airlines. (I know Singapore is reputed to be one of the best but I wanted to layover in Dubai and not Singapore). I was actually quite disappointed. They have removed the footrests and have these strange seats that make my short little legs dangle and wreak havoc on my knees. The functionality of the seat would be great...if the footrests were still there. I found it very uncomfortable. The food was ok, IFE was not bad at all. The flight attendants seemed to serve meals then vanish into the galley until it was time to serve another meal. I would fly with them again but I wouldn't pay extra money to do it. -Air Pacific- My initial trip to Australia was with Air Pacific from LAX to Sydney with a four hour stop in Nadi. I have reviewed them before and I didn't give them the greatest but actually, they aren't bad. I just had a bad experience that had nothing to do with the airline. (I got stuck sitting next to a girl with a broken elbow that had taken three Tylenol 3's before we took off, then proceeded to vomit till we were nearly to Nadi. Add sitting next to the galley and about eight out of ten hours of some pretty hefty turbulence......) If you are flying with children, this is a wonderful airline for you. The flight attendants were incredibly hospitable (and smelled very tropical!). When they weren't serving, they were walking fussy little ones around the cabin for the frazzled and exhausted parents. The food was actually quite good. The only downside to me was the old crowded 747. There was very little leg room for even my short legs. The stop in Nadi wasn't bad at all. Well, except for the torture of not being able to leave the airport! LOL. -United Airlines- What a waste of bandwidth it is to even talk about them. Everyone already knows they suck. Oh well... since we're here.... They suck because they're never on time, the flight attendants were rude, obnoxious and lazy, the food tasted like the plastic containers that it came in, their customer service is insanely bad. Top that off with paying the astronomical fare that I forked over to go to LAX... NEVER again. As for domestic flights, I'm really not all that fussy about it and tend to go with the least expensive that I can find. Never really experienced any issues with any of the domestic carriers in Australia. Within the US, I often fly with Southwest. |
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| Mimishuze | Jun 3 2010, 04:16:34 AM Post #2 |
True Blue Mate
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Thanks! - that was really helpful!! ~Mimi |
| Gone On a Lucky Country - My Blog About Moving to Australia | |
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| janders1957 | Jun 3 2010, 01:32:20 PM Post #3 |
True Blue Mate
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Wow... I've flown United 3 times, and after my next trip this Christmas, will be a scant 250 or so frequent flyer miles from getting the following trip for about $400. Or maybe an upgrade to business class... A quick trip Vegas next March when Danni comes back here will take care of the miles and until I've cashed them in, I'll be sticking with United. I've flown them direct from SFO non stop to Syd. All three flights were pretty much on time, not near enough delay to worry about. Food isn't great, but for the most part was edible. All attendants have been at the least, courteous, and often quite friendly. Seating does suck, badly, in economy unless sitting in the exit seats or the row right behind the kitchen galley. Prices have been hands down, the cheapest every single time I've been looking to actually book a flight. Have to say though, the last trip down under, the plane was an absolute pig sty by the time we got to Sydney. They seldom made trash pickup trips after handing out snacks and drinks, and the floor was littered. Two flights have been overbooked, one time they got volunteers to take another flight, the other time some folks got bumped. THAT would hack me off big time... But I'll bet that happens to the other guys now and then too. I've heard good things about Qantas with respect to food, seating, movies, etc. But I follow the Sydney Herald online and have read a fair number of articles on Qantas problems. While they've not lost a plane, they've had a somewhat disturbing track record for issues ranging from minor to uncomfortably close to disaster. I made a great contact that I'm hoping will lead to some very lucrative work here. If it comes to pass, I'll stop shopping price and start looking for more legroom and better food... And after the last 14 hour flight home, maybe I'll start to consider flights with a layover.... |
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| CynicalCountess | Jun 3 2010, 06:39:22 PM Post #4 |
True Blue Mate
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United breaks guitars. Interesting postscript to this story: He was invited to speak at a United customer service seminar and the same airline LOST HIS BAGS. Good grief. I think next time he'll wind up on the wing. From a girlfriend of mine: Ahhhhhh . . . United Airlines. Margaret (would have been 9 or so at the time) spent a good portion of her Christmas vacation stranded in Chicago last year with United. The airline didn't deem it necessary to call with updates about the situation. She was finally sent back to me without ever reaching her destination. I picked her up around 10pm or later and learned she hadn't eaten since the night before! She was so hungry and thirsty! When I called to complain, they said first she was lying ecause they'd never let a child in their care go hungry and second, if she did go hungry, it was Margaret's fault because she should have asked for food. Also, her bags were lost. For days. She will never fly United again. Edited by CynicalCountess, Jun 3 2010, 06:41:17 PM.
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| AmbroseChick | Jun 3 2010, 06:52:09 PM Post #5 |
True Blue Mate
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I love that video My son brought his guitar with him on our V-Australia flight and we were hoping for an intact guitar at the end of the trip... and it was... but we still sang that song at different points of the trip.
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| Check it out! Facebook page: Americans Living in Queensland | |
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| sunshine | Jun 3 2010, 10:58:27 PM Post #6 |
True Blue Mate
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I've only made the US-Australia trip via Qantas, so I don't have anything to compare them against, but every time it's been good. Not, like, open-bar good, but decent. Free entertainment and snack bags. They seem to class up the plastic-tray economy meals okay - they could do a lot worse than baked salmon or lamb rogan josh. I only wish I'd been on one of the newer planes in December, because those old 747s feel cramped even for me (and I'm snack-sized - 5'3"). I had a connection via Auckland and the plane from AKL to Melbourne felt much newer and roomier in comparison, so much less like cattle class. When I got the flights, Qantas had the cheapest flights through student travel agencies (STA et al) but United, V Australia and Air New Zealand all seem to rate lately. Domestically, we tend to go with Virgin Blue - they're a little less finicky than Jetstar, and hey, we got to New Zealand on Velocity points. My next trip to the US will be through V Australia, what's the opinion on them? |
| Steph | |
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| jenbrooklyn8 | Jun 3 2010, 11:15:42 PM Post #7 |
True Blue Mate
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I say Air New Zealand is the best I've flown. If you can get on one of their 777's for the trip from Auckland to LA then even better. I have flown United in economy - never again. I used to fly and upgrade when I had status but that ran out once I moved down under. My husband describes Qantas as "Quite a nice trip, average service......." We flew the A380 back to the states last November and the plane was very comfortable. On the other hand, their fleet of old 747's need to be retired. Haven't flown V Australia yet, but may try them for my next trip. I wish it was easier to fly home! |
| Postcard from the edge of the world......... | |
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| janders1957 | Jun 4 2010, 12:30:47 PM Post #8 |
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True Blue Mate
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Well.. I'm coming back for 3 weeks Dec/Jan, and for grins, tried Priceline.com. United came up with a price of about $2100 a couple weeks ago for non-stop. Now it's up to $2800, $2100 with a layover at LAX. But Priceline came up with $1870 flying United to LAX and Qantas to Syd. So maybe I'll get to try Qantas after all, and still get my United FF miles. The layover runs a 14 hour trip out to nearly 21 hours total, but for $500 off... |
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| L.A. Jen | Jun 4 2010, 02:37:15 PM Post #9 |
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True Blue Mate
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V Australia is very good. I've flown both premium economy and regular and found them both to be quite comfortable. Great in flight entertainment, good snacks and food. If you're in the last cabin, service is a little slow. But overall a pleasant experience. My husband (who is a frequent business traveler having flown the SYD-LAX route 17 times last year) rates V Australia business class above United and Qantas. Also, they have good customer service. He left his iphone in the seatback pocket on a recent flight. Didn't realize it until some time later, never bothered to call to check to see if it had been found. A week later, when checking in for his return flight, he asked about the iphone. Sure enough, they had it and returned it to him on the spot. They seem to have the best prices whenever I check, which is why we have flown with them recently. |
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| minx | Jun 4 2010, 03:29:33 PM Post #10 |
True Blue Mate
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You do know that if you don't want fly United, you can fly any of their alliance airlines and still credit the miles to United? |
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| janders1957 | Jun 4 2010, 04:40:18 PM Post #11 |
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True Blue Mate
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Well now, this is very interesting... Chatting with Danni, it seems my nephew is turning 21 which is a big deal, so she checked to see if delaying my return so I could attend the festivities would change the price. She rings me up to tell me it's $2124 AUD for non-stop round trip. Just an hour or so ago, I got $2776 for non-stop, $2310, USD for one-stop. And yes, she looked up flights from SFO to SYD and back, the flights I'd be taking. I find it hard to believe with the current exchange rate, that we're getting such a difference in price. Minx; Was sorta aware of that after seeing the combined United/Qantas package with credit to United. Hmm, wonder if those credits can be applied with an affiliate too.... |
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| blarg | Jun 4 2010, 06:29:23 PM Post #12 |
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True Blue Mate
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Air NZ is part of Star Alliance, and the first time I flew them out here I got United miles for it. |
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| minx | Jun 4 2010, 06:56:54 PM Post #13 |
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True Blue Mate
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Well, good luck with that. United is notorious for blocking alliance awards - they've admitted to it in print. It's possible, sure, but they make it very difficult. |
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| koalamama | Jun 4 2010, 09:32:50 PM Post #14 |
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True Blue Mate
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United and Qantas are not part of the same alliance, even if they can be ticketed together. Qantas and American are in One World and NZ and United are in Star Alliance. You won't get United FF miles flying on Qantas. |
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| janders1957 | Jun 5 2010, 08:37:35 AM Post #15 |
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True Blue Mate
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Well, if Danni can get me my round trip tickets at the price she's being quoted, I'll make the trip on United alone, for sure. Then cash in my frequent flyer miles for a near free trip next summer. After that, assuming prices remain relative among the airlines, will likely move to Qantas or Air NZ. Prices to seem to be much more on par than a year ago... If United is being pricks about FF miles, might not be able to, but since they're both in the Star Alliance, maybe I can use what I'll have accumulated on Air NZ next summer! Hmm.... |
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| Nanook | Jun 5 2010, 10:05:28 AM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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I don't see any mention of Delta so I'll weigh in. I flew Delta last November after always flying Qantas. It was excellent; the service, comfort, entertainment, all. I got SYD-MSP round trip for $1400 AUD. We're going back again in July and added stops in SLC and MSO and got the same $1400 price...by far the cheapest. Also, the fact that you can book your whole trip without changing carriers is a plus in my book. The downsides were the relatively restrictive 50lb per bag limit (used to be 66 lbs - 30 kg) but that may be standard now and the fact that we had to actually make the reservations on the phone as the online system didn't like the multiple stops (it always added a whole day in LA on our return for some reason). |
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| shylady | Jun 5 2010, 10:25:27 AM Post #17 |
oldYank
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Thanks for that, Nanook!  I just missed the Delta/Northwest merger when I flew last year, and was wondering if it was easy, and if Delta was okay. That's a nice price, too! Now, if I could get a decent fare from SYD to PER besides....  Lisa |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| tina_o | Jun 5 2010, 02:02:54 PM Post #18 |
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Chinwagger
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V Australia and Delta have some sort of alliance, too. When I booked my ticket on V Aus for this latest trip, I asked about FF miles and they said if I was a Delta FF member, there's some kind of reciprocity between the 2 airlines. I haven't gotten around to getting my miles added to Delta's program yet.  http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/v-australia-delta-sign-interline-deal-20090323-971j.html |
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| shylady | Jun 5 2010, 05:50:17 PM Post #19 |
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oldYank
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Yeah, that's why I was hoping to book on V-Australia last year, but they didn't code-share flights within the US with Northwest/Delta at that time, and couldn't route me directly from LAX to MSP without stopping in SLC  Maybe they've got the bugs worked out by now!  |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| janders1957 | Jun 6 2010, 04:12:54 PM Post #20 |
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True Blue Mate
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Not quite an airline review here, but I just found a site that seems to be coming up with some really great prices. Cheapest I've seen previously was around $1870 USD, flying SFO to SYD Dec 16, and returning Jan 6. This involved United and Qantas with layover in LA. Was thinking the extra several hours maybe wasn't worth the savings. But just checked http://www.fly.com after seeing a commercial on TV. They come up with a bit over $1400 for the same thing! Shatner needs to brush up on his 'negotiating' skills....
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