Traveling quite a bit over the past few years for work has
allowed me to put together a pretty good list of reasons why I do and don’t
like certain airlines. While we lived in
Augusta I commuted to Atlanta where I was super Platinum Delta frequent
flyer. Now living in the Tampa area I
find myself utilizing multiple airlines to be able to fly direct to the
majority of my work destinations. When
it comes to traveling personally I like most people look for the most
inexpensive fare, most direct route, and where I can use my points if I have
enough racked up. As a business traveler I
look for convenience and how quickly I can get home to my family. In the end there is no perfect airline out
there. Here is the low down on positives
and negatives of the airlines I frequently travel:
Jetblue: I was going to save the best for last but I figured I would start with my favorite. Jetblue is my favorite for a number of reasons:
Affordability: Both as a personal and business traveler their flights are always affordable if you book early. They fly direct to Boston from Tampa, which is the flight I most frequently travel. In addition
heir flight times are conducive to people traveling with children. IE: 7:44 PM direct to Boston, can someone say bed time for Jack Jack!
Snacks: Hands down
the best complimentary snack options in the sky. Because of Jetblue Terra Blues and Pop
Corners are a staple in our pantry.
Never mind the fact they give you mini bottles of water and as many as
you would like. It's the little things that make a big difference :)
Customer Service:
Jetblue flight attendants (except
for the guy that jumped out of the plane last year) are typically awesome. There is this one flight attendant that is
particularly by the book on that direct Tampa to Boston flight that is although a little
scary.
Delays/Standby: I
have never really had to go on standby for Jetblue flights, but in terms of
being on time in all of my cases I have had good experiencesCON’s:
No Sky Club
No First Class Upgrade
No priority boarding
Affordability: Hit or
miss depends on where you are going.
Customer Service: Hit or miss. Delta is horrible when it comes to
overbooking. Don’t even think that you are going to get on an earlier
flight unless you are the CEO of Delta or the President. They have really screwed up over the past few
years with their customer service on this.
I find every time I fly Delta I am typically frustrated by this, which makes me avoid Delta at all costs these days.Delays/Standbys: Likely to be on time but they build in tons of extra time into the actual total flight time to make it look this way. If you are flying Atlanta to Tampa on Delta you are likely to be on a 30 minute longer flight then if you were flying Airtran.
Sky Club- Delta has a great sky club with great food and drink options. But who really wants to hang out in the Airport anyways?
Delta Skymiles- Easy to use and an inexpensive to cash in points
US Airways:
Horrible planes, I get nervous every time one of those babies fire up the engine. Never been a fan, horrible miles program, pretty much do not like anything about US Air.
Southwest:
Affordability: They are great, and the best part if you don't have to pay a change fee if you need to change your flight.
Customer Service: The rewards speak for themselves
Rapid Rewards: Great program, no black out dates, and if you fly enough your husband can fly for free!
Delays/Standbys: Excellent execution, never had an issue. Now that Southwest has acquired Airtran I was even more recently impressed when they still flew John and I from San Antonio to Houston despite being literally the only 2 passengers on the plane. Well done Southwest, well done!
CON's: Cattle line boarding, never will like it
No upgrades
These are the 4 I travel the most, I would welcome any other thoughts or feedback. With it being a busy time of year I thought I would enlighten everyone and at least warn you of the good, bad, and ugly of what to expect if you aren't traveling every week like myself.
Cheers to the weekend!
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