Bad News for American...

[Midpack]

...Airlines.

 

[Meadbh]

OTOH, I will shortly be travelling on Delta and Alaska Airlines, so this makes me happy!

 

[W2R]

Southwest was a favorite of mine for a long time. Didn't American go out of business recently? Maybe I am thinking of some other airline.

I have intentionally refrained from flying since the TSA's scope'n'grope program began. This is my choice (and being a retiree, I have that choice). YMMV I'm just glad that I have the choice since I feel so strongly about not being subjected to these procedures.

 

[REWahoo]

Didn't American go out of business recently? Maybe I am thinking of some other airline.

American Airlines declared bankruptcy and is in the process of reorganizing. Flights weren't affected by the filing.

 

[W2R]

American Airlines declared bankruptcy and is in the process of reorganizing. Flights weren't affected by the filing.

Ah!! OK, I see. Well, maybe their poor customer service contributed to their economic difficulties (or vice versa).

 

[Lazarus]

American Airlines has been bad for a long time.

 

[Gumby]

When I have a choice, I fly the foreign carriers -- Alitalia, British Airways, Air France. I find their service to be far superior to the domestic carriers.

 

[ziggy29]

American Airlines has been bad for a long time.

Yeah. Living in Texas we were served largely by Continental, and my experience with them was better than most airlines. I haven't flown since United ate them, but I'm afraid it will be worse.

When we lived in California we flew Alaska when we could, as I generally had good experiences with them along the west coast corridor.

And failing those, there's still Southwest, where I figure two people can save up to $240 round trip if we each check two bags both ways.

 

[skipro3]

I refuse to fly any other airline than Hawaiian. And guess where they go....

 

[FIREd]

We fly United to Europe. It's decent. They offer good legroom in Economy Plus and so far we can't complain about their on-time performance. But their staff is unfriendly at best, their plane interiors are tired, and the food is atrocious.

We fly Delta domestically and find it superior to United in every possible way.

 

[Nords]

I refuse to fly any other airline than Hawaiian. And guess where they go....

I guess they're not considered to be a "key area" either. ?!?

Personally I'd think an airline CEO would have a hard time explaining to their employees that they should strive to be #1 in excessive delays, customer complaints, [-]dumping[/-] bumping passengers, and canceled flights.

Come to think of it, maybe they don't have to explain it at all...

 

[Koolau]

These days, I find myself thinking rather highly of an airline for not bumping me, for not being more than half an hour late, for not losing my luggage, for not treating me in an uncivil manner, and for serving any meal, bad or good.

Sad.

YMMV

 

[Rascal]

I refuse to fly any other airline than Hawaiian. And guess where they go....

+1

 

[REWahoo]

I refuse to fly any other airline than Hawaiian. And guess where they go....

They still offer "open cabin seating"?

 

[Rascal]

They still offer "open cabin seating"?

That was Aloha Airlines, now defunct, not Hawaiian.

 

[REWahoo]

That was Aloha Airlines, now defunct, not Hawaiian.

Wonder why they didn't make it? Guess flying topless didn't catch on...

 

[Nords]

Wonder why they didn't make it? Guess flying topless didn't catch on...

Very touchy subjects around here. Not only the loss of life and the trauma to the passengers who had to hope their seatbelts would hold, but also years later to the Aloha employees who lost their jobs during a recession.

When spouse and I were just moving to the islands in 1989, I looked at over 50 homes. One of them was in perfect condition in a lovely location with a great neighborhood & schools. No hope of getting a price break. After looking at so many homes, though, I could tell that they had no apparent reason to sell.

I asked the realtor why the owner was selling, and she pointed out a framed photo on their office wall. It was a 24"x36" print of that plane on the runway, with his seat highlighted. He'd decided to never fly again, and he was moving to the Mainland via cruise ship.

 

[kcowan]

Our favourite carrier in the US is Alaska and to Europe is Lufthansa. We took BA last September and were disappointed.

(We take Westjet from Canada to Mexico and avoid the US entirely. Pure bliss even though they have those tight charter-class seats. 4.5 hours from Vancouver to PV twice a year. The seatback satellite TV is good until about an hour past the Mexican border.)

PS Nords: Would you have been wise to buy that guys' house?

 

[Nords]

PS Nords: Would you have been wise to buy that guys' house?

Ironically we sorta were. We bought the one across the street and about five doors up.

His house was too close to a main street with traffic noise. It was also selling for top dollar, while we saved a lot of money by purchasing an "as is" property that had been rode hard by 10 years of tenants. Of course we spent it right back on sweat equity.

Everything in that neighborhood has appreciated at about the rate of inflation, maybe a little higher. Good neighborhood with an excellent elementary school, a block away from a neighborhood strip mall, and right across the street from a huge park. Single level, low-maintenance yard, wheelchair-friendly. When the economy comes back it'll soar above the crowds again.

 

[Walt34]

I have intentionally refrained from flying since the TSA's scope'n'grope program began.

Same thing here. And although it's been several decades I got spoiled rotten when I had my own airplane. Fifteen minutes after driving through the airport gate we were climbing out. Easy to do at a small airport with a 2,500 foot runway.

And now they want you to spend more time at the airport than actually flying. Yuk.

 

[BTravlin]

Just flew American over the holidays after many years of not using them. We booked our tickets just a few weeks ahead of time and there were few seats left so my wife and I both had middle seats, far apart from one another, on all four legs. Our first flight was a 6 am departure (ugh!) and had a very nice agent at check-in. She noticed our poor seating predicament and offered to see if she could improve things for us. I told her that would be super and greatly appreciated. She got us together in an exit row for the first leg. We were very pleased and commented that she did a great Santa Claus imitation. Only later did we find out she had put us together in an exit row for all four legs of our trip! All flights were on time, service was good and our baggage made the trip with us so we were very pleased. Flying American again in March.