Angelstation

Not my intent of course. Please delete the thread if you believe it inappropriate.

Jerseygirl

Don't worry we realise you didn't join just to name and shame. You have participated in other threads and forums.

Patrick Hasler

Having watched Airline (USA) on TV many times I am suprised they are still in buisiness They treat passengers like shit and are rude to their face right in front of the cameras

I really hope that one day they just go bust and pack in

Airline (UK) on the other hand shows how people should be treated

scrubbedexpat097

Have you ever used them?

We have travelled often with them over the years and have always enjoyed our flights, have never been abused by the staff and always find them helpful and courteous.

The worst experience we have had has been with BA.

fatbrit

I nearly always use Southwest for internal flights. Their staff are as equally inept as the others, but I find they're usually cheaper and pretty reliable.

I have no idea why anyone is so obsessed with the quality of the staff on board. I ignore them, and hopefully they ignore me. The longest flights to anywhere on the mainland US are only 5 hours or so from Phoenix. If you can't amuse yourself for such a short time without needing someone to fuss over you, you get what you deserve. Take an empty water bottle through security, fill it on the other side, and then take it with you onto the plane, then you're not gouged for it at those silly shops. .Take a good book, too. Then you won't need to bother anyone.......and they won't bother you..

lifehouse51

For many domestic routes, Southwest offers the cheapest fare, and that's the deal-breaker for me. Also, currently they don't charge for checking in luggages (And graciously, not Carry-on either. Hear that, Spirit Airline?)

Perhaps because of the way they route their flights (Planes go from Point A to B to C to D, etc.), there can be huge delays when there are weather problem. For Example, snowstorm in Chicago can somehow affect your flight from Sunny Los Angeles to Oakland, California.

Angelstation

Exactly, they do "point to point" rather than "hub and spoke". It gets awfully messy when planes break down or the weather closes airports. That plane sitting on the tarmac at O'Hare was the same aircraft you were supposed to fly on in California. Plus the crew that was assigned to fly those legs back to the West Coast are still stuck at the airport there and Scheduling are now madly trying to reroute everybody. I had my schedule reassigned many times. Sometimes you'd have to "deadhead" (fly as a passenger essentially) to pick up your new trip. Flexibility and a good cell phone were essential. You just never knew when things would go pear shaped.

Angelstation

You are the perfect passenger ! Essentially, the F/A's are there solely for aircraft safety. That is their primary duty; peanuts and coffee is only secondary but it is the most visible part of the job.

During training, we spent 99% of our class time on aircraft safety, firefighting, first aid, evacuations, self defence, crash landing procedures, how to handle dangerous, unruly or unstable passengers and the other 1% on peanuts and coffee.

At the end of the day, we're just a "bus in the sky" trying to get everyone from point A to Point B without injury.

tonrob

I think that the naming of Southwest is of interest as they have a particularly good reputation in terms of employee satisfaction, although admittedly this point wasn't the main focus of the thread.

Patrick Hasler

I take an interest in how cabin staff treat me, BA staff for instance are as rude and un polite as southwest are, we nearly always come back to Virgin after trying others because even if they are just putting it on, they do treat passengers with courtesy and are very helpfull and polite.... we have decided to just stick with them and not even bother with the others.

scrubbedexpat091

[QUOTE=Awesome Welles;8514907]Wow, what a wonderful endorsement. I am forced to use these bastards a lot more frequently than I'd like. The occasions where they have been busted for failing to carry out routine maintenance and their flight staff's liking of a few beers before work trouble me most.
It's nice to know that the cabin crew are at each other's throats too.[/QUOT


There is not a US airline out there that hasn;t be fined and caught by the FAA, not a one. Today is Southwest tomorrow its United.

Just about every US airline out there has had a drunk pilot or 2, not unique to Southwest either.

I worked for an airline not southwest and we had 2 pilots get caught over the limit.

Delta just last October had 2 pilots over fly MSP because they were on their lap top and not paying attention to flying the actual plane.

I've worked for 1 major US airline and we also provided the ground handling for others, same crap at all of them, just a different name on the plane.

Wasn't any different in Canada, same crap.

Airline industry is cut throat and takes a certain type of person to work at one, its not for everyone thats for sure.

scrubbedexpat091

Passengers are difficult to deal with, and sometimes you just gotta be downright rude to get your point across to them, there are rules and passengers tend to not like to follow them, now thats not the norm and a TV show only shows what will sell ads, they wont show the routine boring stuff.

Southwest is by far the best managed airline in the US, and happens to be one of the only to report regular profits, no other airline has posted annual profits for 37+ years in the US.

They also carry more passengers domestically then any other airline does, so they are doing something right.

Oh and bags fly free.

(I have not, never have and likely never will work for Southwest, nor do I fly Southwest much.)

Awesome Welles

I'm not quite so sure about that. AirTran are pretty squeaky-clean when it comes to scheduled maintenance, I think.
They also have the best on-time record of any domestic carrier, one of the youngest fleets and one of the most generous FF programs. I think that they are profitable too.

My issue with Southwest is that they are repeat offenders when it comes to failing to maintain their aircraft per the manufacturer and FAA's mandates - and more of their flying staff appear to be piss-heads than anyone elses.

I accept that there is bound to be a lot of unsavoury stuff going on behind the scenes across the industry - but it appears that Southwest get busted more than anyone else, which suggests (to me, at least) that they break the rules more often. (I don't like being treated like livestock at boarding either - another SWA gripe of mine).

Englishtart

We have tried Air Tran twice now (gluttons for punishment!) both domestic flight, first time plane was late arriving at first airport, hubby missed connecting flight and had to wait till next morning for follow on flight! All the passengers were offered was a coupon for $5 off a meal in the airport and a reduced rate (10%) at an airport hotel!! Hubby slept in the airport instead!

Next time, (thought we would give them a chance) he said they were treated like crap by the airline staff and told that 'you get what you pay for'!

No more chances!

Awesome Welles

Don't misunderstand me, I don't have any particular affection from AirTran either - despite the fact that I use them for a round trip at least once per week, due to necessity.
Their on-time record is an industry fact, not my opinion, as is the age of their aircraft.
Their rewards program is based on # of flights, not # of miles, so it's much easier to rack-up free travel - even with short trips.

My biggest fear when flying is not that I have my delicate sensibilities hurt by a miserable check-in clerk. It is more to do with falling, uncontrolled, out of the sky and being vaporized by the subsequent, firey impact.
If the airline I pay to transport me as safely as possible, chooses to omit necessary maintenance, in order to make more profit, I worry that the likliehood of my untimely demise is increased, as a result.

I'll take the surly staff vs bits falling off the plane, every time.