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[nightowl]

Delta is the worst, United a close second for me.

I just flew on Frontier and it was cheap and the trip wasn't bad at all.  I even had a middle seat and it wasn't the normal torture that spot can be.  The waitpeople (oops, sorry, I mean stewards) were all older than me and called us "Hon" and "Sweetie" and it felt like Mom was taking care of me, except that Mom never served me soda and chips.   But best of all they name their planes and have cute animals on the tails and wings.  I flew on Sebastian (hawk) and then Lobo (wolf), Ollie (owl) and a parrot whose name I don't remember.  Their commercials are funny sometimes too.  I vote for Frontier over Southwest.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

I'm a Frontier fan as well. If I recall correctly, they have the individual TVs, too, which is a HUGE bonus for me.

[nightowl]

Yep, they have individual tv's although it takes a swipe of a credit card to activate them otherwise you get the GPS map which I find nominally fun to watch, except the plane is so big that you can be in three states at once.  If you volunteer to move to a middle seat so a child can be on the aisle across from mom then they give you the tv for free.

[iomhaigh]

Egyptair is a horror! Did you have to fly back to the airport after take off because one or more engines wasn't working? I thought for sure I was going to die slamming into one of those desert pyramids.

No, thankfully.  That would panic me.  

I did, however, see lots of huge weapons up close for the first time in my life at the airports in Egypt and Athens on that trip. This was the 80s, though, when planes were getting hijacked with some regularity.    

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

Yep, they have individual tv's although it takes a swipe of a credit card to activate them otherwise you get the GPS map which I find nominally fun to watch, except the plane is so big that you can be in three states at once.  If you volunteer to move to a middle seat so a child can be on the aisle across from mom then they give you the tv for free.

Watching TV was free for me. There's no way I would have swiped a credit card. I hope the credit card thing isn't a recent change.

[nightowl]

Well it was the case on the four planes I was recently acquainted with.  It's $5 for direct TV and $8 for movies.  They are now "cash-free" which means you need a credit card  or ATM card to pay for drinks and entertainment.  I just watched the 15 minutes of free preview myself and then read a good book.

[dr_stones]

I liked Frontier until they managed to strand half their fleet in one city and I ended up with an eight hour delay from Denver to Albuquerque.

Coulda driven there quicker.

[dolljepopp]

As a Minnesota boy, I've spent more time than I wish on Northworst planes. but I have to say, I haven't had Frequent Flyer miles problems with them.

USScare gets my vote.  Late every time I've flown them, rude staff, utter lack of concern as to whether any of their customers gets to their destinations.

I actually felt a slight leap of something akin to joy in my heart when I heard they had filed for bankruptcy.

[drgep]

I'm honestly a bit surprised to see all the Delta nominations. Maybe I have a different angle on the question. I've had bad experiences with every airline that I've flown. Of those, Delta wins points for consistently being the most proactive carrier in fixing problems when they arise. I've had comparatively fewer mishaps with American, but I've found them to be simply terrible to deal with when things go wrong. Given a choice, I pick the airline that I'm confident will resolve a problem before it becomes a full-blown cluster-you-know-what.   

[betterslac]

I did, however, see lots of huge weapons up close for the first time in my life at the airports in Egypt and Athens on that trip. This was the 80s, though, when planes were getting hijacked with some regularity.

India was the first place I saw soldiers at an airport. With a rifle in one hand and, it being rainy, an umbrella in the other.

[dr_coffee]

Aeroflot was a nightmare in 1989.  Sure I would die.  Seatsbroken, flaps frozen to wing (traveling in January in "Soviet Union".  Yes, crazy grad student at time)

Currently - United.  The most ANGRY, MEAN people on earth.  Do they put them in cages and poke them with sticks before they start a shift? 

Best - Northwest.  Sorry, but I have flown direct to SFran from Detroit for months, and they are great, on time, and polite.  Maybe other routes are worse.  I think the big routes have better crew.  Smaller flights, less experienced and more poorly paid crew?

[snape]

Air Canada is my least favorite... and I've flown Aeroflot.

[sir_lancelot]

In the US, Northwest is my favorite. s*** happens, but they are nice, take care of the problem (at THEIR expense, not mine) and it doesn't happen very often.

Worst: probably American Airlines. Have only used them a couple of times, but never on time, twice stuck over night (info from the desk: you can sleep over there in the corner) at MY expense, always rude.

I used to like Delta until they lost my luggage and refused to pay for wash stuff and something to wear at the meeting next morning. USAir is also losing me. Just had 50000 miles evaporate although I DID have activity on the account and called and e-mailed them several times about it. No miles complaints about Northwest.

Favorite airline: Singapore! Champagne when you board even in the cheap seats! And the ladies are pretty and friendly.

[ccteach]

Delta is the worst, United a close second for me.

I agree about Delta. The planes always seem so old and rickety (sp?). On a flight back from Europe there was a dead fly lying face up plastered to the top of my salad underneath the plastic wrap. Yummy.

[expatinuk]

Delta is the worst, United a close second for me.

I agree about Delta. The planes always seem so old and rickety (sp?). On a flight back from Europe there was a dead fly lying face up plastered to the top of my salad underneath the plastic wrap. Yummy.

Not to defend Delta about the dead fly... but the airlines do not do the food. The food is contracted out.