Favorite airline: Singapore! Champagne when you board even in the cheap seats! And the ladies are pretty and friendly.
Singapore is good (& it is hard to go past the individual screens with Nintendo game-capability) but the pretty ladies do creep me out a little. Clearly there are age and weight restrictions on them - once they get above a certain age (30??) or weight they're out on their ear. I prefer Air Canada, which employs real women (who are always good-tempered and kind when there are delays, which is often ...)
In discussions on flyertalk and a recent heated discussion on the NYTimes website, this issue came up a LOT. There seemed to be a lot of confusion (on the part of male posters) betwee SERVICE and YOUNG-PRETTY-FEMALE. As if the airline is providing better service by providing eye candy. Unions were brought up as to blame for forcing airlines to continue to employ the middleaged and plump (whereas 30 years ago in the States, and today on many Asian airlines), they would be canned by the age of 30.
It is true that the flightstaff on Asian airlines tend to provide service as if they were dependent on tips, whereas staff of American (and some European) airlines, cop an attitude like they're doing you a favour just by letting you on the damn plane.
I include the American Airlines phone service person who, when I finally got through to them to check on my situation (in New York, in a blizzard, assuming that my flight had been cancelled), was told I was stranded and when I asked what I should do, told 'that's your problem'. No compensation, nada. When a flight I had out of Minneapolis was cancelled due to snow, Northwest gave out hotel vouchers.
Regarding actual provisions on the airline, I am often horrified to see what some North American airlines promote as 'business class'. A hot meal! Your own tv! Free drinks! - hello? In the rest of the world, this is called ECONOMY.
But I do feel you get what you pay for. Back when economy included hot meals, real cutlery, glassware, wine: the ticket prices, in real terms, were what you pay now for business class. We all fly much more than people did in the 1970s, precisely because it is so much more affordable.
I have flown often on Ryainair and Easyjet, and I am annoyed more by the passengers than the airlines. Every single time I witness at least one irate
fat chav passenger ripping the desk assistant a new one. For pete's sake, you've found an airline willing to fly you to Spain for the price of a beer. So what if it's late? So what they don't have food? You're getting INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL for less than you pay for lunch. It's a miracle, not something to complain about.
And if you really want blankets, pillows, staff to minister to your every need, shell out for first class. If you're a cheapskate in economy, quit complaining.
