A Question For Those who flew any International Airlines.

[Greetercb]

For Those who flew any of the Commercial Airlines ( Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia etc.)

Are they either Better than our Very Crappy Domestic Airlines or are they the Same Bad Quality
as our Domestic Airlines?

Also which International Airlines Gave you the Best Service according to your Experiences?


And Thanks!!!!

[zboy1]

For Those who flew any of the Commercial Airlines ( Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia etc.)

Are they either Better than our Very Crappy Domestic Airlines or are they the Same Bad Quality
as our Domestic Airlines?

Also which International Airlines Gave you the Best Service according to your Experiences?


And Thanks!!!!

Forget domestic! Every single U.S. airline is absolute garbage. Plus, all the TSA goons and mean customs officials make traveling through the U.S. worse than hell on earth! I think the only decent U.S. airline is Southwest--but even Southwest is only average. The best airline I've ever traveled on is probably Emirates. Good service and comfortable seats even in economy. Plus, having lots of nice looking middle eastern chicks helps too! Asiana is also excellent. I never tried Singapore, Kingfisher, or Cathay Pacific, but I heard good things about them as well.

Off topic, but why are American customs officials the rudest bastards on the face of the earth. I've seen them scream and berate everybody from foreigners to elderly people to your average White American for relatively minor things. Even American citizens are treated like dirt going through customs! I always feel sick going through run down, Third World like American airports--its so oppressive, and it feels like I'm returning to a police state. I've feel depressed every time I come home from overseas! Anyone else get the same feeling?

[OutWest]

For Those who flew any of the Commercial Airlines ( Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia etc.)

Are they either Better than our Very Crappy Domestic Airlines or are they the Same Bad Quality
as our Domestic Airlines?

Also which International Airlines Gave you the Best Service according to your Experiences?


And Thanks!!!!

For Quality of service, some of the Asian airlines are tops. Singapore Airlines, JAL (Japan Airlines) and Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong
are really far better than anything you can experience with a US carrier. I fly Cathay Pacific the most, and except for a few upgrades, I fly
coach, and even the service in coach is very good.


Outwest

[OutWest]

For Those who flew any of the Commercial Airlines ( Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia etc.)

Are they either Better than our Very Crappy Domestic Airlines or are they the Same Bad Quality
as our Domestic Airlines?

Also which International Airlines Gave you the Best Service according to your Experiences?


And Thanks!!!!

Forget domestic! Every single U.S. airline is absolute garbage. Plus, all the TSA goons and mean customs officials make traveling through the U.S. worse than hell on earth! I think the only decent U.S. airline is Southwest--but even Southwest is only average. The best airline I've ever traveled on is probably Emirates. Good service and comfortable seats even in economy. Plus, having lots of nice looking middle eastern chicks helps too! Asiana is also excellent. I never tried Singapore, Kingfisher, or Cathay Pacific, but I heard good things about them as well.

Off topic, but why are American customs officials the rudest bastards on the face of the earth. I've seen them scream and berate everybody from foreigners to elderly people to your average White American for relatively minor things. Even American citizens are treated like dirt going through customs! I always feel sick going through run down, Third World like American airports--its so oppressive, and it feels like I'm returning to a police state. I've feel depressed every time I come home from overseas! Anyone else get the same feeling?

I am back in the US now for 2 months and you capture my feelings exactly! US Customs and Immigration generally are such total pricks!
I have NEVER seen such pricks at an Airport even in some pretty heinous places I have flown in and out of. Add TSA roids to the mix and no
wonder many dread coming into the USA. I always have this sense of elation when I am flying outbound, as I settle in my seat for the flight.

Outwest

[Contrarian Expatriate]

I flew Turkish Airlines a few days ago. Each of the flight attendants was slim, young and attractive. The flight was also 50 percent full which made for a comfortable flight indeed. The meal was small but restaurant quality and the service impeccable.

American carriers are now packed to the brim as a strategy to save money. Many do not serve food, and those that do have the crappiest food imaginable. Worst of all are the fat, ugly, and old flight attendants that the unions protect. They look and behave like retired lesbians who struggle with weight. The few obligatory males are effeminate gay men and they are no better in their service.

[Think Different]

For Those who flew any of the Commercial Airlines ( Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia etc.)

Are they either Better than our Very Crappy Domestic Airlines or are they the Same Bad Quality
as our Domestic Airlines?

Also which International Airlines Gave you the Best Service according to your Experiences?


And Thanks!!!!

Forget domestic! Every single U.S. airline is absolute garbage. Plus, all the TSA goons and mean customs officials make traveling through the U.S. worse than hell on earth! I think the only decent U.S. airline is Southwest--but even Southwest is only average. The best airline I've ever traveled on is probably Emirates. Good service and comfortable seats even in economy. Plus, having lots of nice looking middle eastern chicks helps too! Asiana is also excellent. I never tried Singapore, Kingfisher, or Cathay Pacific, but I heard good things about them as well.

Off topic, but why are American customs officials the rudest bastards on the face of the earth. I've seen them scream and berate everybody from foreigners to elderly people to your average White American for relatively minor things. Even American citizens are treated like dirt going through customs! I always feel sick going through run down, Third World like American airports--its so oppressive, and it feels like I'm returning to a police state. I've feel depressed every time I come home from overseas! Anyone else get the same feeling?

You hit the nail on the head. The only tolerable airline service I've had in the US was with Frontier, but otherwise it's been a horror show with everyone else. Not only does the service suck, but you get "service with a snarl". I've never received worse customs treatment than coming into the US, and I've been to over 30 countries, including 3rd world nations. Great message we're sending the rest of the world!

Since you asked about airlines and not customs, I've found the best airlines to be the Asian ones and within Europe: Lufthansa. Lufthansa may not have the sexiest stewardesses or always the spiffiest planes like Asia does, but the service is ALWAYS professional and respectful, the flights are usually on time, and they fly absolutely everywhere globally. I've flown Aeroflot 4 times and will never do it again. When I flew them it was in the mid-90s and while the stewardesses were hot, the quality and cleanliness of the planes was not too great, many seats were broken, and the pilots felt the need to "hot-dog" around, at least within Russian airspace (very rough). I recall that after one flight back to Russia from Germany that there was a major Aeroflot crash in eastern Siberia. It turns out that the pilot was letting his little son fly the plane to just try it out. Great!

To top it off, I also recall flying out of St. Petersburg, Russia in the middle of winter and it was snowing. The pilot told us that our take-off was delayed because they were cleaning the wings. I looked out the window, expecting to see de-icing machines, but no...there were Russian dudes walking around on the wings with brooms, sweeping them off! I will NEVER fly Aeroflot again, if I can help it. They may as well have poured vodka on the wings...it probably would have worked better anyways.

[AmericanInMexico]

Seeing as nobody has discussed this yet, I thought I would mention about the quality of the stewardesses.

Whenever I fly on one of the Mexican airlines, the stewardesses are young, good-looking, in skirts and pantyhose. I love pantyhose and don't understand why American women hate them so much; they make a woman's outfit look complete. To me a woman in a nice business uniform with no pantyhose looks as trashy as a man in a nice business suit with no tie.

Airlines in the United States on the other hand seem to have a new policy of "we must hire everyone no matter how old, ugly, or fat they are." The last time I flew on an airline in the United States, my stewardess was some 60-something year old lady in PANTS who had no sense of femininity whatsoever.

A far cry from the 50s when stewardesses could be no older than 32 and had to be good-looking.

[momopi]

I used to fly every week for work at my last job. In most weeks I was on 6 different planes in a week visiting 2 different clients across North America. The airlines that I used the most are US Airways, Delta, and Air Canada. But I've flew on many others (SouthWest, Frontier, Continental/United, AirTran, etc).

There's a lot of people who fly for work every week and high demand on lowest fares. Even for first class, the passengers prefer to use frequent flier miles for the upgrade instead of actually paying full price for the 1st class fare. It's pretty difficult for domestic airlines to make money these days when the passengers are very cost conscious.

Because we have laws against age and gender discrimination, the flight attendants on domestic airlines are not as young and good looking as international airlines. In old days, some Asian airlines would rotate the girl to less desirable routes or ground duty once she hits 25.

Although the flight attendant job is still very desirable (and extremely competitive) for many young girls, it doesn't carry the same prestige as the old days when flying was expensive and restricted to the wealthy or business elites. Back when I flew from Taiwan to US for the first time, people still dressed up for the flight. These days you see people dress sloppy and wear slippers. However, pretty flight attendants are still sought after by men, and some Asian airlines have their informal match-making circles to help girls find suitable husbands before they get old & rotated off to ground duty. The informal match making circles tend to be stronger with China Air and Cathay Pacific, but weaker with EVA Air. I don't have explanation for this -- I'm just a fly on the wall when people talk. When I used to date a flight attendant, I overheard girls who already have BF's back in TW being introduced to other potentials from the Taiwanese-American community in LA, usually doctors, dentists, engineers, etc. The girls never refuse or mention that they already have a BF in TW. They seem to prefer a guy who works and make good money, but not "too rich" because they think the guy will get mistresses later.

[The_Hero_of_Men]

Seeing as nobody has discussed this yet, I thought I would mention about the quality of the stewardesses.

Whenever I fly on one of the Mexican airlines, the stewardesses are young, good-looking, in skirts and pantyhose. I love pantyhose and don't understand why American women hate them so much; they make a woman's outfit look complete. To me a woman in a nice business uniform with no pantyhose looks as trashy as a man in a nice business suit with no tie.

Airlines in the United States on the other hand seem to have a new policy of "we must hire everyone no matter how old, ugly, or fat they are." The last time I flew on an airline in the United States, my stewardess was some 60-something year old lady in PANTS who had no sense of femininity whatsoever.

A far cry from the 50s when stewardesses could be no older than 32 and had to be good-looking.

What are some Mexican airlines that you know of, and is it possible to catch one out of one of the international airports here in Texas (such as the one here in San Antonio, or the one in Houston)?

How long have you been living in Mexico? Do you plan to stay there permanently?

[Greetercb]

Yes The One thing I Dislike about today,s AW Flight attendants is they wear Trousers so therfore
We Men Can Not See their Legs with The Pantyhose on like the way we used to.

[Rock]

Best airline experiences

Virgin Air - HK to London on upper class - total VIP service from door-to-door, blows away all other carriers with possible exception of British Air

SP Air - SP to Taipei on biz class - first rate service and top-notch flight attendants in those signature SP girl uniforms


Most memorable

SP Air - SP to Taipei on biz class - ran into Taiwanese flight attendant I had hit on a few months earlier in Taipei. The coincidence warms her up and being in biz class gives me some status in her eyes. A couple weeks later when she's back in Taipei again, she invites me out and we end at her room in the Hyatt.

EVA Air - Newark to Taipei on business class - ran into Taiwanese flight attendant who used to live with me while she was still a student. A day earlier, I was at my home in Illinois visiting parents and had a sudden thought that I might see her on flight. So, I found a picture of her and put it in my front shirt pocket the next day. When boarding the aircraft, she was indeed standing at the door to greet passengers and I gave her a big surprise. I told about my premonition the day earlier and to prove it, whipped out her photo from my pocket which shocked her. She probably thought I had inside info from the airline but I didn't. I got a free bottle of wine and some other gift from her as per airline policy on chance encounters like that.

Worst

Thai Air - London to Taipei via Bangkok on biz class - entertainment system down and old seats on long leg, food mediocre, bad service and attitude from flight attendants.

Air India - London to NYC on economy - noisy and irritating passengers, people actually lying down on floor in front of me for part of flight (I was in galley seat), unfriendly flight and pushy flight attendants

Philippine Air - LA to Taipei via Guam and Manila on economy - miserable flight with long delay in Guam (even though we were supposed to stop in Honolulu), no Coca Cola products or ice, bad food, small seats, poor and unfriendly service.

Aeroflot - London to HK via Moscow on economy - back when they still used some Russian made planes, baggage thrown in back of plane, very noisy esp. during take-off, vodka drinking passengers, seat backs would fall down on landing if no people in them, felt concerned for safety of flight cus plane was so old, noisy, and poorly maintained inside.

Scariest

Sichuan Airlines - Chengdu to Chongqing - front third of cabin got filled with some smoke. Turns out flight attendants were cooking some food for captain and forgot about it so it was burning.

China Airlines - Taipei to HK on economy - flying through a typhoon made for insane turbulence and that airline has very bad safety record.