Which US airlines do you recommend for domestic service?

[Palmland]

I got an email from Jet Blue about an offer for their $99 credit card (Barclays). I couldn't pass up the 70,000 bonus points and includes baggage fee. At the current RT nonstop fare of $98 (a month out) from Orlando-Washington, that's a lot of trips for the two of us! But I'll still probably use AutoTrain for many northeast junkets. What I'm really counting on is that the planned merger with Spirit will finally occur to open up western destinations without a change in NY or Boston - current main hubs. We'll see. Of course another bonus is using the very nice Terminal C.

 

[joelkfla]

Jeb Brooks tries out U.S. lowfare airlines:

 

[DetroitTed]

My two cents comment is to avoid the ultra cheap airlines and United ( which I will never fly again -- also avoid Houston Intn'l airport). I would pick Jet Blue over Southwest ( HATE the cattle call). Of the remaining mainline airlines, I choose American over Delta ( haven't drunk the Delta kool-aid yet). Alaska is also fine.

 

[jebr]

My two cents comment is to avoid the ultra cheap airlines and United ( which I will never fly again -- also avoid Houston Intn'l airport). I would pick Jet Blue over Southwest ( HATE the cattle call). Of the remaining mainline airlines, I choose American over Delta ( haven't drunk the Delta kool-aid yet). Alaska is also fine.

I'd gladly fly United over American or JetBlue - JetBlue's reliability lately is one of the worst in the industry, and I've had enough issues with American flights to have them be relegated to the same tier as Spirit and Frontier in terms of my desire to fly them.

Granted, a lot of this is personal preference, especially beyond the ULCCs. I'm also somewhat stuck being in MSP - if I want direct flights, Delta is basically the only option outside of other hubs (or getting my schedule to fit Sun Country flights.) That said, I've had pretty good luck with Delta, and out of the three legacy US airlines I'd rather be stuck with them than United or American.

 

[jis]

I'd gladly fly United over American or JetBlue - JetBlue's reliability lately is one of the worst in the industry, and I've had enough issues with American flights to have them be relegated to the same tier as Spirit and Frontier in terms of my desire to fly them.

Personally I would have no problem flying United or Delta. I have had rather poor experience with JetBlue so far, but that may be just my bad luck. Haven't flown American in 30 years so I would not know about them.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Jeb Brooks tries out U.S. lowfare airlines:

I enjoy Jeb's videos but I don't think they always represent a typical passenger experience. Jeb can travel ULCC's with a calm and cheery demeanor because the trip is his job. He can plan carefully, leverage his knowledge and status, and roll with the punches. Whereas another man may have to work within tighter constraints knowing a delay puts him at risk of forfeiting vacation days, falling behind at work, or missing something important.

My two cents comment is to avoid the ultra cheap airlines and United ( which I will never fly again -- also avoid Houston Intn'l airport). I would pick Jet Blue over Southwest ( HATE the cattle call). Of the remaining mainline airlines, I choose American over Delta ( haven't drunk the Delta kool-aid yet). Alaska is also fine.

Where I live driving to/from Houston is easier and less stressful than the recheck clusterfork at IAH, despite the lack of outbound PreCheck at the international terminal. American is famous for being mediocre but none of the US3 offer amazing service and AA's routes work better for me. United's First product beats AA's First but MCE beats E+. I've had good experiences with Delta and Alaska but the hubs are further away creating longer trips.

 

[Palmland]

Personally I would have no problem flying United or Delta. I have had rather poor experience with JetBlue so far, but that may be just my bad luck. Haven't flown American in 30 years so I would not know about them.

I think much of Jet Blue’s reliability problems are due to NY airports being their main hub and the chain reaction of ATC related delays - particularly in the afternoon. You do improve your odds, I believe, of an uneventful flight if you stick with the big 3 legacy airlines. But for inexpensive, I’m willing to continue to sample Jet Blue for a while- especially morning flights!

 

[Bonser]

Alaska is not a budget carrier, and the largest budget carrier is Southwest Airlines. They must be booked at their own website, not on sites like Orbitz. I worry about the quality of their pilots and maintenance.

Why?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I have zero experience with JetBlue as NYC makes little sense as a domestic hub for people in TX. Now that B6 is adding transatlantic routes it might work out in the future. Here is a new review for a recently inaugurated route on an A321 in a Mint Suite flying AMS-JFK.

 

[jiml]

I have zero experience with JetBlue as NYC makes no sense as a hub for most domestic/regional trips from TX. Now that B6 is adding transatlantic routes it might work out for me in the future. Here is a new review for a recently inaugurated route on an A321 in a Mint Suite flying AMS-JFK.

Not overpriced either.

 

[B757Guy]

United has the best pilots.

 

[blueman271]

I think much of Jet Blue’s reliability problems are due to NY airports being their main hub and the chain reaction of ATC related delays - particularly in the afternoon. You do improve your odds, I believe, of an uneventful flight if you stick with the big 3 legacy airlines. But for inexpensive, I’m willing to continue to sample Jet Blue for a while- especially morning flights!

JetBlue also schedules more turns for their planes than most other airlines. Combine that with them having large operations in areas prone to congestion and weather delays and you have a recipe for operational issues.

 

[blueman271]

I have zero experience with JetBlue as NYC makes little sense as a domestic hub for people in TX. Now that B6 is adding transatlantic routes it might work out in the future. Here is a new review for a recently inaugurated route on an A321 in a Mint Suite flying AMS-JFK.

I have never flown JetBlue internationally but I have flown them cross country twice within the last 15 months, once in Mint and once in coach. Both flights were comfortable and pleasant. On one of the coach flights I had the middle seat and was perfectly comfortable for the entire flight. I’m 6’2” and weigh 260 pounds and usually avoid the middle seat whenever I can.

 

[caravanman]

Having started this thread, I am sad to report that today, when I should be aboard an Aer Lingus flight to Chicago, I am still home in Nottingham, having a sudden nasty bout of virus to deal with. Ho hum...

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Having started this thread, I am sad to report that today, when I should be aboard an Aer Lingus flight to Chicago, I am still home in Nottingham, having a sudden nasty bout of virus to deal with. Ho hum...

Get well soon.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Get well soon.

Seconded!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Seconded!

Thirded!

United has the best pilots.

They’ll get you to your destination on time and even cover your parking fees.

 

[blueman271]

United has the best pilots.

I’m sure this is borne out of workplace pride but in all seriousness is there a way to tell which carrier has the best pilots?

 

[Railroad Bill]

We usually fly Southwest since it has a hub in Columbus that allows us to obtain many non stop flights to Fla, east coast, and St Louis, Nashville and Denver. eople have generally been polite in the boarding process and crew have also been friendly as well. Some of the pilots have been a hoot!. Website and AP generally have worked well and easy to make changes since seat selection is a moot point.
Stay away from the large airports and it can be a good experience.

 

[caravanman]

I don't see much real difference between the following services...

 

[blueman271]

I don't see much real difference between the following services...

To be honest there isn’t much difference, it mostly comes down to personal preference and location. For example, Delta offers personal tv’s at every seat on virtually their entire mainline fleet (except the B717) whereas United and American mostly only offer them on wide body aircraft. The other main factor when deciding which airline to fly is where you are trying to fly to and from. For example if you are trying to fly from Atlanta to a small or midsize city Delta is going to be the only nonstop option. If you are trying to flying between two large cities you can probably find nonstop flights on numerous airlines.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I don't see much real difference between the following services...

There are differences but most examples are not going to be obvious or meaningful on a random basic coach flight. Delta has the best Internet. American has the biggest network along with Apple Music/TV. United has DirecTV and the best snack boxes (to buy). For tall people pitch matters a lot but also varies by aircraft and seating location. All three of these are preferable to the ULCC's reviewed in the other video (IMO). For the most part the domestic airline market is won or lost on routes, frequencies, times, prices, and status rather than service.

 

[railiner]

I’m sure this is borne out of workplace pride but in all seriousness is there a way to tell which carrier has the best pilots?

Yes...I too would like to know on what basis that statement was made....

 

[caravanman]

Yes...I too would like to know on what basis that statement was made....

There is a small clue in B757 Guy's tag line: "I'm an airline pilot with a major US based carrier..."

 

[jiml]

There are differences but most examples are not going to be obvious or meaningful on a random basic coach flight. Delta has the best Internet. American has the biggest network along with Apple Music/TV. United has DirecTV and the best snack boxes (to buy). For tall people pitch matters a lot but also varies by aircraft and seating location. All three of these are preferable to the ULCC's reviewed in the other video (IMO). For the most part the domestic airline market is won or lost on routes, frequencies, times, prices, and status rather than service.

An excellent assessment. Some airlines just don't go where you need to go or are more expensive on a given route. Loyalty programs and one's status in them can also factor into the decision. I will usually choose AA or UA to save money on checked baggage and seat selection, skipping DL even if they can get me to my destination faster. This is something a less frequent passenger wouldn't consider.