As the originator of this thread, I thought I would give my thoughts on the three airlines that I used on my recent trip to America.
First up was American, flying from Boston to Chicago. They made the last boarding group, of which I was one, leave their "carry on" bags to go in the hold, and collect from the luggage carousel at Chicago. There was still empty overhead bin space when we took off. Staff were very cold and distant, but got the job done. Flight was a bit delayed, and my seat neighbour was going to miss her connection. Overall a pretty negative vibe.
Next was United, a 777 flight from Chicago to Los Angles. Nicer, large plane, got a free coffee, and happy to have a window seat and no one next to me! The staff seemed happier, and I thought it went well.
Last was two Spirit flights, first from San Diego to Las Vegas, budget carrier, but all went fine, no complaints at all. The second Spirit flight from Las Vegas to Chicago was a different animal... We boarded, pushed back from the gate. Sat, returned to the gate. Pilot said there were "crew time out issues" due to long waits to take off, so we all got off the plane and hung around. Six hours later they said we should be boarding again soon, just need to find one more pilot. Anyway, we did fly to Chicago, arriving after midnight. Riding the Blue line "EL" at that time from O'Hare is not a comfortable experience at my age, guys drinking, smoking blunts, etc... Got to the Hostel safe, but a bit rattled!
My stepdaughter's family flight on British Airways from Las Vegas to London two months ago was delayed by 6 hours, she is expecting compensation of £1500 for that delay.
I asked about compensation at Spirit Airlines, they just said, nothing doing, weather and such. Not even a free cup of coffee on the flight...
All airlines hit snags at times, but I would avoid Spirit in future, a very poor customer service ethos.
I flew to Boston and back with Aer Lingus, I will include that experience when I get around to writing up the full trip report...
