Never fly United

[Termite]

Not just the look of the attendants, but the grace and quiet they move about with. They instill a complete calm in the cabin, and leave you undisrupted in your personal space even as they attend to you.

And American caucasian women wonder why American caucasian men are so attracted to oriental women..........

[Erik]

You haven't lived until you have flown on an Irish airline called RyanAir.

Never flew with them, and most likely never will. I know people that do though, and it's no secret why they do it, it's really cheap. If you want to go somewhere cheap, and don't mind being charged for everything "extra" or have a problem with the chance of being stranded somewhere, RyanAir is worth what you pay for. Personally, I'd rather pay a bit more to avoid it.

[Steamforger]

That sounds like Spirit here. First the basterds start charging an arm and a leg for checked baggage, then they come up with some "carry-on crisis" to justify charging $45 per carry on. Now they're upping their carry on fee to $100. I'd rather walk than use them again.

[Denis]

Years ago, I was one of RyanAir's first passengers when they opened their misleadingly-named Brussels-Dublin service. I didn't care that the airport is actually 60km from Brussels, because the flights were a fraction of the cost of flying (real) Brussels-Dublin with AerLingus, the Irish state airline. At the time, AerLingus cost about 400 pounds return (say US$500) for an 80-minute flight, while RyanAir charged 25-50 pounds.

RyanAir forced the government monopoly to charge something like market prices for its fares, and to this day I am grateful. Nowadays, there's little to choose pricewise between the two, once you factor in the cost of getting to the airport and /or parking there, unless you are free to travel RyanAir at off-peak hours during the working week, which I'm usually not. I live close to Brussels airport, so I usually fly AerLingus now for the sake of convenience, but I'm still glad that RyanAir keeps the competition honest. Not that they are lilly-whitem, though - they give "sharp business practices" and "sensationalist advertising" a bad name. You have to read the small print when booking your flights online.

The other good thing about RyanAir is the remarkably high proportion of pretty cabin crew - not something government air can boast of! Just ask Chris...

Some RyanAir fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM

[Rich Jordan]

The last time I flew it was with American, the time before United. Given a choice I don't fly (because of the TSA caca) but also given a choice I'd refuse to use either big carrier again.

Once a year I flew to St Louis for one customer, a weekend job. Most years it was fly out Friday morning, return Saturday night, but sometimes the project required staying through Monday; I always booked a late evening return flight. And, until this year, if we got done early (and we usually did) I'd get to the airport before 2PM on departure day, and they'd always accommodate me on an earlier flight. I had a ticket, they had spare seats, why not? I have to check a bag (tools) so the fees were annoying (but covered).

This year American said it would cost $90 to get on an earlier flight. That would not be reimbursed by the customer... so I had to sit out almost 7 hours at the airport. The agent was very apologetic but said it was absolute policy and she could lose her job if she tried to slip me on an earlier flight. Flights in both directions no longer provided soda or snacks (but were priced 40% above last years). Checked Bag fees were also higher.

I was seriously peeved.

I took all the info and (after I cooled off a week later) wrote both online feedback and a typed and signed letter to AA customer service, and the office of the CEO. I got an auto-acknowledgement from the online submission, and have heard nothing else back. I imagine they get so many complaints they don't even bother to respond any more.

(I wrote my senators about the groping at O'Hare too, never heard back from them either)

OTOH I now have approval to drive for that trip Its about 5.5 hours each way so a win.

[308Mike]

You haven't lived until you have flown on an Irish airline called RyanAir.
They are one of Europes largest budget ( cattle-class ) airlines and run by a complete and utter twat called Michael O'Leary who desperately needs his teeth kicking down the back of his throat.

His latest stunts involve an idea to pack more people onto RyanAir aircraft by introducing all-standing flights, and trying to introduce a 1EU charge to use the toilets.

I'd rather walk than use RyanAir again.

My wife wanted me to ask you if they're on par with Freddie Laker (Laker Airways) airlines? Apparently Laker went bankrupt (1982) two years after my wife's family went to England to visit her paternal grandparents in Windbourne/Dorset county (sp?), but she remembers that airline quite vividly.