I’m just back from LAX and I would like to share some thoughts and maybe gather your comments.
We flew to LAX on an unventful LH flight on Aug 28. I didn’t fly LH for many years and it was a good surprise. The quality of the services and informations is excellent and I consider LH as one of the best airline in Europe today.
The return flight was supposed to be UA926 from LAX to FRA.
First surpise : the plane at LAX was late and the flight from LAX to SFO was 90mn late therefore , no connection possible at SFO etc etc.
At this point starts my relationship with the so-called “customer service” of UAL at LAX.
First comment: Why the hell is UAL selling UA926 as a LAX-FRA flight since there is a plane change at SFO??? Mislead the customer maybe?
Imagine 6 windows at LAX Terminal 7 but only one agent and 30 yards of people waiting in line. I gives a clear information how “customer service” is important for UAL. That is what UA call ” customer service”. After a long wait a very rude woman tell us that she can’t do anything and that we will miss our connection and spend the night at SFO.
We didn’t take no for an answser and a couple of hour later an other agent was able to transfer us on a non stop flight from LAX to FRA.
Question why was it possible then and not 2 hours earlier?
The outcome is that our luggages were not transfered on the LH flight and are somewhere in SFO today.
Since I fly a lot to the US nowadays I can make some comments about the different airlines I flew lately on.
AF : still OK, service better than in the 90’s ( it was not too difficult to achieve).
KL: Not that good, mainly due to an ageing fleet. The IFE is pathetic interesting fares though…
CO: It seems that they charge now 50$ for the second checked in bag !!! maybe it’s a fool’s day joke?
UA: Getting worse and worse. They were one of the bests in the 90’s to the US and are now certainly one of the worst. They are now on my “to be avoided” personnal list. Their Mileage program is very restrictive now, the discontinued the non stop service from CDG to California etc etc..
I will fly Swiss in a few weeks to LAX and let you know.
I’m sure that many of you will have different opinions and I would be interested to read them.
By: Skymonster - 11th September 2009 at 15:52
UA have always looked after me pretty well on many trans-Atlantic trips I’ve done this last three years. In dozens of round trips, I’ve had one missed connection in LAX when I was travelling SFO-LAX-LHR but UA provided hotel, taxis from/to and meals so no complaints there, one cancelled flight SFO-LAX on another occasion when UA pro-actively rebooked me to Burbank and arranged a taxi for me to LAX without me having to ask, and one missed baggage connection in IAD going to DFW but UA went out of their way to get the bag to me soonest. And as far as I’m concerned, UA’s Mileage Plus frequent flyer program works really well too. Given the choice, I would ALWAYS chose UA over LH (and I’ve flown LH more than UA unfortunately).
By: steve rowell - 11th September 2009 at 01:20
Flying on American Airlines next month, any observations?:)
I’ve always flown American business class where ever possible within the United States…i find them as good as any of the Asian carriers as far as service and reliability goes.
By: J Boyle - 10th September 2009 at 23:27
Flying on American Airlines next month, any observations?:)
I’ve flown AA between the US-UK several times, and it has always been a good trip.
My only complaint was when they booked us on the “overflow” 767 DFW-GAT daily summer flight instead of the primary 777. I survived …:D
By: Newforest - 10th September 2009 at 23:12
Thanks for that T5! I will be travelling LHR, DFW to PHX returning via ORD so I know what to expect. I thought the baggage allowance was generous as well.
By: T5 - 10th September 2009 at 22:24
Flying on American Airlines next month, any observations?:)
I flew with American Airlines very recently from Orlando to Heathrow (via Dallas) and then back again (via New York). This was my second trip with them – the last being Heathrow to Los Angeles to New York to Heathrow in November 2007. I choose American because of their prices. On both occasions that I have booked to fly with them, they have by far been the cheapest airline to travel with.
Their domestic service on economy is reasonable. Regardless of the duration, you will get free soft and hot drinks, with alcohol available for $6. If you are flying on a domestic flight and not connecting from or to an international flight, the airline charges $15 for checked baggage, payable at the airport.
As for the long-haul service, that is nothing special either. The 767-300 that I travelled on to Heathrow did not have individual TVs and we had to rely on the screens dotted around the cabin. Two films were shown on a 9 hour flight – both for children. The 777-200 on the return was equipped with individual screens and it had the new ‘ON’ AVOD system, although mine didn’t work. The meals were edible but far from being the best I have ever had; small portions, unidentifiable food items etc. And again, drinks are included, with the exception of alcohol, which will set you back $6 a time.
One thing that American do deserve credit for is their baggage allowance. I was recently a little annoyed to discover that British Airways are to change their baggage allowance with effect from 7th October. Passengers travelling to/from the USA and the Caribbean can check in two bags at the moment, each up to 23kg in weight. Unfortunately though, that allowance is about to be cut in half. I know that American Airlines is one of very few airlines that now offer this generous allowance.
By: Hand87_5 - 10th September 2009 at 17:11
Didn’t fly with AA since 1989!!! They may have changed as well.
By: Newforest - 10th September 2009 at 16:08
Flying on American Airlines next month, any observations?:)
By: Hand87_5 - 9th September 2009 at 22:01
Have you flown KLM recently? Most of their wide-body fleet now has PTV. Only the make-over of the B747 fleet has not been finished. KLM´s IFE is among the best if you don´t mind me saying.
As for the aging fleet, check back in a under two years. The classic 737s are mostly replaced, just a few left. The F100s are in their twilight, the few remaining F50s have only half a year left. That only leaves the F70, MD11 and the B747 as old. And as mentioned the 747 and MD11 have a completely new cabin (will have in the case of the 747 as the work is ongoing).
The rest of the fleet are very young B737s, B777s, A330s and E190s.
That’s true , everytime I flew on 744…
By: tenthije - 9th September 2009 at 21:24
KL: Not that good, mainly due to an ageing fleet. The IFE is pathetic interesting fares though…
Have you flown KLM recently? Most of their wide-body fleet now has PTV. Only the make-over of the B747 fleet has not been finished. KLM´s IFE is among the best if you don´t mind me saying.
As for the aging fleet, check back in a under two years. The classic 737s are mostly replaced, just a few left. The F100s are in their twilight, the few remaining F50s have only half a year left. That only leaves the F70, MD11 and the B747 as old. And as mentioned the 747 and MD11 have a completely new cabin (will have in the case of the 747 as the work is ongoing).
The rest of the fleet are very young B737s, B777s, A330s and E190s.
By: Distiller - 9th September 2009 at 14:35
I have to say, Delta usually is pretty good service wise, and the fares aren’t bad either.
Flying with them again in October (BRU-ONT), so, we’ll see how that goes.
Delta is very inconsistent, so totally depending on the crew. Even Aeroflot offers more consistent and often better service now.
By: frankvw - 9th September 2009 at 13:12
I have to say, Delta usually is pretty good service wise, and the fares aren’t bad either.
Flying with them again in October (BRU-ONT), so, we’ll see how that goes.
By: Hand87_5 - 9th September 2009 at 12:09
All these U.S. legacy carriers can kiss my ass. I’m flying Jet Blue in the states whenever it is possible, and I’m quite happy with that cattle hauler, booking one of these extra leg room rows.
JetBlue is my favorite as well in the US.
To be honest I had pretty good experiences with Alaska as well
By: Distiller - 9th September 2009 at 11:12
All these U.S. legacy carriers can kiss my ass. I’m flying Jet Blue in the states whenever it is possible, and I’m quite happy with that cattle hauler, booking one of these extra leg room rows.
By: KabirT - 9th September 2009 at 09:17
Last (and the only time) i flew UAL, my flight was from DEL-HKG and a connection later to MEL with the earstwhile Ansett. Somehow my baggage ended up in LAX instead of MEL. :rolleyes:
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September 9, 2009 at 9:09 am