Best airline to the USA

sodabread

I thought I'd put this poll up to get a taste of the preferred US airline across the Atlantic for boards users.

I've deliberately left Aer Lingus out as they could potentially skew the poll being an Irish carrier.

If we could vote based on overall experience to include aircraft type, inflight service, check in etc.

My vote will go for United- even though I dislike the 757's for a seven hour stretch I found that they were marginally better than my experience on the alternative three.

Over to you....

Arthur Beesley

No preference as long as there is reasonable leg room in coach and a proper individual in flight entertainment system.

Preset No.3

Preference for Continental. At least the United flights to EWR and IAD are crewed by CO staff. Merger me hole!!!!! Still 2 very seperate companies according to crew I've talked to.

Henry Ford III

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is nice place to be.

Jack1985

BA's new First cabin... one can only dream.

Preset No.3

I didn't know that Virgin and BA were US carriers!!!!

keith16

I've flown with Delta and Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus for me every time. Delta staff can be hit and miss, crowded terminal in JFK. But that was a few years ago.

EDIT: Only see now it's US carriers. Err.....Delta.

owenc

United! We are using them in June!

imurdaddy

Preset No.3 wrote: »

Preference for Continental. At least the United flights to EWR and IAD are crewed by CO staff. Merger me hole!!!!! Still 2 very seperate companies according to crew I've talked to.

I second that, SNN to EWR with pre clearance is a joy, straight to curbside. I love 757s so that is never an issue for me, comfort is acceptable as is in flight entertainment.

I have been flying this route monthly for 4yrs with flights on different carrier's maybe a handful of times, but Continental/united are my fav.

Aer Lingus I like to fly for Ac type and supporting national carrier, Jfk is not convenient as EWR for me.

owenc

Preset No.3 wrote: »

Preference for Continental. At least the United flights to EWR and IAD are crewed by CO staff. Merger me hole!!!!! Still 2 very seperate companies according to crew I've talked to.

Those flight attendants are lovely on Continential.

Nino Brown

I use BA via London

owenc

I think London is a major hassle.

Nino Brown

owenc wrote: »

I think London is a major hassle.

Yeah it can be, but it depends where you're flying to really. I fly to Dallas and Phoenix a lot, I can fly direct to both from London, so my only connection is early in the journey, and I can take a sleeping tablet and pass out for the entire 10hrs or so on the plane.
Some people like to break up the trip, so a connetion in JFK, EWR, ATL or PHL suits.
I like the service on BA, wouldn't even consider Aer Lingus, I tried them a few times and found the flight attendants to be lazy and rude.

GoProGaming

of the ones listed i like delta, but a few trips back i discovered the comfort of british airways and haven't looked back since.

markpb

I haven't flown Continental but the other three are terrible and I only ever choose them if I want a cheap flight and I'm ready for uncomfortable planes and/or poor service. In the few transatlantic flights I've taken, one had no vegetarian option, one had no IFE at all for half the flight and no IFE at my seat for the other half, one overbooked by forty people and eventually ended up leaving twenty people behind, one refused to look at the option of rerouting me when it was obvious that a delayed first departure would mean I'd miss my connection and subsequently refused to accommodate me (by way of food, hotel, etc) when I did miss my connection and had a 24 hour wait for the next one. One announced that the incoming flight from Ireland "could not be located" and we'd have to wait four hours for a UK inbound to arrive so it could take us home instead.

I haven't flown Aer Lingus in a while, I normally fly Virgin. The only downside to that is losing preclearance.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

whitebriar

owenc wrote: »

I think London is a major hassle.

It won't be from Oct 26th as BA's Dublin and Belfast flights go directly to T5.

markpb

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The problem is that it can be far more than a few minutes.

Johnnio13

All of them are brutal.
Flown continenal years ago - lost bags, poor CS, Poor inflight maintenance, double booked on connecting flights - haven't flown with them since.
Delta - horrendous cabin crew, no first aid equipment on one flight when patient went ill. Made the OH sign a waiver that SHE treated the patient and that any and all liability rests with her. She wouldn't sign it. They got v snotty.
US Airways is like a cargo plane.
Unitied I've only flown internally in the US - so no comment.

Virgin and BA via Heatrow for proper CS, inflight staff, working equipment and some degree of comfort taken from fact that the aircraft are newer.

owenc

whitebriar wrote: »

It won't be from Oct 26th as BA's Dublin and Belfast flights go directly to T5.

Yes it is.

1. Get up at 5am.
2. Drive to Belfast for 90 minutes.
3. Wait 2 hours.
4. Get on 1 hour flight to go back on yourself.
5. Wait 3 hours.
6. Get on 8 hour flight.

Exactly.. I won't even choose England to fly to America..

owenc

markpb wrote: »

The problem is that it can be far more than a few minutes.

And who wants to go through that after a long haul flight..

Jack1985

Yes it is.

1. Get up at 5am.
2. Drive to Belfast for 90 minutes.
3. Wait 2 hours.
4. Get on 1 hour flight to go back on yourself.
5. Wait 3 hours.
6. Get on 8 hour flight.

Exactly.. I won't even choose England to fly to America..

That's your particular situation, not world over. It takes me 30 minutes to get to Cork Airport - leaving 50 minutes to get through security on the flight ORK-LHR flight at 07:20/08:50 and on a BA LHR-JFK flight 11:20/13:55 - Total transit time: 12hrs 55mins. Hardly a massive ordeal when there's a bus taking me from the back of the Aer Lingus flight to the transit area free, and there are better connections than the one above but that's just an example of the top of my head.

whitebriar

owenc wrote: »

Yes it is.

1. Get up at 5am.
2. Drive to Belfast for 90 minutes.
3. Wait 2 hours.
4. Get on 1 hour flight to go back on yourself.
5. Wait 3 hours.
6. Get on 8 hour flight.

Exactly.. I won't even choose England to fly to America..

You'll have to connect in the States anyway which cancels out that 'go back on yourself' versus the many major cities BA fly into.
Besides a couple of hours in Galleries F never did anyone any harm

circular flexing

Johnnio13 wrote: »

Virgin and BA via Heatrow for proper CS, inflight staff, working equipment and some degree of comfort taken from fact that the aircraft are newer.

A large number of BA's North American flights are operated by 744's, some of which are touching 20 years old (and it shows).

whitebriar

circular flexing wrote: »

A large number of BA's North American flights are operated by 744's, some of which are touching 20 years old (and it shows).

Fewer and fewer actually and no it doesn't show more than any other as they are regularly refurbished.
Sadly those 747's are being quickly phased out (I like them,especially their upper deck) now.It's difficult to get one to New York for example.

owenc

Jack1985 wrote: »

That's your particular situation, not world over. It takes me 30 minutes to get to Cork Airport - leaving 50 minutes to get through security on the flight ORK-LHR flight at 07:20/08:50 and on a BA LHR-JFK flight 11:20/13:55 - Total transit time: 12hrs 55mins. Hardly a massive ordeal when there's a bus taking me from the back of the Aer Lingus flight to the transit area free, and there are better connections than the one above but that's just an example of the top of my head.

But then your situation is not the world over either.

murphym7

Jack1985 wrote: »

That's your particular situation, not world over. It takes me 30 minutes to get to Cork Airport - leaving 50 minutes to get through security on the flight ORK-LHR flight at 07:20/08:50 and on a BA LHR-JFK flight 11:20/13:55 - Total transit time: 12hrs 55mins. Hardly a massive ordeal when there's a bus taking me from the back of the Aer Lingus flight to the transit area free, and there are better connections than the one above but that's just an example of the top of my head.

Exact same here for me, except I am only 10 minutes from Cork airport. Its the only way I travel to the US now, east or west coasts. Although there are loads on here that think we are mad/wrong/stupid etc.......

brettmirl

I've flown all the carriers bar Delta.

I found the Continental crews the best to deal with.

US Airways were fine, but the plane interiors always felt old and sometimes grotty.

American Airlines very hit and miss. On one flight I was on, one of the air crew basically lectured us on how to behave during the flight and not to press the call bell as he wanted to have a nap.

On another, during the meal service, the flight attendant offered "brown stuff or yellow stuff"...when I asked her what it actually was her reply was "Honey, this is American, it's basically just brown stuff or yellow stuff".

Turned out it was chicken curry or some sort of beef casserole. Have to admit, her honesty about the quality of meal gave me a good chuckle!

Out of the airlines not listed, I've always liked Aer Lingus transatlantic.
Was disappointed with Virgin Atlantic, but their service levels had probably been over hyped to me.

British Airways very good, but I have a skewed view after being bumped to Business Class.

By far, the best in-flight service I've ever experienced was Air New Zealand from Heathrow to LAX. The crew, meal service, in-flight entertainment were superb.

HeyArnold320

I've never flown American. Are they really that bad? I've used Air France and Aer Lingus to the states. Aer Lingus was a better service

faceman

All my US colleagues use United because they have an excellent loyalty scheme for frequent fliers so it's easy to get an upgrade. However they slate economy.

Generally speaking US carriers are hit and miss but mostly miss with economy flying.

Aer Lingus have a better cabin than the US carriers but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I'm hearing many horror stories about the SFO route. (I'll find out for myself next month.) AL loyalty scheme is non existent too.

All the above carriers have the benefit of preclearance though which is to be fair, a huge benefit. Many times I've arrived in SFO to face a wait at immigration of 60-90 minutes.

BA remain tops even though their 747 is well dated. Virgin a close second.

Jude13

I flew Delta from Schipol, they were horrendous, plane, aisle tv blinking on and off as entertainment. The seat moved, as in it was not fitted to the plane securely and the seat was short at the back so if you tried to sleep there was nothing to rest your head on.

I had booked KLM from AUH to Washington never again.

I dont have enough knowledge of the others to vote on them.

circular flexing

whitebriar wrote: »

Fewer and fewer actually and no it doesn't show more than any other as they are regularly refurbished.
Sadly those 747's are being quickly phased out (I like them,especially their upper deck) now.It's difficult to get one to New York for example.

Well I can't speak for Club World but World Traveller cabins have not been touched since I started flying with them about 10 years ago. Same for World Traveller Plus (though they did roll out a new WTP cabin on their 777 fleet).

Any ones that I have been on recently have looked old and tatty with seriously worn seats. The IFE selection has steadily been getting worse and even then it's still on tiny screens.

owenc

They are probably not touching the 747 because they got the a380 which has a new cabin aswell as the a350 and the 787.

afatbollix

Ive heard great things about lufthansa upstairs on the new 747-800.

Maybe its the first terminal in Frankfurt that helps.

owenc

afatbollix wrote: »

Ive heard great things about lufthansa upstairs on the new 747-800.

Maybe its the first terminal in Frankfurt that helps.

Who is honestly going to goto Europe to fly to America? Now come on..

At the end of the day I only care if I get there, that is my main aim. I don't want to fly to Europe or England for better seats.

Fabio

Flew Delta from AMS to BOS on an A333 before and it was good and comfortable in "Economy Comfort". However, on the way home the customer service wasn't quite as good as it had been on the way out. Hit or miss.

circular flexing

owenc wrote: »

Who is honestly going to goto Europe to fly to America? Now come on..

At the end of the day I only care if I get there, that is my main aim. I don't want to fly to Europe or England for better seats.

It depends on where you're going. For example, Portland only has one daily flight to Europe (AMS). If you prefer 1 short + 1 long flight (like I do), then it makes sense to do that, rather than having to do 3 legs (DUB->LHR->SEA->PDX).

Also frequent flier programs can make a huge difference. Plenty of people I know are very protective of their BA Bronze/Silver status etc...

owenc

circular flexing wrote: »

It depends on where you're going. For example, Portland only has one daily flight to Europe (AMS). If you prefer 1 short + 1 long flight (like I do), then it makes sense to do that, rather than having to do 3 legs (DUB->LHR->SEA->PDX).

Also frequent flier programs can make a huge difference. Plenty of people I know are very protective of their BA Bronze/Silver status etc...

Or you could simply do. Dublin to San Fran to Portland.

Tdoyle

I am just back from a trip to SFO with Aer Lingus direct. Horrendous food in both directions, staff can only be described as borderline rude - again in both directions. Cancels out the handiness of doing passport clearance in Dublin

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

galwayjohn89

Aer Lingus seem to be very hit and miss. Last few times I flew them transatlantic they've been great. Sister and her family went over and back with them and could be more complementary of the crew. Mr brother always flies EI to and from Boston granted the cheap flights in business always help!

conor_ie

Have flown with American and US Airways in the past...American was ok.. wasn't anything special!

When I travelled with US Airways it was in business.. but it was no where near as good as Emirates business. They know how to take care of you!!

owenc

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I would NEVER travel from Europe to America.
As I said earlier I want to get there as quick as possible, I don't care about seats.

Some places it would be totally daft i.e Boston.

faceman

Fred Swanson wrote: »

I think the whole pre-clearance lark is becoming a red herring when deciding who to use. Aer Lingus have become so bad for transatlantic that it would be better to forego pre-clearance and go via hub in the UK or the near continent.

I have to disagree I fly to the west coast regularly and after a 10-11 hour flight from London on top of a flight from Dublin and all the waiting in between, having to stand around for another 90 minutes on arrival is often a killer.

boeingboy

Got be UAL

theeney

Hello,

For East Coast I have flown Aer Lingus/United before, Aer lingus is nice for NYC, Clean new enough aircraft, good price and times of flights available. Food was ok but for a 7hour flight id just bring my own. United was a pretty similar standard to Newark, maybe friendlier crew though.

For any other longer flights I have flown to the US (Orlando, SFO) I prefer to connect with BA in Heathrow, I have frequent flier status with OneWorld so I normally upgrade to World Traveller plus, the extra space and business class main course are nice for a 10hour flight, and its a much smaller cabin. The BA 777s are getting a bit old but I still found them comfortable, I also find you get more food with BA, that might not be true though it just feels that way.

The British Airways Dreamliner is pretty nice to fly though, LHR-Newark was really comfortable and they dim all the windows which makes it easier to sleep! My worst flights have been the older AA aircraft, no TVs and I always feel a bit cramped in a 757.

Tom

Simon Gruber Says

I flew ORD return with AA a few years ago and at that time at least, they weren't a patch on Aer Lingus. It was operated by a 767 with a very old and shabby interior, no PTVs and uncomfortable seats. Crew were friendly enough and the food was the norm, although the pizza on the return flight was nice for a change. I haven't flown with them since they introduced the 757 on the route, so I don't know if the interior is any better now.

I did fly Delta from ATL-DUB but it was so long ago that it was operated by an L-1011 Tristar

owenc

theeney wrote: »

Hello,

For East Coast I have flown Aer Lingus/United before, Aer lingus is nice for NYC, Clean new enough aircraft, good price and times of flights available. Food was ok but for a 7hour flight id just bring my own. United was a pretty similar standard to Newark, maybe friendlier crew though.

For any other longer flights I have flown to the US (Orlando, SFO) I prefer to connect with BA in Heathrow, I have frequent flier status with OneWorld so I normally upgrade to World Traveller plus, the extra space and business class main course are nice for a 10hour flight, and its a much smaller cabin. The BA 777s are getting a bit old but I still found them comfortable, I also find you get more food with BA, that might not be true though it just feels that way.

The British Airways Dreamliner is pretty nice to fly though, LHR-Newark was really comfortable and they dim all the windows which makes it easier to sleep! My worst flights have been the older AA aircraft, no TVs and I always feel a bit cramped in a 757.

Tom

Yes, I read a trip report and noticed that they had no seat back tv's and that it was just plain blue seats like you would have on a 2 hour flight. We were going to book them but when we seen how hideous their aircraft were (even on the wide bodies) we took second thoughts..

haro124

owenc wrote: »

Yes, I read a trip report and noticed that they had no seat back tv's and that it was just plain blue seats like you would have on a 2 hour flight. We were going to book them but when we seen how hideous their aircraft were (even on the wide bodies) we took second thoughts..

Flew with them from JFK to dublin. Old interior inside, just a tv every couple of rows, pay for headphones, food was grand, staff were just ok. Highlight was I slept through most of it! Booked it with BA and had flown via Heathrow with BA on the way over which was so much better. For €460 return in June I'd put up with it!

owenc

haro124 wrote: »

Flew with them from JFK to dublin. Old interior inside, just a tv every couple of rows, pay for headphones, food was grand, staff were just ok. Highlight was I slept through most of it! Booked it with BA and had flown via Heathrow with BA on the way over which was so much better. For €460 return in June I'd put up with it!

We are flying with United this time so we should not have that problem. I am thinking with the tv the 6 hour flight should go by in no time. I remember the last time we went there was no tv but it still went past pretty quickly as they stuffed us with food.

mockingjay

Flew to Florida from Dublin via Gatwick with Virgin, had seats for 2 adults 2 kids pre-booked weeks in advance - all ok in Dublin at 6am the morning of departure, upon arriving at the transfer desk in Gatwick we had somehow lost our four seats together, Virgin had reallocated our seats and split my family, using the terms and conditions... We can't guarantee etc... gave the two seats beside me to an elderly couple whilst claiming it was for a family with younger kids that needed them - awful experience, even Ryanair wouldn't have treated a young family like that - not worth the extra money - nothing special at all.