Flying various airlines as I do; you can find some great carriers. However, sometimes it's a hard pass after one ride.
1. Frontier Airlines; hard pass. I've talked about this one before, but feel that I can never really stress this one enough. They stranded me in Raleigh Durham. Overnight. I had to find a hotel and a flight from there to Chicago. They did nothing. They barely acknowledged me. I researched and found no legitimate reason for the cancellation. Other stranded passengers said it happens all the time. When I got to Chicago the next day, I got an email saying my flight in Houston was cancelled. I had no idea that they'd put me on a flight to Houston and had no idea why. I received no apology. I received no compensation for having to get a hotel room and another flight to get where I needed to be. They sound great, but if you don't get where you need to be; what's the point? Let me be clear. No reason for the cancellation. No customer service regarding the cancellation. No contact from the company in any way. I still receive ads on my phone two years later for deals with Frontier. I can't unsubscribe; I've tried. Don't go there. You will be disappointed.
2. United Airlines. Are they great? Complicated question. They are tedious, and you will pay for every little thing. The planes are cramped in coach. The staff leave a lot to be desired in personality in my experience. They aren't a discount airline, but they kind of act like one, but the prices are way higher than budget airlines.
What does this mean? I can't stand United Airlines. However, if you really need to get where you're going; they are one of the best options in the country. They are reliable beyond most of the other United States airlines. That's why it's complicated.
Here's my story. I flew them recently from Raleigh Durham to Chicago. They weren't friendly, I had to pay for any little thing they gave me on the flight. There was no communication over the PA system from the pilots. It was cramped. There was no have a good day or thanks for flying with us. There was definitely no in flight entertainment. But, remember, I said I took them from Raleigh Durham to Chicago. Why did I fly with them? Because Frontier stranded me there. United had a seat and they actually flew the plane to Chicago. Was this the first time I'd found myself in this situation? Where United rescued me? No.
Bottom line, they will get you where you need to be. That's why I occasionally fly with United. They are the only major airline in the US that has never stranded me.
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1g19j6c/experiences_with_united/
3. Aer Lingus. Once again, it's complicated. I just flew with them for my first time, and it will be my last. Let me explain.
It started in Boston. We came a bit early for dropping our bags off and waiting for our flight. That happens to me in Boston, because it's normally a later in the day flight and I have a long drive to get there and drop off my car. We joined a long line that was already waiting. There were two attendants at the multi station check in area. One was talking with some customers who still had to do their check in. The other one was on his phone. We stood in a non moving line for an hour or so.
Let me explain, because Aer Lingus didn't. Most of their staff don't start to do bag drop and easy check ins until two hours before flight time. Most airlines who do this have a sign at the desk or put it in an email or in the information when you book or check in online for the flight. None of that. That was strike one.
I must say, the flights to Vienna were fine. The staff was great, the onboard service was great, the food was pretty good, and the entertainment was just fine. We got there when we were supposed to, and we were very much alive. My luggage followed me like a good little doggy and we were on our way to our vacation. Seemed like it was one little glitch and then we were good to go.
However, there was the trip home. I went to check in online the day before the flight. It said we had to check in at their counter at the airport, because we were flying with a partner airline. I wasn't aware of that. Apparently there had been a change. The flight said it was still at the same time, so I was like whatever.
We showed up at the airport the next day for our flight. No Aer Lingus counter. We'd been put on a British Airways flight, but there was also no British Airways counter. We checked the flight boards. There was no flight at the time our flight was scheduled and our flight number did not appear anywhere. Big problem.
I actually called Aer Lingus to speak with customer service. I was told, specifically, verbatim, "You are no longer flying with Aer Lingus so it is not our responsibility." Process that for a moment. Big fat strike two. They moved us, after we booked with them. They didn't actually notify us; I looked into it to figure out what was supposedly going on. "Not our responsibility." Wow.
British Airways did open a counter two hours later for another flight that wasn't ours. We spoke with them and they told us that our flight had been cancelled and rescheduled five hours later. We at least knew we had a flight. They promised us we were in the system and could check in two hours before that flight. That did leave us in Vienna's dumpy airport for several hours with nothing to do, but at least we were going home. This trip would have us on the road for nearly 30 straight hours because of it all, but at least we were going home.
No thanks to Aer Lingus. So, there I was with nothing to do for hours in an airport where I couldn't even get to a lot of the cool stuff, because I couldn't go through security without a boarding pass. I decided to take my frustrations with Aer Lingus out via the internet. This got a response from Aer Lingus over time. They responded to my posts and reviews asking me not to say what I was saying. I told them that they shouldn't have stranded me in an airport with nothing else to do and demanded an apology.
Later that day, we'd gotten on our flights with British Airways and traveled back to Boston. As we were flying over eastern Canada to land, I got an email from Aer Lingus telling me my flight had been cancelled and I would have to make my own arrangements for hotel and another flight, but they would be happy to reimburse me for any hotel. Wow, what a strike three. They didn't even realize that I'd gotten a flight home.
I hate experiences like that one. I don't like having to bash airlines on the web. But their customer service isn't customer service. They should be ashamed of themselves for what they did. They actually offered me money to quit posting about it, but they wouldn't just apologize. Is it possible to have an enormous strike four? I obviously didn't accept the money. It was an insult.
Book with these guys at your own risk. I won't ever do that again.
https://www.aerlingus.com/html/en-US/home.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/AerLingus/comments/1f0rai9/is_aer_lingus_really_that_bad/
4. British Airways. Obviously, I just flew with them. This one is an interesting situation, because I didn't book with them. I never even considered them for my trip. I've never flown with them before in my life. Yet, I just flew with them. Uncharted territory for me giving my opinion about an airline. Overall, were they great? Not really, but they were acceptable in my situation completely.
They opened their counter in Vienna at 9:30 am for a flight that was not my flight. I had tried to talk to Aer Lingus on the phone and gotten no information. I'd tried to call British Airways, but had no luck getting through. That made me nervous about the whole situation even more. I approached the counter, even though I wasn't on that flight, but I'd been at the airport for over two hours and wanted some answers. I was terribly early because of train issues coming from Slovakia, so that part was on me.
The lady I spoke with at the counter told me that the flight was cancelled and rescheduled and looked it up for me and assured me that we were booked on that flight. That was great. She told us when they'd be at the counter for our flight and I had my answers. I wasn't thrilled, but at least they were going to get me home.
Check in time came. We went to the counter and they checked us in immediately. We got real paper boarding passes. They checked our bags for free. They gave us drink vouchers for the flights. They apologized for the inconvenience that was actually caused by Aer Lingus. They thanked us for flying with them. Once on the flight, we had free drinks, free Wi-Fi, and fabulous service. Everyone was wonderful and the food was pretty good. We had our layover at Heathrow, which I'd managed to avoid my entire life. It was shocking and impressive at the same time how I had to take three buses and go through security again on a layover, but they got us where we needed to be and then flew us home. When we were stateside, I got an email from them thanking me for flying British Airways and asked me for a review. I had a pleasant experience.
Would I fly British Airways again? I probably would. They were polite, kind, and got me where I needed to go. My flight was delayed five hours, but I'd been dumped off by my original airline, so it seemed better than it most likely was. I was easily reunited with my luggage and was on my way quickly upon arrival. I don't ask for much when flying and they delivered more than I asked for. Should you fly with them? I'd say why not? Most airlines have scheduling issues and stuff, so they're pretty much like most other airlines. Average is better than Aer Lingus.
https://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Flights/comments/16a9sbf/is_british_airways_any_good/
5. Breeze Airways. This is a fast five, and I will always take any opportunity to talk about Breeze. They are a budget airline, and they are far superior to any budget airline and a lot of big name airlines I've flown.
Will they take you anywhere you want to go? No. That's the only setback. Breeze was designed to address some lesser used routes to give those of us who need to go from Connecticut to Phoenix etc. an inexpensive and direct way to go. The prices are right. Do you pay for stuff? Yes. Bags; yes. WiFi; yes. But, these guys are kind, reliable, have pretty good snacks and sodas and they get you where you're going. Always the bottom line with me. They've never cancelled on me. They've never lost my luggage. They've never been rude to me. If you need a route they offer; take them. That's my easy view of it all. Better than most legacy experiences I've had in coach.
https://www.flybreeze.com/home
https://www.reddit.com/r/BreezeAir/comments/1cggy1x/how_good_is_this_airline/
There you have it. Some of my takes on airlines. Mind you, these thoughts are on travel in coach. I'm a budget traveler. I don't sit in business or first class and have no idea what that's like on literally any airline. When I write about an experience it's always coach.
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