What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

**kodiak** · 07-04-2013, 09:04 PM

I actually prefer Continental/United based on my experiences.

After several bad experiences, if I can avoid American I will.

**ubernoob** · 07-04-2013, 09:07 PM

Depends on what you consider major.

I avoid Delta and United like the plague. I'll fly Southwest if I can't find what I'm looking for elsewhere.

**kingkilla56** · 07-04-2013, 09:09 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

I fly Jetblue, only because its relatively cheap. I hate Delta, I hate American.

**p_rushing** · 07-04-2013, 09:59 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Depends on how often you fly and where.

I fly a lot, so my opinion is based on what you get from the different membership sides.

2nd tiers-
Southwest- great flexibility to change flights if needed, but only flies to US, so points aren't valuable, also no business/first class so you will never get an upgrade

Airtran- same as Southwest except that there is a small chance you can be upgraded

JetBlue- only thing they have is that you get sat tv on all flights, even the majors don't have that

Majors-
American- avoid at all costs

United- I don't like how they handle their upgrade procedures and status is a little harder to get, everything else is the same as Delta

Delta- I use Delta, but I live in Atlanta so there aren't a ton of choices that make sense. I don't like their flight change fees, even for people with status, but they recently changed it and it has gotten better.

**TheGamingChef** · 07-04-2013, 11:40 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Frequent flyer here. Travel all of the time for work.

First, I would argue that Southwest doesn't really fit in the same category as the other 3 airlines listed. Delta, American, and United utilize the hub-and-spoke model but Southwest has much more of a point-to-point model, meaning they typically only service the major metros. But I have flown all four many times.

Delta is easily my favorite.

American sucks. United sucks even more. And US Airways is an abomination.

Wish I had something more concrete to back up my claim here, but it's really just a bunch of stories that I could share if I wanted to. Over the past 6 months or so, I have flown exclusively Delta though (because they have been my favorite, and my business has allowed me that flexibility because of SkyMiles collection) and I have not had a single issue.

**JohnnytheSkin** · 07-04-2013, 11:55 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Delta...the TC is a hub and they offer direct flights to where I want to go.

55 · 07-04-2013, 11:57 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Continental was my favorite, so I guess I will now go with United since they merged with them.

**SuperBowlNachos** · 07-05-2013, 12:21 AM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

I've only ever flown Southwest and American. Haven't had a problem yet on Southwest, but my last two times with American we were stuck on the tarmac for 30+ minutes. AA did have reliable wi-fi though. I was able to keep up with the World Series a couple of years back. I flight from SW's main hub though so things might be better from there. Plus bags fly free. I was also a fan of being able to pick your seat once you got on the plane. It can be kind of a roulette, but if there are some good looking ladies on board it can work out. Especially on the way to Vegas.

**Bmore Irish** · 07-05-2013, 12:37 AM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Southwest, because that's all I've ever flown.

**dickey1331** · 07-05-2013, 12:47 AM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

Delta but I really liked United since military gets 3 free bags along with dependents so me and my wife flew to Paris with 6 free bags on our honeymoon.

**EUBlink** · 07-05-2013, 01:13 AM

I fly Delta whenever possible, although really because it's the most convenient. We fly out of Birmingham to Atlanta, and then to our destination... and from what I understand, both Birmingham and Atlanta are hubs for Delta.

That said, I avoid American at all costs. Twice now, I've had overnight delays mid-trip because of their overbooking and faulty planes. Both times they provided lodging, but both times were a horrible inconvenience as one was during flight to an important training workshop with work, and the other was a family vacation to Hawai'i. Not to mention, it took three days to get my luggage after I was at my destination. Both times.

**Redacted01** · 07-05-2013, 05:50 AM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

My ranking is...

1. Delta
2a. United
2b. Southwest

4. American

I have never flown American because their prices have always been outrageous. No matter where I've tried to go, Delta and United have always been well more affordable. I doubt they have anything to offer to some how make up for the huge price difference.

I've flown Delta/Northwest the most and never have had a problem. I only fly once, maybe twice a year, so fewer opportunities, but still.

I haven't used United in years, so it had nothing to do with Continental yet. But back then, similar to Northwest. A little more expensive, but I was able to get better flight times out of Akron's dinky airport and it was still affordable. Flight was fine. Only time I've ever checked baggage and it took forever, but as expected. But I've never flown Continental because their prices are ridiculous so I don't know if they'd still be 2a now.

Southwest is the one I've used the least and I will still use it because I can get direct flights that others don't offer. The prices are usually lower. They are flexible. But being crammed in with people from 2 to 200 doesn't appeal to me usually. I'm not against taking your babies on planes and all, but when there are a dozen kids on a plane, you keep them quiet... I've flown it the least and they have always been the loudest flights. So it's hard to rank them higher. Thankfully Frontier flies out of New Castle now so I can use Frontier to get to Denver, which is my most likely destination these days. May be a bit more expensive, but I'll take it.

Edit: Just doing a quick check on Kayak to see prices to compare, I went back and did my old flight from Akron to Memphis for Thanksgiving since I don't know the trends out of Philly as well. Delta was $326, United $409, USA (related to American now) $582. If I switch to Cleveland, Delta $480, USA $527, United $548, American $726. Memphis just now is getting access to Southwest flights through Airtran, so if you went with the cheapest routes possible, you could do it for $246.

So what I thought still holds true there. American is ridiculously overpriced.

**LowerWolf** · 07-05-2013, 02:29 PM

Re: What is the Best Major Airline in the US and why?

I've never really had any problems with Delta. Had a bad experience with United the last time I flew with them, and their customer service was awful.

Honestly though, they're all about the same to me.