World’s Best Airlines Were Just Announced and Not One US Carrier Made the List(johnnyjet.com)
johnnyjet.com
World’s Best Airlines Were Just Announced and Not One US Carrier Made the List
https://www.johnnyjet.com/the-worlds-best-airlines-were-just-announced-and-not-a-single-us-carrier-made-the-list/
85 comments
I've never had an issue on Air Asia which is cheap.
International is not the issue. Flying between countries in Europe is not much different than flying between states in the USA. Singapore has tons of countries within 1-2 hours so like flying from SF to Vegas and people do it all the time taking weekend trips. Examples: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, ...
The reason USA airlines suck is because, in general, the USA has a culture of poor service. Many USA employees have an attitude that can best be described as "this job sucks, I hate my job, I hate these customers for existing and therefore making me do my job"
International is not the issue. Flying between countries in Europe is not much different than flying between states in the USA. Singapore has tons of countries within 1-2 hours so like flying from SF to Vegas and people do it all the time taking weekend trips. Examples: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, ...
The reason USA airlines suck is because, in general, the USA has a culture of poor service. Many USA employees have an attitude that can best be described as "this job sucks, I hate my job, I hate these customers for existing and therefore making me do my job"
TBH, for all these posts saying that US airline employees are rude and provide poor service, I wonder if the issue isn't on the other side of the conversation.
I've certainly experienced what I'd perhaps call "curt" service, but even then it's usually the case that the employee just has a ton of shit to do and is trying to move along the line quickly. The vast, vast majority of service I've received has been kind and courteous. To be clear, I've certainly had horrible airline experiences (e.g. getting stuck on a tarmac for hours), but rarely if ever is that the fault of an individual front-line employee.
What I've seen far more often, especially since the pandemic, is travelers acting like they were born in a barn, sometimes to the point of outright abuse towards employees. I can certainly commiserate with travel frustration, but so often I see people that take it out, rudely and unfairly, on employees who aren't empowered to do anything about it.
I've certainly experienced what I'd perhaps call "curt" service, but even then it's usually the case that the employee just has a ton of shit to do and is trying to move along the line quickly. The vast, vast majority of service I've received has been kind and courteous. To be clear, I've certainly had horrible airline experiences (e.g. getting stuck on a tarmac for hours), but rarely if ever is that the fault of an individual front-line employee.
What I've seen far more often, especially since the pandemic, is travelers acting like they were born in a barn, sometimes to the point of outright abuse towards employees. I can certainly commiserate with travel frustration, but so often I see people that take it out, rudely and unfairly, on employees who aren't empowered to do anything about it.
Maybe this could be solved if tipping was expected on the flights. Have some money collection when boarding or off-boarding.
Air France is on that list at number 8 and they do a lot of flights both domestically and EU-wide (which is basically domestic if you compare to say US, especially west coast to east coast flights).
Flying in US is much more unpleasant than in EU and even at top tickets (first/business) you don’t event get the lounge access in US. Express lanes are questionable and any security benefits require pre registering with TSApre or whatever. Even Air France’s low cost partner Transavia is pretty great and very price competitive. Their upfront product includes fast track airport access and only costs a little more.
Flying in US is much more unpleasant than in EU and even at top tickets (first/business) you don’t event get the lounge access in US. Express lanes are questionable and any security benefits require pre registering with TSApre or whatever. Even Air France’s low cost partner Transavia is pretty great and very price competitive. Their upfront product includes fast track airport access and only costs a little more.
This is the wrong take. US airlines’ profit per passenger is typically 3x that of European airlines, so Americans are paying far more to get treated worse. The reason is that US airlines are larger and more consolidated and so can easily hold monopolies on routes. Unfortunately such consolidation has been happening in Europe too in recent years.
Let’s see a list of the best air passengers as well. I guarantee Americans aren’t at the top. The US carriers cater to their customers. We get treated like cattle for good reason.
And the people who aren't cattle tend to avoid the stock pens.
I agree with the reasoning, but then that begs the opposite question: why are cheap flights so much cheaper in Europe and Asia? I think the answer is competition: there are few airlines in the US and they operate as a cartel (consider United threatening to pull out of JFK).
As with so many things the US seems to have an air system that is both shitty and expensive.
As with so many things the US seems to have an air system that is both shitty and expensive.
Qantas doesn't fit the long-haul international only carrier description
Have they ever? It's not like they're known for their service at all. They're domestic carriers trying to fly international. Business class on a European or Asian carrier is a totally different experience. Not to mention the opulence of some of the Middle Eastern ones.
I got super lucky once and got to fly first class on points to east Asia via Asiana and ANA and holy shit the level of service is just out of this world. You get personal service from airport to airport, including an employee (or sometimes even more than one) escorting you from lounge to gate. The catering was among the best food I've ever had, and they turn down your seat and give you pajamas. In retrospect I'm especially impressed because I was a dumb twenty-something year old with no business being in a first class cabin.
I got super lucky once and got to fly first class on points to east Asia via Asiana and ANA and holy shit the level of service is just out of this world. You get personal service from airport to airport, including an employee (or sometimes even more than one) escorting you from lounge to gate. The catering was among the best food I've ever had, and they turn down your seat and give you pajamas. In retrospect I'm especially impressed because I was a dumb twenty-something year old with no business being in a first class cabin.
That kind of decadence is just silly though. Being a great airline has nothing to do with having a personal valet and the best meal in your life.
Being a great airline means keeping schedules, not losing luggage, and not squeezing coach passengers with that last inch of space lost, handling errors gracefully, and generally being clean and competent.
Being a great airline means keeping schedules, not losing luggage, and not squeezing coach passengers with that last inch of space lost, handling errors gracefully, and generally being clean and competent.
That's the low bar, but I think it is entirely possible to do that and have great customer service on top of it. Domestic flights in America, yeah, just be on time and ideally not overbooked. But what if the seats were comfortable, or the staff was kind and not overworked? We could have both.
US airlines were the best in the world in the 1960s. So what happened?
Unions...
Unions...
In 1978, airlines were deregulated. That triggered a race to the bottom.
Absolutely ridiculous to try to blame unions.
Absolutely ridiculous to try to blame unions.
Neither ANA nor Asiana (from the GP comment) are regulated, yet they still have dramatically better service. That goes for most (if not all?) of the best airlines in the world.
I'm not saying that GP is right, but it's equally facile to blame the difference on "deregulation".
For whatever it's worth, in my experience, the staff of non-US airlines are dramatically better at their jobs. It's comical how bad the service is on US carriers, even for business and first class on long-haul routes.
I'm not saying that GP is right, but it's equally facile to blame the difference on "deregulation".
For whatever it's worth, in my experience, the staff of non-US airlines are dramatically better at their jobs. It's comical how bad the service is on US carriers, even for business and first class on long-haul routes.
I imagine being an airline employee pays better relative to the local jobs when you come from a non-US country. Air travel is generally geared towards a richer clientele, and the absolute costs don't really drop even when the countries involved are less wealthy, so I can see how that would mean there's more money / margin floating around airlines than traditional businesses, so they can attract a better class of employee
Maybe? Standard of living is pretty high in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, all of whom have vastly better air travel experiences than the US.
My inclination is that it's just linked to an overall decline in service across the board in the US. Even something as pedestrian as Starbucks or Tullys in Japan and Korea is a different class of customer experience than here.
(The US isn't alone in this, of course -- the worst flight I've ever had was on a Spanish airline, and most European discount airlines are miserable. But you sort of expect that when "discount" is in the name of the service...)
My inclination is that it's just linked to an overall decline in service across the board in the US. Even something as pedestrian as Starbucks or Tullys in Japan and Korea is a different class of customer experience than here.
(The US isn't alone in this, of course -- the worst flight I've ever had was on a Spanish airline, and most European discount airlines are miserable. But you sort of expect that when "discount" is in the name of the service...)
It absolutely was deregulation, combined with a pressure to compete, which got American airlines to their current state.
Every single airline on this list, except for ANA, is a flag carrier or directly state-owned. America has no flag carrier and all of our airlines are in a knife fight with each other that just leaves them all barely functional.
Every single airline on this list, except for ANA, is a flag carrier or directly state-owned. America has no flag carrier and all of our airlines are in a knife fight with each other that just leaves them all barely functional.
Asiana was not a "flag carrier". In fact, it went bankrupt and was put up for sale in 2019. [1] KAL has committed to buying Asiana, but it hasn't happened yet.
Korean airlines is the "flag carrier" of Korea, but there are lots of others, and all of them are preferable to US service. As for Japan, ANA is a private company and AFAICT, always was. JAL was the "national airline" of Japan, but fully privatized in the late 80s, and is now smaller than ANA.
Just for another example: Taiwan's "flag carrier" is China Air (which is mediocre), but EVA (which is private) provides excellent service.
[1] https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/04/694_267194.h...
Korean airlines is the "flag carrier" of Korea, but there are lots of others, and all of them are preferable to US service. As for Japan, ANA is a private company and AFAICT, always was. JAL was the "national airline" of Japan, but fully privatized in the late 80s, and is now smaller than ANA.
Just for another example: Taiwan's "flag carrier" is China Air (which is mediocre), but EVA (which is private) provides excellent service.
[1] https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/04/694_267194.h...
Why are you even talking about Asiana? They're not on the top ten list at all. Korean Airlines is.
I also literally said "except for ANA".
Edit: Oh, sorry, I see - GP mentioned Asiana. I'm talking about the list in the actual article that's linked, which I think I made very clear?
I also literally said "except for ANA".
Edit: Oh, sorry, I see - GP mentioned Asiana. I'm talking about the list in the actual article that's linked, which I think I made very clear?
Because that is what I mentioned in my first post, and what the top of thread comment was talking about.
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> Unions...
MBA style management focusing on short-term economics and management bonusses seems more likely to me. I don's see how treating employees well leads to poor service and quality.
MBA style management focusing on short-term economics and management bonusses seems more likely to me. I don's see how treating employees well leads to poor service and quality.
There's a story about an AA Exec who figured they could save $1m by cutting the number olives in a first class martini from 3 to 2. It's often used as an example of how attention to detail can deliver amazing savings that don't effect service. But here's the thing. As a person who occasionally travels first or business class, if you want to charge 3-5x for 50% extra space might be best not to count the olives.
Yes, exactly. You've got a group of people who drive most of the profit margin for your product because they seek luxury, and you intend to nickel-and-dime that group? How does this make sense?
If that story isn't apocryphal, it should be taught in business schools as an example of missing the forest for the trees. It's like an executive at FedEx "figuring out" that they can save 1% of their costs by reducing the reliability of overnight delivery, or an executive at Mercedes "figuring out" that they can shave costs by using plastic leather.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's a great way to destroy a brand with pound-foolish thinking.
If that story isn't apocryphal, it should be taught in business schools as an example of missing the forest for the trees. It's like an executive at FedEx "figuring out" that they can save 1% of their costs by reducing the reliability of overnight delivery, or an executive at Mercedes "figuring out" that they can shave costs by using plastic leather.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's a great way to destroy a brand with pound-foolish thinking.
There are airlines on this top list with unionised staff.
Virgin Atlantic has among the best service in the world and is unionized. The problem is more management that doesn’t give a shit provided they can squeeze you for another ancillary fee.
err, most other parts of the world were still recovering from a lil war?
You get down voted but it's true.
The reason people believe Japanese cars (specifically the ones built in Japan) are built better is because the employees are not unionized combined with traditional beliefs about the Japanese refusing to half ass anything.
Unions exist to allow people to be lazier than they would otherwise be able to be. This is great from the perspective of the worker, but from the perspective of the consumer, unionized or companies are generally not going to treat them as well...
The reason people believe Japanese cars (specifically the ones built in Japan) are built better is because the employees are not unionized combined with traditional beliefs about the Japanese refusing to half ass anything.
Unions exist to allow people to be lazier than they would otherwise be able to be. This is great from the perspective of the worker, but from the perspective of the consumer, unionized or companies are generally not going to treat them as well...
Today milk in my fridge has gone off, fucking cow unions!
If you live in Montana that might be a fairish complaint. Though it's the farmers and they don't bother with a union they just control the marginal seats.
Just came back from cross-country trip flying United.
No kidding, even the worst Airlines I’ve flown (Air France and now-defunct Deccan Airways of India) do not hold a candle to the condescending staff and torturing seats.
No kidding, even the worst Airlines I’ve flown (Air France and now-defunct Deccan Airways of India) do not hold a candle to the condescending staff and torturing seats.
I had an hour to kill at Pittsburgh airport. Thanksgiving, and three out of four gates seemed closed. It was eerily quiet. I took a stroll, and couldn't find good coffee close to my gate, so wandered off to some other wing.
Some minutes before boarding time, I started walking back to my gate. The gate staff was furious. "Hurry up! Where have you been?!" I was perplexed. Boarding time hadn't even started yet. There had been no speaker calls, at least not where I was.
"Hurry up! The pilots want to leave early!"
Yeah, and I don't want to be yelled at for keeping to our agreed time. So I guess that evened out. No one got what they wanted.
Some minutes before boarding time, I started walking back to my gate. The gate staff was furious. "Hurry up! Where have you been?!" I was perplexed. Boarding time hadn't even started yet. There had been no speaker calls, at least not where I was.
"Hurry up! The pilots want to leave early!"
Yeah, and I don't want to be yelled at for keeping to our agreed time. So I guess that evened out. No one got what they wanted.
Flew United on two three hour flights last week, spent more time delayed and sitting on the plane or in the airport after being deplaned then I did in the air.
After one delay of five hours, the flight attendant came by offering a tiny bag or pretzels (with four pretzels) or a cookie. When I said “both” I got “it’s one or the other”. I reminded her that this flight was five hours late, I missed my business dinner, and we would not be landing until 1am after all the restaurants were closed.
I got both, but honestly…how tone deaf does your employees need to be?
After one delay of five hours, the flight attendant came by offering a tiny bag or pretzels (with four pretzels) or a cookie. When I said “both” I got “it’s one or the other”. I reminded her that this flight was five hours late, I missed my business dinner, and we would not be landing until 1am after all the restaurants were closed.
I got both, but honestly…how tone deaf does your employees need to be?
I fly on US airlines all the time, and my worst airline customer service experience is easily Air France. This list is automatically suspect if they made the list. Everyone I know who flies them hates them.
I fly business on air France quite often (usually Europe to/from south America) and their service, food, routes and reliability have been consistently the best experience I've had in comparison to all other airlines. Not to mention their amazing CDG business lounge.
Are you French? I'm a non-white American. Maybe that factors info it.
If you fly in the US, how would you compare them to Air France?
I recently flew a route that was half Delta and half Air France, and Delta was a lot better.
If you fly in the US, how would you compare them to Air France?
I recently flew a route that was half Delta and half Air France, and Delta was a lot better.
Not surprising. US airlines are pretty terrible. The aircraft are underwhelming and the staff are often rude. It’s like their attitude is you should feel happy they’ve let you fly on their plane today… barking orders at people and treating you like cattle. Transcontinental flights in wide body aircraft and you get a pack of crackers and a soda served with an attitude.
Delta is probably the best in the US. But those at the top of that list are in a whole different league of air travel, even in economy.
Delta is probably the best in the US. But those at the top of that list are in a whole different league of air travel, even in economy.
Reasonably regularly do long haul, and spent a number years in Canada doing NA flights. There is absolutely no surprise to this subject line :) Just flew Singapore and it's level of service, even in cattle class, is top notch. You're made to feel human again. When I get to North America (including Air Canada) my heart just sinks the minute I realise I'm about to board Delta/American/Air Canada etc....
I’ve basically decided that I’ll never fly public airlines again (for domestic flights).
Tesla FSD has made single day trips into nothing, and I recently bought an RV with starlink which makes major cross country trips obviously a better choice (to me) than airlines.
It’s not just the airlines themselves. It’s the airports. Everything feels just maximally engineered to extract the most money from me for the least cost. The food is terrible and expensive. The buildings are all neglected, government designed by committees monstrosities. There is no mind paid whatsoever to efficiency.
And it’s expensive! We were recenty flying and our two checked bags were over weight by about 5 lbs each. This cost is an extra $100 EACH bag. Insane. On a connecting flight we paid like $200 just to have a quick 45 minutes to sit down and change our baby, and have some amount of privacy and ability to lay down. (It was a “minute suite” which costs something like $100/hr. We booked two hours and were only able to use about 45 mins due to the size of the airport)
I hate it. Flying is the absolute worst experience and I hope to never do it again except for private flights.
Tesla FSD has made single day trips into nothing, and I recently bought an RV with starlink which makes major cross country trips obviously a better choice (to me) than airlines.
It’s not just the airlines themselves. It’s the airports. Everything feels just maximally engineered to extract the most money from me for the least cost. The food is terrible and expensive. The buildings are all neglected, government designed by committees monstrosities. There is no mind paid whatsoever to efficiency.
And it’s expensive! We were recenty flying and our two checked bags were over weight by about 5 lbs each. This cost is an extra $100 EACH bag. Insane. On a connecting flight we paid like $200 just to have a quick 45 minutes to sit down and change our baby, and have some amount of privacy and ability to lay down. (It was a “minute suite” which costs something like $100/hr. We booked two hours and were only able to use about 45 mins due to the size of the airport)
I hate it. Flying is the absolute worst experience and I hope to never do it again except for private flights.
It's not really surprising and for an expected reason. It's the same reason American airports aren't all that impressive compared to other ones internationally. It's because commercial flying in the US has existed for over 100 years - it is not elite anymore. Flights are relatively affordable for regular people and it is not a luxury.
Many of these other airlines are newer and serve a smaller amount of their population. They are still seen as luxury. The other side of this high-quality coin is that they are not accessible the same way north American flights are to north American customers.
Just like the first Tesla was a roadster for the rich that was used to start a company and fund expansion and cheapness, these airlines have started at the top-end for profit and expansion. But they do not serve everyone.
Airlines in the US used to be very classy. It became more profitable to serve broader, cheaper service.
What this means really is that unless the airlines are outliers for their particular region, they're actually representative of a gap that still has a ways to close.
Many of these other airlines are newer and serve a smaller amount of their population. They are still seen as luxury. The other side of this high-quality coin is that they are not accessible the same way north American flights are to north American customers.
Just like the first Tesla was a roadster for the rich that was used to start a company and fund expansion and cheapness, these airlines have started at the top-end for profit and expansion. But they do not serve everyone.
Airlines in the US used to be very classy. It became more profitable to serve broader, cheaper service.
What this means really is that unless the airlines are outliers for their particular region, they're actually representative of a gap that still has a ways to close.
Hard to believe that Qatar airlines could be the world's best airline. Despite having emerald status with one world we don't use Qatar airlines after the 2020 strip searches of all the women on a flight[0] to Australia.
I don't fly an enormous amount (6-10 long haul flights a year) but it's always interesting the things these lists go for. American and BA might not be the most comfortable experience, they might lose your baggage from time-to-time and their lounges can be a bit dated but when the chips are down boy do they have the best captains and crew.
Obviously when flying one hopes that things won't go wrong but if they do I'd rather be flying BA or American over Qatar thank you very much.
[0] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-australi...
I don't fly an enormous amount (6-10 long haul flights a year) but it's always interesting the things these lists go for. American and BA might not be the most comfortable experience, they might lose your baggage from time-to-time and their lounges can be a bit dated but when the chips are down boy do they have the best captains and crew.
Obviously when flying one hopes that things won't go wrong but if they do I'd rather be flying BA or American over Qatar thank you very much.
[0] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-australi...
This isn't really shocking.
US carriers seem to be hyperfocused on going as low as they could possibly go without having to resort to ultra-low-cost-carrier schemes of charging for literally everything. (They're almost there, though.)
US carriers seem to be hyperfocused on going as low as they could possibly go without having to resort to ultra-low-cost-carrier schemes of charging for literally everything. (They're almost there, though.)
Good thing of ultra-low costs airlines is that they are honest what they offer. Point to point flights with trade offs for the price. More would be nice, but you pick them for the price.
I flew to UAE on Emirates in coach. Definitely the best flying experience of my life. I would say it even beats out the couple times I flew AA first class domestic.
Yep, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar are top tier carriers. You will almost never have bad service with them, but if you do, they’ll always compensate you for your troubles.
Not always. Take care with these regressive states as Qatar forced females to undergo gynaecological exams a few years back.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/woman-s...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/woman-s...
Not sure how this is relevant. Was the airline even involved here? Or should we consider all invasive searches and investigations ever conducted in hub airports as part of airline quality?
They were on Qatar planes and removed from them to be searched/violated. They sued the airline and state (as mentioned in the link).
The owner of the airline and the family that rules the kingdom are the same, complicating the issue of responsibility. Their attitudes to women is fairly clear though.
A similar link.
https://www.mamamia.com.au/60-minutes-qatar/amp/
The owner of the airline and the family that rules the kingdom are the same, complicating the issue of responsibility. Their attitudes to women is fairly clear though.
A similar link.
https://www.mamamia.com.au/60-minutes-qatar/amp/
So in general, you’re saying that we should blame invasive procedures that take place in airports on the impacted airlines? Would you blame Lufthansa if the passengers happened to be removed from one of their planes in Qatar?
The fact that Qatar Airways is (majority?) owned by the Qatari government is a separate issue.
The fact that Qatar Airways is (majority?) owned by the Qatari government is a separate issue.
The airline were complicit in the view of the victims, as per the article and the lawsuit.
You’re still skirting the question. The victims (understandably) sued every party they could to maximize their chances. But being sued does not imply guilt.
Anyways, we’ve gone too far into the weeds here.
Anyways, we’ve gone too far into the weeds here.
I take reasonably any action taken by border agents in USA would be fault of any carrier flying there? Applying same standards. Like getting interrogated for a long time having your devices seized and searched. And so on...
The issue, if you live in "the west" and are going to "the east" on Qatar you will have to fly through Qatar.
I'll pay the extra and take the risk of slightly poorer service and slightly lower quality food.
I'll pay the extra and take the risk of slightly poorer service and slightly lower quality food.
And?
There is a lot of the world that isn't America...
Plenty of other countries not on the list too, what's it matter that an american airline is not specifically on the best list? You would expect due to the law of averages, there are a lot of things that an american version of wouldn't make the top, the same for any country, what significance does it have?
There is a lot of the world that isn't America...
Plenty of other countries not on the list too, what's it matter that an american airline is not specifically on the best list? You would expect due to the law of averages, there are a lot of things that an american version of wouldn't make the top, the same for any country, what significance does it have?
Not having a good airline in the richest country in the world is surprising to me.
Not in the list of the best, doesn't mean that the airlines aren't 'good' or 'good enough' though. Does America need to be in the list of best things for everything?
It's just an airline. A lot of these airlines from other countries operate a lot of flights in the US, who cares about their country of origin?
It's just an airline. A lot of these airlines from other countries operate a lot of flights in the US, who cares about their country of origin?
What is a 'good' airline, and who gets to define the standard of 'good'?
A good method would be to ask some people. Skytrax ‘conducted more than 14 million customer surveys in more than 100 countries between September 2021 to August 2022 to find out the world’s current favorite airline.’
The fact that Qantas is on this list when everyone in Australia knows they are a shitshow right now makes this list a joke.
Qantas is a national embarrassment right now, and Alan Joyce is in serious denial about that.
You've obviously not experienced US domestic air travel then
I love flying in Singapore airlines.
Also like air New Zealand and China Airlines (after I found out it’s Taiwan not China owned, never flew on it prior to finding that out)
Also like air New Zealand and China Airlines (after I found out it’s Taiwan not China owned, never flew on it prior to finding that out)
Big fan of Air New Zealand ever since the Spaceseats, which I loved and the flight staff hated. But the service is good and the food is decent, and even with the AKL stopover I'll always pick them over Qantas flying to SYD. Pity it's Star Alliance, so when I'm flying domestic I have to deal with United if I want the points.
Air NZ business class is kinda weird. Staff is a bid rural too. Depends of what you like I suppose.
I just wish these rankings were separate between economy and business. I don't care about service much, heck just let me lay down and sleep on a floor.
Flying with small kids Singapore is amazing. Everything is priority - boarding, immigration, business-class like service, free seats where infant beds are (bulkheads or whatever its called). Very very much impressed, even when most airlines are very forgiving and understanding when flying with little ones.
I just wish these rankings were separate between economy and business. I don't care about service much, heck just let me lay down and sleep on a floor.
Flying with small kids Singapore is amazing. Everything is priority - boarding, immigration, business-class like service, free seats where infant beds are (bulkheads or whatever its called). Very very much impressed, even when most airlines are very forgiving and understanding when flying with little ones.
> Staff is a bid rural too
What does that mean? As someone who lives in rural New Zealand that sounds classist.
What does that mean? As someone who lives in rural New Zealand that sounds classist.
That’s kinda a compliment. Coming from a small Eastern European I’m surprised how handy and clever kiwis are. Ton of them did farm work, knows their way around cars, tools, etc. Living in rural NZ is pretty luxurious too.
That said rural is just slang for simplicity. In middle eastern airlines stewardess almost bow to you, while Air NZ they kick pillows on the floor and having a loud laugh in the back.
That said rural is just slang for simplicity. In middle eastern airlines stewardess almost bow to you, while Air NZ they kick pillows on the floor and having a loud laugh in the back.
One thing to note: top three airlines are from autocratic or semi-autocratic countries that have thin lines separating them from government.
Internet is partially to blame. Most flight searches are ranked by price and if an airline is $5 more expensive, they likely won't even show up on the first page. They're rewarded for lower price, not for better service. Wrong incentives. Better metrics like "value for money" etc could fix that problem and incentivize US airlines to provide better service.
Whatever little I have traveled locally in US and internationally most hassle-some part is navigating airports and immigration counters. Airlines did not make much difference to me. Also I think traveling in economy class make for similar experience as no airline could care much about cattle class passengers.
While it’s no surprise, why is this the case? The cost of employees is just that much higher in the US so that it’s hard to get good employees while cutting cost? I honestly doubt it’s a cultural thing that makes US airlines have bad air service.
> The cost of employees is just that much higher in the US so that it’s hard to get good employees while cutting cost?
Is it higher? Minimum wage is pretty low, holiday and sick leave requirements low and employee protections weak compared to where I live.
Is it higher? Minimum wage is pretty low, holiday and sick leave requirements low and employee protections weak compared to where I live.
Competition and regulation in America isn’t aligned in a way that results in high quality airline service.
Whenever I fly East I opt for Singapore Airlines. I am not surprised that they rank #2 in the world. For me hands down the nicest airline which really focuses on delivering quality and it shows in everything they do.
This is not news and not surprising at all. American airlines suck.
<sarcasm>Ryanair didn't make it?</sarcasm>
Honestly, travelling in Europe, Ryanair is my preference over most regional airlines. I've never had any issues with them other than the awful seats. I get a second carry on bag, and as long as its roughly the right size, they don't care and aren't usually strict about it. For short-haul trips, their in-flight service is good enough.
Ryanair fly a lot more flights than many other airlines in europe, and get proportionally more complaints, meaning you hear them more often. They're actually not all that bad. They make you jump through hoops to get refunded sometimes, but that hasn't been as bad in recent years (and I've dealt with worse; I'm looking at you Aer Lingus).
Ryanair fly a lot more flights than many other airlines in europe, and get proportionally more complaints, meaning you hear them more often. They're actually not all that bad. They make you jump through hoops to get refunded sometimes, but that hasn't been as bad in recent years (and I've dealt with worse; I'm looking at you Aer Lingus).
Pretty much agree if you spend time to read fine print... Wasn't able to book them with adblocker (same with Vueling fwiw and Wizzair charges 10 euro extra if you use one). Must print boarding pass unless you use their app (which isn't available in all app stores). Accidentally bought checked baggage instead of cabin...
In some cases it can be like 10x cheaper esp if you choose to fly with layover. In others - they've won the monopoly (via price dumping) on the route and now charge insane prices.
Worst of it are the passengers. Just last week I saw a group downing a 1L bottle of bourbon at 10AM in airport and another one while on the plane.
In some cases it can be like 10x cheaper esp if you choose to fly with layover. In others - they've won the monopoly (via price dumping) on the route and now charge insane prices.
Worst of it are the passengers. Just last week I saw a group downing a 1L bottle of bourbon at 10AM in airport and another one while on the plane.
> Must print boarding pass unless you use their app (which isn't available in all app stores).
I use their app these days, but they've accepted PDF versions for me in the past, as long as their scanner can read the bar code.
> Just last week I saw a group downing a 1L bottle of bourbon at 10AM in airport and another one while on the plane.
Ah, you're flying from the UK I take it. (/s)
I use their app these days, but they've accepted PDF versions for me in the past, as long as their scanner can read the bar code.
> Just last week I saw a group downing a 1L bottle of bourbon at 10AM in airport and another one while on the plane.
Ah, you're flying from the UK I take it. (/s)
Easyjet I can get behind, but Ryanair is very much in my “would rather not go than get in their plane” category - much like Spirit.
Maybe you’ve had bad experiences with them in the past, but I haven’t so far (other than seats and refunds as I mentioned). I’d suggest giving them another shot if you have a chance and they’re cheaper (maybe try a shorter flight first). Post-pandemic I’ve found them pretty pleasant to fly with.
With these routes, you have travelers that are less penny-pinching cost conscious, with lots of business travelers and wealthy travelers that can pay more for better service. Plus, many of these airlines (like Qatar) have relatively cheap labor costs.
With American carriers, I'd assume the lions share of their traffic is domestic, where you have a family traveling to grandma and grandpa's house, who'll get a ticket for 5 dollars cheaper even if it means you have to pay extra to use the bathroom. And since many of these flights are in the 2-4 hour range, a lot of travelers feel like they'll "suck up the pain" for a discount if the flight is that short, vs. someone on a 12 hour transatlantic flight.
This isn't just a US issue - think of the European carriers who primarily fly within Europe. Nobody has great love for Ryanair, besides the fact that it's so damn cheap.