Spirit! Sure, other airlines might offer better amenities and cushier seats, but when it comes to short-haul flights, Spirit is hard to beat. Spirit also has one of the lowest records for flight delays in the industry. My secret to a good Spirit trip? I usually sit near the back, more often than not, I end up with the whole row to myself. I’ve never understood why people get so anxious about boarding first. We're all going to the same place, and unless you're sprinting off the plane to get to baggage claim, the front seats aren't that big of a deal.
That said, I wouldn't recommend Spirit for flights longer than about 3.5 hours if you can avoid it. After that point, the seats start to feel less “no-frills” and more “no-feeling.” Your butt will notice, and your mood might suffer. Delta is comfier for long haul flights.
One more tip: avoid checking bags when flying budget. Travel light and save yourself the hassle (and fees).
No real preference, I just go with whatever I can get the cheapest deals. However I will say that I loved my one experience going to Norway on Scandinavian Airlines. Maybe it was because it was international, but the seats even in the "cheap" area were comfy and I enjoyed the meals and snacks they provided along with the movies/shows I watched on the way. It would be nice if one day I could afford the fancy "seats" with the beds way in the front.
Spirit
Flew Cathay pacific back like 93 on a super long flight.
Economy but everything was top notch service wise and the food was way better than it should have been.
Haven't had any bad experiences flying, most are just 'meh'. Flown delta, thai air, turkmenistan airlines, asiana, eastern china, air india, northwest, alaskan and jetblue. Have been using Asiana a lot but my most recent trip to india one leg had us fly KLM which was awesome. Not as good as Cathay Pacific of the 90s but it was up there.
I meantion that Cathay pacific flight was in the 90s because it's been a long time and I have no idea how their service is now.
Spirit is the GOAT! I love the adrenaline rush of knowing whether or not I'll survive an hour long flight.
@LadyGenesis The issue with sitting near the back of the plane is you do have to wait a while to get off. When I sit near the back I have to wait a good 15-20 minutes because everyone and their kids brought four carryon suitcases and people are scrambling trying to find all their bags that got mixed in the overhead compartment. This is problematic when you have a layover that starts boarding 15 minutes after you land. I’m guessing spirit doesn’t have this issue as much because of how much you have to pay for carry on luggage
@sin67 - I love Cathay Pacific. SFO to Hong Kong was one of the best flights I've ever had, complete with pajamas in first class and a bathroom with a shower.
In the US, Alaska Air is my go-to.
Window seat, always. Preemptive apologies to my seatmates for having the world's smallest bladder.
I tend to just get the most direct route regardless of minor fluctuations in cost or quality. My destination is the experience, so I just want to spend the least amount of time on the plane and hope I'm by the window. I care more about the airport and hotel. I guess my perspective would change quickly if my flights were longer. (I've only flown between FL, IL, MA, and SC)
Doesn’t matter to me. A little 420 before the flight and I sleep through it all…including the possible sidetrack to the ground if something goes wrong. I crash before the crash.
Booked a first class ticket for the very first time for a Delta flight in June. I thought Comfort+ would be enough but it wasn’t, especially if you fly on an older aircraft taking you to a smaller airport. Comfort+ has the leg room but not the arm room and sometimes it doesn’t have that much more leg room than basic economy. Meanwhile I’m watching what’s going on in first class longing to be seated up there.
I fly a lot and based on where I live I have to fly American a lot and I try to stay with them to maintain my status. This year I started flying United and Delta a bit more and had good experiences on both. For me it's also about the lounges and the Admirals Club beats the Polaris Lounges.
We shouldn't be talking about loyalty to corporations.
Alaska and American were my go to's. But so glad I don't fly that much any more. Those weekly flights for a dozen years took a toll on me. I seem to be much healthier these days.
Enjoy your timeout. -Hugs, Stormy
Jet Blue is pretty nice too
More embarrassing than horror , but when TSA peep tells you to leave your laptop in your bag. Then when the bin comes out the other side you freak out cause you can’t see your laptop anywhere cause it’s in the laptop bag ! 🤣
+1 to @gem7 on Alaska & American airlines. If Alaska airlines flew everywhere that I wanted to travel, I'd fly exclusively with them. But they don't fly everywhere, so AA is my second choice.
I avoid the no-frills airlines, as the passenger behavior on some of them is ... well, reprehensible
Flew first class on Delta this past weekend, which was my first time ever flying first class, and…..I’m now spoiled rotten and am never flying economy again even if it’s $1000 cheaper. I mean, big cushy chair, plenty of leg AND arm room, complementary on-flight meal that’s actually decent, free alcoholic beverages, and a designated flight attendant. No longer is it a massive hassle to get out of my seat to use the lavatory and NO middle seat! Also don’t have to get to the airport super early (although I still do).
Oh my gosh! 😳. We get to keep our shoes on now !!!! Shine on me sunshine, Walk with me world, Its a skip-a-dee-doo-dah day! 🤗🤣
🕘💲 I fly whatever time of day makes the most sense, and is cheapest for that particular trip.
🌃 🌄 Window seat, always. I adore flying at night over big cities. Flying over mountains at sunrise/sunset or in daylight is gorgeous.
💺🙉 After losing weight, I don't mind what size the seats are, and I'm too short for legroom to matter. I always use the restroom shortly before takeoff, so I rarely need to, in-flight, but it doesn't bother me if I do. Worst part of that is how loud the whoosh is. I always plug my ears.
🎞📱🫂🎡 If I'm flying more than three hours, I'll watch an in-flight movie or pay for wi-fi, but usually I just snuggle with my boyfriend, and make plans for the trip.
🛌 Worst experience...our own fault, we got talking to this woman on a different flight whose father was on his deathbed, and she was afraid she wouldn't make it to see him in time. As we were apparently engrossed in comforting her, we missed all announcements for our flight, and completely missed it. By the time I realized, the plane was already gone from the gate. 🤣 We wound up sleeping for five hours on the airport floor, catching a flight in the middle of the night, and spontaneously driving an hour and a half to see the sunrise hit Garden of the Gods, at dawn. Saw a bobcat, too... 🐾 So I'm gonna say it all worked out in the end. Sure hope that lady was able to say goodbye to her father.
💳 Best experience was volunteering to take a flight two hours later at Christmas time, and getting $2,000 bucks on Visa for it!
~ Sunset Snuggles
🌀 P.S. I think turbulence adds to the flight. 😄
🫂 Enthusiast 🐄 Vegan 🫧 Kid at Heart
Glad I started flying Delta more and more. Crews have been consistently nice, planes are fine. JetBlue has become less consistent in many areas, and are cutting routes like crazy. Curacao is my favorite Caribbean island, and JetBlue just chopped their JFK-->CUR route.
@OhioMike right when I started doing TSA precheck too!
I hope they drop the liquids requirement next or at least loosen the restrictions. I want to be able to bring my own water past TSA instead - I always bring a gallon of spring water with me everywhere I go, and the water they sell at airports is $7-10 and it’s not even real water. Some people suggest using the fountains but not every airport has them and the ones that do some don’t even have good water. It’s even more ridiculous when you fly back into the US at a layover airport and they want you to drop off all your fluids that you bought AT THE AIRPORT YOU CAME FROM
@OhioMike i wonder if anyone ever correlated taking shoes off air filthy airports with incidence of athletes foot…
Nah. They probably focused on how ticked off it made everyone.
So glad to hear this is being rolled back!
@lovingspoonfull yeah I just couldn’t do the bare feet thing at airports ! 😳
@disneysamurai Yes, confiscating liquids because they could be explosives and then tossing them in a big bin next to a very large group of people because they could be explosives.
@SunsetSnuggles. I agree about the turbulence. I can only sleep on a flight if there's turbulence. Something about the rocking puts me right out. 💤
I was flying with my parents one trip & the flight attendant asked if I'd be willing to give up my seat for a family that wanted to sit together. I said "sure". They gave me a $50 voucher & a free alcoholic drink on my flight. I ended up in the middle seat between 2 men on a business trip. They chatted me up the whole flight. I normally hate that but it made the time fly by, unintended pun. 😋 The caveat was that they announced it over the loud speaker & they made everyone clap for me for giving up my seat. 😳The last thing an introvert wants is for everybody to be staring at them. 🤦 I wanted to disappear! The 2 men next to me started congratulating me & calling me a celebrity. It was awful. 🙈
When the arrival & departure times aren't what I need I will fly two different airlines coming & going. It's also dependent on the duration & stops. I used to be an expert at getting the best price for international flights.
Locally Southwest used to be my go to but now they are charging for baggage! They are like everyone else now. 🤷 American is the other airline I usually fly.
@disneysamurai hey, precheck is still worth it - dont have to take off belt, dont have to pull liquids out of bag, dont have to go through body scanner, and the line is almost always MUCH shorter.
I recall one July morning at DFW where it took approx 30 minutes to get through the regular TSA line. My relative was through the precheck line in abiut 5 minutes and waiting for me. Decided that day that the $85 was worth it for five years of fewer hassles.
I do find it amusing that paying that $85 tax somehow makes you less of a security risk. I wonder what the tax would be to bypass TSA entirely? (Oh, that's right, a private charter)
I do find it amusing that paying that $85 tax somehow makes you less of a security risk.
I understand what you are saying but all your fingers are printed and a criminal background check is performed for that price as well. So there is a modicum of security assurances to it. But yes, what stops a terrorist without a record from getting through?
@TheFunCartel Yep. My TSA approval came back within 24 hours of having my fingerprints submitted, so how thorough could that background check actually be?
Plenty of violent criminals have had a perfectly clean criminal record until they actually got caught and convicted of something, so yes, there's surely no shortage of terrorists who have no criminal records either.
I don’t know if Global Entry is more thorough. I remember having to pay more for it and doing an interview with a federal agent at the airport. It was quite a process but so nice to just be able to come back into the US and be waived through customs.