Transcon on the Legacy Carriers
I’m just thinking about making that trip to Portland. The cheapest flight is on Delta for $304, followed by United for $403. jetBlue comes in at $419. This assumes June 14-18.
Here is the thing about flying the legacy carriers: they suck. True, they have more extensive networks and have a better chance of rerouting you if there is some type of irregularity or cancellation. That’s about all they have going for them. Their transcon service sucks. The companies have terrible employee relations, thus the employees are cranky, bitter, and surly.
Southwest’s fare (from Providence) would be over $500 and they have no legroom. And with the way they do boarding, I have no guarantees that I won’t be stuck in a center seat in the back of the plane from Chicago to Portland. I’ll pass, thank you.
jetBlue has new aircraft that are clean with plenty of leg room. Their crews are consistently friendly. At least that’s what everybody is saying about jetBlue. Well, everybody except the few hundred who had a bad experience a few weeks ago in New York.
In a few weeks, I’m heading to Phoenix for work. That will be my first transcon flight on jetBlue. That’s when I’ll decide if they get my Portland trip, too. They already have my San Francisco trip and I’m still exicted about that.
If you read what people are saying about American, it’s not pretty. Their employees are the worst and the aircraft are old and dirty. If you want decent service on American, you need to pay for their premium transcon service.
I seriously believe that US Airways will continue to improve. America West had been known for outstanding service, and I think that will start to rub off on the former USAir people. DUI charges aside, Doug Parker knows how to lead his people.
Delta isn’t a bad carrier and I hear good things about Continental.
This rant originally had a purpose. But at the moment, I really don’t recall what it was.
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