Originally Posted By Mr X Yeah, I pretty much agree. Although recently I have chosen to fly Continental over several other choices which were slightly less expensive. The main reasons were for the entertainment in coach (unavailable on the other carriers) and the fact that I could fly into Newark which was close to my final destination of Boston. However I've never paid more (significantly more) for ANA or JAL even though I'd imagine they have much better food and service.
Originally Posted By Mr X ＊＊and the fact that I could fly into Newark＊＊ To elaborate a bit, I've pretty much always had the option to connect via LAX for a SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper price but, no freakin way. To me, that's TWO long flights instead of one. I just LOVE getting on that Boston connection and hearing the pilot mention "our total flying time today will be 38 minutes".
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I wonder how they'll end up doing though. Looks like another, similar upstart Maxjet has just hit the skids! <a href="http://www.maxjet.com" target="_blank">http://www.maxjet.com</a> >>> I was just going to post about that, but you beat me to it. I too really like the idea of discount int'l premium-cabin airlines. Running a discount airline seems to be more difficult than running a full service one for some strange reason, if the rate at which they fail is any indication. <<< <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3c3mqy" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/3c3mqy</a> >>> Regarding eos, I wish them luck. I notice that they fly between New York JFK and London Stansted. Many budget airlines fly out of Stansted in London because it's cheaper than Heathrow or Gatwick, but it offers limited connection possibilities. So, they're essentially limiting themselves to people originating or terminating in London rather than getting some business from people connecting to/from points beyond. Another problem with discount airlines is they generally speaking don't "interline" with other carriers, which means that you can't buy a ticket that has segments on the budget airline and another airline, nor are you able to check bags all the way through to your final destination. This again cuts down on the possibilities for connecting passengers, although the model has worked wonderfully for Southwest for US domestic travel. So, I think that limits eos to people that want to fly Business Class between London and NYC. If any market could support such an airline, that would probably be it. I think that what operations like eos could end up doing is finally break down the pricing structure that the major carriers charge for their long-haul routes in the premium cabins. There's already evidence that this is happening for NYC-LON. Many of the majors fought this sort of thing kicking and screaming in the US domestic market until Delta forced everyone's hand by doing it unilaterally. And now a few years later, you can actually buy a US domestic first class ticket for a reasonable price, and the airlines are actually selling rather than upgrading far more than they did before. And the carriers that were losing money before tend to still be doing so, and the ones making money before tend to still be doing so. Whether this can be translated to international flights on a large scale remains to be seen.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Cathay employ very youthful beautiful attendants. >>> And you never know where you'll run into one! I was very surprised to do so in an elevator at the Anaheim Hilton. She must have been checking out (as she was going to the lobby with her luggage) and heading to the airport to work a flight to Hong Kong, as I saw her meet a group of her co-workers. I was surprised that they would house them at a hotel so far away from the airport, but perhaps it's a perk to be able to go to Disneyland for the couple of days they're there.
Originally Posted By The Goddess Mara Still can't afford a first or even business-class ticket anyplace!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I just don't understand why people have such strong disdain or preferences for that matter for one airline over another. >>> It all depends on the situation. Flying from LA to Tokyo in coach, there probably isn't much difference other than the entertainment options and politeness of the crew: all of the flights will be on wide-body aircraft, all will depart and arrive at the same time of day more or less. But even that's assuming you go non-stop. A connection in Vancouver was mentioned as a possibility, and that will add several hours and some amount of hassle to the trip. For other trips, there's all sorts of things that make a big difference: time of day options, relative length of segments (as Mr X points out, this can be a big deal in certain situations), frequent flyer affiliations, and for premium cabin travel, the seating and other amenities vary dramatically. <<< All I need is for some company to take me safely to another place and back without yelling at me or losing my luggage. When I travel I care about my destination and the splendors that await and not how I get there >>> On this point we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm kind of an air travel fanboy, so the journey itself is an important part of the trip for me, not just the destination. I like the hustle and bustle of the airport, watching all of the other people, and the flight itself. On occasion, I'll pick a route and carrier just to experience some unusual situation that I've not had before. And you can't discount the value of the freeloader miles, especially if you use them for upgrades. But I do see your point: if your main issue is price, and you don't particularly enjoy the journey or entertainment options, then they're all about the same in terms of comfort and safety (when flying to/from a US airport).
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Still can't afford a first or even business-class ticket anyplace! >>> You need to learn the art of the freeload!
Originally Posted By barboy "What makes all the Disneylands/MK around the world different? They all pretty much use the same layouts designed by WDI, lots of the same attractions, Disney trained CMs, same or similar merchandise, etc. " That is very true, BUT there is a pretty big reason why I am terribly discerning about Disney parks but for the most part don't give a hoot about the different airlines: I don't associate flying with anything other than transportation or getting me to my vacation. For example, I took the BART train to Oakland 2 weeks ago to see Van Halen and had an awesome time, just a mind blowing amount of fun but it didn't matter to me whether BART was clean, dirty, fast or slow or came every 5 minutes or 10..... I just didn't care but I absolutely cared about my proximity to the stage, if Diamond Dave would deliver on key or if my favorite songs would be performed.
Originally Posted By The Goddess Mara I'd love to learn the art of free-loading. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Forgot to add, earlier, that one of the benefits of flying on United is that as a Premier Exec I get to sit in a zone at the front of the economy cabin which has another half a foot of space between you and the seat ahead of you. It's not a lot of space, but it makes a big difference on a long flight.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I'd love to learn the art of free-loading. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Forgot to add, earlier, that one of the benefits of flying on United is that as a Premier Exec I get to sit in a zone at the front of the economy cabin which has another half a foot of space between you and the seat ahead of you. >>> Do you pay more money for the extra space? As a PremEx, I don't think so. So, you're already freeloading. And if you fly enough to be PremEx, then you have enough miles to spend on an upgrade to business class, and I think that UA allows mileage upgrades from any paid economy fare. So you should have no problems sitting in business class if you want to and not have to pay $10,000 to do so.
Originally Posted By Mr X **I don't associate flying with anything other than transportation or getting me to my vacation.** Some do, some don't. For me, flying is a really cool thing that we are able to do pretty regularly...over the course of history we're pretty much the first generation (okay, well 4th or 5th now) to be able to do so. Flying through the clouds (my last flight we were sort of skimming over the tops of the clouds for 5 minutes or so, giving a great sensation of our real traveling speed), the views, etc., all are very fun for me. Others are like "meh". Which I can understand. I don't get hyped about riding on a bus (a bullet train, though...lotsa fun). I must say though that the business class experience, from start to finish, does make the journey seem so much more elaborate and exciting. From enjoying the lounge to sitting down and being offered pre-flight champagne or orange juice, to actually being COMFORTABLE lol, all add something for me. But I do agree that coach is just coach, pretty much. Ditto for short-haul first class, I wouldn't pay extra for THAT tiny slice of nothing.
Originally Posted By barboy To make a confession here: if I were on a USA coast-to-coast flight or even more so a trip over the Pacific with a 1st class seating and a state of the art plane with individual monitors where one can pick his own movie lineup, then I would very much appreciate it--- that would be quite nice!(But I won't pay another $300 on up for it).
Originally Posted By barboy "I like the hustle and bustle of the airport, watching all of the other people," Ya, I got to say I find myself people watching all the time at international airports--- there are people from all over the globe walking around and it is really quite a cool spectacle looking at all of the ethnicities and culturally based garb/jewelries/hair styles. What is interesting to me also is the planes are pretty much all the same, the crews have more or less the same type of training and skills but each airport is dramatically different from another--- there is no "standard"--- every airport has its unique layout or configuration which keeps me on my toes; it's fun!
Originally Posted By The Goddess Mara As a Premier Exec, or even just a Premier, you don't pay extra for Economy Plus. However, the economy fares I get often don't allow for upgrades. If they do, then the upgrade is often $1500 to $2000 PLUS lots of miles. I'd rather sit in Economy Plus and have a few more vacations than pay the extra money and miles.
Originally Posted By barboy "I can't believe you wouldn't prefer JAL over NWA. I sure would!" Well X, now I see why you and the gang on here feel the way you do. Before I made it clear that all airlines are pretty much the same to me and that I basically couldn't discern one from another. JAPAN AIR ROCKS! All passengers get: A.unlimited French wine B.unlimited beer C.continuous and perfect service up and down the aisles D.personalized movie and music lineup with state of the art screens and sound. E.access to an area where ice-cream sandwiches, nuts, chips ect. and all drinks are lined up for those who want to stretch legs and stand for some self service and conversation with other passengers---- great for long flights. Ok, it's official now----- I definitely do have a preference of carriers.
Originally Posted By schnebs I remember flying JAL on my first (non-Navy) visit to Japan. I was really impressed by the amenities and the level of service, so I had a look at JAL's airfares when I was shopping for tickets. Yikes!!!
Originally Posted By Mr X Yeah...unfortunately the Japanese airlines charge a hefty premium. Otherwise, I'd always use them (ANA is excellent as well, I had the opportunity to fly twice on ANA while on business). I flew Japan Airlines to Okinawa once though (as well as JAS on the way back) and it was nothing special.
Originally Posted By ernieb <All passengers get: A.unlimited French wine B.unlimited beer C.continuous and perfect service up and down the aisles D.personalized movie and music lineup with state of the art screens and sound. E.access to an area where ice-cream sandwiches, nuts, chips ect. and all drinks are lined up for those who want to stretch legs and stand for some self service and conversation with other passengers---- great for long flights.. OMG OMG OMG i love this im going in summer to japan and for a month obviously also to Tokyo Disneyland for 5 days seems like the flight will be awesome yes im going in JAL
Originally Posted By Mr X Barboy, are you describing business class or economy? I read it as economy until I re-read the "personalized movie and music)...that's something I've only seen offered in the Business Class cabin before. Just wondering (if true, that's awesome, and especially cool for ernieb lol).
Originally Posted By barboy I'm talking economy---- and the personalized movie and music was limited but still you get to choose which you want to play (maybe 15 to 20 movies and I didn't really check out the music selections but from what little I saw it looked like several choices were available). Japan Air whenever possible will be my battle cry--- that company has their stuff together!
