Favourite airlines

[zak]

I have a serious soft spot for Ryanair, although try to avoid them now if possible as i can afford to these days.

 

I went to University in Dublin (UCD) but my family live in London and without ryanair i would not have been able to fly between the 2.

 

Just checked and i got 3 sets of return flights for 12 euro total including taxes and fees. Thats 6 euro a flight or 36euro for all 6 flights.

 

I lived in Dublin for 5 years and probably spend an average of £30 - £40 a flight over that period.

 

So thank you Ryanair, you were amazing and i appreciate what you did for me.

[Villaphan04]

 

Washington (CNN)The Justice Department has sent subpoenas to several major airlines as part of an investigation into "possible unlawful coordination" to limit capacity increases, and thereby keeping ticket prices high, a department spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The department sent civil investigative demand letters to airlines on Tuesday, Justice spokeswoman Emily Pierce said.

At issue is whether different airlines are coordinating to keep capacity -- the number of seats available on planes -- stable, having the effect of keeping ticket prices high.

How the airlines have coordinated isn't immediately clear, but among the evidence that investigators is considering includes public comments by airline executives and industry analysts.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

DOJ sends subpoenas to airlines over ticket prices 01:09

PLAY VIDEO

In recent years, the Justice Department allowed two major airline mergers to take place -- including United and Continental, as well as American and U.S. Airways. Industry groups have cited the merging of airlines as an example of the business has gotten tougher for consumers.

"If not for the radical consolidation we have seen in the airline industry in the last few years, we probably would not even be having this conversation. Now that four carriers control 85 percent of domestic routes, 'collusion' is a thought that's constantly going to be in the back of the minds of federal regulators," U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said in a statement.

A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the airline has received a letter from the DOJ "and we are complying with their requests."

American Airlines said they also had received notice from the Justice Department.

"We welcome the review ... Demand has been enabled by a robust and competitive marketplace in which capacity has been added and average fares have decreased," a spokesperson for American Airlines said. "We will cooperate fully with the investigation and demonstrate that the last two years have presented an entirely new competitive landscape that has greatly benefited air travel consumers."

A spokesperson from Southwest Airlines confirmed receiving notice from Justice and said, "We'll cooperate fully in answering any questions the (Justice Department) has of us."

JetBlue said they have not been contacted for the investigation.

The Associated Press first reported on the Justice Department investigation.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/01/politics/doj-subpoenas-airlines-unlawful-coordination/

 

As it was an airline thread thought I would pop this up.

[Dr_Pangloss]

United are an absolute disgrace

[Xela]

Flying Qatar in November.

Interested to see how good they are. About £50 cheaper than Emirates and better flight times back. 

[villa4europe]

when i looked at qatar before they seemed to offer crazy short transfers, from memory it was like 50 minutes and i just didnt fancy it

flew with aero mexico in march and was expecting something a bit ropey, pleasantly surprised, lots of room and very good service (if if they did have the old fashioned TVs dropping down from the overhead bins)

[tonyh29]

On 22/08/2018 at 19:19, Xela said:

Flying Qatar in November.

Interested to see how good they are. About £50 cheaper than Emirates and better flight times back. 

I flew them from Kathmandu - Qatar - LHR , got a crazy price for business think i paid £400  .. it was an economy fare I'd booked on Skyscanner with an upgrade that I found one their web site

quality wise (seat , cabin , food etc ) they aren't a patch on Emirates  but at £400 I wasn't complaining

Also flew my first ever dream-liner with them when I went Doha to Kuwait , was about 8 of us on the plane so it felt like a semi private jet , never drunk so much tea on a flight , alas no alcohol on that route

 

are you off to Doha or using it as a Hub for a longer flight ?

 

[blandy]

On 22/08/2018 at 19:19, Xela said:

Flying Qatar in November.

Interested to see how good they are. About £50 cheaper than Emirates and better flight times back. 

They're pretty damn good. I've flown with them a lot.

edit, I suppose to be fair it was all  business class, so it should be..

[Xela]

On 22/08/2018 at 20:56, villa4europe said:

when i looked at qatar before they seemed to offer crazy short transfers, from memory it was like 50 minutes and i just didnt fancy it

I've seen those short transfer times as well but for me its 2.5hrs on way and 1.5hrs on way back 

 

On 24/08/2018 at 11:18, tonyh29 said:

are you off to Doha or using it as a Hub for a longer flight ?

Jolly Boys reunion in Bangkok for a few days then off somewhere else (not sure yet - need to check the options form BKK)

[One For The Road]

As someone who makes around 70 flights a year all over the world, and in various cabins. Here is my breakdown:

Best Airlines

First Class: Singapore/Emirates/Etihad (The latter has huge suites, Emirates have showers, albeit just for 5 mins per person)

Business Class: Qatar/Singapore (Both amazing and far better than Emirates at this class, with the cabin having far fewer seats and the service being a step above)

Economy Class Long Haul: Qatar

Economy Class Short Haul: Eurowings/BA

 

Worst Airlines:

First Class: BA (For the cost it isn't anywhere near its competitors)

Business Class: Thai (Appaling service and cramped cabin. Like a glorified economy class)

Economy short Haul: Ryan Air (By far!)

Economy Long Haul: Any American carrier/Air France/Air India

Edited September 22, 2018 by One For The Road

[TOTTI-THE-GOD]

Was wondering if anyone has flown British Airways economy as we've booked a flight with them to Orlando next year and got an absolute bargain off them . Basically managed to get 4 of us to Orlando in August with car hire for just over £3100 .

[tonyh29]

2 hours ago, TOTTI-THE-GOD said:

Was wondering if anyone has flown British Airways economy as we've booked a flight with them to Orlando next year and got an absolute bargain off them . Basically managed to get 4 of us to Orlando in August with car hire for just over £3100 .

will be a 777 so unlikely you'll be in a 4 as it's a 3-3-3 configuration in economy ..which may or may not matter

Seatguru will give you an idea of the layout ..alas BA will charge you to pre-select different seats  ...

[villa4europe]

On 22/09/2018 at 01:54, One For The Road said:

Economy Class Short Haul: Eurowings

really?? 

i fly with them once or twice a month, mainly from brum, they are never, and i mean never, on time, I've taken them for £850 in compensation this year

[One For The Road]

13 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

really?? 

i fly with them once or twice a month, mainly from brum, they are never, and i mean never, on time, I've taken them for £850 in compensation this year

I've never, ever had a problem with them. They are also much nicer planes than the other airlines that do the same routes and with much more leg room.

Flybe use tiny narrow propellers for the hop to Germany and it's really claustrophobic on them. Ryan Air are the worlds worst airline and Easy Jet are just too orange.

[villa4europe]

1 hour ago, One For The Road said:

I've never, ever had a problem with them. They are also much nicer planes than the other airlines that do the same routes and with much more leg room.

Flybe use tiny narrow propellers for the hop to Germany and it's really claustrophobic on them. Ryan Air are the worlds worst airline and Easy Jet are just too orange.

yeah i try and avoid flybe on the germany route (even worse, you're right the planes are always the narrow ones, no seat picking during online check in which eurowings do) would also say that if you do get in trouble with eurowings then lufthansa get involved and they have a wealth of options 

ryanair i flew with to morocco last week, flight out there was a newer model and a good experience, flight home was the ryanair i remember...they're also changing their baggage T&Cs probably because they know everyone is now hand luggage only, they're charging for the standard hand luggage sized bag, the only thing free now is a hand bag

easy jet i honestly cant remember the last time i used them, are they even on skyscanner?

[TOTTI-THE-GOD]

18 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

will be a 777 so unlikely you'll be in a 4 as it's a 3-3-3 configuration in economy ..which may or may not matter

Seatguru will give you an idea of the layout ..alas BA will charge you to pre-select different seats  ...

Looks like it's a 3-3-3 on the way out and a 3-4-3 on the way back as BA are changing their layouts . Thanks for the info though.

[jackbauer24]

Are airlines/ticketing getting worse for 'clickbait'?!

I've travelled a fair bit and have never had an experience like I've bern having lately. I'm aware even the main carriers are now hiding luggage costs as an extra (long haul) but what's really annoying is the 'this fare is no longer available' screen i have gotten SIX times in last week. And the increases are always significant. 

Expedia - your trip has now gone up x amount (no dithering/holding on, just search, click buy)

Virgin Atlantic - find route, add main cabin, put details in, pay with card... Your fare has increased 50-100% do you agree?...!

Delta (linked to above company I assume) - as above and different routes/days. Even select from plentiful seats on this one. Fare has gone up...

Is this getting more and more common? I'm searching in private browser just in case the whole cookies thing is true! You'd think dealing with main airlines direct this shouldn't happen.

[KHV]

On 08/10/2018 at 15:05, One For The Road said:

I've never, ever had a problem with them. They are also much nicer planes than the other airlines that do the same routes and with much more leg room.

Flybe use tiny narrow propellers for the hop to Germany and it's really claustrophobic on them. Ryan Air are the worlds worst airline and Easy Jet are just too orange.

I hate Ryan Air. I point blank refuse to book anything with them, I will happily pay more money for flights if it avoids having anything to do with that tinpot outfit.

[KHV]

On 08/10/2018 at 16:13, villa4europe said:

yeah i try and avoid flybe on the germany route (even worse, you're right the planes are always the narrow ones, no seat picking during online check in which eurowings do) would also say that if you do get in trouble with eurowings then lufthansa get involved and they have a wealth of options 

ryanair i flew with to morocco last week, flight out there was a newer model and a good experience, flight home was the ryanair i remember...they're also changing their baggage T&Cs probably because they know everyone is now hand luggage only, they're charging for the standard hand luggage sized bag, the only thing free now is a hand bag

easy jet i honestly cant remember the last time i used them, are they even on skyscanner?

I don't think they come up on skyscanner.

[Zatman]

On 08/10/2018 at 16:13, villa4europe said:

 

easy jet i honestly cant remember the last time i used them, are they even on skyscanner?

I used them a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by the plane and how comfortable it was

I think it was on skyscanner too

[Xela]

Qatar Airways - a definite 9/10 - WB

Planes were clean and modern, food was decent and staff very good. Another plus point is that on 4 long haul flights, the busiest one was only 50% full with the others at 25%-33% or thereabouts. Had a full row to myself on 3 of the 4. The BHX to DOH legs were Dreamliners with the DOH - BKK legs being new B777's. 

Very tough to separate Emirates and Qatar for me now. 

Going long haul it would take something special for me to consider anything other than a Middle Eastern or Asian airline. They are generally streets ahead of the competition. 

Also took a new Thai Airways B777 from HKG back to BKK which was a good experience. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Xela