I've flown a number of different airlines around the U.S. and overseas.
Some, like Eastern, National, Pan Am, and "Tiny Weenie Airlines," a/k/a TWA, are in the air only in aging film clips and yellowing photos.
I'm about to take a 16-plus hours-in-the-air trip mostly with Delta. One leg of the trip will be on a code share, Alitalia. I'll be in Rome's international airport long enough to run from gate to gate, so there's no opportunity to get my passport stamped by Italian customs.
I like Delta, although we got off to a rocky start.
My first experience was having a Belgian shepherd flown up from Orlando FL to Indianapolis IN. Shadow, the dog, was supposed to be transferred to an Indy-bound flight in Covington KY, Delta's Midwest hub that I later came to know very well indeed. Shadow went on to "somewhere" only ending up in Indianapolis many hours later than expected.
I swore at, and swore off, Delta.
My next trip was on United from Philadelphia PA to Ely NV via Salt Lake City UT. Philadelphia may be "The City of Brotherly Love," but the airport is something I've learned to hate. When the continental flight touched town at Salt Lake City, I was supposed to find my way to a regional flight on to Ely, a small copper mining town in northeastern Nevada. I was one of maybe 10 passengers heading to Ely that cold December night.
Apparently United felt the passenger count was too low to make the flight to Ely and then on to Reno NV and probably Sacramento CA. With that it mind, United hired a jitney and packed - stuffed might be a better word since we all had heavy winter coats on - all the Ely-bound passengers into the jitney for a 5-hour ride (compared to a 1 hour plane trip). United was thoughtful; it found a jitney that lacked a working heater so, despite our bulky outer wear we still suffered the cold common above 5,000 feet elevation. (Ely is in a valley at 6,000 feet.)
Later, as a captive consultant, I flew a few miles with US Air, mostly between Tallahassee Fl and Tampa Fl. The flights in twin-turbo prop jobs were great, but then I like small (and smaller) aircraft. I became a US Air loyalist - for awhile.
On a nearly yearly-long gig in Charleston WV - lovely, interesting town, by the way - I made every-other-week trips between the work site (Charleston) and my then home (Norfolk VA). I drove once and decided falling snow and slippery roads were not compatible with this "raised in Florida" practitioner .
Two airlines made the Charleston (CRW) to Norfolk (ORF) trip - US Air and Delta. US Air routed me via Charlotte NC (CLT) while Delta initially got me to Norfolk via Covington KY (CVG).
Because I was (then) a US Air loyalist, I tried to book my first flight with US Air via the internet. I managed to fat finger something and tried to straighten it out via the WWW. Impossible. I went to the airport (CRW) and talked to a desk person. "Sorry, the ground can't communicate with the IT people." I eventually got the problem resolved, but for a fee.
I still occasionally flew US Air. Both it and Delta seemed always to "lose" my luggage at the hub. US Air always got the bag to me the next day. Delta, on the other hand, always managed to deliver the bag to my door the same day. This happened so often that, once assured my bag was not on the carousel, I'd walk toward the Lost Luggage office and the lady inside would greet me by name.
One flight from ORF to CRW left me - and about 20 others - stranded in CVG for more than a few hours. The flight, slated to leave at 10:30 p.m. didn't. Nor did it leave at 11:30 p.m. At about midnight a couple of tired Delta clerks pushed out a cart loaded with junk - sorry, snack - food and soft drinks, on Delta, thank you very much.
We eventually departed for Charleston's CRW about 2 a.m., tired but not hungry.
Then Delta in its "wisdom" changed the connecting flight schedule and forced me to fly CVG to Atlanta GA (ATL) and then on to ORF. But by then my gig was almost up.
This will be my first over-the-water flight with Delta. I've done it before with KLM - great service and Amsterdam's Schiphol (AMS) airport is a pleasure. I've also made the flight via El Al, Northwest (before it merged with Delta) and Air France; if I never see Charles DeGaulle (CDG) airport again it will be too soon. I made one trip via a British carrier - BMI - that compared unfavorably to my early "stranded in Salt Lake City by United" flight.
Unlike JFK and Schiphol where international travelers are "quarantined" to a controlled access area,, international travelers at CDG and London's Heathrow (LHR) have to run between terminals; translation: passengers have to go through check points and passport controls before they get to their next flight. My flight into LHR on a BMI plane was late - late boarding, late leaving, late arriving - but, credit where it is due, my United connecting flight waited until I boarded to push back. KLM is the only other airline I've ever seen wait for passengers from a delayed flight.
I know "things happen" and "nothing is perfect," and I expect that Delta may lose my luggage again, but at least its personnel on the ground and in the air are "PR conscious."
Iberia, with which I have only ticket counter experience, seems to treat its customers nicely, especially if the traveler arrives early and the counter crew has not been harassed by late arriving passengers who are demanding instant service.
El Al, which often does some foolish things, probably is the most secure airline to fly, and despite being one of the most terrorist-conscious airports around, Lod (TLV) is one of the easiest for travelers to pass though, at least going out. It's come a long way from my first trip in 1975.
International airports are "interesting." Flying out of Lod Note 1 (TLV) I listened as the LOT (Poland's national airline) ticket checker called for passengers to board. The call was made in Hebrew (TLV's native language) and English. I asked a LOT representative if anyone at the gate spoke Polish. Answer: No. Compare this to the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) where announcements are given in English and a variety of Asian languages. At CDG I failed to find anyone who admitted to speaking English and the El Al counter staff lacked both Hebrew and English. (The El Al security people did speak Hebrew and English as well as French.) In Miami (MIA), the primary language is Cuban Spanish, but most airline and airport staff also speak English (even Iberia's crew).
If you wonder why I refer to Israel's main international airport by its original name, Lod, visit The Altalena Remembered at http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/the_altalena_remembered.html
