Anyone familiar with World Airways?

[ladydoobs]

We're leaving on the AOS in April. I just found out our flight information. We're flying on World Airways. Anyone have any experience with this airline? I've never heard of it.

[jeffw47]

My goodness, I haven't heard about them since I flew home from Viet Nam in 1969. I didn't know they were still around.

[TrentS]

World is a charter airline...

 

http://www.worldair.com/

 

Good luck!!! This is why it's always best to book ones own air, you never know what you're going to get when you let the cruise line do it.

[JrMafia90]

World is a charter airline...

 

http://www.worldair.com/

 

Good luck!!! This is why it's always best to book ones own air, you never know what you're going to get when you let the cruise line do it.

 

Well isn't that better that it is a charter plane?

[ladydoobs]

First time they've ever put us on this kind of airline. We'll just make the best of it and keep our fingers crossed. We've got a direct flight and we'll be cruising! Not going to let it worry us. Thanks for your replies.

[Globaliser]

Well isn't that better that it is a charter plane?

Why would it be? Charter's very rarely better than scheduled, IME. There aren't many situations I can think of when I'd prefer a charter to scheduled.

[GiniB]

Chartered aircraft are run under different regulations than other commercial air carriers (don't know if they're better or worse, just know they're different). I think their biggest customer is the military, they are still chartered to carry troops overseas.

[PlaneJoy]

World Airways primarily does military charters. They are based out of a suburb of Atlanta. If I had to guess, they probably had a charter ending in your city of departure so they used the time to reposition the airplane with revenue service to either their next location or some where much closer to their next location. Moving an airplane empty is VERY expensive especially with fuel prices the way they are now.

 

Of course, the cruise line or travel company could have chartered the flight. But I would think this would be cost prohibitive. Charters do not come cheap.

 

Either way, I wouldn't worry about travelling on World Airways. I would be more comfortable with them, than with most *scheduled* airlines. The chances of your travel being interrupted due to cancellation are probably lower.

[ladydoobs]

Thanks...I'm feeling a little better about World Airways. I've checked out their website and it doesn't seem to be to bad.

 

I've found that from our airport(PVD) it's rare to get a direct flight, usually you'll end up with at least one layover. I'm psyched to be flying to San Juan on a direct flight from PVD.

 

Has anyone actually ever been one of their planes?

[rharvey999]

Jeffw47. I too took World as my freedom bird from Nam in 69. Trust me, at the time, it was the most beautiful plane I had ever seen...

 

By the way....WELCOME HOME.

[jeffw47]

Rharvey999 - Man I know the feeling. It was a pretty site to see it sitting out there at 2:00 AM at Bien Hoa(SP). As far as I was concerned, it was the best flight I have ever been on.

Welcome back also!

Jeff

[Druke I]

Reference World Airways and 'Nam - thanks for serving.

[Globaliser]

Of course, the cruise line or travel company could have chartered the flight. But I would think this would be cost prohibitive. Charters do not come cheap.

 

Either way, I wouldn't worry about travelling on World Airways. I would be more comfortable with them, than with most *scheduled* airlines. The chances of your travel being interrupted due to cancellation are probably lower.

On the contrary: if you can fill a chartered aircraft, it's usually cheaper than buying the corresponding number of seats on scheduled services over the same route. If a cruise line is putting customers on a charter, I'd have thought that it's almost certainly because the cruise line has taken the initiative to charter the aircraft.

 

Charters have a reputation for being delayed. I flew a cruise line charter to South America once, and it was delayed. When we arrived on the ship, we found that in five years, not a single rotation had operated to schedule. But it didn't matter a huge amount, because the ship was obviously going to wait for its charter flight.

[jeffw47]

Druke I - Thanks for saying that. You don't know how much that is appreciated. If you served, the same to you. And the same goes for all those men and women serving now!

[rharvey999]

Druke1, let me echo Jeff's thoughts. For most Nam vets their welcome home was nothing like we have seen during the past 15 years. Hence our normal greeting to each other with, "Welcome Home."

 

I also flew World Airways back and forth from Desert Storm. The only negative thing I remember was, since it was on government contract, they had pushed more rows into the plane, creating minimal leg room. No one complained on the way home...lol.

 

Other than that I found World to comparable to most commercial airlines.