Best airlines to travel from the US

[Artemis908]

I live in Philadelphia and the only airline that flys non-stop to Rome is US Airways. I hate US Airways so I was initially considering taking British Airways and then switching planes in London. I've done this a few times on my way to Dublin and Paris and it just makes for a long, long day. So I was thinking about driving to Newark instead, which seems to have multiple airlines with direct flights to Rome including Continental and Delta. Does anyone have experiences flying overseas with these airlines? I guess I am just spoiled with BA, the flight doesn't seem nearly as bad when I use them.

[wantocruisemore]

American Airlines also goes to Rome from either Chicago or Kennedy. We ended up flying US Air though on our recent trip. Not displeased, but the seats and leg room was small.

[ab0si]

I don't think Delta flies that route. You might want to check, but I think it is an Alitalia flight code-shared with Delta. I'd choose Continental.

[riffatsea]

I have a friend who has to fly through Philly and use US Air. She doesn't like them but she likes the convenience.

I suppose you have to decide what is most important to you! For me non stop flight on any airline trumps changing planes if the price is good. It is an individual choice.

From here in San Diego I've been using Delta for many years! I have had good experiences each time but others hate it so I may just be lucky??

[mapleleaves]

I usually use BA and break up a journey to Europe by stopping in London for a few days. Then I get a cheap ticket on jet2 or Easy Jet for the next leg. Last yr we flew Delta because it was $300 cheaper. Dreadful ! Having said that, I would do it again to save $300.

Much prefer BA tho. Better yet is Virgin Atlantic. Top notch but always too expensive unless you happen to catch a special.

[cruisemom42]

Based on my own personal travel experience, I'd rate airlines as:

 

1) Most non-US major carriers

2) Most major US carriers

3) US Airways

 

As you can see, US Airways is not my favorite. That said, you always have to consider price and expediency in reaching your destination. None of the airlines have recently bowled me over with service or good food (unless one is lucky enough to be in the front cabin, where there are still some appreciable differences in airlines).

 

I mostly fly Delta by dint of the fact that I live in Atlanta, their major hub. I haven't been unhappy with them, and by sticking to one airline, the perks mount up more quickly.

[CathyCruises]

We flew Delta non stop to/from Paris from Salt Lake City--it was a great flight. Not as nice as Business Class on Lufthansa, but just fine for the price. . .

[danglish]

I flown long haul and transatlantic with Delta, Continental, US, American, United, BA, Virgin, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa.

 

Personally find very little difference between the US based carriers. European carriers slightly better in terms of service ( main difference is the complimentary alcohol for me) but I would always choose the direct flight over a preferred airline.

 

A connection will add several hours to your flight and possibly extra stress if your first flight is delayed with missed connections and there is more chance your bag will get lost. Not worth it in my opinion for a slightly more comfortable airline.

 

What do you particullarly dislike about US that you would look to find on another airline?

[Artemis908]

I flown long haul and transatlantic with Delta, Continental, US, American, United, BA, Virgin, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa.

 

Personally find very little difference between the US based carriers. European carriers slightly better in terms of service ( main difference is the complimentary alcohol for me) but I would always choose the direct flight over a preferred airline.

 

A connection will add several hours to your flight and possibly extra stress if your first flight is delayed with missed connections and there is more chance your bag will get lost. Not worth it in my opinion for a slightly more comfortable airline.

 

What do you particullarly dislike about US that you would look to find on another airline?

 

My main issue is British Airways has these massive planes with great in-flight entertainment. I don't feel claustrophobic and miserable like I do on smaller planes. But US Air in my experience has had horrible service and uncomfortable planes (small seats, etc.). I have been leaning towards what one of the previous posters has said and spending a few days in London (it's my favorite city, so why not?) and breaking up the trip in the beginning. Getting there is always the worst. After being on a plane for 6 hours, the last thing I want to do is get onto ANOTHER plane and wait in the airport for my connection. On the way back it doesn't feel quite as bad to me since the previous flight is a couple of hours long.

 

But I've been to London 7 times and I have never been to Italy, so I am wondering if I should just deal with it and go straight to Italy.

[mapleleaves]

Only 6 hours ! From Seattle it's 9-10 hrs on a non stop flight. You have no right to whine! :)

[danglish]

Check which aircraft US Airways schedule on your route. Last time I flew with them from LHR to PHL it was an A330, this was a big plane, 2,4,2 seating configuration in economy and had on demand seat back TVs.

 

Might be a different plane on the Rome route but I'd say take a look.

 

London is a great city but then Italy is a great country, I'm sure you'll love it.

[D4]

Only 6 hours ! From Seattle it's 9-10 hrs on a non stop flight. You have no right to whine! :)

 

I agree! We live in Illinois and take a nonstop from Chicago to Rome (over 9 hours.). But we first have to get to Chicago which takes another 3 hours.

 

If I could get to Rome in 6 hours, I'd go more frequently than my current once a year trip.

[starwhite2]

I agree! We live in Illinois and take a nonstop from Chicago to Rome (over 9 hours.). But we first have to get to Chicago which takes another 3 hours.

 

If I could get to Rome in 6 hours, I'd go more frequently than my current once a year trip.

 

I imagine it's AA?

 

In March of 2012 I have to get myself from ORD to Naples. I am eyeing Lufthansa through Munich going and returning through Frankfurt. Does anyone have an opinion about Lufthansa?

[mapleleaves]

I imagine it's AA?

 

In March of 2012 I have to get myself from ORD to Naples. I am eyeing Lufthansa through Munich going and returning through Frankfurt. Does anyone have an opinion about Lufthansa?

 

You might look at the Trip Advisor forum on air travel. Do a search on lufthansa.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10702-Air_Travel.html

[D4]

I imagine it's AA?

 

In March of 2012 I have to get myself from ORD to Naples. I am eyeing Lufthansa through Munich going and returning through Frankfurt. Does anyone have an opinion about Lufthansa?

 

We have taken AA nonstop to Rome, but in April we took Alitalia because it cost a lot less. ( It was a codeshare with Delta, but booking the exact same flights on Delta cost almost $500 more per person!) We enjoyed Alitalia. The meals were fabulous! We also lucked out and the flights were very light. On the way there, everyone in coach had 2 or 4 seats. On the way home, everyone had 2 or 3 seats. It was great to be able to lay down to sleep. We were spoiled and never expect to get that lucky again.

[Karennella]

Only 6 hours ! From Seattle it's 9-10 hrs on a non stop flight. You have no right to whine! :)

Ha ha, none of you should whine. From Sydney it is 22 hours minimum with a one hour stop.

[Artemis908]

Ha ha, none of you should whine. From Sydney it is 22 hours minimum with a one hour stop.

 

Yeah but then you get to be near Asia and New Zealand. The one thing that has stopped me from visiting Japan and New Zealand is the long flight!

[wcook]

For many reasons, I hate Delta. Given a choice of roughly equal flights, I'll always take the other airline. But, in the end, there just isn't that much difference between flying on Delta vs anyone else. When push comes to shove, I'll fly Delta if it's the best choice.

 

If I lived in Philly, and the price of the US Airways flight was compariable with other flights, I would absolutly take their non-stop, no matter how much I hated the airline. No way I take a transfer in London. No way do I take the longer drive to EWR (long drives home after transatlantic flights are no fun.)

[sunsetbeachgal]

I always go the non-stop route if we can...last year we stopped in London on the way over to Athens for a couple of days, then our cruise ended in Rome so flew home out of Rome. BA service, planes, food, entertainment was great, but not sure I would take a connection to avoid flying USAirways. Continental is a good option for non-stop flights, as long as you don't mind the drive on the NJ Turnpike! I would avoid Alitalia!!

[Zukini]

Check which aircraft US Airways schedule on your route. Last time I flew with them from LHR to PHL it was an A330, this was a big plane, 2,4,2 seating configuration in economy and had on demand seat back TVs.

 

Might be a different plane on the Rome route but I'd say take a look.

 

London is a great city but then Italy is a great country, I'm sure you'll love it.

 

We flew PHL to FCO on USAir in May. It was indeed an A330, with the 2-4-2 configuration, and coach seats had an on demand entertainment center embedded in the seatback in front. Flight was scheduled for 8 1/2 hours outbound, but we wound up with a tarmac delay due to a bad indicator light that held us up for about an hour and a half. Return flight was about 10 hours.

 

The plane was fairly comfortable, no worse than I've seen on Continental or Delta. Service was about what you'd expect on any domestic carrier.

 

My biggest complaint was with the airport in Rome...for some reason, on both the inbound and outbound, we had to use a remote parking area and a remote terminal (I think Delta was in the same boat, so to speak). It felt like the plane taxied forever...I wondered if the pilot was driving us to Naples.

[Karennella]

Yeah but then you get to be near Asia and New Zealand. The one thing that has stopped me from visiting Japan and New Zealand is the long flight!

Dont let the long flight stop you! You get used to it. At least a quarter of our population are travelling overseas this year and they are mostly long flights. A friend flew from Adelaide, South Australia to Brazil, for two nights for his brother's wedding. As was said in the speech, it gave the whole concept of a long weekend a new meaning.

[4774Papa]

We live in South Georgia and go out of Jacksonville, FLA airport. Our overseas trips always seem to present a choice of Delta or USAirways as the lowest priced. I usually go with the one that is the lowest. I have a frequent flyer account with both.

 

I have read negative comments on cc on both airlines, but have not experienced any problems with either airline. We are booked on Lufthansa on our next Vantage trip to Ukraine, Russia and the Balts in 12 days. Vantage provided the air at great prices. Also, Lufthansa is a partner with USAirways.

[TMLAalum]

I live in Philadelphia and the only airline that flys non-stop to Rome is US Airways. I hate US Airways so I was initially considering taking British Airways and then switching planes in London. I've done this a few times on my way to Dublin and Paris and it just makes for a long, long day. So I was thinking about driving to Newark instead, which seems to have multiple airlines with direct flights to Rome including Continental and Delta. Does anyone have experiences flying overseas with these airlines? I guess I am just spoiled with BA, the flight doesn't seem nearly as bad when I use them.

 

Lucky that you can fly w/o connecting. I can speak to flying CO over the pond pre-UA merger- it was fine in economy with seats not as cramped as on AerLingus. Check out seatguru.com to avoid the worst economy seats. Delta we were lucky enuf to use ff miles for 1st. Most recently we were on American and able to sit in separate economy seats (1st row of 4 behind a row of 5) that were the best of all other economy flights- thanks to the site above.

 

Upcoming we're routed to Rome on AirCanada thru Toronto using CO miles- waiting for the returns to publish within the next few days, but the routings from Brussels are likely to include USair, which based on your experiences, sounds like a not-too-pleasant option.

[Baseball fan]

You will get varied opinions on who is the best. As one previous poster said, I would pick a non-US carrier first. However, I have had some ok flights and some great flights. I prefer to keep my miles together between 2 programs. If non-stop is preferred, look into that. If you do make a connection, make sure you have enough time. The only thing I will never do again is connect thru JFK and change terminals. I flew in on an international flight and due to their flight being late, I had 1 1/2 hours to clear customs and change terminals. Never again.....If you have miles and prefer a carrier, I would start there....

[stan01]

Over the past 5 years I have flown in Economy on international flights of over 8 hours on United, American, Delta, Lufthansa, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Scandinavian, South African, Singapore, Cathay, Swiss, Air France, Japan, Malaysia, and Turkish.

 

Comfort in coach is bad on all of them. All have delays and lost luggage. If cramped seating is your biggest concern, I would go with an airline that offers a premium economy section (such as United, BA, or Scandinavian). The cost will be quite a bit less than business class. I've had better coach meals on United than on Singapore and Cathay (stay clear of chicken on all airlines in Asia).

 

I would also go with the nonstop flight to avoid transfers in Europe (especially if you are not a frequent flier). The nonstop will lessen your chances of lost luggage and lessen the impact of flight delays. Also, I would agree that if you can consolidate your flights on one carrier to gain frequent flier status you will get the best treatment.

 

If you are connecting at a US Airport on your return, allow 3 hours to clear customs etc. It is much better to have a little extra time at the airport than to miss flights due to customs delays. I've found Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta to be OK for customs. Los Angeles and JFK are worse than the most primative airports in Africa.

 

Keep your expectations low. If you and your luggage get to your destination within an hour of plan a miracle has occurred!