Jetstar - Australia s favourite low cost airline but not mine. Their Premium Product makes their exp

I am often asked which airlines are best avoided.  Having flown for over 3040 hours (0ver 18 weeks of my life!) with 83 airlines, there are some clear differences between the best and the worst! Here is my list for of the 2012 worst airlines, starting from the worst:
Ryan Air every year I hope Ryanair will get a little better. Not a chance in 2012. Grumpy cruise dream line norwegian crews, crowded cruise dream line norwegian planes, non-transparent fares, and a you are on your own if we mess up attitude. My favourite reason not to like them: Covalence rates them as one of the most unethical companies cruise dream line norwegian in the world. Don t take my word for it: Ryanair was recently voted Europe s least popular short-haul airline by the readers of the British consumer publication  Which?.
Spirit cruise dream line norwegian Air -  Upfront,  I never actually got to fly  Spirit in 2012, as the only flight I was to have had with them was cancelled. The cancellation occurred, as I arrived at the airport. I switched to another carrier rather than wait 24 hours for the alternative flight.  However, an airline that charges up to one hundred dollars for a carry on bag h as some serious issues. As one customer says:  Truly the worst domestic airline experience I ve ever had.
Air Zimbabwe - for most of the year, they were grounded . They now have a new plane and lots of legroom . Staff vary from friendly to grumpy cruise dream line norwegian but are not overly motivated (no pay for months may impact this). My two best memories were two cockroaches climbing the wall of the plane on the Harare bound flight as we took off and the other was the Flight Attendant recommending us not to fly with AirZim again!
Air China- Skytrax claim Air China are four star. I think the carrier missed the memo- old planes, old cabins, old seats, old food. Where Air China really excel is when something goes wrong: you are on your own
China Eastern: Every time, I look at airfare comparison sites, China Eastern offers flights at prices way, way below other carriers. Before you are  tempted to book, consider my favourite quote about this airline from  a customer :   China Eastern still don t understand customer service . I agree. Inconsistent meals, bland food, limited entertainment and very delayed flights will make you regret every cent you saved
Alitalia Italy is home to some of the chicest things on the planet- just do not expect much chic on an Alitalia plane. Italians can be some of the warmest, most fun and most hospitable people on the planet- you just won t find them amongst the demoralised Alitalia staff. Universally rude staff from reservations to check-in to on board. cruise dream line norwegian Italian cuisine is some of the most delicious on the planet just don t expect  it to be served to you on an Alitalia plane. Lavatories never seem to be cleaned mid flight and are some of the most putrid aloft
United Airlines - the  merger with Continental  has brought a few improvements but flying with United is rarely a pleasurable experience. cruise dream line norwegian  I wonder sometimes if I  delight in hating United ? I did give them 5 out of 5 for an Indianapolis to Newark flight this year.  JD Power in a June 2013 , survey claimed that United were the second worst airline in North America. They gave the worst to USAir (who I for the first time have moved out of my top ten worst airlines!)
American Airlines- more demoralised staff sharing their unhappy attitude with their unhappy passengers. Combine cruise dream line norwegian that with uncomfortable seats, old planes and disappointing food. Having said that, of the 29 hours spent flying American this year (one day of my year effectively inside their aircraft), one hour of it (LAX to SFO) I actually described as a pleasant experience giving them 4 out of 5 for it!)
Air Asia my business partner swears by Air Asia but I  don t  like them.  The airline IS cheap. It operates with one of the world s lowest unit costs. What are you prepared to give up to save on money?   Unless you fly Premium, there is nothing cruise dream line norwegian on board for you. Disabled people claim the airline does nothing to assist them. There is also a difference between their Air Asia X and Air Asia product with X being better. cruise dream line norwegian Frankly, I have to be honest, I don t feel safe aboard them.  Their on time performance is at 86% on time for arrivals. Still someone, keeps voting for them as world s best low cost carrier ,  ahead of the brilliant Virgin America.
Jetstar - Australia s favourite low cost airline but not mine. Their Premium Product makes their experience much more bearable but I do all I can to avoid Jetstar.  The airline  often cancels and delays flights -without explanation. Airstats says only 72% of their flight arrivals are on time .  On board catering is not very exciting and entertainment consists of DVD  players that you can rent. The job of the cabin crew is to sell you all of the things cruise dream line norwegian that airlines cruise dream line norwegian used to give you for free:  snacks, drinks and blankets. The airline is so unpopular with some that it has a Don t  fly Jetstar webpage dedicated to it.
I am not including North Korea s one star airline Air Koryo on this list. The only time you will encounter them is if you fly into that state and I have yet to have that experience!. I would also not be in a hurry to fly Garuda Indonesian, most African carriers, Saudi Arabian, cruise dream line norwegian  Egyptair or Aeroflot but have not tried them either.
Completely agree with your business partner on Air Asia I ve had two excellent (and very safe) travel expeirences with them, and the european budget carriers could learn a few tricks from them. As for nothing on board for you comment what do you expect from a budget airline with super low fares?
Just took Ryan Air from Frankfurt to Rome and back actually, most things went well (followed their rules so no special last-minute fees!), BUT, as a pilot and flight instructor, with some training in 737 s, I fell that their pilots really, really need to learn how to land they were awful, and the second landing almost surely would necessitate special inspection as it was WAY beyond firm scared even me! Not sure death is worth a cheap ticket.
Air Asia is great. So what if they are bare bones they are significantly cheaper than the nearest cruise dream line norwegian competitor, even when adding in baggage fees. You can also pre-order decent food at a discount. What other carrier cruise dream line norwegian allows you to have a full coconut delivered to your seat for 2 bucks?
I m fairly sure American has the best US domestic catering in the sky right now I m not sure how you can say it s nonexistent. The coach buy-on-board stuff actually ascends beyond acceptable to good, and their domestic F catering is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
Not sure if you have actually flown Air China. I have been told that their F is pretty good now. You need to be careful intra china, but I think you over generalize. Why some of the others? Have you flown them all? Personal experience or hearsay?
FWIW, flew China Eastern summer 2012 JFK to Ho Chi Minh City, via Shanghai, r/t, and had no problems whatsoever. Plane on the way back appeared brand new. Not luxury, food was very average, but for the price I wouldn t hesitate to give them a try. They were app. $500 cheaper than anybody else. I get the sense all the Chinese carriers are improving
You are the first person I have ever heard of playing chess in the galley. How cool. I have not tried Wizzair despite being in Hungary a few times this year. I could not find a flight that matched my schedule. They are on my list to try. I actually like Easyjet as a Low Cost Carrier.
Bogus content written by somebody who has not personally cruise dream line norwegian flown many of the carriers cruise dream line norwegian he/she comments about just another of those bloggers trying cruise dream line norwegian to score hits and earn commissions from credit card sales. What a colossal waste of my time!
the average AA plane is 14.8 years old. As indicated above, I do not like United for a number of reasons. The United fleet is slightly younger than AA at 13.4 years. You are indeed correct regarding Delta s fleet at 16.3 years. One difference is that the AA planes LOOK old.
I am looking at international and domestic. I think Delta s catering is better than American- sorry. United is the worst. In fact the food I have had on United is consistently the worst I have ever had on any airline.
I am sorry you feel that. But you are very wrong in saying I have not flown the carriers! I have now flown 83 airlines. In 2012 I have flown 121 times to destinations on 5 continents on 36 I often choose flights to make sure I am experiencing different carriers. To be frank, I write this blog because I want to share my experiences. I dont mind being disagreed with but as you can see being called bogus touched a raw nerve!
Hi Chris. Yes, I fly a lot with AA. Being a One World carrier, they are linked into Qantas so when Qantas offloads me in LAX, AA usually pick me up from there! I agree. United s morale is very low but American cruise dream line norwegian s is not much different. Of course this is a subjective thing and I would be interested (or terrified) to see a study comparing airline employee morale. What would be nice though, is to have airline staff that feel great about their employers and are working as a team in challenging times. Southwest feels like that. Jetblue feels like that. Virgin Australia feels like that. American does not.
I have flown Aeroflot domestic. Back in the 1990 s it would fit your skepticism. However, now they have a new fleet of Airbus and Boeing planes and their on-board experience easily beats most domestic US carriers. Still a bit stiff on the ground, but then that is part of the Russian experience.
Thanks David for your comment. I have yet to fly Aeroflot. I know their fleet is improving. I almost did fly them this year but that fell through. I still cannot recommend them based on their stiff Russian experiences !
Martin- Thanks for the post. However, I m completely baffled by some of your list. For instance, just flew Alitalia from JFK to FCO on the A330 in Magnifica cruise dream line norwegian class. Prob one of the best true biz class to europe with the exception of swiss. Food was 5 star and so were the flight attendants.