When you're traveling by airplane, whether domestically or internationally, you have a lot of options to consider when choosing your airline. Are you looking for a budget flight or a luxury one? Do you mind changing planes, or do you want a direct flight? This article will review several airlines on the basis of cost, ease of travel and customer service to help you find the airline that best fits your needs.
Travel and Leisure put together a list of U.S. airlines with the lowest average delay-time for flights. Hawaiian Air was ranked No. 1, with 92 percent of its flights arriving on time. Southwest came in second with 80 percent of its flights on time, U.S. Airways came in a close third with 79 percent arriving as scheduled, and Frontier and SkyWest tied for fourth, with 78 percent of both airlines' flights on time.
If you're flying domestically on a budget, after doing some price comparison, Southwest appears to be the cheapest in most cases. JetBlue comes in a close second, especially if you're flying in the northeast United States. U.S. Airways is third for its affordable cross-country flights, best for when you're flying coast-to-coast. When you're looking for cheap flights, try checking travel companies like Orbitz too---sometimes it's cheaper to book through the airline directly, but other times travel agents offer some great deals.
Fortune 500 reviewed the best deals available in business and first-class seats on various domestic U.S. airlines, based on price, seating room and food service. Price-wise, Air Tran offers the best first-class deal, but the seat only offers 4 to 5 inches more legroom than regular fare seats. American is the airline to go to for comfort---if you're traveling New York to L.A., you can buy a lie-flat business seat. But United offers the best of both worlds---affordable first-class seating with plenty of legroom as well as complimentary cocktails and cuisine.
TravelTruth.com rated the best international airlines based on passenger evaluations, industry reports and positive press coverage. Out of these airlines, one of the best is Virgin Atlantic, given an A+ for stylish modern service, and an affordable "premium economy" class---business for those who can't afford to fly business. Continental received a B grade for affordable, reliable service, and American Airlines and Delta were given accolades for professional service and readily available international flights.
Based on the number of passengers who fly with each airline, both domestically and internationally, American Airlines is the largest airline in the U.S., closely followed by Southwest and Delta. If you need a last-minute flight, these are the airlines to go to---based on the number of flights, both within the U.S. and internationally, they will most likely be able to accommodate you.
Just because you're flying economy class doesn't mean you need to sacrifice any possibility of a comfortable flight. Based on seat measurements, American Airlines and Continental have the most legroom available on domestic U.S. flights, with only a few inches less than most business-class passengers. Jet Airways comes in a close second with just an inch less space than the other two, and United Airlines places fourth.
