Airlines I have never heard of.. have you ?

ps what about booking with "CheapoAir" I have always booked directly with airlines but on Kayak they list the deals offered by other sites. ?

pat,

I haven't flown with the airlines you mention, but have a few thoughts.....

Transavia is the budget brand of Air France / KLM and they've been around for quite a few years. I've researched them for flights in the past, but have never flown with them. I don't know much about Ukraine Air, so can't offer any comments on them.

I have flown with Aegean Air on a couple of occasions and found them to be a "class act". They also own Olympic Air after a merger in 2010. It's unfortunate that the dates don't work for you, as I'd certainly recommend Aegean.

Transavia is a budget airline with a history of half a century. They are reliable, but you have to pay for your coffee on board.

pat, We also flew both Aegean Airlines (Zürich to Athens, Athens to Venice) and also Transavia (Pisa to Amsterdam) last May/June and would definitely recommend them both.

Too bad Aegean won't work for your dates. Add my voice to those recommending Transavia.

Pat,

When we booked a multi-leg journey with Delta for travel this past March, Transavia was the Delta partner airline (or whatever they call it) for the Marrakech to Amsterdam leg. I remember thinking: Who in the world are they? But, the journey went well and we arrived safely.

I never was able to select seats ahead of time, but we were seated together and I recall no comfort issues (for that type plane).

Margaret

Cheapo is an established seller whose site is among the easiest to navigate (it will quote fares in CDN$). Like flesh-and-blood travel agents, it is useful for an itinerary that combines several airlines which don't sell each other's tickets.
One standard I use when considering an unfamiliar airline is the size of its fleet of planes. An upstart with just a few planes in the air has less resources to back up its schedule. If its website doesn't say, I'd be cautious.
Skytrax collects user reviews. Like Trip Adviser and all the others, beware of chronic complainers. Many of its responses seem to come from experienced business travellers. Here are some comments on Ukraine International http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/ukraine-international-airlines/
PS: Using such sites will be more efficient if you know the exact formal name of the carrier. I'm just guessing that this is the airline you mentioned.

Ukraine Airlines - as a general rule, I don't fly on airlines based in countries at war.

I've flown Transavia, it was fine. Before I booked, I did some online searching and found out they are part of the Air France/KLM group so felt reassured. There are so many airlines operating in Europe! I once booked a short flight on Lufthansa and found myself on an Air Dolomiti flight (part of the Lufthansa group) which I'd never heard of, but turned out to be rather pleasant.

I know you are familiar with TA so do read the Air Travel forum comments on Cheapoair before you make a decision to book with them. I have not used them but have enjoyed some of the massive threads just for entertainment value.

I thought I posted a reply ? oops

Anyways thanks for all input.. I do not think I will be using Cheapo Air.. reviews and reputation seem rather dismal.. however I did post on TA and like here.. most confirmed they were happy with Transavia airlines.. and pointed out as you all have said.. it is part of the KLM family so not some fly by night airline.. ( lol pun)

Emily good point about Urkrainie airlines.. I had thought a bit about that too..