Good airline experiences

In February, my wife and I flew from Oakland to Barcelona non-stop on Norwegian Air. Our fare was $270 each for their economy upgrade to "select a seat/food/20 kg checked baggage". Nice price.
In as much as I am tall (6'6") we selected two seats in the exit row.....located immediately behind the flight attendant's seat (facing us), which is used only for take-off and landing.
During the course of the flight, we had several brief conversations with our flight attendant (Sergio), who gave every impression of being a dedicated employee. He told us he lived in Madrid, and we mentioned that were beginning a Rick Steves' tour in Barcelona, but it would conclude in Madrid.
Five minutes later, he brought back several hand written maps and notations detailing restaurants he particularly liked in Madrid - ones that he believed offered authentic Spanish food, great service and charm. Next was a series of wine bar locations that he also recommended.
Oddly, on our final night with the RS tour, our travel group ate at the restaurant Sergio particularly liked.
Of course our RS tour guide (Federico Barroso) made the trip spectacular, but Sergio's kind contributions were sincerely appreciated.

I'll bite.

Several years ago, me and my wife were away on an amazing trip in Indonesia. We flew a long, complicated itinerary using frequent flyer miles, on Singapore Airlines. For those unfamiliar, if you're on a FF award ticket, you are the lowest priority for the airline (not really a "paying customer") so you come last when anything goes sideways.

We spent a week scuba diving on a very remote, pristine, tiny fly-speck island in the middle of nowhere (3 flights beyond Jakarta). This places is waaay, way off the grid, very very isolated from the rest of the world. While there, a major volcano started erupting elsewhere in Indonesia, seriously disrupting air travel across the region. We knew nothing of this. After leaving the little island (5 hours by speedboat to get to the nearest town) our vacation plans had us flying two legs to the city of Yogjakarta (not Jakarta, Yogjakarta is another city), in central Java. First flight was uneventful. Second flight was "delayed". While waiting for that flight, I noticed that every TV in the airport was tuned to the same station, which was running loops of all the disasters unfolding from the still-erupting volcano - which I quickly discovered was at our intended destination! Incredibly, our flight was merely delayed a few hours (most international airlines had canceled all flights in the region). Our flight to Yogjakarta went out a few hours late. We landed in what looked like a snowstorm - but all that gray stuff covering the ground and falling from the sky was ash. There's a lot more to the story, but skipping ahead to the good airline experience...

Our long flight home was supposed to go Yogjakarta - Jakarta - Singapore - San Francisco. That flight started in 3 days. But after our plane landed, the Yogjakarta airport finally closed due to ashfall.

The problem with a FF award ticket is that if you miss a leg of the flight, tickets for the rest of your flights are canceled, with no requirement for the airline to accommodate you. They might, but if there's a disruption, even if they are willing to put you on a later flight, they might push out days or weeks until there is another "free" award seat (and those are limited). My worry was that if we were stuck in Yogjakarta, we would miss our flight from Jakarta, and we would have to buy a ticket home from there (possibly thousands of dollars). I was determined not to miss that flight, but the airport was closed, and the volcano was still erupting majorly.

I looked for alternate ways to just get from Yogjakarta to Jakarta. There's a train, but it's a 12 hour overnight, not fancy and...with the ongoing volcanic disaster, tickets for the train were going fast. I pushed my way through crowds at the train station and managed to buy 2 of the last few tickets out. We took the overnight train to Jakarta and dragged ourselves to the Jakarta airport. Alas, Singapore Airlines had canceled all their flights indefinitely. To my amazement, they put us up in a 5-star hotel until flights restarted, and guaranteed us seats on the first flight out (they did NOT need to do either). They kept their promise, got us from Jakarta to Singapore, but...that flight's arrival was late and we missed the connection to San Francisco. They then gave us vouchers for an in-airport hotel for the night and put us on the next day's flight.

It took us about 4 days to get home, but Singapore Airlines did the right thing, over and over again, getting us what we needed, which was significantly more than what they were required to do. Even though we were on a "free" ticket (FF miles) they took great care of us amid lots of chaos, and treated us as valued customers the whole way.

Singapore Airlines is great. I'd fly them happily any time and recommend them to anyone.

Several years ago I was on a United flight and across the aisle sat a blind man and his large German shepherd guide dog. The dog had neatly folded itself mostly under the seat in front. After the flight was boarded a flight attendant tapped the man on the shoulder and said. “Sir, would you like to move to first class? I think your dog would be more comfortable there.”

kclyons, I LOVE your story and thank you for posting such a positive experience. What a compassionate attendant/person!

Wow Air canceled our flight at the gate. Put us in a hotel for two nights at their expense. Then gave us compensation that was the equivalent of what I paid for two round trip tickets.

Thanks for starting this thread, Lane. We all need some uplifting and positive stories.

Guys, I was told many moons ago, that any time you walk from a flight, it was a great ride! peace

One of the best flight we ever had was about five years from NY to Rome on Aitalia. We thought we were on a Delta flight but they code share with Aitalia so it was Aitalia equipment and crew. The crew was great and food far better than standard Delta. It was a very good flight but never mention it simply because everyone rips on Aitalia -- probably for cause -- and probably would not believe me anyway. Probably a rare occurrence but an enjoy it.

Flying Lufthansa overseas. When reserving, kept checking for bulkhead seats with bassinet for our 10 month old and was told a seat was unavailable. While boarding, a flight attendant saw us and moved us to the first seat at a bulkhead and brought out a bassinet. My baby slept through most of the flight. She also brought out a pouch containing toys, crayons, snacks and a diaper! The flight attendant kept checking on us throughout the flight.

Traveling with an infant, we have also had great experience with Iberia and British Airways.

This good experience wasn't actually with an airline, but with an airport hotel. I had come off a flight from Venice to Philadelphia, but my flight home was cancelled and I re-booked for the next morning. I was given a voucher for a hotel, and, being tired, dehydrated, and jet lagged, got confused when I saw a similarly-named hotel from the terminal window and thought it was mine, so I walked on over. As I approached the reservation desk, I realized my mistake. The desk clerk VERY kindly volunteered one of their shuttles to take me to the other hotel, and gave me a couple of bottles of water. I would never have expected any of that, and it was lovely.

I live in the small market Southeast so end up on Delta a lot. I've come to see them as having about the same number of problems as the other big players; where they often do better is when it comes to fixing things, including some pretty complex flight rebooking as a result of the obligatory ATL summer thunderstorm ground stops. There was also the time when I had a sinus infection go acute on me coming back from Paris and I guess I looked pretty bad because the purser checked on me a few times and even offered to find me a doctor. (Fortunately, by the time I was trying to figure out how to deal with the shooting facial pain as the condition progressed, my husband remembered he had what was pretty much the German version of Afrin in his bag, and that got me functional again)

Also had my first abort and go round experience earlier this year with Delta- bad crosswinds at Salt Lake City- and was very impressed with the professionalism of pilots and cabin crew throughout, both in terms of keeping us safe and then updating us on the cabin's ongoing discussions with Operations on whether to try to land in SLC again or divert to Las Vegas. (second attempt at SLC was successful).

True that airlines have their bad flights. Whenever I fly UA domestically, ie if no better choice is available, I am surprised not to be delayed. . There have been times flying domestically I really had that cattle call experience with Southwest. No matter, they are still my first choice as long as no other airline offers something better as to dep time, price, etc.

If there is one airline flying over to Europe I would heartily recommend for its consistent good service, helpfulness, lately having the cheapest price r/t, food is decent, I would say it is Br Air. No outstanding problems with Br Air. I always take the afternoon flight, or more specifically, I look when the arrival at LHR or Gatwick is, which has to be prior to noon. The earlier the better. I don't take morning flights from OAK or SFO with or without a layover.

Regardless of the trans-Atlantic carrier, I always fly rock bottom Economy, no matter what it is euphemistically called, ie the cheapest seat possible, which means usually the sardine can seating. You get used to that.

The last 3 departing flights Br Air accommodated me at check-in, ie, finding an aisle seat towards the rear....perfect, ie, no middle seat and no window seat. I don't reserve the seat when booking the flight on-line.

Choosing the airline also depends on where you land. Flying to FRA I prefer Lufthansa over United, no big deal since the flight is ca 11 hrs anyway, non-stop, Chances are Lufthansa will depart on time. What I look here between these two is the price difference and dep/arrival time. Lufthansa usually arrives at FRA ca 10 am ...good enough.

Thanks for starting this thread! This was not a recent experience, but it was something I will never forget. I was on a flight to New York in 1968. I had just sat in my seat next to a young serviceman. A flight attendant approached the serviceman and said, "I am going to move you to 1st class." I always wondered if he was headed to Vietnam. Kindness in the friendly skies.

Kaeleku, I'll be flying Lufthansa for the first time next year. They are the only European airline with a 5-star rating on Skytrax.

According to this article from Newsweek:

In the rankings for best airline overall, Asian and Middle Eastern
airlines triumphed, with German airline Lufthansa the only one not
from those regions to break the top 10.

I'm hoping your bad experiences on Lufthansa aren't the norm.

Last April, we flew Burlington, VT to Madrid with a connection in Philadelphia on American.

Weather conditions in Burlington were iffy with snow, ice, and wind. Some flights were going, some were canceled. Ours showed on time, and we were boarded first because my son is disabled. We settled in but then after a while, we realized that no one else was boarding. Uh oh.

We waited a bit, and then the captain himself came out to tell us that our flight had been placed on indefinite hold due to the weather. He explained all of the permutations of wind, ice, runway length, and what he was waiting for before a safe takeoff. He explained why other planes could go right now and why ours couldn’t. Answered every one of our questions patiently and informatively.

Then he offered us our choice of either getting off the plane and waiting in the airport, or remaining in our seats for the delay. We chose to wait on the (empty besides us) plane, and flight attendants provided us with beverages and snacks and updates for the duration of the delay.

We eventually got a good weather window, boarded the rest of the passengers, and made it to Philly in plenty of time for our Madrid flight.

After we got off the plane in Philly, we were standing outside the bathroom waiting for another family member, and our pilot stopped to ask if we needed any help and pointed out his favorite restaurant in the airport.

Such a nice start to our trip to have what could have been a frustrating delay (we’ve all been there, the crush in the gate area with no information and grumpy airline staff, right?) instead handled with courtesy and kindness.

Kaeleku--

You're killing the vibe of the thread.

Just had a great experience with Singapore Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
My flight with Singapore Airlines was long-17 hours! The flight attendants were always smiling and visible. They cleaned the loo mid-flight and even asked how my meal was!!
Alaska Airlines has a 20 minute baggage guarantee. When my bags were not on the belt in 20 min, I went to customer service. I got 2 flight vouchers worth 5,000 miles. Turns out a belt had broke.

I'm totally a Delta guy. I've flown about 500,000 miles with them since 2014 and don't recall any bad experiences, but I also have a basic understanding of how airlines work and realize that a delay for a ground stop in Atlanta does not result from Delta being incompetent or Delta secretly plotting to destroy my life.

I'm particularly impressed by the pilots. On domestic flights, they're really good about opening the door to the cockpit, stepping out, and thanking passengers as they exit the plane. They are also great at communication. About a year ago, the arriving aircraft for my flight was an hour late. When the plane arrived, the captain came off the plane, grabbed the microphone at the gate, apologized for being late, explained why the plane arrived late, and thanked us for our patience. That was a nice touch. Recently, my morning flight out of my home airport (GSP) received a release time from Atlanta Air Traffic Control that was 30-40 minutes after our departure time. Instead of making an announcement over the PA system, the captain came out of the cockpit and explained things in person, stopping every 10 rows or so to give his spiel (and to express his support for Clemson because his daughter goes to school there).

Once the plane version of the "check engine soon" light came on in the cockpit mid-flight during a trip from Lexington to Atlanta, requiring an unplanned stop in Nashville to fix a sensor on the plane. We ended up being on the ground about 2-3 hours for the repair; the gate agents in Nashville had pizza and drinks delivered for passengers.

A couple of years ago, I slept through my alarm for an early-morning non-refundable flight. I called Delta after the flight had departed and apologized profusely. I was told, "No problem. The next flight is at 8. If you can make that, we'll just move you over to that flight."

At Tegel Airport, we disembarked our KLM B737 at a remote location and then bussed to the gate. I got to exit through the backdoor and down some steps while gawking at the back of the plane. Not a big deal to most, but it was pretty exciting to this aviation geek. In my enthusiasm at this prospect, I remembered to grab my roll aboard but forgot my backpack (that had my passport, my driver's license, my credit cards, and some cash in it). Dumb mistake. After I'm on the bus, I hear a guy yelling. I look out and a KLM employee is holding up my backpack asking to whom it belongs. That act saved me hours and hours of trouble.

For the record, I have also flown KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Austrian Air, Virgin Atlantic, Baltic Air, Easy Jet, SAS and Norwegian (intra-Norway route) in the last few years and found all of them to be fine. No bad experiences with any of them, but I make sure I know their rules before I fly with them, and I spend the extra 10 or 20 bucks/euro to get an exit row seat with extra leg room. I really liked Air Baltic, but I remember watching what appeared to be a US citizen arguing with a gate agent about why her US-sized carry on (that was bursting at the seams and didn't pass they eyeball test even for a US carry on) should be allowed in the cabin even though it did not meet Air Baltic's size rules.

Skytrax has something of a reputation of being pay to play when it comes to their ratings.

And the US Big Four typically have an unpublished 'flat tire rule' about missed flights and being rebooked without charge or with a token change fee. It's not in the contract of carriage, but the airlines typically give gate agents the power to work with you if you seem appropriately polite, contrite, and/or pathetic.

I do think that a lot of folks, particularly those who don't do a lot of US domestic air travel, underestimate just how complex running a short haul-heavy route network can be. Many planes used for 6-8 flight segment per day, lots of tight turnarounds because a plane on the ground is losing rather than making money, all kinds of crazy other variables from weather to critters on runways. So the US carriers have had to become very good at both hitting their on time metrics and figuring out how to quickly get things back to normal when it does got off track.

I'd rather deal with IRROPS on the US Big Four carriers because they are often quite excellent at quick fixes and making sure passengers are protected on their onward routes than have to try to work something out with some of the carriers with the better reputation for friendly flight attendants but who seem to fall apart when flight delays hit.

Delta's dedication to wheelchair service is kind, competent, fast and reliable. I now use wheelchairs when I travel and my first time using wheelchair service was for an international open jaw itinerary last month. I've now been flying domestically and I cannot applaud Delta enough for the kindness of the Delta employees both on the phone and at the airport. Moreover, the airport employees at domestic airports who transport me (these aren't Delta employees) are also professional and very kind.

I had a flight on a new Delta route from Edinburgh to New York JFK. They changed the type of aircraft after I made my original reservation and seat assignments. Fortunately the new aircraft was a 767 twin aisle with a 2-3-2 seat configuration. Too my surprise they moved us to better seats on the new aircraft, two seats on the side of the plane and in the bulkhead row. We had used miles for a frequent flyer award for this flight and somehow they put us in premium economy, this flight was the best economy flight experience I have ever had.

I want to add something to this thread, but I have never had that magical WOW moment with any airline.

I have had good service, though, and that usually pushes me (in my local market) to select Delta over any other airline.

In 2005 we planned a trip to Florence Italy. Shortly before the trip, my wife broke her ankle and we had to reschedule the trip for later in the year. We went to airport so we could talk to a live person at the Delta counter. He knew we were rebooking the flight, so he said to my wife: You didn't plan to break your ankle, so I am going to waive the change fee.

Another thumbs up for Delta (our local market airlines). One tIme we were delayed 3 hours in the Passport Control line at CDG. Delta held the plane for several of us heading back to Seattle. Another unexpected experience was getting upgraded from Comfort to Business Class minutes before takeoff. The desk agent explained that my seat was needed for a wheelchair bound passenger.

Here is another story:

Last spring we moved my 89 year old wheelchair bound mom from Florida to Connecticut. Somehow we got her on the plane (Southwest airlines), but I was worried about how to get her off. Right after the plane landed, three Southwest employees appeared, lifted my mom out of her seat and placed her in the wheelchair!

These tales have reminded me of one of our experiences with Delta. It was the weekend when Hurricane Irene blew through the D.C. area. We attended my niece’s wedding in Baltimore, and were to fly to Spain the next day.. When we got to checkin at IAD, my husband discovered he had left his passport at home. The airport was absolutely jammed with people whose flights had been canceled, some of them behaving none too courteously to the airline personnel who were doing their best. The woman we dealt with found out when we could get the passport, got us rebooked for that day at no fee, and gave us a list of hotels with cut rates for “distressed passengers.” We wound up staying at a Sheraton for $65/night. We actually wound up missing only 3 days of our trip. A better outcome than we could possibly have imagined.

I don't have a really WOW moment, but I was very pleasantly surprised by an American Airlines flight I took from Paris to Chicago in mid-November. I didn’t pay to reserve a seat (I seem to remember they were like $189, and I was too cheap), but when I checked in the day before I was able to get an aisle seat (my preference for the trans-Atlantic flights).

Then when we boarded the plane, it was a nice (seemingly new) Boeing 787, and very comfortable (well as comfortable as Coach class can be) — decent space around the seat, newly fit out, nice individual entertainment system with a zillion movies. Then the woman in the window seat and I had no one in between us, so it felt like luxury!!!

I really don't know when I’ve been on such a comfortable trans-Atlantic flight (except for the time back in 2005 or 2006 that I got upgraded to Business from IAD to CDG, I’ll never know why. ). Just a very pleasant surprise, and totally different from the AA flight CDG to JFK that I took in March, which was on an old plane that still had ashtrays in the armrests, and one bulky tv hanging out of the ceiling for every several rows and was soooooooo cramped. Luckily I was flying with my husband so the forced intimacy wasn't like when you're sitting next to a stranger!!.

I will say that in November, I accompanied my parents from Tulsa to Burbank on Southwest, and we finally decided it was time to get my mom a wheelchair, so we filled out the appropriate information online and wondered how it would work. I have to say, our experience was like Bob's — the Southwest staff was incredibly helpful and very timely at every departure, change, and arrival with the wheelchair assistance, it made me feel a lot better that my parents can at least continue flying to see my brother and his family even if I'm not there.

I almost forgot... A couple of years ago, I had a tight connection in Seattle on Delta, going from one of the satellite concourses to one of the main concourses. As I walked off the plane at my arrival gate, I noticed a guy in a coat and tie holding up a tablet with my name on the screen. I identified myself. He smiled and led me out the side door of the jet bridge, down to the apron where a Porsche Cayenne was waiting. He loaded me and my bag into the Porsche and drove me amongst the planes to my departure gate, where he walked me back into the building, thanked me for being a Delta customer, and then disappeared into the crowd.

A few years ago my wife was traveling on Delta and needed to make a tight connection in Detroit for a late flight. She looked at the Arrivals monitor instead of the Departures monitor, and went to the wrong gate. Yes, she missed her flight, but the Delta customer service rep took pity on her, rebooked her for the next morning, and gave her a voucher to cover a night at the airport hotel. When I get frustrated with airlines, I tell myself that they try hard to do good things too.

I flew open jaw on Delta internationally last month for the first time with the need of a wheelchair and from reservations to gate agents to FAs -- the people could not have been kinder nor more considerate.