Their airplanes and employees are new, at least compared to "legacy" airlines, that keeps their costs (relatively) low. If they still exist in 15 years we'll be having this same discussion except the roles will be reversed. "Jet Blue sucks but _ _ _ _ _ is so much better and cheaper!"
Explain how Air NZ does it then?
Profitable,
doesn't have these "extra" charges.
Been around since the 1950's and has an elderly but well maintained fleet.
Only a few airlines that I'd fly;
Air NZ
Singapore Air
Emirates
JAL
Singapore is the best by a long way though, again an old airline, often the cheapest out of NZ and the best service.
Within the US, I haven't really had a terrible time nor a good one with any airline. I tend to just buy cheapest and it hasn't bit me in a the ass yet.
This summer when flying to Europe I decided to splurge a little and buy a direct flight from SF to Zurich. It was probably the best time I have ever had on a flight. And it over eleven hours. They were really accommodating with the whole me being six foot four inches tall and me switching seats. I will definitely be booking more flights with them whenever the chance comes up.
Within Europe the budget or whatever they call themselves airlines of EasyJet and RyanAir are hilarious. I have never seen people running onto an airplane to get seats.
I booked on the 3rd of this month with Singapore, flew on the 4th, the price was only slightly more than I would usually pay booking 4 or 5 months out. I had to rebook my return flights while in Australia, took 2 minutes on the phone at no extra cost. Flawless service.
When I went to San Antonio, I got to experience the awesomeness that is priority boarding. My mother-in-law was traveling in a wheelchair, and we got to get on first and occupy the front row. The downside was that since we had to wait for gate delivery of the wheelchair, we were the last to get off the plane. This was on South West. We had to change our tickets, and we only had to pay the fare difference.
Explain how Air NZ does it then?
Profitable,
doesn't have these "extra" charges.
Been around since the 1950's and has an elderly but well maintained fleet.
Only a few airlines that I'd fly;
Air NZ
Singapore Air
Emirates
JAL
Singapore is the best by a long way though, again an old airline, often the cheapest out of NZ and the best service.
I was speaking of US based carriers. Foreign operators seem to exist in a totally separate dimension when compared to US airlines in terms of service and reliability. How they do it is beyond me, but I know whenever I've flown on any foreign carrier I always wind up feeling slightly embarrassed for the Domestic airline industry.
BTW, 1st Class on SW is simply boarding in the first group for a $10 upgrade. Maybe it is no different than than BV's $20 seat/aisle selection, but it does require some user-headspace.
I spaced at the airport and ended up boarding last. Seemed ok to me that I was an idiot.
I always pay the $10. After being business select for so long with work, getting the emergancy aisle is a must for me. It's especially so now that most of my flights are 2.5+ hours from Denver to California. That SW flights are generally cheaper I have found, albeit in the West, is a big perk for me too. Their free flight plans are very clear with few restrictions, which I like too.
I was speaking of US based carriers. Foreign operators seem to exist in a totally separate dimension when compared to US airlines in terms of service and reliability. How they do it is beyond me, but I know whenever I've flown on any foreign carrier I always wind up feeling slightly embarrassed for the Domestic airline industry.
Often they have a certain amount of governemtn support. There is usually one major carrier for most of the large countries and some have govt funding from multiple countries.
I really don't like SW. They don't have that many non stop flights and I hate how they make you stand in their stupid line for boarding and make you fight for a seat. Plus, if you don't book months in advance they are crazy expensive. The only thing SW has over JB is their flight attendants are funnier.
Often they have a certain amount of governemtn support. There is usually one major carrier for most of the large countries and some have govt funding from multiple countries.
I always pay the $10. After being business select for so long with work, getting the emergancy aisle is a must for me. It's especially so now that most of my flights are 2.5+ hours from Denver to California. That SW flights are generally cheaper I have found, albeit in the West, is a big perk for me too. Their free flight plans are very clear with few restrictions, which I like too.
Not really in Air NZ's case, Government sold the airline in the 90's and then 5-6 years ago brought shares in it on the sharemarket for which it expects and gets a return just like any other investor.... it's not subsidized if your extracting a profit.
Only real government interference has been the shooting down of the Air NZ/Quantas merger.
Operator with 1 757-200 and 1 Falcon /= airline. I wonder how long those employees have been getting paid from credit card accounts. Time to find a new job!
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