06-06-2014, 02:10 AM
My experience has been very different from yours. I used to fly frequently for work. Never made it to 1k status, but had some of the nicer perks that go along with being an elite status flyer.
Was once treated so badly by a United gate agent that a flight attendant gave me a BOTTLE of champagne once cabin service started (and I was in coach) and told me he had filed a complaint on my behalf.
I was stranded in Newark for not one, but two nights by American Airlines. No compensation either night. None. No food, no hotel.
Now I fly 4 or 5 times per year. If I am going domestic, I look for Southwest FIRST. If international, Lufthansa.
They all suck in their own special ways, but my complaints with SW are much lower because my expectations are lower. That said, I can count on one hand the times I have been treated badly by a flight attendant or gate agent. As a rule, I have found them to be very pleasant and often, really fun (especially when doing boarding announcements.)
Was once treated so badly by a United gate agent that a flight attendant gave me a BOTTLE of champagne once cabin service started (and I was in coach) and told me he had filed a complaint on my behalf.
I was stranded in Newark for not one, but two nights by American Airlines. No compensation either night. None. No food, no hotel.
Now I fly 4 or 5 times per year. If I am going domestic, I look for Southwest FIRST. If international, Lufthansa.
They all suck in their own special ways, but my complaints with SW are much lower because my expectations are lower. That said, I can count on one hand the times I have been treated badly by a flight attendant or gate agent. As a rule, I have found them to be very pleasant and often, really fun (especially when doing boarding announcements.)