I have to say,I am in the *go for the cheapest ticket* category,which means at some point,I have flown almost everything. I do not have a favorite company,and I have come to the conclusion that at some point,everyone of them runs into problems,some of the companies are just more adept at come backs than others: ) Old airplanes don't bother me,not having an individual tv at my seat,I can live with that as well.I want nice stewards and helpful airport staff when things don't turn out right.
This summer I actually sat on the tarmac for three hours,then had to de-planed and stand in line for SEVEN hours to get my trip re-booked after some mechanical problem with the plane. British brought out two employees to help reroute 500 displaces passengers from three different flights!It was somewhat of a nightmare,but the Delta flight they got me on was great.
I have to say,I am in the *go for the cheapest ticket* category,which means at some point,I have flown almost everything. I do not have a favorite company,and I have come to the conclusion that at some point,everyone of them runs into problems,some of the companies are just more adept at come backs than others: ) Old airplanes don't bother me,not having an individual tv at my seat,I can live with that as well.I want nice stewards and helpful airport staff when things don't turn out right.
This summer I actually sat on the tarmac for three hours,then had to de-planed and stand in line for SEVEN hours to get my trip re-booked after some mechanical problem with the plane. British brought out two employees to help reroute 500 displaces passengers from three different flights!It was somewhat of a nightmare,but the Delta flight they got me on was great.
:-| I think that would have pushed me over the edge. Did you have someone you could take turns with for actually waiting in line while the other sat down / went on a walk / took a bathroom break / grabbed something to eat?
BFP1: DD born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w3d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
Let's say it was a day for making friends: )I did manage to get away twice throughout the day. But were very few places to sit in the airport that day,because of all of the cancelled flights,unless you wanted to sit on the floor.
I have to say,being that I was alone,it wasn't too bad.It was HELL for the people with kids: ( At one point,they had an extra employee working with several families that had kids,to get them out faster (so the didn't have to wait in the line),but for whatever reason,the brilliant woman didn't seem to see the family with five under 6 year olds who were having melt downs ever ten minutes.Every time the poor dad tried to approach the desk to ask a question,he got death stares from everybody.I felt bad for that family.
Let's say it was a day for making friends: )I did manage to get away twice throughout the day. But were very few places to sit in the airport that day,because of all of the cancelled flights,unless you wanted to sit on the floor.
I have to say,being that I was alone,it wasn't too bad.It was HELL for the people with kids: ( At one point,they had an extra employee working with several families that had kids,to get them out faster (so the didn't have to wait in the line),but for whatever reason,the brilliant woman didn't seem to see the family with five under 6 year olds who were having melt downs ever ten minutes.Every time the poor dad tried to approach the desk to ask a question,he got death stares from everybody.I felt bad for that family.
I started to say, "I can only imagine" and then decided I wanted to imagine no such thing. I would probably send DH off with the kids to a hotel while I stood in line.
BFP1: DD born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w3d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
Well,you had to wait in line to get vouchers for the hotel/food new tickets ect.If they left before receiving their vouchers,they would have had to pay for all of that stuff out of pocket.Aside from the fact that everyone was *hoping* to be put immediately onto another flight.... I felt for them,the parents were working so hard to keep them calm,and a couple of them fell asleep during the day on top of their suitcases: (
Well,you had to wait in line to get vouchers for the hotel/food new tickets ect.If they left before receiving their vouchers,they would have had to pay for all of that stuff out of pocket.Aside from the fact that everyone was *hoping* to be put immediately onto another flight.... I felt for them,the parents were working so hard to keep them calm,and a couple of them fell asleep during the day on top of their suitcases: (
OMG two agents for 3 planes. Holy shit. I spent two hours on the plane and then they cancelled us for mechanics. United had 5-6 people working on it for one plane and it took awhile but not 7 hours. I think in the end it took me two hours to finally get my vouchers. I used my Dad's miles for the trip and along with the weather delay I had the next day...We were able to credit nearly all the miles back I used.
We've been flying Delta for years now so we generally use them or another SkyTeam partner. Their miles don't expire and DH is Diamond now so it would be stupid not to. I had a BA flight last month that was pretty good. Not great, but not severely lacking either. We fly China Eastern (also SkyTeam) a lot here and they are fine for short trips, but I refuse to fly them for longer flights because the seats feel smaller than normal and the planes just feel dirty and look old and dumpy. Also, the flight attendants can be very annoying and they seem to have extra unnecessary regulations for some things like what you can do in exit row seats. I flew them the first time I came to Shanghai and was miserable. I believe Virgin is joining SkyTeam in the next month or so, which is really exciting for us.
We've been flying Delta for years now so we generally use them or another SkyTeam partner. Their miles don't expire and DH is Diamond now so it would be stupid not to. I had a BA flight last month that was pretty good. Not great, but not severely lacking either. We fly China Eastern (also SkyTeam) a lot here and they are fine for short trips, but I refuse to fly them for longer flights because the seats feel smaller than normal and the planes just feel dirty and look old and dumpy. Also, the flight attendants can be very annoying and they seem to have extra unnecessary regulations for some things like what you can do in exit row seats. I flew them the first time I came to Shanghai and was miserable. I believe Virgin is joining SkyTeam in the next month or so, which is really exciting for us.
What?! A few years ago I remember getting an email from Delta that I had to use my miles or lose them. That was maybe 3.5 years ago - have policies changed since then?
BFP1: DD born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w3d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
We've been flying Delta for years now so we generally use them or another SkyTeam partner. Their miles don't expire and DH is Diamond now so it would be stupid not to. I had a BA flight last month that was pretty good. Not great, but not severely lacking either. We fly China Eastern (also SkyTeam) a lot here and they are fine for short trips, but I refuse to fly them for longer flights because the seats feel smaller than normal and the planes just feel dirty and look old and dumpy. Also, the flight attendants can be very annoying and they seem to have extra unnecessary regulations for some things like what you can do in exit row seats. I flew them the first time I came to Shanghai and was miserable. I believe Virgin is joining SkyTeam in the next month or so, which is really exciting for us.
What?! A few years ago I remember getting an email from Delta that I had to use my miles or lose them. That was maybe 3.5 years ago - have policies changed since then?
Northwest had a never-expire mileage program that was a huge selling point for them. I think Delta adopted it after the acquisition because otherwise they would have lost all the Northwest customers.
We've been flying Delta for years now so we generally use them or another SkyTeam partner. Their miles don't expire and DH is Diamond now so it would be stupid not to. I had a BA flight last month that was pretty good. Not great, but not severely lacking either. We fly China Eastern (also SkyTeam) a lot here and they are fine for short trips, but I refuse to fly them for longer flights because the seats feel smaller than normal and the planes just feel dirty and look old and dumpy. Also, the flight attendants can be very annoying and they seem to have extra unnecessary regulations for some things like what you can do in exit row seats. I flew them the first time I came to Shanghai and was miserable. I believe Virgin is joining SkyTeam in the next month or so, which is really exciting for us.
What?! A few years ago I remember getting an email from Delta that I had to use my miles or lose them. That was maybe 3.5 years ago - have policies changed since then?
We've been flying Delta for years now so we generally use them or another SkyTeam partner. Their miles don't expire and DH is Diamond now so it would be stupid not to. I had a BA flight last month that was pretty good. Not great, but not severely lacking either. We fly China Eastern (also SkyTeam) a lot here and they are fine for short trips, but I refuse to fly them for longer flights because the seats feel smaller than normal and the planes just feel dirty and look old and dumpy. Also, the flight attendants can be very annoying and they seem to have extra unnecessary regulations for some things like what you can do in exit row seats. I flew them the first time I came to Shanghai and was miserable. I believe Virgin is joining SkyTeam in the next month or so, which is really exciting for us.
Also, I hadn't heard this but if it is true, then that is great. That really was my only big complaint with being in the Virgin Flying Club, it has had a really weak partner airline program. I was thinking that I would have to shop around for another frequent flyer program in order to more flexibly accrue miles, but if this is the case then problem solved. I just hope they don't decide to cost cut all the perks that make Virgin a great airline for the passengers who need to be distracted/can't fall asleep easily (like me ).
So I misspoke slightly: there is a chance Virgin Atlantic will join skyteam, as Delta purchased a large share of them from Singapore - but the merger is still awaiting approval. Here is an article talking about it, although not in detail: travel.cnn.com/aviation-year-preview-2013-year-will-they-or-wont-they-535811
What?! A few years ago I remember getting an email from Delta that I had to use my miles or lose them. That was maybe 3.5 years ago - have policies changed since then?
I've been a Sky Miles member for a decade. My miles have never expired. I don't think I've flown every year in that time period. I might have, I just don't remember it.
I think it was after 2 years or maybe 1.5 they were going to expire. Definitely longer than just one year, but I'm thrilled to hear they don't anymore :- )
BFP1: DD born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w3d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
PS - For the other networks, where miles do expire... They expire after a period of x years with no activity. Any activity will keep the account active, including partner purchases. I rarely fly AA, so to keep those miles active, every two years or so I log on to their website and buy my mom a bouquet from FTD. I earn a few hundred miles, and it gives me another few years' grace period.
Just thought I'd share a handy tip a friend once gave me.
Post by jennybee1018 on Jan 8, 2013 3:02:36 GMT -5
We always fly Qatar Airways since we get miles with them, and I love their service. It's also a direct flight to the US, so we don't have to deal with layovers and such. QA has PTV's with tons of movies, shows and even music to listen to. The food is decent, and I like that they leave the cart out all the time so you can stop back and grab a snack or soda when you get up to stretch!
We flew Delta over Christmas in the US, and they were fine. Free soda and mini bags of pretzels or peanuts so it's better than nothing. However, no PTV's on our short flights, but we anticipated that and put movies on our iPads to watch.
I'd like to fly Virgin sometime because I've heard good things! When leaving from Dulles, we get to hang out in the Virgin lounge (since QA doesn't have one), and it's really awesome :-)