By a wide margin, US Airways is your least favorite airline

The results of our weekend survey are in, and they’re a little bit of a bombshell. I asked you to name your least favorite major domestic airline, and the fact that US Airways won is no surprise.

But the fact that it won by such a margin was something of a shocker, at least to me.

With 631 ballots cast over three days, almost 34 percent of the votes went to US Airways. American Airlines was the runner-up, with 20 percent. United Airlines (19 percent) Delta Air Lines (17 percent) and Southwest Airlines (9 percent) rounded out the bottom.

The least least favorite airline? JetBlue Airways, with just 2 percent of the vote.

Let’s go straight to your comments.

My least favorite airline is US Airways, for many reasons.

First, poor service.

Second, fees and prices. They seem to always be the first to roll out new fees.

And third, poor treatment of employees (yes, I have friends who work for US Airways).

That’s from reader Brenda McElroy, and it pretty much sums up what everyone else said about US Airways. Despite signifiant improvements, both in service and in the profits department, US Airways still has a long way to go before they move it out of the “least favorite” category, according to many travelers.

American scored poorly for similar reasons. Here’s reader David Brakebill:

American is the worst, mostly because their service is atrocious.

Being based in Key West, I have to fly via Miami, and also flying the Executive Airlines subsidiary of American Eagle — old turboprop service, never on time, snarky personnel. I’ll stop there!

Mary Babcock doesn’t like Delta because … well, it isn’t Northwest.

The service is nothing compared to what it was when it was Northwest. You can no longer upgrade using miles on line when purchasing your ticket.

I’m Platinum and not always upgraded. With Northwest as a gold I was always upgraded.

Using Delta’s online ticketing system is crazy sometimes it tells you you can’t book for the price it gives you that you have to call in and then the price is much higher.

And from reader Paolo Lawrie comes this love letter for Southwest:

It’s the worst airline.

No assigned seats. A no-frills approach. No premium economy, business or first. No upgrades.

Lack of presence on web searches for flights. Ugly livery and interiors. Second-tier cities served are inconvenient. Standing in line for boarding passes.

They also have a smug approach, and think they’re the best.

I wanted to also give a nod to Spirit Airlines. Even though I didn’t include the carrier in the poll (too small) several of you nominated the company as your least favorite. Had I featured it as an option, I’m sure it would have done well.

  • Batal Mariotelli

    I can endure a lot of stuff as long as I don’t have to fight for a seat. Southwest is hands down the worst experience to fly

  • Mike Lemire

    I have always enjoyed flying Southwest mainly because of the no frills environment. I do have a better experience on Jet Blue but they do not offer the same travel routes in general. I am not a business frequent traveller but between business and personal neccessity I do fly 10-20 segments per year on a multitude of airlines. I do fly on price alone but I also avidly read consumer artiles like those posted here. I find because this results in a better sense of expectation even if sometimes it is lower than it otherwise would be I have become a more satisfied traveller. However as airfares rise (I believe they are significantly higher) other modes of transportation do become more viable. I am not going to pay $300 for a flight from LA to LAS VEGAS when I can drive but that same option at $100 is a no brainer for me.

  • Eric

    I live in Charlotte NC, which is one of the major US Airways hubs. I don’t really see where US Air is any worse or any better than any of the airlines. I’ve had miserable experiences on every airline I’ve ever flown at one time or another.

    None of them know a thing about customer service or have a clue how to run a business. Other than the government, I’m not sure there is a more mismanaged operation out there.

  • Kim

    Everything Paolo cites as a negative about Southwest is what I appreciate. No frills, no classes, everyone for themselves but done with a sense of humor. I’ll stay away from your legacy airlines and you stay away from SWA :)

  • John

    I voted Southwest. My choice of best airline is AA, by far. I like to fly mainly long haul domestic and overseas. With AA, it’s pretty easy to get to even the lowest tier Elite status and start accumulating more miles and get access to good seats and free upgrades. Most imporantly, I can use my AA miles to get award tickets to travel literally all over the world. You can’t do that with Southwest. I supposed if my travel needs had me flying PHX-LAS every week, then I’m sure I’d like Southwest the most. But for someone who likes to actually fly somewhere father than 500 miles, Southwest is the worst.

  • Brian\PVD

    The thing I used to hate about Southwest is that you used to have to camp out in line at the gate to get a good boarding spot. Now all you have to do is check in early enough, and stay comfortably seated until you board.

    In the old days of full service airlines, I would have agreed with Paolo. In the new world order of smaller and smaller planes, less and less legroom, and more and more fees, I’ll take SWA any day.

  • Raven

    SWA is my favorite. I don’t have to “fight” for a seat. I just check in online 24 hrs before the flight and I’ve always received a “High A” boarding pass. I can usually score the exit row with that because the “pre-boarders” can’t sit there and most people who are traveling in a group/family don’t sit in the exit rows.

    I HATE Delta. That craptastic airline left me stranded in NYC in 1996 and I haven’t forgiven them yet. It wasn’t weather–it was equipment. They lined us all up, gave out hotel vouchers, but did it so that “young people” (everyone 30 and under, traveling alone) were put at the back of the line. I saw family after family receive vouchers for 4 rooms each. 4 ROOMS for 4 people!!!! By the time they got to us, nothing. “Oh, you guys are college kids! You can just camp out in the terminal!” The gate agent said happily. Um. NO. I was a paying customer just like those families…

  • David Z

    Goes to show different folks have different needs for different airlines, despite one saying they’re bad while the other saying they’re good.

  • Chris in NC

    I will repeat my comments again. When I lived in Charlotte and had to travel frequently for business, most of my flights were on US Air. Now, since I travel on my own dime, I am a “free agent” and choose flights based on price and schedule. Thus, I have flown all of the airlines in the survey but JetBlue.

    I love it when someone says “___ is the WORST because of ___” Truth be told, fly enough and you can say that about ANY airline or ANY travel provider! Even when I was Chairman’s Preferred on US Airways, I remember one time they totally screwed me, but I agree with Eric, they are no worse than the other “legacy” airlines.

    As for WN, the thing I appreciate the MOST about them is their “new” boarding process. It avoids the chaotic blob of people that mill around the gate, and the mass rush when a particular zone is called. For those who are unfamiliar with WN’s boarding process, everyone lines up A 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 to 49-50, then B 1-2, etc. There are no assigned seats, its first come-first served.

    WN also allows you to change flights with NO CHANGE FEES (try that with any other carriers) and their meal service (ie pretzels, chips, cookies) is more generous than any other so called “legacy” carriers in coach.

    Yes, WN has a limited route structure and does not fly international, but hey, no one airlines flys everywhere! Had to fly out of ECP this summer and only WN and DL fly there!

    What I don’t like about WN is connections. If your inbound connecting flight is late, it can jeopardize your position in line for the outbound connecting flight. I will say traveling on WN is much easier as a solo traveler versus traveling with non-minor companions.

  • http://jennymcb.blogspot.com/ Jennymcb

    If I have to choose between US Air or Southwest, I will take Southwest for the ability to change flights at the last minute without a penalty.

  • Van Potts

    Southwest is BY FAR the best airline…Paolo, dude, when’s the last time you flew Southwest?

    If Southwest could figure out profitably and logistically manage an F or J cabin…game over…they’d beat everyone a hundred fold.

    If there was one thing WN could fix…it would be checking baggage…never an easy thing on them.

    I agree, sadly, with US Airways…not a good airline to fly.

  • George

    I think that it’s important to take into consideration that JetBlue doesn’t come close to the passenger traffic carried by the legacy carriers. So JetBlue being at the bottom might be misleading.

  • thomas h white

    “SWA is my favorite. I don’t have to “fight” for a seat. I just check in online 24 hrs before the flight and I’ve always received a “High A” boarding pass.”

    I’ve heard this from multiple people. However, the last time I took a southwest flight I checked in 23:58 minutes ahead of my scheduled flight time (missed by 2 minutes the 24 hours) and ended up deep in the B group meaning I got lousy seat assignments. As more people are becoming familiar with the 24 hour check-in and the $10 early opportunity the ability to get a good seat is going to be more of a lottery.

    Also, I like travelling with companions. This often doesn’t work out too well on Southwest. Instead of being seated with my friends I’ve been seated next to some random overlarge dude and a cologne drenched woman. The flight from &*(&.

    However, weirdly I’ve almost always had reasonable flights on USAir out of my local airport. So, it just goes to show that all of the airlines can provide good/bad experiences.

  • travelgal

    I have to agree with Mary Babcock and her assessment of the “new” Delta. With NWA I was almost always upgraded, and as a Platinum when I wasn’t, I was given 1,000 WorldPerks miles as a “We’re sorry you weren’t upgraded”.

    And the Delta website quite frankly – sucks. It won’t give me flight options or connection combinations that I can clearly find on other travel websites. When I search using the “Schedule” option I can see more flights, but there’s no logical sort order that I can see, and no way for me to put them in – oh let’s say order by time of departure. You’d think that would be the default sort when I choose to search by “Schedule”, wouldn’t you?

  • Steve

    I think there’s a distinction to be made between complaints about airlines that aren’t compatible with what I want in terms of service, and airlines that provide bad service. Of course, someone who flies long-haul internationally or who is an elite-level FF isn’t going to have any use for Southwest. OTOH, someone who only flies domestic and doesn’t fly anywhere near enough to earn first-class upgrades doesn’t have a reason to prefer a legacy carrier unless the service and/or price are better than Southwest. For some people, that’s true; for others, it’s not.

    There’s no seating system that will please everyone. What I don’t like about the legacy carriers is that if you don’t buy a ticket well in advance, odds are decent you’ll be stuck with a middle seat. Add in the number of “premium” economy seats that you can’t reserve without paying extra, and in some respects seating on the legacy carriers is worse. A couple of times on a business trip, I’ve gotten stuck with a middle seat because when the travel was booked, I couldn’t reserve a seat – the only ones available cost extra, and my employer won’t cover that. So I got a lousy seat assignment at check-in.

    I’ve had little trouble with Southwest’s system. Checking in 24 hours in advance, I get a late A or early B, which is fine by me (all I care is that I get a window seat; I don’t care where on the plane it is). I know their early check-in system is unpopular with some, but the fact is that for an extra $10 you can pretty much guarantee yourself an A…so if it’s really important to you to be seated with your group, factor that in to the cost of the ticket.

  • Linda

    When we lived in the PHL area, we used to joke:
    “We don’t care, we’re USAir” . . which sums it up entirely.

  • Laura

    I will add my $.02 as to why I’ll avoid US Air at all cost next time I fly. I chose to fly them home one-way (PHX to AUS) the other day. Got on the small plane (2 & 2 configuration) with very narrow aisle and seats. Fine, nothing new.

    Shortly thereafter we get to meet mother flight attendant who announced that we were not allowed to use the seat back pocket for personal belongings or drinks, because it “stretches it out for the next person or leaves the pocket goopy with drink”.

    I’ve been flying a long, long time and fly at least once every 3 months and never, ever, was told NOT to use the seat back pocket on a plane! I could understand if I was trying to shove a 5-pound laptop in it, but a drink bottle?

    I chose to ignore her (as did many others) and put my bottled drink in the seat back pocket. I am not a big person, but could not get to stuff under my seat without a challenge and basically making a scene, and there certainly was no room to just keep it in my lap given the size of the seat.

    She promptly went around and made everyone remove their drinks and put it under the seat, with a very condescending and motherly tone.

    Give me a break. This was Mesa airlines, but I don’t care. They fly for US Airways and can they can both stuff it. It’s not like it was her personal airplane!

  • http://twitter.com/cestbeth Beth

    I am a Delta Gold Medallion flyer and Delta is improving. I think they hit a few bumps during the merger, but now things are starting to smooth back out. If I fly and something goes wrong, I always receive a survey a day or two later asking how they could have handled it better. Delta has recommitted themselves to customer service by adding back the “Red Coat” Passenger Service Agents (PSAs) at their primary airports. The website is going through a complete overhaul, if you haven’t checked it out lately. I just returned from an event where HVCs (High Value Customers) met with Delta management and other employees and we discussed with them what is going well and what needs improvement. I believe they are listening to us. And as Gold, I am 85% on upgrades this year and I usually buy the lowest fares (L, U, and T), so I certainly can’t complain about that percentage! Delta meets my needs and I am happy with what I have received for my money.

  • Carrie Charney

    Am I to assume that you already consider Continental to be United? I wouldn’t have chosen Continental for worst. I was just wondering about its omission.

  • ronnie

    just flew USair to Europe…grim beyond belief. the goverment should issue a public warning to stay away from the combination of USair and London Gatwick South terminal.
    Flew Swiss from Zurich to Nice and Olympic from Athens to Amsterdam and every high level management person at Usair should be ordered to fly these airlines and see how it can and should be. snacks/wine free even on 45 min flight. USair even charge for headsets on a 9 hour flight!!!. never ever again.