Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: C(Sea)Bass on March 18, 2009, 01:21:33 PM
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I don't really fly anywhere very often so I don't know too much about what airlines are better, so I was hoping you all could help me make a decision. Next month I will be flying from Boston, MA to West Palm Beach, FL. I did some research and the cheapest flights I could find were from JetBlue and Delta. Both are the same price and have similar departure times. Since I am a bigger guy (5'11, 250) comfort is a top priority.
The JetBlue flight is on an A320 and the Delta flight on an MD-88. Would one of them be more comfortable than the other?
Is either airline known for poor service (I did have a bad experience with Delta about 15 years ago)?
Do either of these airlines let you select your seats when booking?
I know the MD-88's seats are in a 2-3 setup, how are the A320s seats set up? (I am going with a friend so I would prefer a 2 seat row so we don't get stuck next to some weirdo again.)
Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
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I would go with Jetblue, One of my friends dads is a pilot for them and from what i understand everyone gets a tv on the back of there seat even for Coach class.
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I've never flown JetBlue, so I can't comment.
Delta sucks...as does American, Continental and US Airways.
I am on an American Airlines flight to New York tomorrow, followed by a Continental flight back home on Friday. Even up front I dread the whole experience.
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Try Spirit Air, i fly to Ft Myers, Fl. from Chicago four or five times a year to visit my dad. Plus they have the
BIG FRONT SEAT™
http://www.spiritair.com/Default.aspx
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If you are flying coach, you are going to get a small seat. It's just plane business sense. The more you pack in = more $$$.
Your best bet in coach is to get an emergency exit seat. More legroom. That is one area that by regulation cannot be cramped. Plus should you have an unscheduled landing, you can be the first out. :aok
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Delta = Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive.
I'd go with JetBlue to pick between the two. You get DirectTV with even a map to show where you are on the coast. It's really great, A320 sounds about right and it's fairly comfortable as well.
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As Round eye said get the emergency seat. There is usually only 2 seats and it has the most room. You will need to arrive earlier than required unless you can book your seat at time of your ticket purchase.
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www.seatguru.com
:aok
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My wife & daughter just got in late last night from Kalifornia (Disneyland). My daughter's first time flying was going up there. She is 18. On the way back yesterday evening about an hour out of LAX the pilot anounces to everyone that they had an indicator and that upon landing they may have a blowout or lock the brakes. He said not to be concerned about the emergency vehicles when they land in Houston.
Control brought them in on the longest strip and they landed without fanfare. My wife said emergency vehicles were all along the runway and as they passed the vehicles quickly fell in behind. They followed the bird all the way to where the passengers get off. Firemen were all around the plane and as my wife and daughter got off there were 2 fully outfitted firement standing there too.
Well needless to say i don't see my wife and daughter flying anywhere anytime soon.
Continental flight 541 from LAX to Houston (Bush)
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My wife & daughter just got in late last night from Kalifornia (Disneyland). My daughter's first time flying was going up there. She is 18. On the way back yesterday evening about an hour out of LAX the pilot anounces to everyone that they had an indicator and that upon landing they may have a blowout or lock the brakes. He said not to be concerned about the emergency vehicles when they land in Houston.
Control brought them in on the longest strip and they landed without fanfare. My wife said emergency vehicles were all along the runway and as they passed the vehicles quickly fell in behind. They followed the bird all the way to where the passengers get off. Firemen were all around the plane and as my wife and daughter got off there were 2 fully outfitted firement standing there too.
Well needless to say i don't see my wife and daughter flying anywhere anytime soon.
Continental flight 541 from LAX to Houston (Bush)
Not every flight is perfect. Your family is safe, no credits to the pilot whatsoever?
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I'd go with JetBlue if you're riding in coach. You'll get a TV and radio. The MD-88s are good rides further forward in the cabin (first class) if that's how you'll travel. Very quiet and you'll get all biscoff cookies you can eat.
Contrary to popular belief the airlines don't go out of their way to lose your bags. You never hear about it but I've only had one bag ever go missing. This was August 2001 on my way to a golf tournament where my golf bag didn't make the connection in O'Hare that I barely made due to weather leaving Columbus.
When it comes to travel in general I'm not what I'd call brand loyal. They all give you about the same product so I choose my airline based on where I'll be traveling to. If I'm trying to end up somewhere in the southeast, I'll choose Delta connecting through Atlanta. Further west I might choose United through Denver and for the south American out of DFW. I airline out of Philadelphia now so that opens up some options to getting where I want to be. I also get picky when it comes to the type of airplane and will arrange my schedule based on that. I do all I can to avoid paying for a ticket on a CRJ or <50 seat ERJ. The Embraer 170/175/190/195 is a good comfortable ride in the back and several domestic airlines operate them including US Airways, JetBlue and Delta/Northwest. The 170/190 series also do not have a middle seat. So far I've managed to defy the odds and have yet to be placed in a middle seat between two gorgeous swimsuit models, playboy bunnies or frisky college coeds going to spring break so the middle seat has no attraction to me.
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FLY JETBLUE! I flew with the last year to Fla., and the fleet is all new aircraft, clean, and yes there is t.v. with cable on every seat. They provide you with headphones or you can pay $2.00 for a nicer set wich you keep. I've flown every major airline and I was most impressed with Blue.
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Thanks for all the info.
I looked around the internet and found alot of positive reveiws fro JetBlue besides the ones here. Also their website allows me to pick my seats. I had planned on trying to get the exit row seats and hopefully they are available. If not I was thinking of trying to get seats towards the front where it will be quieter. I'm not too worried about getting a middle seat (the person traveling with me happens to be a very beautiful young lady whom I wouldn't mind being forced to squeeze up against :D).
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Yeah I would go with Jetblue. I've never flow them but I've heard nothing but good things. I fly Midwest 70% of the time a smaller regional airline and I would recomend them but I doubt its an option for you. Northwest is ok I fly them quite a bit too but they are big so problems do happen from time to time.
I think a lot of problems you hear about airlines has a lot to do with which aiport you are flying from or through on a lay over. I've never had any problems with direct flights I've taken from Milwaukee to different locations. But you through a layover in at Ohare or Detroit and it can become a total cluster f*#@ I flew United once form Milwaukee to Pittsburgh with a layover in Chicago Ohare. Ended up being a 13 hour trip with delays and missed connections. To top it off they lost my road case filled with about 1500 dollars in cymbals and we got into town so late we missed our gig. That was our first and last time on United
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Another thing to think about, I'm pretty sure Jet Blue flies direct from Boston to West Palm Beach while Delta will try to trap you in Atlanta. Direct flights are so much nicer.
wrongway
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Delta = Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive.
D on't
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thats the one i've heard
Try southwest, usually the cheapest. Also try Airtran, look at some of the airlines websites, usually they give out deals that are better than travelosity or priceline or whatever, their "web specials" as they call them. I know jetblue and i think south west have no first class so every seat is coach sized.
I was on a jetblue flight once and said to my friend, wheres the first class on this plane? the freindly flight attendant passing by was quick to say, "well sir on jetblue every seat is first class" lol Great airline though, gotta love the tv in every seat.
But everyone i know swears by southwest, they seem to always have the lowest price and great "web specials" so definatly check that out.
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D on't
E ver
L eave
T he
A irport
thats the one i've heard
Try southwest, usually the cheapest. Also try Airtran, look at some of the airlines websites, usually they give out deals that are better than travelosity or priceline or whatever, their "web specials" as they call them. I know jetblue and i think south west have no first class so every seat is coach sized.
I was on a jetblue flight once and said to my friend, wheres the first class on this plane? the freindly flight attendant passing by was quick to say, "well sir on jetblue every seat is first class" lol Great airline though, gotta love the tv in every seat.
But everyone i know swears by southwest, they seem to always have the lowest price and great "web specials" so definatly check that out.
SWA is good, never a problem with them. They only fly 737s and have the fastest turn around time in the airline world.
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CB, Jet Blue may sub out the flights, usually to Virgin America. It's still a good airline. I'd also check into Direct Air. Having flown Delta and AA a few times, I can't say one nice thing about them. Hope this helps.
Obie
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D on't
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L eave
T he
A irport
thats the one i've heard
Try southwest, usually the cheapest. Also try Airtran, look at some of the airlines websites, usually they give out deals that are better than travelosity or priceline or whatever, their "web specials" as they call them. I know jetblue and i think south west have no first class so every seat is coach sized.
I was on a jetblue flight once and said to my friend, wheres the first class on this plane? the freindly flight attendant passing by was quick to say, "well sir on jetblue every seat is first class" lol Great airline though, gotta love the tv in every seat.
But everyone i know swears by southwest, they seem to always have the lowest price and great "web specials" so definatly check that out.
I looked at Southwest because they fly out of Providence which is smaller and close to me. Problem is the price for a 1 way to PBI is more than the total roundtrip from BOS and has a layover at BWI. The flight I got from JetBlue is nonstop, as was the Delta flight.
I did fly Southwest from Orlando to Providence once, we stopped at Raleigh and BWI. We had a 45 minute delay in Raleigh due to a broken altimeter (like we really need that :D), but the crew was very nice about it. I would fly them again if the price wasn't so much higher.
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CB, Jet Blue may sub out the flights, usually to Virgin America. It's still a good airline. I'd also check into Direct Air. Having flown Delta and AA a few times, I can't say one nice thing about them. Hope this helps.
Obie
Yeah, flew AA from ALB>OHare>PHX last Feb. It was a decent flight and not much wrong, but we got delayed in OHare to storms.
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Not every flight is perfect. Your family is safe, no credits to the pilot whatsoever?
Sounds more like he caught a display on his gear indicator telling him there MIGHT be an issue. Props on flying a proper "pan-pan" landing though!
In radiotelephone communications, a call of pan-pan is used to signify that there is an urgency on board a boat, ship, aircraft or other vehicle but that, for the time being at least, there is no immediate danger to anyone's life or to the vessel itself. This is referred to as a state of urgency. This is distinct from a Mayday call, which means that there is imminent danger to life or to the continued viability of the vessel itself. Thus 'pan-pan' will inform potential rescuers (including emergency services and other craft in the area) that a safety problem exists whereas 'mayday' will call upon them to drop all other activities and immediately instigate a rescue attempt.
The correct usage is "Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan", followed by the intended recipient of the message, either "All Stations, All Stations, All Stations" or a specific station, "Vancouver Coast Guard Radio, Vancouver Coast Guard Radio, Vancouver Coast Guard Radio", the identification of the craft, its position, the nature of the problem and the type of assistance or advice required, if any.
If possible I suggest SouthWest Airlines, have only good things to say about them. ;)
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While looking at flights I noticed something kind of odd. JetBlue has a flight out of BOS to PBI nonstop leaving at 8:17, then another at 8:20. The 8:20 flight arrives 4 minutes before the 8:17. They are listed as the same plane type. Does the first flight take the scenic route or something?
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I'd rather let a minor issue develop into a major one before I say "Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan" on the radio.
Unless of course I own a Sanpan boat which case I might be tempted to call it Pan-pan.
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While looking at flights I noticed something kind of odd. JetBlue has a flight out of BOS to PBI nonstop leaving at 8:17, then another at 8:20. The 8:20 flight arrives 4 minutes before the 8:17. They are listed as the same plane type. Does the first flight take the scenic route or something?
To the right of those sets of numbers you'll see "am" and "pm."
Morning and evening not withstanding those times are block-out to block-in. They will compensate for the projected time it will take for taxi out and taxi in. These times can vary fairly dramatically based on what time it is in Boston and Palm Beach depending on the various rush hours throughout the day. Each airplane is flight planned the same route so the only thing that would affect the enroute time provided no delays, shortcuts or speed restrictions is the wind at altitude.
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To the right of those sets of numbers you'll see "am" and "pm."
Morning and evening not withstanding those times are block-out to block-in. They will compensate for the projected time it will take for taxi out and taxi in. These times can vary fairly dramatically based on what time it is in Boston and Palm Beach depending on the various rush hours throughout the day. Each airplane is flight planned the same route so the only thing that would affect the enroute time provided no delays, shortcuts or speed restrictions is the wind at altitude.
I swear when I looked last time both said AM... must have changed it after I saw it.... :confused:
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I'd rather let a minor issue develop into a major one before I say "Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan" on the radio.
Unless of course I own a Sanpan boat which case I might be tempted to call it Pan-pan.
Well, a jet, I'm guessing decently loaded, with a suspected landing gear malfuction, I'd probably consider that pan-pan, but if nothing else... props on the SECURITE landing. ;)
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I'm averaging about 8 flights a month at the moment.
Every airline can have a bad day, but - in general - Jet Blue are pretty good. I hadn't heard of them subbing flights to Virgin America, but it's be no problem if they did - Virgin America have the coolest planes in the sky and they're the only one I know of to have 3 pin regular 110v power sockets in coach.
If you are on a Jet Blue flight, you might want to to try and get one of their 'Roomor' seats near the front. You might need to pay a little extra for it, but the extra legroom is worth it. That said, it wont help width wise. Jet Blue fly A320's exclusively with a 3*3 seat layout. Most airlines reserve the exit rows for their frequent fliers so you might struggle to get one on Delta (a don't fly them often - only the occasional trip in to Atlanta). There's also a growing trend towards charging extra for aisle and windows seats and for checking bags (US Airways being the chief culprit). Don't know what Delta's policy is, but Jet Blue haven't gotten in to this yet.
Wooley.
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Fly Southwest.
(http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/Bar%20Refaeli%20and%20SW%20plane%202.JPG)