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Hi fellow travellers!

I’ve heard plenty of awful stories about the likes of Ryanair/Easyjet, so would like recommendations on what other airlines to fly with where I won’t have too many issues.

23 replies to this topic

Understand what you are booking, follow the rules, and you will get good value transport between a vast number of Airport (Ryanair apparently services more routes than any other airline in the world). I have used both frequently, I have never had a problem, but whilst I read the rules, I have stood and watched people trying to argue that their two bags only really count as one and the like.

I prefer to avoid Ryanair, however, I admire how they are so financially successful eg see https://businessmodelanalyst.com/ryanair-business-model/

When I fly them I recognise there is no pretension (like BA) of being anything other than a people mover/ bus in the sky.

Everything is about maximizing profit eg rare use of air bridges. Boarding and leaving planes from both front and rear. Using cheaper landing fee airports, no seat back pockets, no recline on seats etc.

Understand what they do and measure your expectations and you maybe pleasantly surprised eg I fly fake business class on them by booking neighbour seat etc.

Thank you for the feedback. Comments I’m seeing a lot of are loosing luggage, getting charged extra fees when they arrive at the airport when they’ve already paid for extra luggage, poor customer service both on the ground and in the air. The consistency and number of low review scores was just worrying, so this is why I am reaching out to see 1, if it is all true and 2, if it was then who else is out there that I can fly with.

“getting charged extra fees when they arrive at the airport when they’ve already paid for extra luggage”

You might want to check how many of those complaining have booked through third parties.

You can use Googlefights to check other options

" I’m seeing a lot of are loosing luggage"

"getting charged extra fees when they arrive at the airport when they’ve already paid for extra luggage"

I think that when folks have mentioned that on this forum, it is usually when they did paid through whatever third party booking platform that they got their tickets from and there was some sort of disconnect between the two. And I don't think this is limited to easyJet and Ryanair. If you purchase luggage with the airline directly (and your tickets in general), then I don't think you'll have a problem.

But in general, when you're considering flying with any airline , just be sure that you know what your ticket comes with and what is extra (food, seat selection, hand luggage, hold luggage, cancellation/change policy, etc). Sometimes if you book via a third party ticket site, this can be a little unclear so it may be better to book with the airline directly.

‘ The consistency and number of low review scores was just worrying,’

Think of this logically, it’s mostly those who perceive they have had a problem that post poor reviews. The majority have no problems & never post a review. I would never base my choice on these negative reviews.

If you are booking for this summer do be aware that there are a lot of ATC & Eurocontrol strikes. All out side the airlines control & do result in cancellations.

Just buy your tickets on their app or webpage. There is no need to put a 3rd party between you and them.

• Information on - Austrian Airlines and Ryanair 03:33
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• Virgin No.1 lounge Heathrow 23:34
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Is Southwest about to end its free-for-all seating?

The company says it is ‘very seriously studying’ alternatives to its signature open-seating system.

Southwest Airlines fans know the drill: Check in to your flight exactly 24 hours in advance and secure your spot in line to board the plane. What seat you’ll end up in? That’s a mystery until the last minute.

A puzzle to some and an invigorating challenge to others, Southwest’s unique boarding process and one-class cabin are now under the microscope as the airline looks for ways to prop up its financial performance. In a call with investors Thursday, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said executives are “very seriously studying” seating and the way passengers board the planes.

“It’s been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preference and expectations change over time,” Jordan said. “We are also studying the operations and financial benefits of any potential change.”

Unlike most airlines, Southwest doesn’t have a premium section on its planes that commands higher fares. Where other carriers might charge extra for a cushy seat in the first few rows or an extra-legroom option near the front, Southwest customers can grab whatever seat is open. A spot near the front won’t come with any additional frills, however.

In a news release announcing quarterly earnings, a conference call discussing those results and an interview with CNBC , representatives said they were taking a deep look at customer preferences around seating and boarding. The current open-seating system was put in place when airliners were generally less full, the company said, noting that preferences change as planes fill up.

“There’s no decision, there’s nothing to report other than we are seriously looking at this,” Jordan said in response to a question about seating. “But early indications both for our customers and for Southwest look pretty darn interesting.”

While Southwest has contemplated the possibility of assigned seating for nearly two decades at least , the review has accelerated over the past six months, the CEO said. Jordan said the company will say more during an event for investors in September. The company has also recently said that it is preparing to add red-eye flights in the next couple of years.

Today, Southwest passengers can pay more to end up in a better seat, even without picking that seat in advance. Upgrades that provide priority boarding and early check-in give customers the first pick of spots. The airline makes “hundreds of millions of dollars” from those upgraded boarding options, executives said last year.

“They’re in kind of a pickle regarding revenue generation, so they’re looking at everything,” said Robert W. Mann, a consultant and former airline executive. “I think what they have seen is that when they’ve tweaked their existing cattle call … they find it to be very lucrative.”

He said that if the airline could deliver a more “pleasant” boarding process, or seat selection for a fee, it would probably be attractive to travelers.

“There’s nothing about their boarding process that they couldn’t improve,” Mann said.

Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group , said he did research more than a decade ago that found a large number of people avoided Southwest because it did not offer extra-legroom seats, assigned seats or a premium business-class cabin. He said that the airline could make “an enormous amount of money” by adding assigned seating — and that travelers would probably welcome knowing what seat they would end up in.

“I think it could be an incredibly positive thing for the airline, but I recognize that Southwest has a more-than-50-year history of being egalitarian, of having open seating and being different from other airlines,” he said.

More on air travel

Leave flying to the pros: Think you could land a plane in an emergency? Experts say you’re wrong . Here’s what you should actually do if something goes awry during a flight .

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Plane mess: Stories about extremely disgusting airplanes have been grossing out travelers. The question of plane cleanups became the subject of a recent debate after a flight attendant allegedly told a pregnant passenger to pick up the popcorn spilled by her toddler.

Frequent flying: Airline status isn’t what it used to be, but at least there are some good movies and TV shows to watch in the air. And somewhere out there, experts are trying to make airline food taste good.

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Delta Board of Directors Welcomes Maria Black and Willie Chiang as Newest Members

ATLANTA , April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) board of directors today announced Maria Black and Willie CW Chiang as its newest members.

Ms. Black is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc., a leading global technology company providing human capital management (HCM) solutions. Mr. Chiang is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., and its general partner holding company Plains GP Holdings, L.P. PAA is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services for crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

"We are very excited to welcome both Maria and Willie to the Delta board of directors," said David Taylor, Delta's non-executive Chair of the Board. "Maria brings substantial global leadership in the technology and human capital management industry. Willie has extensive experience in the energy industry. Both of them will contribute valuable expertise to our work, enhancing the depth and range of Delta's already strong, independent and diverse board of directors."

Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of ADP in January 2023, Ms. Black served as President of the company from January 2022 to January 2023. She has held various positions of increasing responsibility across the entirety of ADP's global portfolio since joining the company in 1996, including as President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing from 2020 to 2022, President, Small Business Solutions and Human Resources Outsourcing from 2017 to 2020 and President, ADP TotalSource from 2014 to 2016. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of ADP. Ms. Black holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In addition to serving as Chief Executive Officer of PAA and PAGP since October 2018, Mr. Chiang has served as Chairman since January 2020 and as a director of PAA and PAGP since February 2017. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PAA and PAGP from January 2018 until October 2018 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the company's U.S. operating and commercial activities from August 2015 through December 2017. He joined PAA and PAGP in 2015 from Occidental Petroleum Corporation, where he served as Executive Vice President, Operations from 2012 until 2015. From 1996 until 2012, he served in various positions at ConocoPhillips and predecessors. Mr. Chiang started his career in refining with Chevron in 1981. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines

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Shocked passengers watch liquid leak down airplane aisle from bathroom on flight: Video

Passengers on board a Spirit Airline flight headed to New Jersey witnessed an unexpected and strange sight midair when they watched a mystery liquid flow down the aisle, seeping from one of the plane's lavatories.

Video shows some passengers sitting in the aisle of the plane gawking at the fluid during this week's flight, while others laugh, some recording footage of the unexpected situation from their phones.

According to a Spirit Airline spokesperson, the incident took place Monday on Spirit Airlines flight 1595.

The plane departed just after 3 p.m. on Monday from Atlanta Hartfield Jackson International Airport and landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at 5:18 p.m. according to the online site Flight Aware, which tracks flight paths.

Cockpit no-no: FAA launches investigation after MLB coach posts video from cockpit during flight

What caused the liquid to spill?

A maintenance team met the flight upon arrival in Newark due "to an issue with a potable water line connected to a sink in the rear lavatory," a Spirit Airlines spokesperson said in an email to USA TODAY.

The issue was addressed and the aircraft was cleared to continue with its next flight, the spokesperson said.

Another Boeing plane issue? Don't fall for the headlines

No injuries were reported.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

Bonza enters voluntary administration after cancelling all flights until Friday

B onza has entered voluntary administration after the company that owns its aircraft lessor tried to repossess its planes, leaving hundreds of travellers stranded across the country on Tuesday.

Passengers wanting to fly from the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Avalon arrived at the airports on Tuesday morning to find their flights had been cancelled.

The company has appointed Hall Chadwick as voluntary administrators for Bonza’s operating and holding company, Australian Securities and Investments Commission disclosures say. Norton Rose Fulbright has also been engaged.

A joint release issued by Hall Chadwick and Bonza late on Tuesday confirmed Bonza’s fleet had been grounded until the end of Thursday and advised travellers with flights booked up until Friday morning to not travel to the airport.

“The voluntary administrators with the engagement of Norton Rose Fulbright are currently considering the continued trading of the company’s operations during the course of the administration period including the continuation of employment of all employees of the company,” the release said.

“The discussions regarding ongoing trading are occurring over the forthcoming days and the administrators will be in a position to update all stakeholders as the matter progresses.”

Bonza’s board convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss potential options for the struggling carrier. It’s not yet clear whether Bonza’s remaining flights will run as scheduled and thousands of passengers are awaiting further information regarding travel booked after Thursday.

Chief executive Tim Jordan apologised to customers in a statement and said he was considering the viability of the business, but he did not confirm or deny whether any of its aircraft had been repossessed.

Bonza’s aircraft have been seized by AIP Capital, an investment house owned by the parent of 777 Partners, ACAP, to recoup money owed to investors, sources close to the matter said. 777 Partners originally bought the aircraft and issued long-term leases to Bonza during COVID-19.

AIP confirmed the aircraft had been transferred to a new vehicle, Phoenix Aviation Capital, which is owned by insurance giant ACAP, on April 9.

AIP has since moved to take possession of three Bonza aircraft to send them back to Canada, having already seized one of its 737 Max-8s, named Bruce, earlier this week.

777 Partners is being advised by restructuring firm KordaMentha, which declined to comment. The appointment of KordaMentha was first reported by the Australian Financial Review last week and stridently denied by Bonza.

“Bonza has temporarily suspended services due to be operated today [Tuesday] as discussions are under way regarding the ongoing viability of the business,” Jordan said in his statement.

“We apologise to customers who are impacted by this, and we’re working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market.”

Qantas and Virgin have offered to support passengers on complimentary flights to the airport closest to their final planned Bonza destination. Most of the routes Bonza flies are not offered by any other airline.

The airline launched its ambitious plan to fly to largely unserviced parts of Australia with low-cost fares in January last year . It dropped a number of routes last year due to lack of demand, in an attempt to boost the reliability of its more popular services.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the government had limited information about the outlook for Bonza. She encouraged all affected passengers to call a government hotline for support. The number for the hotline is 1800 069 244.

“We have made it very clear to Bonza that our expectations are that they inform passengers about what their options are, what changes are being made, and that they respect their consumer rights, of which they do have some.

“We are a small market, and it is always very difficult for new entrants. We’ve seen that through the process of aviation history here in Australia, but we are determined as a government to make everything we can do to try and improve competition,” she said.

The national secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Michael Kaine, said he was concerned for the roles of the 150 employees at Bonza.

“Whether it’s a terrorist, epidemic, or a company that’s become commercially unviable there will be crisis ideation. Other countries around the world take equity in the airlines. If we’re not politically willing to do that we have to find how the community gets its voice,” he said.

Bonza’s fleet was originally owned by its parent company, 777 Partners, but the private equity group’s creditors have since created a new vehicle that owns the company’s 30 Max-8 aircraft.

Over the past year, Bonza has been hamstrung by fleet issues. Many of the purple planes scheduled to be used by the airline have instead been redirected to one of 777 Partners’ other airlines.

Bonza’s fleet of four Boeing 737 Max-8s has been struggling to service its route map and cater to pilot training requirements. This has resulted in many frustrated customers experiencing last-minute cancellations or delays, while aspiring pilots have been unable to complete their training as scheduled.

Multiple senior executives have left the business over the past six months, including former chief commercial officer Carly Povey and 777’s ex-head of airline investments, Manish Raniga.

The company was the first high-capacity, low-cost carrier to launch in Australia since now-defunct Virgin subsidiary Tigerair took off 15 years ago. It has positioned itself as a leisure carrier targeting tourism destinations in regional Australia, rather than competing with Qantas or Virgin, which service high-frequency routes.

Although it is a model that has worked well across Europe and Asia, critics have expressed concern Bonza’s structure is unsustainable due to Australia’s size and small population.

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16 replies to this topic

Where do u see that? Just looked for dummy bookings on their app and website for October and don't see that comment. Usually a comment like that does not refer to the things you mention but rather final route approval which is odd since MH flies 2x a day from LHR for a long time.

https://online.malaysiaairlines.com/booking/availability/0 Kinda what I thought, but see this.

I see that you can't get to it because the link gets changed on the way. Weird ! And suspicious.

If you want to see it you'll have to look for Paris-Adelaide 24 october, 2 passengers on the Malaysian Airways website.

So what is your route? At the start you say its LHR to KUL and later you say it is CDG to ADL.

Tripadvisor staff removed this post at the original author's request.

You find the answer to your question in the public domain:

Maybe you can work out which is the New Flight which this would apply to. So nothing as sinister as going bust or not having slots. If they’re selling it, they must be pretty confident they’ll get approval to operate the flight .

I've never seen this anywhere else.

‘The interest is that from KL it goes directly to Adelaide instead of going via Sydney or Melbourne’

MH139 has always been direct from KUL to ADL. Not sure why you think it would go via SYD or MEL?

• Information on - Austrian Airlines and Ryanair 02:33
• United - has this happened to anyone before? 02:10
• TSA and ammo? 02:03
• Bonza airline Australia 00:50
• 3-1-1 rule actual enforcement 00:36
• BCN to Boston thru LHR 00:33
• Can a bag be found w/no tags on it? 00:25
• Best way to pack whiskey. 23:52
• Ethiopian Airlines - Baggage, Transit questions 23:45
• Global Collect BV 23:45
• Virgin No.1 lounge Heathrow 22:34
• Heathrow connection T5 to T3 22:32
• Help! Bullied by Kiwi 22:07
• Just Get Out of Town (JGOOT) 21:15
• ++++ ESTA (USA) and eTA (Canada) requirements for visa-exempt foreign nationals ++++
• ++++ TIPS - PLANNING YOUR FLIGHTS +++++++
• Buy now or later? What's with these screwy ticket prices?
• Around-the-world (RTW) tickets
• All you need to know about OPEN JAW tickets
• Beware of cheap business class tickets (sold by 3rd parties)
• ++++ TIPS - PREPARING TO FLY +++++++++
• TIPS - How to prepare for Long Haul Flights
• TIPS - Being Prepared for Cancellations and Long Delays
• TIPS - How to survive being stuck at an airport
• Flights delays and cancellations resources
• How do I effectively communicate with an airline?
• Airline, Airport, and Travel Abbreviations
• Air Travel Queries: accessibility,wedding dresses,travelling with children.
• Connecting Flights at London Heathrow Airport
• TUI Airways (formerly Thomson) Dreamliner - Movies and Seating Information
• ++++ COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION ++++
• Covid-19 Coronavirus Information for Air Travel