Picky Flyers - Are you one?

[TAG Manager]

Totally off-topic of TAG, but just curious...

I'm not one of those guys who's constantly in the air with a million air miles under my belt, but I am frequently in the air going from place to place. Over the years, I've gotten accustomed to certain aircraft, certain seats and preferred airlines as a whole.

I'm really particular about seats - I usually book business and if I book economy, I score an upgrade about 60% of the time (either to premium economy or business class). Budget trips in Economy are usually done in Premium Economy, I cannot stand the bullshit that airlines call 'Economy Plus' like United or Delta does. The actual premium economy where it exists isn't so bad, so long as you get a plane with with a 2-3-2 config (maybe 2-4-3)... 3-4-3 config is a no-fly for me. Business is usually 1-2-1, which is the most preferred layout in my opinion.

That all said, I stick with ANA and their 777-300ER's as much as possible. I've yet to step foot on an A380 and I've been on plenty 787, A350's and the occasional 767 to Asia (never more than 4 hours!). Haven't set foot on JAL since the early 2000's but have flown Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Thai, Turkish and BA. (I don't book a route until I can confirm which aircraft is being used for the biggest leg of the route. Except for regional crap, which is usually a tin can anyway. )

I read in the news recently that ANA is moving a number of their routes from Narita to Haneda, plus adding new routes, increasing frequency.

I don't care about food so much, I bring my own anyway. Business always serves too much but the on-demand stuff is nice... I just care about my seat position and boarding/deplaning speed, haha. Lounge is a close 3rd when compared with check-in process/priority.

I'm active on Flyer Talk, not quite an obsession like some others, but I like the good benefits and perks.

Perfect world: Give me my own 787 BBJ... lol

 

[Frenchy]

Totally off-topic of TAG, but just curious...

I'm not one of those guys who's constantly in the air with a million air miles under my belt, but I am frequently in the air going from place to place. Over the years, I've gotten accustomed to certain aircraft, certain seats and preferred airlines as a whole.

I'm really particular about seats - I usually book business and if I book economy, I score an upgrade about 60% of the time. Budget trips in Economy are usually done in Premium Economy, I cannot stand the bullshit that airlines call 'Economy Plus' like United or Delta does. The actual premium economy where it exists isn't so bad, so long as you get a plane with with a 2-3-2 config (maybe 2-4-3)... 3-4-3 config is a no-fly for me. Business is usually 1-2-1, which is the most preferred layout in my opinion.

That all said, I stick with ANA and their 777-300ER's as much as possible. I've yet to step foot on an A380 and I've been on plenty 787, A350's and the occasional 767 to Asia (never more than 4 hours!). Haven't set foot on JAL since the early 2000's but have flown Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Thai, Turkish and BA. (I don't book a route until I can confirm which aircraft route is being used. Except for regional crap, which is usually a tin can anyway. )

I read in the news recently that ANA is moving a number of their routes from Narita to Haneda, plus adding new routes, increasing frequency.

I don't care about food so much, I bring my own anyway. Business always serves too much but the on-demand stuff is nice... I just care about my seat position and boarding/deplaning speed, haha. Lounge is a close 3rd when compared with check-in process/priority.

I'm active on Flyer Talk, not quite an obsession like some others, but I like the good benefits and perks.

Perfect world: Give me my own 787 BBJ... lol

How do you get your upgrades so often? Im Gold on Skyteam and it happens only rarely, you use your charms with the check-in ladies?

 

[TAG Manager]

How do you get your upgrades so often? Im Gold on Skyteam and it happens only rarely, you use your charms with the check-in ladies?

Firstly, I'm on Star Alliance. IMHO, that seems to be better overall after the number of years I've put into it.
Secondly, traveling single on congested routes, it's easier to be bumped up when you show up looking like you fit the role. Families and those traveling with more than one person, usually want seats together and if I'm a single, professional (looking) traveling alone, it's easier to move that single person to an empty Premium Economy or Business Class seat (depending on the flight and plane config).
Third, my LT milegae isn't 1m miles, but it's up there and my active miles that I've banked (100k+ currently) seem to have an impact on the upgrade 'pecking order'.

There's a bunch of theories, but showing up professional looking with a bunch of mileage in the bank seems to net you freebies. (being sweet to the check-in girl can't hurt?)
Can't say I'm a charmer, but just a little sugar never makes it a bitter experience.

 

[Frenchy]

Firstly, I'm on Star Alliance. IMHO, that seems to be better overall after the number of years I've put into it.
Secondly, traveling single on congested routes, it's easier to be bumped up when you show up looking like you fit the role. Families and those traveling with more than one person, usually want seats together and if I'm a single, professional (looking) traveling alone, it's easier to move that single person to an empty Premium Economy or Business Class seat (depending on the flight and plane config).
Third, my LT milegae isn't 1m miles, but it's up there and my active miles that I've banked (100k+ currently) seem to have an impact on the upgrade 'pecking order'.

There's a bunch of theories, but showing up professional looking with a bunch of mileage in the bank seems to net you freebies. (being sweet to the check-in girl can't hurt?)
Can't say I'm a charmer, but just a little sugar never makes it a bitter experience.

makes sense, thanks

 

[MikeH]

When I was travelling more I got regularly bumped up. But I was in Narita so often they knew me by name...

 

[Majestyk]

Haven’t tried this Asian airline, but its policies seem to be very progressive.

 

[outtatime]

Haven’t tried this Asian airline, but its policies seem to be very progressive.

View attachment 12798

Great to see this

 

[Simonka]

Haven’t tried this Asian airline, but its policies seem to be very progressive.

View attachment 12798

Wholesome.

 

[Lukes]

I fly between Japan and the States a lot. I only use ANA and United. Not because I don't like other carriers but rather because my first ever flight to Japan was on United and it was a pretty decent experience. So I just stuck with that. Plus the prices are actually pretty good most of the time. My favorite planes are the 787s and newer 737s. I'm not a huge fan of ANA's 777 fleet. The aging design definitely shows despite the upgrades.

I travel by myself most of the time so I don't care to pay for business that much. I just slip in and out of consciousness the whole flight anyways, lol. I do get occasional upgrades but not very often.

 

[Simonka]

This thread has filled my heart with joy. I will be surrounded by my family this Christmas. I’ve missed them so much. Can’t wait.. (I got upgrades from Star Alliance as well BTW)

 

[surak]

Another big Star Alliance fan here.

Am I the only guy here that has 4 valid SA*G memberships at the same time?

 

[Durg50]

British airways premium economy back to the UK is worth it, usually about double the price of economy. If you travel single you’ll have a decent chance of getting bumped to business or at least being offered a paid-for upgrade last minute which will be around 50-100k. But even if you dont get bumped, the bigger seat, extra space around you and the slightly less crowded cabin make a big difference on a 12 hour flight. Its not luxury but its tolerable, unlike economy.

As for US airlines. Only used them a few times. Its just a different world. Terrible experience.

 

[Frenchy]

British airways premium economy back to the UK is worth it, usually about double the price of economy. If you travel single you’ll have a decent chance of getting bumped to business or at least being offered a paid-for upgrade last minute which will be around 50-100k. But even if you dont get bumped, the bigger seat, extra space around you and the slightly less crowded cabin make a big difference on a 12 hour flight. Its not luxury but its tolerable, unlike economy.

As for US airlines. Only used them a few times. Its just a different world. Terrible experience.

well I like Delta in premium and business too, and Skyteam gold allows you to access their lounges even if you’re not flying business.
in eco they are all crap, I don’t see any difference between US companies. Some stewardesses are nightmare inducing. Seriously they should put them in office or airport-based jobs past 40, and have only younger staff up in the air. Same goes for stewards by the way.

 

[Ken1988]

My favorite is Qatar Air and I think DOH is the best transit airport.

I love the A350s for their offering tail camera views. I would be happy watching it for hours even be seated in the very middle of 3-3-3 layout.

 

[MelissaAnne]

I don't mind Economy on a short hop (even the 4.5 hours from Vancouver to Toronto is tolerable), but at 182 cm and 100 kg, I don't really fit that well, so I try for at least premium economy on long-haul.

Worst was Air Transat Toronto to London in a C seat (i.e. port aisle, outside, seat) on an A330, I think it was? Might have even been an old A310. My knees were up against the seat in front, the leg of the seat in front was right in the middle of my foot space (so my carry-on and personal item both had to go above), and there was a box for the seat-back TV between B and C, so there was hardly even room for my left foot between it and the leg. I spent most of the flight with my feet in the aisle, tripping everyone as they went by.

Thomas Cook's 757s were showing their age by 2007-2009 when I flew on them a couple of times (they still had CRT TVs hanging from the ceiling, and the movie was on VHS), but were still reasonably comfortable.

I've been on A380s twice. First time was Qantas business class, Dubai to Melbourne, which was really nice. Gotta love a plane with an onboard lounge. Second time was Malasia Airlines, Sydney to Kuala Lumpur in 3-4-3 economy, seat E or F (i.e. one of the middle 2 seats). That wasn't so great.

787s are also nice. I had one of BA's Toronto to London when they first started flying them. I think it was only about a month old. Still had the "new plane smell."

I think the nicest plane I've flown on was BA's all-business class A318 from London City to JFK. 32 seats (8 rows of 4) in a plane that normally holds over 100. First class on the Delta CRJ-800 and CRJ-700 I had from JFK to Detroit, and Detroit to Toronto (or vice versa, I forget which was on which plane) on that trip was pretty good, too. (First class was actually slightly cheaper than economy + a checked bag, and allowed 2 checked bags!)

I will say, ANA has good on-board service, even on a Haneda to KIX hop in economy. Their fares from Canada are crazy, though. Like 5x what Air Canada charges (even for a code-share flight on Air Canada metal), and Air Canada's already one of the most expensive ways to get from Toronto to Japan. I think my next trip to Japan I'll just take Delta. Sure I have to make 1 or 2 extra stops (Toronto-Detroit-Haneda, Haneda-Minneapolis-Detroit-Toronto, vs. non-stop Toronto-Haneda), but it's over $1000 cheaper.

I want to fly Lufthansa from Frankfurt in F, where they have a whole first class terminal, not just a lounge, and drive to you the plane, sometime. It's tough to get with Aeroplan, though. Lufthansa only releases the seats a couple of weeks before.

My next flights are scheduled to be on an ancient MD-88 (we used to often be on DC-9/MD-8x-series planes, along with early-model 737s, flying USAir to Florida in the '80s & '90s) Toronto to Atlanta, then a CRJ-700 from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach. Delta again, but this time in economy. I was hoping to fly Porter, since they're non-stop Toronto to Myrtle Beach, but they were quite a bit more expensive, and the flight left earlier in the morning than I wanted to get up.

Speaking of Myrtle Beach, they get the prize for crappiest international "terminal". It's literally 2 shipping containers welded together. Of course, when your only international service is Porter's twice/week, winter only, service from Toronto, it's hard to justify spending much money.

 

[MelissaAnne]

Oh, one other flight that was pretty good...

One time on the way to Florida on USAir, our plane from Philadelphia had a mechanical issue, and we ended up getting marked down as a no-show, so they cancelled our tickets back. Mom got them to re-instate us, but by then they could only get us to Philly on their own metal. They got us seats on a Canadian Airlines 737, but it was a tight connection, on the other side of the airport, so they arranged for a cart to meet us at the gate. That plane ended up only having about 10 passengers on it, so the FA said that we had to sit in our assigned seats for takeoff and landing, but while we were in the air, we each had a whole row to ourselves.

 

[notbobsaget]

Living in the US and the majority of my travel being domestic economy, I generally try to stick to Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, or Delta. Southwest is my favorite because the fares tend to be reasonable, pick your own seat, pretty decent leg room if you are lucky and get to fly on a 738 (32-33in), and it's the only airline (or company really) where every employee I interact with genuinely seems to enjoy their job (or are very good at faking it). JetBlue has/had tons of legroom and generally gives a fairly decent amount of small luxuries for economy pax compared to other carriers. If my employer is paying for airfare, I usually go Delta or Alaska because I value their miles more and I live in an Alaska hub. I would rather go to Iraq than fly on United, Spirit, Frontier, or Allegiant. Those airlines are the epitome of trash. Also, I try to avoid CRJs or Q400's whenever possible.

For my last international trip, most of my legs were economy on Korean and one leg with Delta. Delta was testing out their improved International economy product on my route (and it's been rolled out on their international routes system wide recently) and I was impressed by US standards. It doesn't beat the Asian carriers, but it's the best international product you can get from an American carrier. I would strongly consider Delta economy again. On Korean, I flew their 772, 77W, A333 in 3-3-3 on the 777's and 2-4-2 for the airbus. Seats were comfortable and leg room was decent. Their 77W had a really comfortable seat and despite having the bathroom behind me, I still had a decent amount of recline and that 10hr flight was not bad at all. The flight attendants were also very cute. Unfortunately, the food was disgusting on both of my flights out of Seoul. Even Delta had better food on their international flight. With that being said, I would happily fly on Korean economy again especially if its on their 77W or something with refurbished interior.

 

[Viggagadye]

I'm not a very picky flyer, but I do notice trends. Cathay, Singapore and Emirates are my favourites. Qantas is okay, but I'm biased.
British Airways are not bad service wise, but the 4 times I've lost luggage, it's been on British. No idea why.
I hate LATAM (formerly LAN) with a passion.
Other than that, I don't mind budget airlines for short flights (under 3 hours), as I just treat it like a long train ride.

 

[Exnocomment]

This year I’ve flown much less than prior years, so only have like 60-70k miles this year and losing my top tier status which is a bit sad

I’m not as picky as you and I’m clearly less hot as I don’t get as many complimentary upgrades vs requested upgrades due to status. I’ve gotten maybe 4 “free” upgrades in the last 3 years due to overbookings.. Two on a coveted overnight to London which is worthwhile

I still fly a lot of economy and short haul but I always do aisle/exit row on a 2/3/2 or 3/4/3 setup which I think can actually better than premium economy on most planes.

Obviously for overnights where I have a meeting the day I arrive being able to access a shower is the most important feature, so I tend to think of lounge access as the most important perk of flying a lot. Business class is really nice and a civilized way to travel but is still more of a perk as I don’t get it reliably.

 

[IchigoDave]

That all said, I stick with ANA and their 777-300ER's as much as possible.
Perfect world: Give me my own 787 BBJ... lol

Happy to see your dedication the blue team, but not so much to the 777. I am a 787 man, and have been since they started flying. I just wish my company flew to Atlanta.

As a pilot whenever I fly as a passenger I am uncomfortable whatever class/airline.

 

[TAG Manager]

Happy to see your dedication the blue team, but not so much to the 777. I am a 787 man, and have been since they started flying. I just wish my company flew to Atlanta.

Well, the new 777X types are supposed incorporate 787 improvements and tech. I do like the 787 but I guess i just feel at home on a 777. ANA has ordered 20 of these new 777X’s. (Emirates ordered 150’ish )

Didn’t realize that this would catch this many replaces. Will catch up to other posts later.

 

[IchigoDave]

Well, the new 777X types are supposed incorporate 787 improvements and tech. I do like the 787 but I guess i just feel at home on a 777. ANA has ordered 20 of these new 777X’s. (Emirates ordered 150’ish )

Didn’t realize that this would catch this many replaces. Will catch up to other posts later.

The thing about the 777x and the 787 is that the flight deck will be the same so that means crew interoperability. I will be flying both planes

 

[Rusty Trombone]

I read in the news recently that ANA is moving a number of their routes from Narita to Haneda, plus adding new routes, increasing frequency.

ANA is moving out of the International Terminal and will have both domestic and international out of terminal 2.
International is being renamed to terminal 3 in march 2020 I think.

ANA is good but I have all my business expenses taken care of by a JAL Mastercard and rack up major miles (about 200,000 a year). I also like the JAL lounges and the curry they have there. My little trick with JAL is to get to the airport early on domestic flights and upgrade to J class for 1,000yen.

If you are an airline geek like me then head to flightradar24 where they have this database where you can load your flights into the system. I have done 26 flights this year. 9 economy / 8 Prem Economy / 9 Business. (I count the LCC business as a Prem Economy)

Never been on an A380 or the A350, but wanna try.

Less than 3 hours is OK in Economy (Tokyo - Ishigaki or Miyako is the limit), but long haul has to be closer to the front.

LCC premium can be great value for money.
Air Asia has the flatbed, but service is shit. I find Scoot a better overall experience. Also flown Jetstar and Norwegian Long haul.

FWIW I flew Air Koryo last year. But that story is for another day.

 

[IchigoDave]

I flew Air Koryo last year. But that story is for another day.

Would love to hear about that.

 

[Frenchy]

ANA is moving out of the International Terminal and will have both domestic and international out of terminal 2.
International is being renamed to terminal 3 in march 2020 I think.

ANA is good but I have all my business expenses taken care of by a JAL Mastercard and rack up major miles (about 200,000 a year). I also like the JAL lounges and the curry they have there. My little trick with JAL is to get to the airport early on domestic flights and upgrade to J class for 1,000yen.

If you are an airline geek like me then head to flightradar24 where they have this database where you can load your flights into the system. I have done 26 flights this year. 9 economy / 8 Prem Economy / 9 Business. (I count the LCC business as a Prem Economy)

Never been on an A380 or the A350, but wanna try.

Less than 3 hours is OK in Economy (Tokyo - Ishigaki or Miyako is the limit), but long haul has to be closer to the front.

LCC premium can be great value for money.
Air Asia has the flatbed, but service is shit. I find Scoot a better overall experience. Also flown Jetstar and Norwegian Long haul.

FWIW I flew Air Koryo last year. But that story is for another day.

air koryo ?! Wow respect
Just the inflight brochure with pics of the Dear Leader everywhere must be worth the trip