findmeinfirst

I was thinking of booking a return trup from ams-prg-jfk for fun. I am a little hesitant because I have never spoke with any who has flown with them. How is the service? Is there any IFE? Will they let me use my portable DVD. Be honest and frank. (Because some of you guys tend to sugar coat your comments)

Dovster

I have never flown with them but my son did and said they were as good as Air France (the only other airline he had been on).

I was impressed with the way they handled his flight -- on 9/11. He was going from TLV-PRG-JFK and was just past England when the towers were attacked.

In order to avoid panic, the pilot announced that there were weather problems that were forcing them to return to Prague.

When they landed, they were handed a paper that Czech Air had printed up explaining what really happened. The airline then paid for all the passengers to stay in hotels until they could fly out a few days later.

DLfan

I've never flown the PRG-JFK route (and I'm sure that's the one you really want to know about), but I have flown OK on the AMS-PRG route. I was pleasantly surprised. They were as good as any other European carrier I've taken. I was in coach and received a little box "lunch" like you would get on AF or LH. They left the gate on time, arrived in PRG on time and were friendly and courteous in flight. Equipment was a 735 that looked new.

If you have time, Prague is a beautiful old city that, unlike much of Eastern Europe, mostly escaped the ravages of WWII and is a really charming place to spend a few days.

[This message has been edited by DLfan (edited Feb 06, 2004).]

findmeinfirst

That is amazing! I may book based on that alone.

sowalsky

http://www.airlinequality.com/main/review_219.htm
http://www.airlinequality.com/main/review_306.htm

One review states that portable video viewers were distributed to pax in C class, so that may indicate that portable DVD players are allowed!

lofly

Have flown on Czech Airlines and was pleased with their service, but have no idea about the DVDs.

jmscsc

I have flown Czech Airlines and they're as good as any other European carrier. The flight attendants were gracious, the aircraft clean and comfortable, the food was good, and everything was timely.

Prague is my favorite city in Eastern Europe. It's just beautiful, and the Czech people have to be the friendliest I have ever met. Everyone seems to speak English and can't do enough to make your visit a pleasant one. Also ... at the moment the Czech Republic is not part of the European Union, so they still have their own currency. It's one place where the dollar still goes a long way.

Prague is a must see city!

obscure2k

I was not exactly thrilled with Czech Airlines. Flew them on an early-morning flt from Prague to CDG. The airport in Prague was dreary, the breakfåst in coach was inedible and we made a hard landing in CDG. The FA's were very nice and the plane was quite comfortable. I would fly them again, but if travelling in the early AM would eat breakfast first.

USCGamecock

CSA is a great a/l. Flew them JFK-PRG-LED-PRG last summer. Comfortable Airbus JFK-PRG, FA's were very, very nice and made sure the kids had plenty of toys to play with. Good food, nice flight. From PRG-LED was a B737 and was great with a full meal and nice drink service. Would recommend CSA and will be flying them again.

ClipperJCM

Flew Czech on the PRG-JFK route with my girlfriend back in December, and I was neither thrilled nor particularly disappointed with the experience. OK lost our reservation and seat assignments prior to the flight -- despite the fact that we had completed our JFK-CDG-VIE legs on AF just a few days prior -- so we spent the better part of an hour at the check-in desk, trying to get ourselves back onto the airplane. My observation: European ground personnel, and OK staff in particular, are not as prone to explaining booking problems and possible solutions as some of their American counterparts (remember that the next time you're stranded in ATL!).

Flight was decent, but again, not particularly exceptional. Two meals; movie; fairly standard cabin service (though more in-line with European standards than American). Don't fly Czech because you're anxious to ride an A310 for nine hours. For a flight of that duration, it had us longing for the space of the 744 or, gasp!, even the 763. (Of course, our booking dilemma regrettably landed us in two middle-section seats in the last row of coach!)

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ClipperJCM

prspad

I recently redeemed a bunch of Skymiles to book award tix for the family from LAX - Prague with segments EWR - PRG/return on CSA. Can anyone who has flown their A310 service from North America to Prague give some insight? Thanks.

Flying_Duck

As I recently booked a trip to Prague, I looked into this and found through searching for CSA containing threads that there was a consensus that transatlantic CSA BC is worse than AF and DL BC and that the only superior thing is the beer selection (!!). Service is said to be excellent in coach (comparatively) but the interior worn and tired.

I decided to forego CSA in favor of going on DL/AF through CDG.

Frank3172a

CSA has 3 long-haul airbuses. 2 that are getting pretty old now & 1 that's a little younger (but very cramped) You can tell this one by the French writing on the seat trays (originally from AF). The newer one mostly flies to JFK. I avoid CSA transatlantic at all cost. The beer is good, but that's about it. The service can be really lousy. Stewardess hide in the back of the plane with the curtain closed.

My wife & son fly CSA only because of the direct flight NYC-PRG. I rather transit an hour somewhere & strech my legs. But if you got 6 tickets together must have been very lucky.

Enjoy your stay in the Czech Republic, it's a great place.

jeffreyt

Expect the worst, and if it isn't, you might be mildy surpirsed. Seriously, I have flown CSA and have no problem with them.

As a side note, the Four Seasons Prague is one of my favorite Four Season Hotels and they have an incredible chef in their dining room. It was so good, I ate the same thing 2 nights in row!

coplatua1k

I flew 250K miles this year and my WORST experience was CSA. I will NEVER fly them again. I've never flown Aeroflot just heard the horro stories, reminds me of my CSA experiences. From checkin to gate crew to FA's I have never encountered more miserable people. They should be EJECTED from Skyteam they are an embarrasment!